I asked for an opinion, I got one!

[BrennaK]

Hi everyone. I have pretty much unlimited access to every flavor of surgeon you could imagine. Neurosurgeons, general surgeons, vascular surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, cardiac surgeons...the list goes on and on. However, I asked a thoracic surgeon-an expert in the surgical intervention and treatment of smoking-related lung damage, what his take on e-cig use might be. He did some reading so he could form an educated opinion and got back to me. Here's the condensed version of what he thought:
1. E-cigs, as long as the liquid contains nicotine, are not harmless. They are, in his opinion, much safer than smoking cigarettes, and no more harmful and may indeed be less harmful than other forms of NRT, including the patch and nicotine gum.
2. In considering the squawk by the anti-ecig groups regarding the safety of PG-PG is the carrier in many theraputic inhaled and nebulized meds that are prescribed post-op to his lung transplant patients.
3. He saw very little difference (with the exception of flavoring) between an e-cig and the prescription nicotine inhaler.
His words to me were clear and I quote-"DO THIS. Anything, anything at all that gets you away from smoking cigarettes WILL save your life."
While I realize that one thoracic surgeon's opinion is far from a clinical trial or even a research study, it carries a lot of weight. This individual has thirty years of lung transplants, thoracotomies, wedge resections, and pulmonary lobectomies under his belt. It meant a lot for me to hear it from him! I know most of this has been posted in various locations on the forum-but I wanted those who may be lurking, trying to decide whether to take the plunge to see what he thought.
Thanks for reading. I really can run on!

 

[jj2]

Great post, thanks for sharing.

 

[Liv2Ski]

Thanks it is nice to have a doc that backs the use of vaping as a replacement for smokes. Nice to see he did some research prior to giving you an answer. Nice post

 

[mwa102464]

My Doc loves the thought of me using an ecig over smoking and backs there use 100% over smoking !

 

[toto1013]

Thank you so much for sharing.......

 

[tsbrewers]

If this is someone you see pretty often, ask him to do you a favor. See if he will "spread the word" a little about it. Don't need to be obnoxious, but the more people like this that know about it, the better. IMHO

Brew

 

[BrennaK]

This is someone I see on a daily basis-I work in an operating room and he has cases most days of the week. In the course of our discussion, this came up. He was wondering if I would be willing (with the approval of his department as it would be on hospital time and using hospital facilities) to discuss my experience with e-cigs with the smokers in his department. I am absolutely willing to do so. So, hopefully soon I will be looking to you all for help-a public speaker I am NOT! And who knows-maybe from there, those folks will spread the word further. And so on, and so on...

 

[Mudflap]

My doc was guardedly neutral on my use of PV's but she was glad to hear I had stopped smoking entirely. She answers all of my questions fully, but doesn't engage in protracted conversation with me.

It might be because I mostly stare at her chest.

 

[BrennaK]

I should be clear-this particular surgeon is in no way involved in my personal care. Thank God I don't need him considering his specialty-but I eventually would have if I'd kept smoking. He's simply one of many surgeons I work around and with whom I felt comfortable enough to ask his opinion.

 

[ShannonA]

Thanks for sharing that it's always good to know when a doctor can see the benefits of vaping.

 

[1949katie]

My doctor was very pleased with my switch to e-cigs. After a short comment and demonstration she said anything to get me to quit was better than smoking. She did get her MD in the Bahamas somewhere -- but she's amazing.

 

[honuhart]

Thanks for sharing that...so glad to hear that he did some research before he came to his conclusion. And i totally agree that the main thing is get off of the cigarettes whatever it takes....

 

[TNT]

Let's see... everybody's got an opinion. Who am I more likely to take seriously on the subject of e-cigs... a career politician or a surgeon who deals with the effects of cigarettes on real people every day? Not a difficult decision, is it?

Thanks for the story.

 

[Valsacar]

Should see if you can get him in contact with the people at CASAA, I'm sure they'd gladly have another doctor willing to speak the truth with them!

 

[Rosco]

`

 

[JC Okie]

Good post. Thanks. I'm glad he did some research.

 

[JMC]

My doctor told me that pure nicotine itself is not harmful to the body and is glad I am vaping instead of smoking. She said if this is what works for me than go for it. Theres a warning on some ecig sales sites that say if you have high blood pressure you should not use them. My doctor said my bp has never been this good since I quit smoking and went with ecigs. I have excelent bp now!

 

[proficio]

Thats awesome!!! I can't wait to use the theraputic inhaler and nebulizer meds statements in my next soap box speech!!!!

 

[Valsacar]

My doctor told me that pure nicotine itself is not harmful to the body and is glad I am vaping instead of smoking. She said if this is what works for me than go for it. Theres a warning on some ecig sales sites that say if you have high blood pressure you should not use them. My doctor said my bp has never been this good since I quit smoking and went with ecigs. I have excelent bp now!

I have hypertension that requires daily medication and haven't had any changes to my bp since I switched. Sadly, that really greasy philly cheese steak w/ bacon that I love makes my bp shoot through the roof, I feel like crap and regret eating it every time... haven't had one in months now... but it tastes SOOOO good.

 

[tybin]

yes, thanks for sharing