E-CIG information. Smokers ONLY.

This thread in Chit-Chat was inspired by This Thread in the Survival Forum. Please go read the thread. I did, and it brought me to this link during my research: Are Electronic Cigarettes healthy?

I googled a local seller of electronic cigarettes, and found that the nearby Pilot Travel Center stocked them. The brand I found was called Mistic. Their website is crap, but it was 14.99 USD for a basic kit. Two carts, 1 batt, and a simple USB charger. The docs said they ship with a 50% charged batt, so I put it all together and took a hit. Wow. I took it back apart, and put it on the charger. 4 hours later, when the light went green, I re-assembled it, and took another hit. Wow.

Hmm, I thought. How can this not be a cigarette? The infusion method of Nicotine is different, but the results are the same.

To this, I'd like to draw a few members in from ATS that seem to be "experts" in the field of E-cigs and vaping. I'll call out CurrentlyConfused, JohnPhoenix, and the OP of that thread, Rocketman7, as you guys are onto something.

I plan on switching. I want more information about the mods. Here is a good place to place mods, a chit-chat forum, but I am interested in what and everything this tech is about. You order a 4.95 USD bottle of E-juice and it takes 3 drops to make a pack of smokes?

I'd really also like to see the websites you guys get your supplies from. Can you post links? This is chit-chat, and noone is advertising here, just giving preferences.

Awaiting your replies....

I smoke cigarettes the old fashion way.
E-cigs can cause a lot of issues still not studied over long time usage. They can also cause you to catch pneumonia via the water vapor directly in your lungs.

Also,

Expert: Dr. Sophie :: Medicine & Neurology replied 765 days and 1 hours ago. They would probably not cause lung infection, but they may cause lung inflammation especially that in addition to nicotine vapor they contain propylene glycol and glycerol and many other additives including flavorings, and may contain nitrosamines which are toxic. This inflammation may lead to secondary infection.

www.justanswer.com...

I'm a pretty avid e-cig user so I got all excited seeing a thread about it.
I use cig20 brand batts and cartomizers and refill with saveasmoker brand juice as these are the type carried locally. A pro tip that might save some $. You can safely refill the "do not refill" cartos that are like $15 for 5, or you can buy a unit made to be refilled. I can't offer much help on mods, but 3 drops doesn't equal a pack. Maybe in nicotine content, but not in # of puffs.

It should be noted that e-cigs are missing a lot of what make analog cigs so damn enjoyable, but it's fun blowing smoke rings on the transit or in class.

Favorite flavors (saveasmoker): Cherry(tastes like cherry icee), grape(grape fanta), and Vanilla-cinnamon.
On a fun and unexpected note, I was puffing on some Vanilla-cinnamon while watching tv with a girl. She turned to kiss me and after a few pecks she remarks, "heh, you taste like Christmas."

in canada they dont sell the niccotene cartridges because of apparent overdose deaths in the u.s. i bought one and got some nic solution from a friend and just reload my spent cartridges with it.

reply to post by JibbyJedi


Water vapor comes into contact with your lungs all the time. Plus propylene glycol has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, so even the chance of contamination growing in the cartomizers is slim. People who try to paint these in a bad light are being overly cautious......or just trying to ruin fun(see all spice/potpourri laws).

I read that thread yesterday too. But it was in the middle of the night. I did make a little research, namely to know where the nicotine used in the product was from.

I don't remember finding the answer ( hey, it WAS late, LOL ) but I saw they were forbidden in Canada.

I have some health issues and when I smoke regular cigarettes my head gets hot and I feel TERRIBLE. I got av2 cigarette and its awesome. No drops, it uses cartridges. I also used a brand called wicked that wasn't quite as good. Anybody that says they are more unhealthy than real cigarettes has not done much research on it.

Originally posted by MeesterB
I'm a pretty avid e-cig user so I got all excited seeing a thread about it.
I use cig20 brand batts and cartomizers and refill with saveasmoker brand juice as these are the type carried locally. A pro tip that might save some $. You can safely refill the "do not refill" cartos that are like $15 for 5, or you can buy a unit made to be refilled. I can't offer much help on mods, but 3 drops doesn't equal a pack. Maybe in nicotine content, but not in # of puffs.

It should be noted that e-cigs are missing a lot of what make analog cigs so damn enjoyable, but it's fun blowing smoke rings on the transit or in class.

Favorite flavors (saveasmoker): Cherry(tastes like cherry icee), grape(grape fanta), and Vanilla-cinnamon.
On a fun and unexpected note, I was puffing on some Vanilla-cinnamon while watching tv with a girl. She turned to kiss me and after a few pecks she remarks, "heh, you taste like Christmas."

How do you refill the "nonrefillable" carts?

And on the fun note, she didn't say you smell like a chimney, and you got laid, eh?

reply to post by Druid42


Cartomizers by brand are different but I just had to pop off the little plastic part with a hole in it. The wick is inside surrounding the atomizer. Just add a few drops on the cotton-y looking wick, put back together, and go. Eventually the atomizer burns out, but I usually lose them before I burn them out.

She does me even if I smell like smoke
but there is something reassuring knowing that when she kisses me shes going to taste something nice.
Sorta like cherry chapstick... except you look cool doing it.

Originally posted by MeesterB
reply to post by JibbyJedi

 

Water vapor comes into contact with your lungs all the time. Plus propylene glycol has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, so even the chance of contamination growing in the cartomizers is slim. People who try to paint these in a bad light are being overly cautious......or just trying to ruin fun(see all spice/potpourri laws).

Do you think they are using "natural spring water" in those things? Enjoy the Fluoride vapors.

I got mine from esmoke.com.
I am.....so far.... happy with the product and when I called them to ask a question, an actual person answered the phone and was able to answer my questions. I just order the prefilled nicotine cartridges from them. No shipping costs. No....I am not selling them.lol
I have not tried another brand so I don't have anything to compare them to as far as the quality.
I read somewhere that you can buy refills at a smoke shop but I want to be as sure I can of the safety and quality
of the cartridges. Theirs are FDA tested. (not that I put much faith in the FDA) Some of the cheaper brands are imported and I worry about misc. chemicals.
My 2cents for what it's worth.

~Neysa

I'm also curious about a hit to cigarette ratio. The cartridges tote a 1 pack ratio, but what is the e-cig hit to cigarette ratio? Is 2 hits equivalent to 4 cigs? What's the math here?

I haven't been using them for very long but I like them. I still smoke rolled cigarette with tubes though.

One reason is I want to get up every hour and go out to the balcony and have a smoke with my coffee rather than just sit here like I would if I didn't have a reason to get up.

And then if you don't move around every hour, you can get poor circulation, blood clots and all that.

And I could go out there and use my eCig and maybe some day I will but right now I just use it at work, in the truck, for 8 hours while I am doing deliveries.

So I have one that looks like a cigarette and it doesn't have a button, you just drag on it and it smokes.

It uses cartomizers, and you just refill them from the ejuice.

So I pop off the top of the cartomizer, push down the stuff inside so it is below the center tube then insert a small straw that plugs the hole, then drip along the straw about 16 to 18 drops.

I am trying different ejuice now, but I bought some with the original kit and then a bottle from my roommate.

I am just still experimenting myself basically.

I am satisfied it is not harmful if you don't overdose. Everyone breathes steam in the shower, you breathe steam from a humidifier, my room air cleaner by SONY has an atomizer that produces vapor every 2 minutes from water as positively charged vapor to clean the air, it kills viruses and I breath that every 2 minutes. Aroma therapy uses an atomizer with all sorts of essential oils and people breathe that and it has to be worse since the oils are just so many different substances.

Certainly cigarettes are much worse with 4,000 chemicals and no controls over what they put in them.
Lots of cigarettes are only part tobacco and have fillers and reclaimed cigarettes minus the filters, it all goes into a vat, is made into a kind of paper, it is then dyed to look brown or the right color, then cut as if it was tobacco.

Thats how they make cigarettes and they add lanolin and various other things to make it easy on the throat.

reply to post by Druid42


Ive heard 8 puffs of ecig is equivalent to 1 analog cig as far as nicotine, depending on the strength of the e-juice. I rarely keep track of it that way though. I usually go through 4-5 battery charges per refill of 4-6 drops. Of course, each puff uses up a variable amount of charge and juice so its all relative.

Edit: The vendor told me when I bought my Cig20 ecig, "each pack of cartomizers is a carton." This might be true if you compare total nicotine, but not so in everyday use. I could burn through the cartos in a few days, but I seriously doubt I could smoke through a carton of cigs in the same time.

The strength varies. I smoke 18mg carts. One hit off that is supposed to be like a puff of a camel. I think they are a little stronger actually.

I can't say they're absolutely 100 percent risk free and safe but they don't need to be, to be safer than smoking. Everyone knows how bad smoking is for you and a quick Google search will bring up the really, really long list of chemicals and carcinogens contained in cigarette smoke, so even if e-cigarettes were 50% safer, they'd still be a better alternative.

However, research has shown them to be up to 99% safer than smoking, with the amounts of nitrosamines are on par or less with those found in the FDA nicotine gum, patch, lozenges and inhaler.

For those interested in exactly what is in the vapor, Health New Zealand did a chemical analysis of the vapor:

Link to full report

Second hand mist from an e-cigarette is not smoke at all, and does not contain any substance known to cause death, short or long term, in the quantities found. It becomes invisible within a few seconds, and is not detectable by smell.

No harm found in e-cigarette mist Nicotine is not harmful in the quantities mentioned.1 Propylene glycol is harmless – it is used in making theatrical fog and as an ingredient in soaps, personal lubricants and intravenous medicines.

The claims and scares that no one knows what chemicals are in them is bunk and the research has been done.

The fluoride comment is funny. You'll get more fluoride in your daily shower, if that's the case but looking at the MSDS sheet for fluoride, it lists the boiling Point at 1704°C (3099.2°F). It doesn't have any vapor information, but I"m going to assume you'd be safe. Atomizers don't get anywhere near those temperatures.

ok...

but what about flavor?

I don't want to smoke fruit..

tell me what you all think of the cig tasting ones..

thinking about getting one...

I got a trial e-cig at a local c-store and honestly I liked the way it worked, but it was no where near as good as it's packaging advertised. It was cheap so I didn't expect to much but I wanted to give it a try. It worked but not as good as I'd hoped.

I talked with several friends who had quit smoking traditonal cigs and raved about e-cigs. They all recommended a local store that only deals with e-cigs etc. so I went in to check it out. I got a kit for $119 that comes with 2 atomizers, 2 batteries, about 8 refillable cartridges, a charger, and a bottle of "juice" recommended for my usage by the clerk. I got it for my wife and I so they recommended I add a 3rd battery since both of us will be using it we can always have a battery charged. It would be a little cheaper without the extra battery which if it's just you wouldn't be needed.

The clerk was honest & let me know that the atomizers do wear out and with heavy usage would need replacement in about 2 months (give or take). It seems a hefty investment but the "juice" (any flavor you want) is $16.00 a bottle which lasts both my wife and I about 2 weeks, and batteries will last a LONG time, it really add's up to a big savings in the end. We payed $12.00 a day for regular cigs.

For me, I quit regular cigs without a problem... I mean the 1st day... Funny... I wonder... Am I still a smoker?
I did alot of research and feel better to not expose my self and my kids to "smoke" any more. You exhale water vapor and that is it, and it vanishes almost immediatly. I highly recommend it to ALL my friends that smoke... Go buy a cheap one and try it, if you like it step up to a better kit, it is better for you than smoking and can help you quit and actually work. I LIKED smoking a lot, I enjoyed it, it was my release, and not just the desired effect of the smoke, I liked the whole process, the whole expirence. I still do... and there are kits that dwarf mine... I mean real professional kits that look like they could get you arrested, other ones that look like cigars. Whats your pleasure?

That being said... It's not for everyone, my wife still "smokes" but not a pack a day, it's a pack every 3 or 4 days. My doctor is happier with it than "smoking" and it works for me so I am sold.... I'm now a... Future Smoker!?!?

Here's a link to the kit that I got... Still working great... My only issue is the tiny bit of leakage that comes with the reusable tanks.

joyetech.com...

reply to post by Druid42


you use a syringe to add 2-3 drops of liquid onto the cotton swab on the inside and let it sit upright for an hour to let it absorb all the way through. at least thats what i do

reply to post by baddmove


The "Tobacco" flavor juice is hit or miss for me. It's a little too sweet to be a true tobacco flavor, and if I vape too much of any tobacco flavor(emulating different branded cigs) it starts tasting like olives. It's probably just my interpretation of it though. You know, think you taste it so you do.
Don't hate on the fruity flavors. It's nice to have variety and some of the flavors are quite good. The local vendor, an old smoker type, told me about all his old buddies not caring about the sissy flavors and only wanting tobacco, just like the real thing. Well, they soon came around and as far as i know they didn't start dating men or form any new sex organs.