A product that a lot of DIY’ers have been talking about lately are nicotine salts. This is basically a crystallized version of nicotine that come already dissolved in VG and PG solutions. Let’s talk about the differences between nicotine salts and freebase nicotine (the nicotine most e-liquids contain)
Preface: I want to point out that I do not have a background in chemistry but I love to do research, which is what I’ve done here. I’m going to do my best to provide accurate information. If I’ve gotten anything wrong, please let me know and I’ll make corrections.
Some of you might be current smokers who haven’t started vaping yet but maybe you’re interested and just want to learn a little more about it. Some of you might be dual users (using both e-cigs and tobacco cigarettes). And some of you might be full-time vapers but know somebody else who is still a smoker.
No matter which group you’re in, these tips might help you or a loved one to eventually quit smoking.
Lewis Hilsenteger, or Lew, is a popular YouTube reviewer outside of the vaping space. His channel is called Unbox Therapy and he usually reviews new and interesting products, mostly new technology and unique products. He’s a fun reviewer to watch and other people seem to agree because he’s got 7.5 million subscribers.
A few weeks ago he reviewed a product called the VapShot.
The VapShot is basically an extremely expensive device used to vape alcohol. It looks really heavy duty and well-built and I guess that’s why it costs $1,300.00.
Yeah, freaking expensive!
How It Works
The device has a small reservoir that holds your liquor. The VapShot can vaporizer a minimum of 80 proof and up to 190 proof. You fill up the reservoir, turn on the machine, and the unit converts the liquor into vapor without heat or chemical reactions (meaning no propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, or any other additive).
It has a a pressurized gun powered by a small air compressor which connects to a special cap on top of what looks like a plastic soda bottle. You fill up the bottle with alcohol vapor and when you’re ready you pop the top, put your straw in the bottle, and inhale the vapor.
Is It Safe?
I know that a lot of people within the vape community are going to frown upon this, but I think it might actually be a good idea.
Alcohol isn’t very healthy for us, despite the commonly held belief that one glass of red wine is healthy for the heart. That’s actually no longer suggested by health experts. Even if there are some potentially beneficial ingredients in wine, or any other alcohol, the negative effects that alcohol has on our bodies outweigh those benefits.
I’m not trying to say that you shouldn’t drink if you want to. I drink too. But what if there was a safer way to consume alcohol, much like how we have found a safer way to consume nicotine?
According to the makers of the VapShot, that’s actually what it does. Vaping alcohol allows the user to minimize the negative aspects that drinking alcohol has on your body, while still giving you a buzz. They also say that vaping alcohol could reduce drunk driving incidents, fewer alcohol-related auto accidents, and overall save lives.
Research Shows That You Can Sober Up Quickly With the VapShot
The makers of the VapShot claim that it’s a safer alternative to drinking because alcohol vapor is absorbed by the body much faster than by drinking it.
An authorized Department of Transportation testing organization has actually tested the effects of the VapShot.
Using 190 proof alcohol, they tested a man and a woman. The woman consumed a 1L bottle of Vaposhot and tested at an alcohol level of 0.050 after 1 minute, then 0.00 after 30 minutes. The man consumed two 1L bottles and tested at an alcohol level of 0.062 after 1 minute, then 0.00 after 30 minutes.
This test that proves two things; one, that Vapshot actually works to give you buzz, and two, that the buzz leaves your body within 30 minutes. It can take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours for liquid alcohol to break down.
Research Also Shows That Alcohol Is Safe to Vape
Another benefit of vaping alcohol is that it’s absorbed by the lungs quickly. Liquid alcohol on the other hand needs to travel through the small intestine, the pancreas, and the liver, which is hard on your body and the organs it passes through.
You might be wondering about the safety of inhaling alcohol vapor. They’ve tested this too.
Using OSHA’s safety level standards for ethyl alcohol, they found that consuming one Vapshot every 10 minutes for 7 hours straight would be nearly 3x less harmful than OSHA’s safety standards.
And if you’re still not convinced, consider why breathalyzers are used to test alcohol levels. It’s because liquid alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream and transferred to the lungs and ever other organ in your body. Alcohol is in your lungs when you drink and breathalyzers are the easiest way to detect it.
It Works and I Want One
I was skeptical about all of this after watching the Unbox Therapy review, but it seemed to work to get them a buzz. That’s going to be the most important part of the product for most people.
After digging into the information about vaping alcohol, I believe that this could actually be a much better alternative to drinking. Imagine being able to get buzzed or even drunk throughout the night, then all you have to do is wait 30 minutes to sober up and head home.
That’s pretty amazing.
I’d never pay $1,300 for something like this, but I sure as hell want one. This looks awesome.
It’s a cool product and I’d probably get one if something like this comes out 5 years from now for around $100. I would never replace drinking alcohol with it, because part of the fun of drinking is sipping on a drink. And also because I love craft beer and you can’t vape beer with this. But I could see myself using something like this with friends.
I’ve talked about how to pair e-juices with wine before. Now let’s talk about pairing e-juices with coffee.
Many of us enjoy a vape with our morning coffee. So I decided to do a little research and I put this post together to help you guys get the best vape and coffee pairing to really start your day off on the right note.
Brent Stafford of Regulator Watch recently interviewed two major voices in the anti-tobacco movement. One of them was Stanton Glantz who is adamantly anti-vaping, and the other is Dr. Michael Siegel, who is a pro-vaping advocate. We discussed Stanton Glantz interview already, and now we’ll hear Dr. Siegel’s thoughts.
Dr. Michael Siegel is the professor of Boston Universities School of Health. He’s an expert in the tobacco control movement and a vocal supporter of e-cigs. He did his training under Stanton Glantz in the 90’s. Glantz was Siegel’s mentor and Siegel viewed him as a hero. He admired his work in the tobacco control movement.
The times have changed and they no longer see eye to eye. They are both still very much anti-tobacco as far as cigarette smoking goes, but the difference is that Glantz opposes e-cigs and Dr. Siegel embraces them.
Let’s take a look at some of the key parts the interview.
Brent from regulatorwatch.com somehow got Stanton Glantz, one of the biggest anti-vaping opponents, to come onto his show for an interview.
Glantz clearly has the ideology of the old-school anti-tobacco movement, which unfortunately bleeds into his thoughts regarding electronic cigarettes, but not everything he said is bad.
I received an email from CASAA asking me to take part in a survey titled “The United States Vapers’ Survey“. I highly recommend that you take part too. It takes about 10-15 minutes.
The survey was put together by Dr. Christopher Russell, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Substance Use Research in the UK. The answers to this survey will be used to help show regulators the real life experiences of electronic cigarette users to help them better understand vaping before they make decisions on regulations.
I published my answers below just to give you an idea of what to expect from the survey before you take it.
I also wanted to give you a little insight into my thoughts about vaping, why I do it, and what my vaping preferences and habits are, if you care 😉
The last time I smoked was at a concert two years ago. I had a few drinks and all of my friends were smoking. I forgot my electronic cigarette and I was craving it badly.
I took one drag from a friends cigarette and HATED it! That was all I needed to know that I was done with cigarettes for good.
I’ve also never forgotten my electronic cigarette since then.
I absolutely always make sure my e-cig is charged and ready to go for special events, such as parties, concerts, or if my friends get together for poker night (Ooh, is there an e-cigar for poker night?!)
New Years Eve is one of those nights.
New Years Eve is usually celebrated by hanging out with friends and family, partying, and drinking – all of which we know are occasions where we may be tempted to smoke.
Charge up your devices and be prepared to ring in the new year on a high note.
You might have a hangover in the morning, but at least you won’t have the smoker’s cough on top of it 😉
One of the best things any parent can do for their kids is to keep them away from smokers, whether it’s the parent themselves or other smokers out in public areas.
We all know how unhealthy smoking is. We also know how hard it is to kick the habit.
As a former smoker myself, I know it’s hell trying to quit smoking. It’s not something I’d wish on anyone. That might sound like an over-dramatization, but most smokers struggling to quit would probably agree with me.
If you’re a smoker that has kids, consider taking steps now to quit, before you destine your children to the same hell you’ve gone through.
Here’s an interesting study, from the medical journal ‘Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.’ From 2007 to 2010 during the “Twins Day Festival” in Twinsburg, Ohio, 79 pairs of twins were found where one twin was a tobacco smoker and the other was not (or which twin had smoked at least 5 years longer).
Professional photographers snapped photos of both twins faces and then plastic surgeons analyzed these photos to see if they could determine which one was the smoker (or who smoked the longest) using the FDA’s standard Lemperle Assessment Scale, a validated wrinkle assessment scale.
They scored the following facial features using the wrinkle assessment scale:
Forehead transverse lines
Forehead glabellar lines
Crow’s feet
Upper lip lines (repose)
Upper lip lines (pucker)
Nasolabial crease
And also scored the following features based on a scale of mild, moderate and severe:
Upper lid skin redundancy
Lower lid pigmentation
Lower lid bags
Malar bags
Lower lip vermillion lines
Jowls
The twin on the left smoked 17 years longer than the one on the right.
The twin on the left is a non-smoker.
The twin on the left is a non-smoker. The twin on the right smoked for 29 years.
Both twins are smokers. The one on the right has smoked 14 years longer.
The results are clear. The smoking twins had worse scores for lower eyelid bags, upper cheek bags, jowls (droopy lower cheeks), upper lip wrinkles, and nasolabial folds (laugh lines).
This study shows the effects of facial aging caused by smoking and even shows that just a 5-year difference in smoking history can cause noticeable facial aging.
* Images source: Facial Changes Caused by Smoking: A Comparison between Smoking and Nonsmoking Identical Twins. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 132(5): 1085-1092, November 2013
