Vaping is it good for you...

[dirtybirdy]

I know this topic has pretty much been beat to death but I have started to wonder.

I have been cig free for over six months now and I still use 3mg juice. I was at my doctor the other day and asked him is vaping any better than smoking and he told me no it's not. I have also heard this from other doctors. They have all told me I am still considered a smoker.

I am thinking now about trying to get off vaping all together and switch to the gum because I still need the nicotine.

Has anyone else heard these things from their doctors?

 

[ReigntheGamer]

I told my doctor I was no longer smoking but I was vaping, and he said he would change my file to former smoker. I mentioned my plans to reduce my nicotine intake over time and he gave me a response I can appreciate which was when you get to zero quit vaping and that would be the best for me.

 

[smacksy]

I have COPD and when I told my doctor I quit smoking and started vaping he was delighted..
He stated indeed 0 nic would be great but vaping is still a lot healthier for me..I don't even use my inhaler much anymore either... and I feel a heck of alot better too!

sent from my Droid Maxx via Tapatalk

 

[Robino1]

The medical community is as divided as the rest of the population.

What are you going to the doctor for? Is there a condition that makes nicotine use worse for you?

I have run into doctors that dismiss vaping and I have run into doctors that think vaping is a fantastic tool to stop smoking.

I go by how I feel personally. No one else can tell me how I feel inside. They cannot feel the same way I do when I can exercise and not have to stop before the workout is finished, just to catch my breath. They cannot feel the way I no longer get sick every damn year from bronchitis.

You have to make the call on your own. Do you feel like it is harming you? Do you feel like you are improving overall?

You have to make the decision to either listen to your doctor or find one that is more open to non traditional (read non FDA approved) methods of quitting smoking.

Only you can make the choice for yourself.

 

[ReigntheGamer]

That's a great point and for the first time I can ever remember I took my puppy for a run/walk yesterday and she got tired before me. To me that speaks volumes when I used to get out of breath walking around the house while talking on the phone.

 

[tj99959]

NO, I don't think vaping is "good" for you. Neither is going outside on a "bad air" day.

I do think that vaping is a hell of a lot better than smoking. My personal opinion is that inhaling nicotine is better than ingesting nicotine (gum & lozenges). What good does protecting the lungs do if you destroy your stomach in the process.

 

[Danrogers]

My doctor was almost jumping for joy when I told him I had quit smoking and was vaping, I also said that I had cut my nic level in half and was aiming at 0% nic. I thought I would receive another pat on the back, instead he pointed out that in small doses nicotine is good for you. We have discussed it more since then and he is not saying that vaping is good for you but the alternative smoking is so much worse. I am Canadian so I am a bystander when it comes to proposed legislation from your State and city governments, but I believe you are naive if you believe you can win the fight to stop such laws being inacted, for gods sake you live in the USA the lobby Capital of the world. In my country city's are treating vaping as if it were smoking, I believe it is the non smokers vote being heard, anyone who doesn't vape knows little or nothing about vaping, why should they, did you before you started to vape. I didn't. Education is the only way we can win the hearts and minds in this battle, more positive stories on the news would go a long way to stem the tied and curb the tide of legislation. In Canada people are beginning to hear more positive things about vaping ,infact one or two of our Provinces leaders have stated publicly that vaping is a positve way to stop smoking. You need someone with deep pockets In the US to bank role a vaping is better than Smoking campaign with no second hand smoke effects. Once the average voter knows the true story we win, but let's face it vaping cannot go on without any regulations, milk is regulated.

 

[choochoogranny]

Dirtybirdy, will you please go to CASAA.org and read up on all the studies and tests done so far. There is a lot of information there that could calm your mind, and perhaps print out a few of the studies to give to your doc. next time you visit. A lot of doctors don't understand vaping and are extremely ill informed or the only thing they've seen has been the scary, bogus reports on TV.

 

[HecticEnergy]

Even the recent "negative" studies have shown that vaping is safer than smoking. The guy who did the study with the mice said something to the effect of: Vaping is not "safe" but it is safer than smoking based on the study.
The formaldehyde study showed that using clearos an a manner that didnt essentially burn the clearo produced very low levels of formaldehyde - much lower than that contained in cigarette smoke.

We need more research to see what the true effects are. All indications that I've seen so far is that it is quite a bit less hazardous to your health than smoking cigarettes. If nothing else, the larger vapor particles do far less damage than the smaller smoke particles.

A while a go on here a member said that their doctor was pushy about how bad vaping was for him, so he switched doctors. Maybe do some research and bring it to your doctor to see if he changes his/her mind? It couldn't hurt to have another from the medical community on our side

 

[T4T3Z0R]

The formaldehyde study showed that using clearos an a manner that didnt essentially burn the clearo produced very low levels of formaldehyde - much lower than that contained in cigarette smoke.

Ugh. yes, so low that they decided not even to measure for it. that study has been misquoted to death. they measured for formaldehyde hemiacetal not formaldehyde. they never really gave a reason as to why but one can assume because they never found any actual formaldehyde.

 

[Rickajho]

You must have some old farty doctors. (Or they gets lot's of visits - and free samples - from BP sales people.) My cardiologist, GP and allergist all know I quit smoking and started vaping. Two of the three MD's did a "fun with maths" session about the nicotine intake. They all have a big problem with smoking - not so much with vaping. (None really - they are much happy with my continued quit smoking success after smoking non-stop for 30 years.)

Although your question is a bit slanted - "Is it good for you" - none of them is about to equate vaping with smoking either. My medical records have said for nearly three years now "ex-smoker" - because vaping is not smoking. (And it's policy that you have to be off the smokes for a full year before they will change that status in your records.)

 

[slinco]

Simple quick opinion--a lot of doctors are idiots.
The medical profession has its share of goofballs just like any other business-plumbers, lawyers whatever.

 

[LiquidElectron]

Hey all I know is after a bit more than two weeks, I can take a flight of stairs without panting for breath for five minutes after. So it might not be 'good' for me but it sure as heck isn't all that 'bad' is it? I can smell smoke from about 28 miles away now and it makes me queasy.

If vaping turns out to be 'bad' well, I'm already stepping my nic down, and in theory should be at 0 by the end of April. If they start taxing/regulating/much less proving anything, I'll be in good shape to put it down.

For the record, my doc is over the freakin' moon that I quit smoking and went to vaping. He cares little about the nic. My doc, my BP and my lungs are already thanking me for doing this 'bad' stuff.

 

[OlderNDirt]

Medications prescribed by doctors, are they "good for you"?

I can't remember the last time I saw an advertisement for a medication that didn't include a long list of possible side effects, many of which are or could be quite serious. Then there are ads from lawyers recruiting "trial subjects" that ever used certain prescription drugs. My cardiologist gave me a prescription for a quit smoking drug that I researched and threw in the trash. He didn't seem to have a problem with that. I asked him shortly after my first heart attack which was going to kill me quicker, smoking or extremely high stress at work. His response? "You're asking me to condone smoking." Almost 20 years ago, he said "we're trying to buy you 15 years." 3 years ago, he said "We must be doing something right!", and I hadn't quit smoking yet. I could go on and on (I know, I already have), but will just end my rant with:

If you wake up in the morning vowing to only do what is "good for you", how do you plan on spending your life?

 

[HecticEnergy]

...(And it's policy that you have to be off the smokes for a full year before they will change that status in your records.)

I think that is because the success rate of APPROVED NRTs are dismal at best (something like 2% after the first year, i think I read)

 

[robertr]

I agree Slinco, just like the one who said my mother had cancer, she didn't.

 

[Firestorm]

I don't think that vaping is "good" for you - I imagine that the best thing for your lungs is clean and unpolluted air. My doctor doesn't necessarily support vaping over other NRTs, just as long as I'm not smoking cigarettes.

I just started running on a treadmill regularly again and I experience no wheezing or shortness of breath like when I used to run when I was smoking cigarettes. My lungs feel healthier than they have in a very long time. As a smoker I used to regularly cough up gunk in the shower first thing in the morning; that stopped about six months after I quit smoking and was strictly vaping.

 

[VHRB2014]

The Big Thing nowadays, at least in the medical field, is second opinions.

 

[Rickajho]

I think that is because the success rate of APPROVED NRTs are dismal at best (something like 2% after the first year, i think I read)

Yeah, that - and why it's policy at most health care facilities that they won't change your status in your records for a year.

And don't BS the issue either - you are an ex-smoker, not a non-smoker. The implications of years or decades of smoking don't just drop off your personal medical planet overnight. There are valid medical reasons for you to be declared an ex-smoker in your records for a very long time after you have quit.

 

[gpjoe]

My cardiologist suggested I try cig-a-likes as a cessation aid.