E-cigarette and vaping

[dumbseizure]

For those of you out there that do use e-cigarettes, what do you use? Do you like vaping? has it helped you cut back on smoking (if you smoked before you started vaping).

For me, I use just a kangertech 510 battery and 510 cartomizers, it is simple, easy to clean and maintain and I don't have to worry about a lot of the maintenance people have to do with tanks and the like. Further on when I have more disposable income I may buy something more expensive to last longer, but at the moment this set up is doing quite well for me.

My other question is for all vapers, smokers and non-smokers, what is your view on vaping?

I have had a lot of people approach me and ask when I am at pubs and clubs about it, and I let them have a try of it and everyone where I am (Sydney) have had positive reactions to it, and people have even asked how much I got it from and where. But I have also read that other people have had negative experiences, from smokers essentially calling them "pussies" and cowards, through to people saying "e-cigarettes will kill you" as they puff on a normal cigarette.

So, do you like vaping? Do you think it's good or bad? What is your view (if you're a non smoker) on other people vaping instead of smoking?

 

[Majinash]

As a non smoker, and someone in healthcare, I really like to see more and more people vaping rather than smoking.

I honestly can't say that vaping is good for you, or even how bad it is for you, I just don't know at this point. But smoking is just so bad for people that any step away from it I view as great. Also I can sit around and talk with people who are vaping without having to consider wind direction for where I need to sit.

 

[dumbseizure]

As a non smoker, and someone in healthcare, I really like to see more and more people vaping rather than smoking.

I honestly can't say that vaping is good for you, or even how bad it is for you, I just don't know at this point. But smoking is just so bad for people that any step away from it I view as great. Also I can sit around and talk with people who are vaping without having to consider wind direction for where I need to sit.

I'm not quite sure about the for and against studies tbh. I have seen a lot of people say that some of the studies done seem to be quite....biased. I haven't looked into them myself, I have to look at enough studies that the prospect of looking at more that aren't required makes me feel sleepy.

But I can say this, physically I feel better vaping then I do smoking, so until there is a study that comes out with undisputed evidence for OR against, I will keep vaping.

 

[Colour Scientist]

I'm a smoker but I've cut down to only having a few cigarettes at weekends when I'm out for a drink. I've been this way for six weeks now and it's actually going pretty well. I haven't been getting serious cravings apart from when I'm out and I haven't replaced it with eating excessively or anything, I've just stopped, I've taken the habit out of daily routine.

I'm not sure about e-cigarettes, I don't think it's something I'd go for, I'd rather just quit outright.
I know this is going to sound really stupid coming from someone who smokes but we just don't know the long-term effects. They aren't regulated at all, at least not where I live, and I've seen them sold in pound shops. I was listening to one commentator saying that they tested a random sample from different brands and the e-cigarettes could have anywhere between ten times the dose of nicotine in a regular cigarette to none and all.

I don't know, people are free to do it but I think, for me, it's a case of "better the Devil you know."
I'm quite happy to cut down smoking until I kick it completely rather than assuming vaping is fine and just replacing the habit.

Edit: As an aside, I don't think people should be 'vaping' inside public places. Smoke or no smoke, exhaling water vapour everywhere while indoors is still kinda gross. I think it's actually been banned inside most establishments now, at least where I live. You also can't do it near hospital entrances, basically anywhere you can't smoke cigarettes.

 

[Hoplon]

Well you breath water vapor in and out for most of your existence anyway so i am not sure why that would be a big deal at all?

There may well be unknown side effects but compared to burning and inhaling tabacco? give me a fucking break.

 

[default]

I wouldn't bother with it myself due to my reasons for smoking in the first place, but I can see the appeal for a habitual smoker. I've spoken to a few guys who use vaporisers to quit, and they're doing really well with them. If I ever really feel the need to quit and am finding it harder than I thought, I'd definitely consider it to ease the passing.

I hardly smoke anything at all these days anyway, just a cigarette every few days or so. Maybe more if it's been a particularly stressful day.

 

[Bertylicious]

I've tried an e-cig and it's actually pretty good for dealing with cravings. The e-cig I had, however, was a cheap one which I wasn't too enamoured with; the taste wasn't great (nor was it bad mind, just meh) and there was no indicator to show how much battery or magic vape powder was left. I keep meaning to buy a proper one.

If you don't mind my asking, how much did yours cost, Dumbseizure?

Edit: As an aside, I don't think people should be 'vaping' inside public places. Smoke or no smoke, exhaling water vapour everywhere while indoors is still kinda gross. I think it's actually been banned inside most establishments now, at least where I live. You also can't do it near hospital entrances, basically anywhere you can't smoke cigarettes.

The vapour is actually quite innocuous. It has no smell, it has no texture. It doesn't leave any condensation and vanishes almost immediately after it is exhaled.

It's a bit tricky though; we've all been so trained that smoke is bad and harmful, myself included and I'm a smoker, that the idea of permitting people to vape indoors is almost unthinkable. From an employer's perspective it's even more problematic, with the health concerns of non-smokers and the jealousy of actual smokers not able to puff away at their desk.

The thing is, though, I've been back on the regular fags since Escapism and I feel like someone has taken a cheesegrater to my lungs. The e-cigs don't make me feel this way so they can't be that bad.

 

[dumbseizure]

If you don't mind my asking, how much did yours cost, Dumbseizure?

I picked mine up for about $25 in total, it was just a cheap one I bought to start with, but it has actually turned out so well that I haven't even bothered to upgrade at all.

The new version of the battery I am using (my models discontinued now) you can get for between $10-15, then its just buying a drip tip(anywhere from $2-20 depending on what you want, I just bought a cheap stainless steel red one), a drip shield (covers the top part, just makes it look a bit sleeker and gives a bit more protection), and packs of cartomizers I get for between $4-6, and each cartomizer I find lasts for about 1 week.

To get into it is not overly expensive, but to get the really good ones can be anywhere from $150-$700 (although, the $500+ ones are usually hand crafted and look almost like a piece of art in themselves).

I have completely forgotten how to write in the spoiler tags, but the below spoiler is a picture of one of the $700 hand crafted ones.

Spoiler

 

[II2]

Not a smoker, but a few basic mechanics:

Vaporizing tabacco or any other smoke-able goods is a harm reduction measure, but it doesn't neutralize any of the primary negative properties of what's being inhaled. Nicotine is still a poison, even if some of the toxic or carcinogenic byproducts of combustion and smoke are eliminated. While it might be inadvisable to active an E Cig in a submarine or spaceship, second hand "smoke" shouldn't be an issue anywhere decently ventilated.

Worth mentioning - before someone jumps to point it out - EVERYTHING is poison; it's just a question of potency : volume... Thus you have your LD50s and ED50s... But, academic considerations aside, there's a good reason nicotine pills used to be issued as suicide caps to spies and they warn you about how godawful sick you'll get if you're using the patch and light up a smoke as well.

 

[Exterminas]

Meh. Personally, I don't like these new high-tech smokes. I smoke every now and then, when certain cultural situations arise where it fits to smoke. For example, if you are having a night out with friends or try to not look too bad while loosing at poker.

To me, smoking is primarily a cultural thing. It's not about sticking stuff into your mouth at all cost and it's not about the nicotine for me.

And for those reasons, I don't like this new stuff: Smoking as a piece of culture has a decent history and it has always been about tobacco, not about some chemicals that somone stirred up in a lab. It feels like a break in that tradition to me to switch to the chemicals. I don't need to wrap my lips around anything so desperately that I have to go down that route.

 

[iseko]

Meh, I've quit smoking exactly 25 days 14 hours 34 minutes ago. I've never really wanted to get into that E-cig crap.

1) people using it look like idiots
2) can't use it indoors
3) people using it look like idiots

The best thing to do imho is to just quit. The problem with quitting is that your days seem sooooo fuuuuucking loooong. And you feel depressed during those very loooooooong days. It is the nicotine withdrawal which tends to be very bad the first week. The second week is still a ***** sometimes. Third week is ok. I'm in my fourth week now and I only feel cravings now and then. Not even every day anymore.

Life still sucks though. I heard that semi depressed feeling can last up to 6 months. Bah.

 

[shootthebandit]

E-cigs are not a substitute for actual smoking. The water vapour just doesnt have the same consistency as smoke and it doesnt have that tobacco flavour.

P.s. it makes you look like a bit of a poser if you vape

 

[Colour Scientist]

The thing is, though, I've been back on the regular fags since Escapism and I feel like someone has taken a cheesegrater to my lungs. The e-cigs don't make me feel this way so they can't be that bad.

Oh, I'm not deluded enough to think that cigarettes are the healthier alternative.
Personally, I'd just prefer to pack it all in rather than picking up e-cigarettes.

 

[elvor0]

E-cigs are not a substitute for actual smoking. The water vapour just doesnt have the same consistency as smoke and it doesnt have that tobacco flavour.

P.s. it makes you look like a bit of a poser if you vape

Most people who vape (myself included) are doing it give up, so how that makes you look like a "poser", I've no idea, unless you're posing to give up. I've never met or heard of anyone that just uses and has only ever used E-cigs. What is this, the 50s? Remember, you're not cool unless you smoke kids!

Some of the really good ones are very close to smoking, me and my girlfriend have a fancy one that's veeery close and has done wonders to cut down. A cheap one is no substite though, they're naff.

 

[Nickolai77]

As a non-smoker I generally approve of e-cigarettes but have some reservations.

E-Cigarettes are probably much less harmful than actual cigarettes but I understand they can be just as addictive, so potentially you're just swapping one addiction for a less harmful addiction. It's positive progress, but with some downsides.

One thing I would not like to see however is people or teenagers who have no prior history of smoking becoming addicted to e-cigarettes- even if they're harmless it's still an addiction.

 

[Username Redacted]

If you don't mind my asking, how much did yours cost, Dumbseizure?

I picked mine up for about $25 in total, it was just a cheap one I bought to start with, but it has actually turned out so well that I haven't even bothered to upgrade at all.

The new version of the battery I am using (my models discontinued now) you can get for between $10-15, then its just buying a drip tip(anywhere from $2-20 depending on what you want, I just bought a cheap stainless steel red one), a drip shield (covers the top part, just makes it look a bit sleeker and gives a bit more protection), and packs of cartomizers I get for between $4-6, and each cartomizer I find lasts for about 1 week.

To get into it is not overly expensive, but to get the really good ones can be anywhere from $150-$700 (although, the $500+ ones are usually hand crafted and look almost like a piece of art in themselves).

I have completely forgotten how to write in the spoiler tags, but the below spoiler is a picture of one of the $700 hand crafted ones.

Spoiler

That e-cigarette looks like some Doctor Who shit. As someone with asthma I am a big fan of vaping as being around people who are vaping is much less problematic than being around smokers.

 

[VyseRogueKing]

I don't smoke but as someone who is rather sensitive to tobacco smoke AND has a chain smoking father I thank the heavens above for blessing unto this land the concept of a portable electronic hookah. Makes walking down the streets or even driving with my dad much easier on me when I don't feel my stomach churning.

 

[dumbseizure]

That e-cigarette looks like some Doctor Who shit.

They look quite cool, I wish I had a spare $700 lying around to buy one. I don't even know whether I would use it, I feel like if I bought one I would have to frame it and hang it on a wall.

 

[moosemaimer]

I've been using an e-cig for more than 4 years and I am now unable to smoke regular cigarettes, they make me nauseous. The liquid I buy in 250mL bottles for about $35, and it comes in laboratory-grade containers with industry-standard labeling. The flavoring I add myself.

I'm currently using 36mg strength and honestly anything below that you barely notice, but this actually feels like smoking a cigarette. It creates the same sensation at the back of your throat when you inhale. Except I don't get sick all the time, I don't cough in the morning, I'm not out of breath after every little thing, I don't stink, and I save a ton of money.

 

[Queen Michael]

I'm not a fan of any kind of smoking. As the Flanders kids say, "Smokers are jokers! Smokers are jokers!"