Electronic Cigarettes

[Dunkopf]

Those have been around a few years. Been advertised for quite a while anyway. I'd like to know the actual process they use. They have the same thing for marijuana in case you have asthma and need it for pain relief, or just don't want to expose yourself to the burned version.

 

[Dirk Chesterfield]

I have and use an e-cigarette. Been using it on and off for several years now.

E-cigarettes do not burn anything. It is an evaporation process just like boiling water. A nicotine containing fluid is wicked from a reservoir to a heated coil and boiled into an inhalable vapor. It's a pretty simple process.

Nicotine fluid has six components which are nicotine. water, glycerin, propylene glycol, grain alcohol and flavoring.
Glycerine is the same as used in cake frosting, cough syrups, toothpaste, mouthwash and skin care products. Propylene glycol is used in soaps, skin care products, baby wipes, cigar humidors and is the primary ingredient in Disco Fog (fog machines).
Grain alcohol is the same as we find in every adult beverage.
Most of the flavorings used in nicotine fluid are essentially the same as available at Michael's / Hobby Lobby / Walmart stores for flavoring candies / cakes (Wilton, Lou Ann) except that they are alcohol and water based like vanilla extract. All of these components have been used for years and are considered safe for human consumption.

I did a cost estimate and switching to an e-cigarette saved me around 66% the cost of smoking real cigarettes. That cost included replacement parts for the e-cigarette. I buy all my supplies over the Net from myfreedomsmokes.com, juicyliquid.com and kingpincigs.com. I buy unflavored liquid, dilute it to my preferred strength with glycerine and flavor it with just menthol. The model e-cigarette I use is the Joye 510.

Considering that real cigarettes have more than 2000 carcinogenic compounds contained within it's smoke, e-cigarettes are a much more healthy alternative. I have typical smoker's cough, if I use only my e-cigarette then my cough goes away after 3 days. The other advantage is that nicotine fluid can be mixed into a beverage in case the power goes out and you can't recharge your e-cigarette batteries or you are in a smoke free environment..

 

[elevan]

My grandpa is using an e-cigarette now. He's 86 yrs old and just recently had heart bypass surgery for the 4th time. His doctor said if he continued to smoke he would be dead soon. He's been smoking since he was 13 - not likely to quit now. We talked to the doctor about these and he approved of them as an option. Grandpa's do not give nicotine but he does have a nicotine patch on (dr's orders). I'm glad that this option is available to my grandpa.

 

[abifae]

Cool!!! Sounds like a MUCH better alternative then!



I cold turkeyed from cigs. Since I am TERRIBLE at addicting, it was actually really easy. I can't imagine what it would be like to actually quit otherwise LOL.

 

[~gd]

Very true. I think my shock is that people didn't realize they were likely to be more dangerous than cigs.

What is your source that they are more dangerous than cigs??? I really want to know because I am using them to break my lifelong smoking habit!!!
For those who don't know about them, they consist of a rechargable battery about the size of the white part of a filter cig. This screws into a tiny heater in the front part of what would be the filter. this heats a small amount of nicotine solution absorbed on tea bag type fiber near the mouth (but is not usually hot to the lips) they come in manual where you hold in a button to turn on the heater and an auto where the act of sucking turns on the heater.(It is like trying to suck a very thick milk shake through a straw, not an easy draw as a cig is. Nicotine is not soluble in water, so food grade glycerine or Propylene Glycol is used for the nicotine solution. Both of these produce a smoke when heated. and are what are used to produce smoke for stage shows or R&R bands. These came to us from China (what doesn't?) the China nicotine solutions had many of the chemicals usually found in cigs in order to produce the tobacco flavor. It was found that they were using anything they could think of for flavor. So both the UK and the US started to produce their own nicotine solution without all the junk.
I and many others will not buy the china solutions anymore now that clean solutions can be had. What I buy is nicotine (USP) in USP, non animal, organic, glycerine. Since I cut and make my own flavors (nobody outside of china produces a solution that really tastes like tobacco) I also buy pure USP non animal organic glycerine to do dulutions. Flavors are got from first world suppliers that produce them for candy or cooking. As I sit here thinking what to write next I will take aa puff of a choc. mint that I mixed myself while my spare battery is recharging in the UBS port of my computer. Many premixed flavor solutions are available, usually in 5 nicotine strengths, 24 (like a full strength cig) 18 (like a "light"cig) 12 (no cig is that low) 6 and 0. I switched from 12 to 6 Feb1 and hope to switch to 0 (nicotine free at last, free at last!) March 1st.

I have tried most methods of quiting including nicotine gum and patches (doc will not prescribe the new drugs does not like the side effects) The problem was what to do with my hands, The hands have a mind of their own and 50 years of lighting up become a habit for the hands. (Infact I have ruined two batteries because my hands tried to light them up LOL!) I have put all my lighters away for use only when I want fire. Now when I want to puff my hands will screw down the battery(kept unscrewed for safety) and hold the button on my manual e-cig(also safety I once had a auto start smoking itself because a fan was blowing on it)

As I said I mix my own which I don't recommend, pure nicotine is a deadly poision. I am a trained Chemist and wear all the safety equipment when mixing. The nicotine solution I buy is highly diluted but could make one ill if they got too much on the skin. I spent about $40 for my gear and chemicals Vs the $200/month I used to spend on tobacco and taxes.

One of the reasons they are trying to ban these things is because they can deliver other drugs than nicotine.... ~gd

 

[FarmerChick]

WOW WOW
wonderful information for ya'll on e-cigs

how long can you smoke them before they need a re-charge?

 

[VickiLynn]

Since my mom has been using the e-cigs, she has lost her smoker's cough. So, they are healthier in some ways.

After two years, she isn't smoking any less so I don't know that they are very effective for quitting. I would guess the addiction to nicotine and the behavior (holding, puffing) would be hard to break.

I'm sure a lot of people use them instead of cigarettes, without intending to quit the habit -- just thinking the absence of tar and tobacco carcinogens makes them healthier. I'll guess the tobacco industry is not too happy about this.

 

[abifae]

Very true. I think my shock is that people didn't realize they were likely to be more dangerous than cigs.

What is your source that they are more dangerous than cigs??? I really want to know because I am using them to break my lifelong smoking habit!!!

I cannot find the site, actually. And since other people have posted better info than I had, then looks like it is safer.

 

[Dirk Chesterfield]

how long can you smoke them before they need a re-charge?

The batteries last about 4 hours if you "smoke" moderately. The batteries can be used for 3 to 6 months of continuous recharging after that their capacity to be charged diminishes considerably. They are relatively inexpensive being around $10US.

The normal charge time for each battery is around an hour. If you "smoke" heavily, like a chain smoker, you will change batteries about every two hours so the charge time works out nicely.

There are many inexpensive accessories that allow you to take power for your e-cigarette directly from a wall socket, the USB port of a computer and from the 12v plug in your car. They are much more cost effective than using a battery. Large battery packs are also available that last a few days but they are much larger than the small slim batteries that come with the e-cigarette.

I only use batteries when I'm not in my home or car.

 

[Neko-chan]

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