The fact is that I am taking Nicotine, and nicotine is not good. However, there are not too many (or any) studies about nicotine intake through vaping and its effects... shouldn't there be? I mean, I vape and I feel it is healthier,
Theres plenty of studies on nicotine, PG, VG etc. Theres also some studies about vaping being performed right now, or have been performed already. Yeah nicotine is pretty well studied in terms of its health effects.
but I have really no scientific data on its mid term or long term effects.
Theres no real reason logically in my mind, given that nicotine, PG and VG are all studied, to presume some long or mid term effect. In fact, because all the components of e-cigs are fairly well studied, I personally can presume its fairly safe, in the same way by knowing the ingredients of a cake is safe, I can presume the cake itself is safe.
If you are curious about studies, i suggest you google up about ruyans studies. They have anaylsed things like vapour composition, nicotine absorbed per puffs, enivoromental effects on smoking. They are doing a tripple blind on its efficacy for giving up this year. Should be fully registered as a medicine by the end of next year, here in NZ.
But, in the case of long term studies (which BTW, are NOT carried out for medicines before they are released - post marketing studies and such look at that after they are already for sale, same with cell phones, wifi, novel food flavourings and preservatives - its unfair to hold something to a higher standard than everything else, and as ill explain, its kinda impossible) -
One needs to actually _wait_, a mid, or long term amount of time, before results of such studies can be had. I am positive that studies, like the ones being undertaken, and already completed will continue into the future where such long-term e-ciggarette use surveys and data can be collected. And I am sure they will be exactly as we expect them to be, proportionate to the lesser harms known to be caused by nicotine.
But, regardless, unless you have a time machine, we will have to wait for that. You need populations of people who have used something long term, to study its long term effects!
Should we not want these studies to take place?
They are. The companies themselves are already funding them, both to apply as medicines, and to ease public perception and safisfy customer safety (for examp ruyan, and flavour art, and many more)
I also wonder about what we are all vaping... I mean, we are basically trusting all the companies that produce juices to actually do a good job, use "quality" materials, have a good "quality control" and such, but we really have no idea as no one is keeping watch... What is there to stop a company from say adding extra chemicals (I don't know, for flavor or whatever) to the juices we buy? How do we know they are not (let me exaggerate) giving us juices in recycled bottles taken from hospitals' garbage cans?
I know, I am exaggerating, but the thing is that the fact that a juice "tastes good" doesn't necessarily mean that it meets what we would hope are minimum standards in quality, sanitation, etc...
Manufacturing quality and purity standards are definately a good reason for regulation - we do need regulation there, so that our e-liquids have standardised nicotine quantities, use flavours not suspected of health risks, have purity, and are free of harmful solvents etc.
That and keeping it r18 only are two things they should regulate.
Of course, cigarretes (analogues) are terrible, but the fact is that since they are regulated, they are pretty "standard" in a way. They are all produced in the same way... I wonder whether the idea of regulating the production (for example) of juices is bad inherently....
Actually not really. Theres no requirements for cigarette companies to not add whatever they like into tobacco. I used to work for a big tobacco company, lol.
Its not at all governed by the sort of quality control, and safety requirements that foods are. I think there are some potential controls, and some in theory stuff - like they have recently been required to publish ingredients lists online, but I think personally their honesty there may be questionable and it seems pretty much like they are still totally unregulated in terms of what they manufacture.
There might be some manufacturing standards, you cant sell them in sweet or enjoyable flavours, and there are certainly age restrictions, but actually theres a suprisingly low amount of regulation on how they are made. Which does make the who situation a little hypocritical.
If I was making the deeming regulations as the FDA, I would just prevent glamour advertising for e-cigs, make it strict r18 and regulate manufacturing standards for e-juice. Thats it.
But I would also _start_ implementing manufacturing standards for tobacco, by restricting what ingredients are allowed into it and what level of TSNAs especially are allowed in the tobacco they use. Different tobacco strains have different levels of tsna's and I have NO IDEA why the cancer causing chemicals in tobacco are not regulated to a reasonable minimum.
I would also want to promote snus use and e-cig use over tobacco use, by making both of them less restricted - more available at a wider variety of points of sale etc and making smoked tobacco itself a little harder to get
(not preventing purchase of smoked tobacco, just encouraging lower harm alternatives by having them a little more available, with a little less restrictions).
I would alway make the warnings, if any, on snus and e-cigs, objective and much milder than the ones on smoked tobacco, mostly relating to nicotine's health effects, like high blood pressure, increased heart rate and oxiditive stress on the eyes and arteries (and some much low cancer risks with snus - pancreatic cancer is it? Anyway there is a slight risk been shown there, but its nothing like as high as cancer and smoking) -
Versus/as opposed to the, also fairly objective, ya probably gonna die stuff you get with smoked tobacco...(high cancer, stroke and heart disease risks etc)
Again, so that people are encouraged to choose the lesser harm.
Thats just me.
