Nicotine intake up 58%!?

[MarcE]

Ok so I have a question I’m sure has been raised a couple of times;

I’ve been vapping for at least 5/6 months now and absolutely love it, but I was thinking back to my days of smoking and the quantity I smoked. Now, I wasn’t a heavy smoker by any means and would get through about 3 x 12.5g packs of golden Virginia a week using filters. I’m curious as to how much nicotine I would have been in taking when smoking this quantity of tobacco in comparison to the amount I vape in a week.

So now to my very rusty maths comparison

If one tobacco cig is around 1.0mg of nicotine and I got around 25 cigs to a pouch of tobacco I was smoking around 75 cigs a week, so that’s 75mg of nicotine.

As far as I can tell I vape around 10ml of 18mg e-juice a week. So if there’s 18mg per ml of liquid I’m now in taking around 180mg of nicotine (10ml x 18mg)

This is an alarming increase in nicotine intake of 58%!! Can this really be correct?

 

[vape4life]

Yes. It most certainly is correct. That is the amount in the smoke and vapor. But the degree to which it is absorbed (through the lungs and mucosa) is an unknown. Maybe the juice is BETTER absorbed than smoke, which would mean more than 58% increase, or maybe it is less absorbed, which would mean less.

The nicotine in the vapor is aerosolized in PG (or VG) droplets. Whether this increases or decreases the amount to which it gets into system (not exhaled) can't really be known.

But, the nicotine intake shouldn't concern you too much. The important thing is that you are not inhaling carcinogens.

 

[jamie]

If one tobacco cig is around 1.0mg of nicotine and I got around 25 cigs to a pouch of tobacco I was smoking around 75 cigs a week, so that’s 75mg of nicotine.

I'm not aware of measurements here on the forum that apply to RYO pouch tobacco - might have missed them. Is that from your actual tobacco package? If you are using an average filter cigarette number you could be way off with your beginning assumption. Just checking.

As a for instance: "Less than one in ten cigarette brands in the UK has a declared nicotine yield above 1.5mg per cigarette in laboratory tests. Over three quarters of the RYO cigarettes in the study produced a nicotine yield above this level."

the nicotine intake shouldn't concern you too much.

I disagree pretty strongly with this.

 

[Denni]

Apparently, vaping delivers less nic per drag than inhaling the analog equivalent (but I haven't got a link to the data. On the other hand, people tend to vape more. I would not feel repelled when taking a drag on my hubby's analog if I wasn't taking in too much nicotine from vaping my penstyles at home.

Saying that, even with 36mg juice, I still feel a craving for an analog when going out with only the minis, so it's also a matter of performance and smoking style. I tend to puff more on the minis to get the atomisers going and draw more deeply on the penstyles.

Puffing is better if you're concerned about taking in too much nicotine. Just treat the things as if they were pipes or cigars

 

[Denni]

This reminds me: the data for nic inhalation came from a link or a pdf somebody posted in one of the threads. There are other files available, such as lab test results, spread sheets and news articles but they are hard to sniff out.

Maybe there is a way to have a file repository or a list of links? I think the wiki will provide that function as it grows, so it would be easy to point people to the place

 

[DuneBuggy]

I was a pack a day ULTRA LIGHT analog smoker and even with 18 mg fluid, felt a little "nicotine malnurished" the first week or so untill I adjusted.
A few drags on a reg cigarette confirmed this for me after my first couple days of vaping.

And I dont supliment analogs. I only vape.

 

[Nuck]

The numbers are flawed. The rating for cigarettes is the amount that is absorbed into your bloodstream with an absorption efficiency of about 10%. The actual cigarette contains 10 times more nicotine than you take in.

We don't know what percentage of nicotine gets absorbed from vaping so there is no way to do a comparison. Until someone finds some published data the calculations are a best guess.

I think it IS safe to say you are not getting anywhere near 100% absorption.

 

[MonkeyMonk]

A possible suggestion would be to try vaping using 2 different atomizers. 1 with 0 nic and 1 with nic juice for when the discomfort arises. Just put a marker checkmark on one so you can tell them apart.

This will assist you in assertaining your level of nic addiction, reducing cost of ejuice and prolonging your supply of ejuice.

I haven't totally switch over, but plan to do so as soon as my analogs run out. And, this is the plan that I will be using. Right now, I refill my cart with 0 and when discomfort arises I add 1-2 drops of nic. Currently, I find that I can go pretty long before needing to add a drop or two of nic juice.

 

[ChainSmkr]

Apparently, vaping delivers less nic per drag than inhaling the analog equivalent (but I haven't got a link to the data. On the other hand, people tend to vape more

This is what I have read too. So using 18mg juice doesn't necessarily translate into a vaper getting the full 18mg of nic per drag. However, like Denni also pointed out, we tend to vape more because there is no visible means of knowing when to stop vaping (like an analog).

Bottom line, I think it is very likely that you have actually inceased your nic intake and its good that you have noticed it. Try to keep decreasing the nic strength you use from month to month to beat the addiction.

 

[Nuck]

This is what I have read too. So using 18mg juice doesn't necessarily translate into a vaper getting the full 18mg of nic per drag. However, like Denni also pointed out, we tend to vape more because there is no visible means of knowing when to stop vaping (like an analog).

Bottom line, I think it is very likely that you have actually inceased your nic intake and its good that you have noticed it. Try to keep decreasing the nic strength you use from month to month to beat the addiction.

In MarcE's case though she knows exactly how much liquid she was vaping a week, so it's easy to know the theoretical max. Now if we only had an average absorption ratio we'd be set.

One thing I didn't even notice was the 58%. Not trying to alarm you but if you go from 75mg to 180mg you have increased by 140%. 2.4 times higher.

 

[ChainSmkr]

The numbers are flawed.

Yes, I've even heard that the smoking machines used to measure tar/nic content of an analog are not an exact science. The arguments being that (1) every smoker has a unique draw and (2) some inhale while others don't. Combine that with the exterior analog filters that I use and you get even less tar/nic. I don't know what my level of nic addiction is but at least I have a ballpark calculation.

 

[MarcE]

Great to know, thanks for your replies. I suppose without knowing any actual figures about the absorption of nicotine from an e-cig we aren’t going to know. However, like many other people it did take a bit of adjustment when changing to e-cigs like still having a *thirst* for an analogue cig. I can only hope this was due to a decrease in nicotine in the body. My concern is however if I am in taking more nicotine what on earth are the repercussions of this, I’m sure it cannot be as bad as an analogue I wouldn’t be feeling as healthy as I do now otherwise.

Nuck, you are correct in saying my percentage was way off, I calculated it wrong lol!! It really is an alarming 140%!!!! I’m also not a female lol

 

[MARK4567]

So now to my very rusty maths comparison

If one tobacco cig is around 1.0mg of nicotine and I got around 25 cigs to a pouch of tobacco I was smoking around 75 cigs a week, so that’s 75mg of nicotine.

As far as I can tell I vape around 10ml of 18mg e-juice a week. So if there’s 18mg per ml of liquid I’m now in taking around 180mg of nicotine (10ml x 18mg)

This is an alarming increase in nicotine intake of 58%!! Can this really be correct?

Your math is a little rusty...or mine is!!!
you take 100ml of liquid and add 1.8% pure nicotine=18mg liquid (3.6%=36mg etc)
Divide 100ml (@ 18mg solution) into 1ml=.18mg per 1ml
10ml per week=18mg total nicotine intake

 

[LuckySevens4U]

I was a pack a day ULTRA LIGHT analog smoker and even with 18 mg fluid, felt a little "nicotine malnurished" the first week or so untill I adjusted.
A few drags on a reg cigarette confirmed this for me after my first couple days of vaping.

And I dont supliment analogs. I only vape.

I STRONGLY feel we are not NICOTINE malnurished. I was a pack a day smoker steady and I ONLY vape 11 and cut that. I do NOT go higher as many do. Our cravings are coming from the LOST CHEMICALS from tobacco we are not getting, not MORE nicotine. I think some people don't understand this and keep upping their nic. I really don't believe it's the nic that needs to be upped and we just have to get through those cravings. I'm STILL having them. When I vape 11 straight when I'm having them, all I get is a nic over dose and my head is spinning. I'm still craving analogs. It's the CHEMICALS we are NOT over with yet.

 

[Jaaxx]

The numbers are flawed. The rating for cigarettes is the amount that is absorbed into your bloodstream with an absorption efficiency of about 10%. The actual cigarette contains 10 times more nicotine than you take in.

We don't know what percentage of nicotine gets absorbed from vaping so there is no way to do a comparison. Until someone finds some published data the calculations are a best guess.

I think it IS safe to say you are not getting anywhere near 100% absorption.

Fantastic that people are paying attention! Yes, we do not know the absorption rate, which is why I push the "total conceivable nicotine" rate for calculation (ie the same that the OP is using (nic strength x ml per day).)

If it alarms you, cut back to a nic strength that brings the numbers back in line. You can't lose by doing this, unless you find that you have to go to analogs to make up the slack.

Jaaxx

 

[Jaaxx]

Your math is a little rusty...or mine is!!!
you take 100ml of liquid and add 1.8% pure nicotine=18mg liquid (3.6%=36mg etc)
Divide 100ml (@ 18mg solution) into 1ml=.18mg per 1ml
10ml per week=18mg total nicotine intake

Mine may be a little flawed as well, but you're making it a little too complicated IMHO. Simple example...

If you have 24mg juice, that is 24mg of nic per ml

1 ml = appx 20 drops.

So if you vape 20 drops in day, you could be getting 24mg of nicotine maximum (if we absorb 100% of the nic in the vapor.)

Jaaxx

 

[MARK4567]

Jaaxx your right

i'm wrong

 

[Starlight]

I was a pack a day ULTRA LIGHT analog smoker and even with 18 mg fluid, felt a little "nicotine malnurished" the first week or so untill I adjusted.
A few drags on a reg cigarette confirmed this for me after my first couple days of vaping.

And I dont supliment analogs. I only vape.

Me too, 2-3 packs a day of 0.1mg nic Ultra Light, without ever inhaling into my lungs.

A possible suggestion would be to try vaping using 2 different atomizers.

I haven't fully switched over either yet. That's what I did too, one atomiser for carts with 0 nic and one for carts with 11 nic and I was still using a pack a day of analogues. Then I accidentally tried some 18 mg (which I was cutting 50/50 before) and my use of analogues immediately dropped even further to half a pack, which took me a bit by surprise as I wasn't expecting it. So I now have 3 atomisers with the 3rd for 18 mg. I alternate between them all during the day. I've worked it out that half my usage is 0 mg per day or week, and the other half is a mix of the alternating between 11 and 18 mg. So, that would seem to be a lot more than my analogue intake of nic was when I was smoking 2-3 packs a day.

I STRONGLY feel we are not NICOTINE malnurished. I was a pack a day smoker steady and I ONLY vape 11 and cut that. I do NOT go higher as many do. Our cravings are coming from the LOST CHEMICALS from tobacco we are not getting, not MORE nicotine. I think some people don't understand this and keep upping their nic. I really don't believe it's the nic that needs to be upped and we just have to get through those cravings. I'm STILL having them. When I vape 11 straight when I'm having them, all I get is a nic over dose and my head is spinning. I'm still craving analogs. It's the CHEMICALS we are NOT over with yet.

I would agree that it might not all be due to nicotine but to some other ingredients, or I wouldn't still be having the few a day that I do. But, I did find that increasing the nic in my e-cigs helped me cut down analogues by a large amount. I've not once had any of the side-effects of a nic OD, yet I smoked such low nic analogues. I now only have about 5 or 6 a day, usually those morning ones and one after a meal and I don't crave analogues at all the rest of the time. Not once.

So none of it makes any sense to me

 

[flexy123]

The numbers are flawed. The rating for cigarettes is the amount that is absorbed into your bloodstream with an absorption efficiency of about 10%. The actual cigarette contains 10 times more nicotine than you take in.

We don't know what percentage of nicotine gets absorbed from vaping so there is no way to do a comparison. Until someone finds some published data the calculations are a best guess.

I think it IS safe to say you are not getting anywhere near 100% absorption.

thats funny, because i JUST read somewhere that vaping equals almost 99% of nicotine absorption!

Due to vaporization the liquid/nic enters the body more or less "directly". I also read that hardly any of it is exhaled again, so you can almost say that ALL of the nic in the fluid is actually going into the body.
Plus/Minus a SMALL amount which "puffs away" as otherwise is the case with a burning cig.

 

[Nuck]

thats funny, because i JUST read somewhere that vaping equals almost 99% of nicotine absorption!

Do you have a link?