New Vaper: Why it must be better..

[PgLover]

I live in the UK, have been vaping for a month now and in general I think it is awesome. But although I have some positive thoughts about it, there are some concerns I have.

I "gave up" smoking 6 years ago. What that means is, I stopped smoking for a year, then got drunk one night and picked up a box of cigarettes and smoked a whole bunch. What happened for the next five years can only be classed as 'social smoking' or my ability to go for a week or so at a time between UK-style binge drinking when I would break out the smokes and hit them hard.

Recently I decided that my infrequent social smoking was still not a good thing. I was doing this:

- hiding packs of cigs (I want to say fags but that can be taken the wrong way across the pond) around my house. Resulting in mildly panicked moments when my wife tried to find stuff in the garage or on top of the cupboards in the kitchen;
- taking mints with me when out in the pub;
- secretly chuffing smokes when my wife was at netball, wearing gloves so that I didn't get smelly hands;
- concocting stories about how my friends were smoking so "that's why I stink of it";
- finding family reunions difficult to deal with without blatantly smoking and having to disappear to make "phone calls"

Ultimately I realised that I had not really stopped smoking, despite not smoking that much (around 20 cigs a week), and when introduced to e-cigs thought it might be an alternative.

So I now have a ROK Legend ego-style e-cig and I love it, and have not touched a normal smoke despite many trips to the pub and much beer. What concerns do I have? Here's a few:

- I may start to vape more than I smoked. My nicotine addiction may actually increase. Is this good or bad? Don't know.
- What are the products of vaporising PG, VG and flavouring? Has anyone analysed the vapour yet? I'm not so worried about this, as it must surely be less than cigs.
- What are the effects of vaporised glycerine on your teeth? Against most stereotypical information out there, British teeth aren't as bad as people think. I don't want to rot mine.
- What are the effects on my life insurance as a non-smoker? Is vaping considered as smoking?
- Will they be banned? I hope not. I will be buying a mod soon so that I can simply rebuild mine. With a 3D printer if necessary. They can't get me then.

Thanks for listening to my rant. Happy vaping!

 

[Dakota Jim]

glad you are making the switch

In regards to nicotine - get some low mg nic and some 0 nic - I started at 24mg and am currently at 2mg

no long term studies regarding effects of vaping pg,vg and flavorings but there is common consensus that it is still less harmful than all of the chemicals in cigarettes

It doesn't stain your teeth like tobacco does but some new vapors have sensitive and/or bleeding gums within the first several weeks (I can't remember what causes this right off the top of my head)

You are no longer "smoking" vaping is not smoking, however some health insurance companies are testing for nic levels in your blood stream (my former employer is doing this and if you show levels similar to a smoker they will make you pay a higher percentage of the insurance)

and it seems like the EU is trying to ban them (big pharma, big tobacco and (it seems like) the entire health care system do not want to lose all the $$$ they make off of smokers and their health problems)

oh, and welcome to the ECF

 

[PgLover]

Thanks Jim, I think I will go for the low-nic liquids as I think it is the act of smoking I am trying to replace more than the nicotine need itself. Currently on a nice peach 11 mg one which is pretty good. I assume there are no consequences of admitting to liking fruit flavours on this forum *invites abuse*

I wonder how quickly nicotine is metabolised by the system?

Regarding the teeth question, isn't PG simply liquid/vapourised sugar? I brush and floss (get me), but still think that the vapour must condense into some form of sugar on your teeth? Who knows. On the face of it, I can personally prevent tooth decay better than I can prevent the multitude of awful diseases that analogs give.

Cheers!

 

[happydave]

"My nicotine addiction may actually increase" Nicotine and its Metabolites are not known to be carcinogenic. so whatever keeps you off the analogs is your best bet... when i started vaping i was using 10 analog cigs a day. i got 18 MG per mL liquid and would take about 10-20 big lungs hit and that was enough to keep the cravings at bay for a few hours. it will be different for everyone. now i use 2.5 MG per mL and take about 10-20 big hits every 2 hours or so... and have a decent buzz. when im not at work i tend to find my self chain vaping and because its not really that bad for you i dont really care.

the best thing for you is clean fresh air. i dont think vaping is a totally safe thing to do. but my gut feeling is that vaping is a lot better than smoking by far. i dont really want to stop vaping so i have never tried to cut down to ZERO nicotine.

 

[happydave]

Thanks Jim, I think I will go for the low-nic liquids as I think it is the act of smoking I am trying to replace more than the nicotine need itself. Currently on a nice peach 11 mg one which is pretty good. I assume there are no consequences of admitting to liking fruit flavours on this forum *invites abuse*

I wonder how quickly nicotine is metabolised by the system?

Regarding the teeth question, isn't PG simply liquid/vapourised sugar? I brush and floss (get me), but still think that the vapour must condense into some form of sugar on your teeth? Who knows. On the face of it, I can personally prevent tooth decay better than I can prevent the multitude of awful diseases that analogs give.

Cheers!

Nicotine mainly turns into Cotinine (takes about 2 hours before all the nicotine is metabolized) . cotinine hangs around in your system for a week or so.. cotinine is what they test for when trying to see if someone is a smoker.

 

[happydave]

since your in the UK check out this website i buy from there US counter-part all the time... they have genuine products from some of the industries leading manufactures... including Boge, kangertecc, joyetech, SmokTech. just to name a few. you will spend a little bit more with Totally Wicked but you know your getting quality products that will last you a long time and customer service is top notch.. Electronic Cigarettes | E Cigs | E Liquid - Totally Wicked

 

[ccubed]

Welcome to the world of vaping and I can relate to part of your story. I was a closet smoker every time I quit and then restarted. I'd hide it for a couple of weeks then just admit that I started smoking again. Had to do with shame, blame and guilt over smoking and not being able to quit successfully. That is a miserable cycle to live with. Since I've been vaping and no longer smoke, that cycle has been broken (I hope for the last time, but am taking it a day at a time).

As has been said, I don't think there are any long term studies available because vaping is a relatively recent phenomenon. However, Professor Igor Burstyn recently did a study about vaping. The link is: http://publichealth.drexel.edu/~/media/Files/publichealth/ms08.ashx and I think this info is available somewhere in this forum. I hope you find the article helpful. Before I started vaping I read a ton to be sure I was not switching from smoking to something just as harmful to my health. Everything I read was either fear based of things not proven (the "we don't know" so don't do it, while knowing that smoking kills) or seemed very political in nature. Since I could find nothing that proved that vaping is worse than smoking, I felt comfortable switching from smoking to vaping. And it has been fantastic !! I hope you find the study helpful.

I've only been vaping for a few months, and I feel so much better. More breath and just an overall sense of health and well being. I'll get a better idea with my next annual physical.

Again, welcome to ECF and the world of vaping.

 

[Free6413]

If you were able to use analogs as "needed" then a lower nicotine level will probably do for you. No matter what you may pay for insurance because of the trace nicotine levels they may find will most certainly be outweighed by the money saved buying those "coffin nails". I have only been vaping for a month and actually have seen my bank account grow. Not to mention the ability to vap when you want, where you want. My sense of smell, taste for foods and just all around feeling better after 35+ years at 2+ PPD exceeded my expectations. Keep up the fight and don't worry about vapor being like smoking......it isn't! Find your comfort zone and go with it!