NRT User for 2 months

[paparoni]

I have been using Nicotrol Inhaler for the last two months as a stop smoking aid. I have not cheated or fallen off the wagon. In fact, I think that I have become addicted to Nicotrol Inhaler instead which is OK in my book for a 40 year smoker. I also tried two brands of disposable e-cigs to see how I would like them and found them to be an acceptable alternative. Maybe too acceptable.

I found a lengthier post in the NRT forum about Nicotrol Inhaler which I was attempting to post to and ask my question, but could not due to newbie limits, so maybe can ask it here.

Firstly, I do not want to start smoking again - nor do I think that I would like to take up vaping either. I am happy enough with the inhaler, except for two issues. 1. needs doctor's script in USA and 2. very expensive if not getting prescription assistance. My medical did actually pay for three boxes of the inhalers (I was surprised) and I can get an additional three boxes on same script. I am going through a 168 dose box per month, which equates to one of the 6 dose cards daily.

My question is, I have been saving the spent nicotine cartridges and was wondering if anyone could advise whether I could develop a recipe to "drip refill" the catridges rather than have to buy them from Pfizer. Since I am used to the sort of medicinal taste of the Nicotrol cartridges which I understand contain pure nicotine + menthol, I would be looking to find a liquid refill recipe. I was intially drawn to this board from all of the amateur recipe traders.

There was some talk about the reverse of that theory (vaping the Nicotrol juice) in this post: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/nicotine-replacement-therapy/648-nicotine-inhalator.html

In any event, HI and glad to meet all of you!

 

[hairball]

I can't answer your question but I can tell you that once you get to 5 posts, you can post in any forum. Sorry for the newbie rules but they are there for trolling reasons. We all had to go through it. I wish you luck in getting your questions answered.

 

[ShannonA]

I can't either but I wish you the best of luck in your search for an answer and your quit!

 

[CES]

I don't know if you can refill either...but i *think* that the inhaler delivers by aerosol rather than vaporization. So if if you can refill, regular e-liquid probably won't work the same way.

Welcome to ECF, i hope that you find the answers that you're looking for.

 

[Boodle]

Congrats on finding an alternative to smoking that works for you. You'll need to make several posts here in the noob section, then you're free to post elsewhere. Hope you find all that you seek. There's a lot of info here and people ready to help.

 

[paparoni]

No, CES - the Nicotrol inhalers have no mechanical parts. You just suck the nicotine out of the cartridges manually.

 

[CES]

eh...see how much i know.

 

[Puffadder]

I doubt you could reliably replicate the dosages. I just looked up the particulars and the nicotine appears to be water based with menthol added and is formulated as a cold vaping system. The PV's we all use are hot vape systems and the niquids we use are designed for use in a hot vape system.

I personally think you would be asking for trouble in even attempting to do this.

Do you mind if I ask why vaping does not appeal to you?

 

[WomanOfHeart]

I seriously doubt that you would be able to refill the Nicotrol cartridges because the primary reagent in them is Pyridine. E-cigs use Proylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerine to deliver the nicotine and are activated by heat. Nicotrol inhalers use a system that isn't heat dependent, much like asthma inhalers.

 

[VictoryNotVengence]

if the Nicotrol inhaler replacements are so expensive, why not use an e-cig instead. They are very cheap, I've saved over $1000 a year for the last 2 years over tobacco ciggs.

 

[Ralikar]

This is the kind of thing that will get vaping banned! and get e-juice prohibited! You are on a medical script and no one should be suggesting you circumvent that!

 

[ShannonA]

If I recall the OP stated he felt he liked the inhaler too much. That's likely part of his reasoning for not wanting to switch to these. If it is I'd have to agree it would be better he didn't switch for his purposes.

 

[bobsyeruncle]

All I got to say about that is Wow! I've heard the nicotine inhalers are pretty horrible.

You could certainly try e-cigs in addition to your inhaler. As far as I know, you're controlling the dosage, so it's not like e-cigs are going to mess up your prescription. However, if you're on anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication as well, you might mess up the nicotine-level sweet spot that keeps you stable.

 

[paparoni]

How I got this idea was the original post in the NRT section by somebody named TropicalBob who was prescribing a method for reviving "spent" Nicotrol inhalers to have around in cases where neither traditional smoking or vaping was allowed. I had visited a few supply sites which had unflavored nicotine juice available. I was wondering if the nicotine in the Nicotrol inhalers was just pure nicotine (I know it has menthol added) without any further flavorings. There seems to be a sort of alcohol taste when the cartridges are first broken.

 

[Newbz]

I understand where the OP is coming from. Nicotrol worked until the script ran out. Then it was back to smoking for me. As a long term solution to smoking cessation, Nicotrol is garbage IMHO.

With vaping, you can taper your nicotine use down to zero if you wish in a fashion that is tailor made for each individual. I think refilling a Nicotrol cartridge is a bad idea. You have no idea how the new ingredients will react with the left over additives in the cartridge, not to mention, it's a prescription so there may or may not be laws in play concerning the spent cartridges.

If OP is concerned about being addicted to nicotine, he/she should either bite the bullet and make a commitment to step down nicotine usage through other NRT products or purchase an e-cig with the sole interest of stepping down nicotine usage to zero.

Nicotrol is not designed or intended for long term use (or success, in my opinion) and Nicotrol is certainly not meant to be refilled.

Good luck to you, OP. There are a ton of options out there to help you kick the habit. I've found the support and info on this forum to be invaluable and I hope you do too.

 

[paparoni]

I can't believe ppl here are vaping just about everything they can think of, then worry that I'll be breaking some law to plain inhale some nicotine juice without burning it.

 

[Dee74]

I can't believe ppl here are vaping just about everything they can think of, then worry that I'll be breaking some law to plain inhale some nicotine juice without burning it.

I don't think anyone worries you will be breaking any law, they just don't want to see you kill yourself. It is just the thing you are thinking of doing that can lead to "accidents" sometimes fatal. But best of luck if you choose to follow this thinking

 

[bobsyeruncle]

Well, as far as "killing yourself" goes, I think it's far more likely that you might just get enough nicotine in sufficient concentration to make yourself really sick (or kill an infant).

As far as "getting vaping banned" goes, I don't the people who are trying to ban vaping really need a good reason. So, however people might "abuse nicotine", I'm not really worried about it. I live in Canada and I'm forced to fly under the radar as far as getting nicotine goes, anyway.

I don't have any experience with Nicotrol, so all I can do is wish you good luck with your research.

 

[WVvet]

I have a different idea for you maybe? Take up vaping 0 nicotine juice, and follow whatever the inhaler program is to step down the nicotine. Then you aren't adding any nic and should quickly be off the inhaler.
BTW I quit smoking for five months last year (my greatest success) with NRT lozenges but NEVER got below the original 15 or so a day you start out with. Picked up the cigs again like I had never quit. The difference with the e-cig experience is I DONT WANT TO SMOKE.