What breaks down nicotine?

[Mohamed]

1.) I seem to get in trouble here by asking these kinds of questions but what breaks down nicotine? Does oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or something readily available in the air break down nicotine very quickly so that our "2nd hand" nicotine vapor doesn't reach the masses?

2.) I've hear a lot about soaking atomizers in rum or vodka. Does alcohol break down the nicotine or just break down the gunk that is left over and clogging the atomizer. What is the gunk that is left over?

3.) Should I soak my plastic tanks in rum/vodka or is a simple water wash good enough and let dry for a few hours?

I'm headed to bed and will read results in next few hours so don't get mad at me for not responding. I promise I'll be back to read and respond.

 

[calico21]

I 'm not sure why you get in trouble those seem like reasonable questions.
#1There isn't a lot of nicotine in what we actually vape per puff. Not much left to break down. But it just dissipates much faster than particulate matter(smoke), plus if we're not actually puffing it's not sitting there puff out vapor on its own(or at least it shouldn't be)LOL
#2 Just breaks down the left over, usually it's the sugars.
#3 I just use hot water
Hope that helps

 

[Knosis]

This is kind of a chemistry question. I may be able to help, but are we aloud to post that kind of info? You said you seem to get in trouble asking these kind of questions. I just want to be sure.

 

[calico21]

This is kind of a chemistry question. I know your answer, but are we aloud to post that kind of info? You said you seem to get in trouble asking these kind of questions. I just want to be sure.

I think your complicating it too much, see my post

 

[hazarada]

1. Over time air exposure will oxidize the nicotine but that doesn't change its effects on the human body (it enters the bloodstream in oxidized form anyway). Heat and light (as in what you might find indoors) will decompose nicotine into pointless compounds but very, very slowly (talking decades here for a significant effect). The 2nd hand vapor thing is more due to the fact that a lot of it is absorbed into the body quickly and upon exhale it disperses over such a wide area that its hard to even detect its presence.

2. Nicotine is soluble in ethanol so i guess vodka would clean it out pretty good.. all though the nicotine left inside an atty is such a small amount there is no real point. People usually do it to clean out the rest of the gunk which is.. kinda silly since the compounds eliquids leave behind are not low grade ethanol soluble and you might as well just use water. The gunk is mostly various carbohydrates. PS! dont use rum in any case, chances are it will leave even more sugar behind, lol.

3. Simple wash is good enough, dont even need to dry, just vape the water droplets!

 

[Knosis]

I think your complicating it too much, see my post

I agree, and you're right with water. I just wanted to be sure. I've been trying to find ways to make diff flavors.

 

[Mohamed]

This is kind of a chemistry question. I may be able to help, but are we aloud to post that kind of info? You said you seem to get in trouble asking these kind of questions. I just want to be sure.

That's exactly the kind of answers I want. If you got experience or lab tests results in this manner by all means answerer. I'm just curious how much of my 2nd hand nicotine actual reaches anyone or no one. If it dissipates in seconds cool if not I'd like to hear. I think this is where I get in trouble because I don't care about what the community wants to hear I want to know the truth. Either way I'm not here for an agenda but sometimes when these questions are asked it's like you are the anti-Christ in the vaping community for even asking them.

That may be a bit harsh but hopefully you get my point

 

[Mohamed]

Also I've dropped from 1.25 packs a day to maybe 1 cig every other day so I'm a big fan of vaping I just want to know all that I can.

 

[Mohamed]

I also got 2 atomizers and one tank sitting in 1/8 bottle of rum. Should I take the plastic tank out. I assume atomizers can sit there for a day or so.

 

[sidetrack]

If you are qualified to answer the question I see no reason not to. And by all means be specific. I for one am always ready to learn something new. But then again I am a Why(?) person.

 

[Knosis]

Are you looking to make a tobacco flavor, or pure nicotine?

I'm not a chemist. I play around with stuff, but that's about it.

You can already buy some pretty potent nicotine solutions. On a home scale, its not worth it from tobacco. The cigs I used to smoke. 1 pack advertised at 0.0316 grams of nicotine.

Flavoring is different. You have to consider anything you're doing as being edible, so that rules a lot of stuff out. Distilled water is probably the best, or ethanol if you can find it. Ethanol will dissolve the oils and fats in the tobacco, the water won't. The tobacco\ethanol could be mixed with VG or PG and it would carry everything over. The tobacco\water would carry over the nicotine but lack the oils and fats.

 

[Mohamed]

People usually do it to clean out the rest of the gunk which is.. kinda silly since the compounds eliquids leave behind are not low grade ethanol soluble and you might as well just use water. The gunk is mostly various carbohydrates. PS! dont use rum in any case, chances are it will leave even more sugar behind, lol.

You suggest a vodka or ever-clear base for cleaning...from what i read alcohol of any kind helps with cleaning the atomizer?

 

[Mohamed]

Are you looking to make a tobacco flavor, or pure nicotine?

No not really just looking for best way to clean atomizer and an excuse to give to others that my second hand "vapor" is not causing them any real nicotine inhalation. Why I was asking why what broke down nicotine. I know nicotine has a half life in the body but don't recall length of half life in the body. Was looking for a "hay my vape is 99% gone" by the time it reaches your lungs argument

 

[Talyon]

OP have u read the latest study done by CASAA?

If u haven't u should.

It answers your question in a scientific way pertaining to second hand Vaper. Il translate, NOT harmful to others.

But Plz read it for the technical jargon.

 

[Knosis]

I copied this from Science Madness. Credit to them.

Nicotine, C10H14N2. The pure alkaloid is a colourless oil, b.p. 246.1 °/
730-5 mm. It can be purified
through the crystalline zincichloride, B,ZnCl2,2HCl,H20, the regenerated
base being distilled under reduced pressure (20-40 mm.) in presence of
nitrogen or hydrogen. It distils unchanged in a current of steam and is
readily soluble in alcohol, ether or light petroleum. The behaviour of
nicotine with water has been studied by several workers.19 It is miscible
in all proportions with water below 60° and above 210°; at intervening
temperatures soluble hydrates are not formed and miscibility is limited.
According to Kelly et al.19 an azeotrope is formed, which contains 2.45 per
cent, of nicotine and boils at 99-6°/760 mm. The salts are readily soluble
in water, do not crystallise easily and are dextrorotatory.

...

The acid d-tartrate,
B . 2H2C4H4O8 . 2H2O, m.p. 88-9° (hydrated), and
the neutral d-tartrate, m.p. 68-5° (hydrated), , both
crystallise from alcohol on addition of ether. The dipicrate,
B . 2C6H2(NO2)3OH, short yellow prisms, m.p. 224°, and the tetrachloriodide,
22 C10H14N2.2(HICl4), orange prisms, m.p. 150° (dec.), are
characteristic.

 

[Frankenmizer]

Reading the Wikipedia entry for nicotine and from "How Stuff Works" indicates it is water-soluble and breaks down to cotinine and nicotine oxide when metabolized.

I think you should be ok with water, based on my read of your original post. But I'm not a chemist nor do I play one on TV, so keep that in mind.

(and the entry from Knosis is very good)

 

[Knosis]

Oh I see... I don't think there has been enough studies yet.

 

[Knosis]

See this - http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ask-veterans/244427-there-nicotine-exhaled-vapor.html

 

[Knosis]

Here is a real study - http://www.healthnz.co.nz/DublinEcigBenchtopHandout.pdf "Main finding. Testing for over 50 cigarette key smoke toxicants found none in any but trace quantity, in Ruyan V8 mist."

Looks like other countries have done some stuff. We're a little behind.

 

[suspectK]

"As of 2004, testing showed that the average cigarette contained 12+ mg of nicotine and delivered approximately 1.2-1.8 mg to the smoker. Nicotine gum products are sold with dosages up to 4 mg per piece in the United States. Transdermal patches are sold that deliver around .88 mg, .58 mg, and .29 mg per hour for 24 hours. Intranasal (nasal spray) doses are similar to smoked doses. [erowid.org -nicotine vault-basics.dose]"

Other than that, it's hard to find information on nicotine content in the air from smoking, let alone from vaping. So we'll just assume that we are getting the 10% absorption of nicotine via vaping. Where does the other 90% go? It doesn't just vanish into various pathways in the body. If ~90% of the nicotine isn't absorbed by the body, you're not going to get it second hand either. You'll be exposed, but at a minute decimal percentage. Unless, you're cold-boxing the room..then it will increase but just gradually. It is also going to be impossible to have a direct study on that. It's a lot easier to just say, 'ok this cigarette has x-amount of nicotine.. it will put out ~x-amount of nicotine into the air.' That is a lot easier because you only see people struggling to quit or broke people not finishing a full cigarette when they light up. That is a totally different case with vaping. I tend to just randomly grab it in conversation and so forth. I like to chain vape when I'm just sitting around, but that's not something I typically go for outside of my house.

Ever-clear and vodka differ by very small things. The only real difference in compound structure is the amount of water. Ever-clear is a higher proof alcohol, so essentially it is a better solvent. Alcohol works. Just make sure anything that has an electrical contact is nice and dry.