Smoking and oxygen

[Linda Marie]

I stopped at a store today where an elderly man - 70? - was sitting with an oxygen bottle and the tube in his nose and still smoking - I could smell it.
Would have been good for him if e-cigs were invented a couple of decades ago and he was willing to try them.

 

[Rosa]

I keep wondering about this though - could a spark from the battery ignite the oxygen?

 

[jj2]

Oxygen is used around all sorts of electronic things so I don't get too worried about it.
Of course, I've never had the occasion to try it out.

 

[WomanOfHeart]

I think a spark would only ignite the oxygen if there were enough of it in the surrounding air. I don't think he'd be that worried about it, considering that he smelled of cigarette smoke. My grandfather was like that; using an O2 tank and still hitting the pipe.

 

[Linda Marie]

sorry - i was not clear - he was smoking analogs.
I wanted to show him an e-cig but it might be too late and it was not a good time to talk to him as he was on the phone.
I aways thougt if i got COPD i would quit - dodged a bullet and found e-cigs

 

[RogueRyder]

How often do your batts spark..BTW? Just askin

 

[paulc35]

Ok peeps. Oxygen aids in combustion it doesn't burn itself, but will make a small flame a large one. This is why chronic lung disease patients that continue to smoke with a nasal cannula in their nose (oxygen) are playing with fire. (literally) If they happen to suck that cigarette down to the filter and there is enough oxygen present around their face (above room air concentration) they will often get a flash burn as the oxygen turns that little orange glow into a nice flash fire. Just long enough to burn their skin off around the nose and mouth and possibly inside their airway.....

 

[Rosa]

Yeah that's all I meant: I always thought I'd end up being that person with a cigarette in one hand and portable oxygen in the other. They end up in the hospital all the time for flash burns from smoking around their oxygen. I always feel like it's never too late to change your life, so if someone who's already on oxygen were to start vaping instead would flash burns still be a concern?

Man, I wish pulmonologists would get behind e-cigs and start handing out disposable kits or something.

 

[MoonRose]

Ok peeps. Oxygen aids in combustion it doesn't burn itself, but will make a small flame a large one. This is why chronic lung disease patients that continue to smoke with a nasal cannula in their nose (oxygen) are playing with fire. (literally) If they happen to suck that cigarette down to the filter and there is enough oxygen present around their face (above room air concentration) they will often get a flash burn as the oxygen turns that little orange glow into a nice flash fire. Just long enough to burn their skin off around the nose and mouth and possibly inside their airway.....

I worked Hospice for 5 years and one of the patients I cared for had done just this. She lived for 6 weeks after it happened in extreme pain with burns to her face, head, upper chest, right hand and airway.

 

[uba egar320]

Wasn't there a episode on Myth Busters about oxygen in a pilots helmet and hair product being very flammable when mixed? I wonder if there could be a reaction with ejuice and pure oxygen?

 

[NukeDOC]

we learned in the Navy never to mix liquid oxygen with grease... it explodes. i want to look up that myth busters episode now though.

 

[KINGCRABS]

I'm no expert but I work with, and have been trained in the dangers of compressed and piped in commercially pure Oxygen. Someone here already said it right, oxygen is not in itself flammable, rather it promotes rapid combustion. Anyone remember the little fire triangle from school? Fuel, Oxygen, and a source of ignition are all thats requiered to ignite a fire. The fuel could be any organic material, Oxygen in this case is provided from a pressurized tank, and the source of ignition is of course the cigarette. With high pressure Oxygen any kind of oils on the regulator itself are an excellent source of fuel, and the friction created as that regulator charges with high pressure oxygen would be all thats required for an explosive ignition. Oxygen saturation in clothing is also a very common source of fires, as even a slow seep of Oxygen around an individual will saturate any kind of knit fabric and all it would take is a stray spark to start a pretty hot, fast burning fire. But I guess if your still smoking with an oxygen bottle fire is the least of your concerns.