E-Cigarette and Vaping, For and Against

[Dazaster]

I started smoking when I was about 14. Smoked everyday for nearly 30 years till April last year, when I was convinced by a few people to give vaping a try instead.

 

Haven't had a single cigarette since.

 

There's a lot going on right now on the vaping/smoking wars and a hell of a lot of crap being talked by both sides.

 

These are the FACTS AS I SEE THEM, citation needed:

 

1) Initial costs may seem a bit steep, but very, very cheap to use thereafter. Well, for a bit anyway. More on that later.

 

2) Way, way better for your lungs. More on that later.

 

3) No stink!! No smelly clothes/house/car etc.

 

4) Not harming anyone else with second hand gifts...probably. Unknown for sure.

 

5) Has as high a success rate as patches for quitting smoking, is more fun than patches, possibly better for you than just constant nicotine flow.

 

6) Proper, non-biased testing of vaping and vape products is limited at this time, so no-one, and that means you too, can say for sure what it is doing now/will do in the long term.

 

7) Proper, non-biased testing of vaping and vape products is limited at this time, and every week or so a scare story appears about vaping causing stiffening of the heart muscles, brain-melt, feathers sprouting in place of body hair etc etc etc.

 

8) MODS. Mods Mods Mods Mods Mods. And some mods.

 

OK enough of that, by now the nay-sayers will have stopped reading and are busy typing all the FACTS AS THEY KNOW THEM...also known as so-and-so-told-me/I-heard-that blah blah.

 

Let me say again, at this time there are NO FACTS. Vaping simply hasn't been around long enough for any long term ill effects to be quantified scientifically.

So, at the moment it's all hear-say. Any vaper can tell you their story as to the short term effect though.

Like this:

In my forties, started developing the dreaded "Smokers Cough". With that came heavy phlegm build up in my lungs, making it difficult to sleep sometimes.

I had regular shortness of breath, caught colds/flu with alarming ease, and was prone to going purple in the face doing any hard physical stuff like standing up.

 

After quitting the cigs in favour of e-cigs, I soon found myself breathing easier. About a week's time in fact. After 2 weeks, the phlegm in my lungs started to subside, in 3 weeks it was just about all gone.

My smokers cough was gone within 2 weeks as well. One very pleasant surprise was smelling flowers in bloom from 10 feet away, as apposed to having to stick my nose in 'em before.

Food tasted better. People no longer wanted to change seats when I sat next to them. Well, when I'd had my monthly bath anyway.

 

There are however, some downsides.

 

E-cigs are...fiddly. Normal analogues are easy, take out, light up.

With an e-cig though, even easier. Press the button. Done.

Except it's not. You have to charge the battery. Fill it with e-liquid. Clean it. Make sure you don't sit on it. Take it apart, put it back together, stare at it and wonder why it's not working. Wipe up spills. Change the damn coil.

 

Then you go to the pub and your mate has a different, cooler one. You wants it. It must be yours. Your Precious...er...heh.

I started with the default pen type, a blu.(not a spelling mitake) It sucked, so got one with a better..something. Then I got a bigger one with something better in it. Then a different type of bigger with something else.

Then I got one that only half worked with the battery I had. So today I had to get a variable wattage battery. the battery costs about £25 on amazon. Today the shop I get my liquid from had the battery I wanted together with yet another tank for £30. Get in. Then I discovered the tank is sub-ohm. Ooh, shiny.

And so it goes on.

 

In between my stupidity for new toys, price wise it's been great compared with smoking. I spend about £5 a week on juice. I was spending about £6 a month on coils, but now my latest jobby has had the one coil for 3 weeks, so...good.

 

Health wise, I put on quite a bit of weight in the first few months after stopping smoking, but that's starting to come down again. I haven't breathed this well since 1987. Sadly, I'm still bald.

 

All in all, it's been good for me to stop smoking. However, I fear that I am now addicted to vaping.

Having said that though...Here's pause for thought. I can have a puff before going in to work, then not even think about the need for nicotine for hours. Unlike smoking where it was on my mind a lot.

 

Typed while using an Aspire Nautilus X on a Coolfire IV.(neede to see the screen, so the iSub g tank that came with the Coolfire not used)

 

As I said before, there are many views on this subject and I'd like to hear from vapers and non-vapers alike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HeyYou]

 

I haven't breathed this well since 1987. Sadly, I'm still bald.

Say WHAT???? You mean, quitting cigarettes didn't bring your HAIR back??? Damn. Simply not worth it then.

 

I still hear rumors of just as many rude, nasty chemicals in the liquids, as there are in regular cigarettes... Know anything about that?

[JimboUK]

I tried a lot of different strengths and flavours, they all made me feel sick. :(

[TheMastersSon]

I was shocked to learn one can vape tobacco. :D

[HeyYou]

I was shocked to learn one can vape tobacco. :D

Among other things........ :D

[Dazaster]

@HeyYou

There are mixed findings depending on whose paying for the study. BBC Horizon did a few, didn't find many harmful chemicals, others, mainly paid for by Big Tabacco, or Anti Smoking Lobbies, find a whole bunch of crap.

 

@jim_uk

It's all in your head ;D

 

@TheMastersSon

You can't, you can vape tabacco flavoured nicotine though.

[JimboUK]

@Daz It was in my head and my head was spinning as a result, it doesn't matter, lungs are overrated.

[micalov]

Smoked very heavily ( 50gram bag of baccy lasted 4 days) for about 14 years myself, started vaping about 2 or so years ago never looked back.

Of course I would quit if I had the will power but I get stressed easy so nicotine helps.

Not been coughing constantly for the past year and a half and bringing up brown crap my sense of smell and taste is better, I breath better.

 

Now the smell of smoke makes me sick.

 

The main issue with vaping though is some of the beyond stupid flavour names like "Unicorn vomit" ( yes it was a real flavour) :P

[TheMastersSon]

Dazaster, is the tobacco flavoring optional? Do they make cannabis flavored nicotine?

[HeyYou]

Dazaster, is the tobacco flavoring optional? Do they make cannabis flavored nicotine?

Friend of mine makes hash oil out of his pot that he grows (legally), and puts that in the tank. Holy Smoke...... :D