Poll Instructions:
Your answer should be based on what you drink most often while you are vaping or within half an hour before vaping.
If your drink of choice is not listed below, please post and I will try to find out what pH it is. If it's a commercial drink, be sure to include the brand! I will also add it to the list below.
Neutral drinks (pH 6.6 to 7.5):
Mildly acidic drinks (pH 5.1 to 6.5):
Explanation:
I have a little hypothesis I'd like to test.
Some people seem to absorb more nicotine from the e-cig than others. This is well-established on the forums, where some former 3 or 4 pack a day smokers can use 18mg or 24mg liquid without problems, while others who smoked fewer cigarettes struggle with 36 or 48mg liquid.
It's also believed (though not by everyone) that most of the nicotine in vapor is absorbed through the mouth and throat.
It is an established fact that tinkering with the pH of oral tobacco (like Swedish snus) changes -- drastically! -- the amount of nicotine that is absorbed through the oral mucosa. In snus, a change from 8.0 to 8.5 pH amounts to a difference between about 50% of the nicotine being "active" (usable through the oral mucosa) to about 80% of the nicotine being active.
I propose that not only is much of the nicotine from vapor absorbed through the mouth and throat, but that the pH of an individual user's saliva can greatly affect how much nicotine is absorbed. Ideally, I'd buy a big vial of pH strips and mail out 3 or 4 to everyone interested in participating, but I don't have the money to spare (probably $50 or so for postage and the strips). Instead, I'm making a poll to ask about what you typically drink while you're using your e-cig.
It's not as scientific as I'd like, but I'd like to see if there's a trend...
Background:
Personally, when I was using the e-cig alone, I could literally breathe through the thing (without ever taking a breath between drags) all day long without stopping except to use the bathroom or take a shower. I was using 48mg juice, dripping, and burned out 901 atomizers in a couple of days... I had to keep five separate chargers running to keep enough batteries going.
Then I switched to Swedish snus as my primary source of nicotine and for a while I didn't bother with the e-cig. When I needed a "boost" of nicotine, I used nasal snuff. Unfortunately, I was forced to stop using nasal snuff for a few months because the medication I was on (100mg prednisone/day) suppressed my immune system and using nasal snuff caused a severe sinus infection.
Unfortunately, that meant to maintain my sanity (I have a HEFTY nicotine tolerance), I had to go back to smoking about half a pack a day (from my original 2 to 3 packs a day).
Then I gave the e-cig another try because my brother gave me an M401 as a Christmas gift. Best gift ever (if you're reading this, kc0cmp, I love the mug and enjoyed the wine and candy too!
). The M401 solved all of the problems I personally had with using an e-cig, but more importantly, I discovered something interesting. If I had a snus portion in my mouth when I used it, even 24mg liquid was *actually working*... in fact, I only need to take 6 or 8 good long drags before I want to set it down for a while.
Meanwhile, my brother transitioned easily from smoking 3 or 4 packs a day to the e-cig, using 24mg juice, without problems. But what was the difference between he and I?
Partially, I think the habit was more of an issue for him than me. I didn't have that much of an attachment to the hand-to-mouth or rituals of smoking, but I do have a very high nicotine tolerance and dependence. Partially, I think the "other stuff" (harmaline, etc.) in whole tobacco is something I am more dependent on than he is. Partially, I think that he was more motivated to quit smoking than I ever was. For me, the e-cig and other reduced harm products are primarily a way to cut down on spending. Other benefits, like the huge health benefits of not smoking traditional cigarettes, improved sense of smell and taste, improved athletic endurance (not applicable to me at all, unfortunately), not smelling like an ashtray and (my favorite!) not having to clean up spilled ashes are just bonuses. So I went into this, in August 2009, hoping to spend less money by replacing as many cigarettes as reasonable with the e-cig.
But I don't think that fully explains why my brother could switch to vaping with 24mg liquid even though I was incapable of going a full day without a cigarette on 48mg liquid. Not only that, he reported getting a "nicotine buzz" if he used 36mg... and he wasn't using a mod or "hot burning" e-cig (like the 510) at the time. He started out with a 901 and switched to a KR808D-1 a month or so later. I bought a KR808D-1 myself and it didn't help. 48mg liquid was STILL not enough to fully cover my nicotine dependence.
Not only that, but getting a mouthful of 48mg juice didn't affect me either. I didn't bother to spit it out (after the first time, when I kind of freaked out).
So what was different between my brother and I? And why did it change when I used snus?
SALIVA pH!!!
My brother drinks filtered tap water (pH about 7, give or take) most of the time. I never drink water. I haven't had more than a tiny sip of plain water in 26 years. I drink copious amounts of diet soda with a pH of about 2.5 to 3. (Please, let's save any off-topic discussion of any health effects this practice *might* have for an off-topic section of ECF.)
In any case, I drink diet soda all day long without ever really stopping. The medications I take cause me to have a dry mouth and I consume two or three two liters of diet soda each day. There's no doubt this greatly acidifies my saliva, thus preventing nicotine from being absorbed through the mouth and throat. Snus changes this because it is high pH (about 8.5 for the brands I use).
--K
Your answer should be based on what you drink most often while you are vaping or within half an hour before vaping.
If your drink of choice is not listed below, please post and I will try to find out what pH it is. If it's a commercial drink, be sure to include the brand! I will also add it to the list below.
Neutral drinks (pH 6.6 to 7.5):
- Water (tap, bottled, filtered.. any plain water)
- Milk
- Home-brewed tea without lemon
Mildly acidic drinks (pH 5.1 to 6.5):
- Coffee (with or without cream, milk, sugar, creamer)
- Tea with lemon
- Sierra Mist (and Diet Sierra Mist)
- Mountain Dew Code Red (Diet Mountain Dew Code Red)
- Pepsi One
- Fresca
- Diet 7Up
- All orange soda and diet orange soda
- All root beer and diet root beer
- All creme soda and diet creme soda
- v8 and V8 Splash
- Nestea bottled tea
- Snapple bottled tea
- Orange juice
- Pineapple juice
- Regular grape juice (not white grape juice)
- Apple juice
- Pear juice
- All Juicy Juice blends
- All soda except those listed above.
- Lemonade and limeade
- Cranberry juice and cranberry juice cocktail
- White grape juice
- Grapefruit juice
- Gatorade
- Powerade
- SoBe bottled drinks
- Lipton bottled tea
- Sunny Delight, Capri Sun, Hi-C and similar drinks
- Tang
Explanation:
I have a little hypothesis I'd like to test.
Some people seem to absorb more nicotine from the e-cig than others. This is well-established on the forums, where some former 3 or 4 pack a day smokers can use 18mg or 24mg liquid without problems, while others who smoked fewer cigarettes struggle with 36 or 48mg liquid.
It's also believed (though not by everyone) that most of the nicotine in vapor is absorbed through the mouth and throat.
It is an established fact that tinkering with the pH of oral tobacco (like Swedish snus) changes -- drastically! -- the amount of nicotine that is absorbed through the oral mucosa. In snus, a change from 8.0 to 8.5 pH amounts to a difference between about 50% of the nicotine being "active" (usable through the oral mucosa) to about 80% of the nicotine being active.
I propose that not only is much of the nicotine from vapor absorbed through the mouth and throat, but that the pH of an individual user's saliva can greatly affect how much nicotine is absorbed. Ideally, I'd buy a big vial of pH strips and mail out 3 or 4 to everyone interested in participating, but I don't have the money to spare (probably $50 or so for postage and the strips). Instead, I'm making a poll to ask about what you typically drink while you're using your e-cig.
It's not as scientific as I'd like, but I'd like to see if there's a trend...
Background:
Personally, when I was using the e-cig alone, I could literally breathe through the thing (without ever taking a breath between drags) all day long without stopping except to use the bathroom or take a shower. I was using 48mg juice, dripping, and burned out 901 atomizers in a couple of days... I had to keep five separate chargers running to keep enough batteries going.
Then I switched to Swedish snus as my primary source of nicotine and for a while I didn't bother with the e-cig. When I needed a "boost" of nicotine, I used nasal snuff. Unfortunately, I was forced to stop using nasal snuff for a few months because the medication I was on (100mg prednisone/day) suppressed my immune system and using nasal snuff caused a severe sinus infection.
Unfortunately, that meant to maintain my sanity (I have a HEFTY nicotine tolerance), I had to go back to smoking about half a pack a day (from my original 2 to 3 packs a day).
Then I gave the e-cig another try because my brother gave me an M401 as a Christmas gift. Best gift ever (if you're reading this, kc0cmp, I love the mug and enjoyed the wine and candy too!
). The M401 solved all of the problems I personally had with using an e-cig, but more importantly, I discovered something interesting. If I had a snus portion in my mouth when I used it, even 24mg liquid was *actually working*... in fact, I only need to take 6 or 8 good long drags before I want to set it down for a while.Meanwhile, my brother transitioned easily from smoking 3 or 4 packs a day to the e-cig, using 24mg juice, without problems. But what was the difference between he and I?
Partially, I think the habit was more of an issue for him than me. I didn't have that much of an attachment to the hand-to-mouth or rituals of smoking, but I do have a very high nicotine tolerance and dependence. Partially, I think the "other stuff" (harmaline, etc.) in whole tobacco is something I am more dependent on than he is. Partially, I think that he was more motivated to quit smoking than I ever was. For me, the e-cig and other reduced harm products are primarily a way to cut down on spending. Other benefits, like the huge health benefits of not smoking traditional cigarettes, improved sense of smell and taste, improved athletic endurance (not applicable to me at all, unfortunately), not smelling like an ashtray and (my favorite!) not having to clean up spilled ashes are just bonuses. So I went into this, in August 2009, hoping to spend less money by replacing as many cigarettes as reasonable with the e-cig.
But I don't think that fully explains why my brother could switch to vaping with 24mg liquid even though I was incapable of going a full day without a cigarette on 48mg liquid. Not only that, he reported getting a "nicotine buzz" if he used 36mg... and he wasn't using a mod or "hot burning" e-cig (like the 510) at the time. He started out with a 901 and switched to a KR808D-1 a month or so later. I bought a KR808D-1 myself and it didn't help. 48mg liquid was STILL not enough to fully cover my nicotine dependence.
Not only that, but getting a mouthful of 48mg juice didn't affect me either. I didn't bother to spit it out (after the first time, when I kind of freaked out).
So what was different between my brother and I? And why did it change when I used snus?
SALIVA pH!!!
My brother drinks filtered tap water (pH about 7, give or take) most of the time. I never drink water. I haven't had more than a tiny sip of plain water in 26 years. I drink copious amounts of diet soda with a pH of about 2.5 to 3. (Please, let's save any off-topic discussion of any health effects this practice *might* have for an off-topic section of ECF.)
In any case, I drink diet soda all day long without ever really stopping. The medications I take cause me to have a dry mouth and I consume two or three two liters of diet soda each day. There's no doubt this greatly acidifies my saliva, thus preventing nicotine from being absorbed through the mouth and throat. Snus changes this because it is high pH (about 8.5 for the brands I use).
--K
