HOPPING WITH RAGE

[foxy9212]

I joined a Quit Group on Facebook last night (was 'requested' to do so). I posted briefly about my quitting cigarettes on December 5th by using e-cigarettes and this is the response I got (and my rather long reply).

*****

NHS Smokefree
Hi Penny, congratulations, its fantastic that you quit. E cigarettes are a form of nicotine replacement, they have a very high dose of nictotine in them. The reason they may be being banned is of questions over safety of use. It really would be better if you switched to something like the inhalator and slowly weaned youself off rather than using something that may be doing you more harm than good. If you want to discuss things further give us a call on 0800 028 0 558


My reply:

Wrong!! I'm using a low dose of nicotine at present, interspersed with 'no-nic' juice. I tried the Nicorette Inhalator and found it cheap and nasty and it tasted horrible. It did nothing for me at all and I ended up by inadvertently setting it alight!! Best thing for it in my humble opinion. I tried the lozenges and the gum (disgusting and gave me a jaw ache) and the patches that irritated my skin and gave my terrible nightmares.

I thoroughly enjoy my Personal Vaporizer and will continue to use it for the foreseeable future. I need to SEE the vapour - it tricks my brain into believing I'm actually smoking and satisfies even when I'm using it with no nicotine! My health has improved so much since switching to vaping, I no longer cough, I sleep much better and have much more energy (lack of carbon monoxide?) I am appalled at the misinformation regarding liquid nicotine that is being pedalled around the 'Net by those who either have no experience of them or who don't smoke cigarettes. I use no brand that hasn't been thoroughly tested as 98% pure. Hertfordshire Trading Standards tested the 'juice' I'm using at present and found it to be AOK. Good enough for me.

I no longer ingest the deadly poisons contained in regular cigarettes and, to date, there have been no reports of anyone being harmed by vaping or being in the vicinity of anyone using an e-cigarette. I'm thrilled to be a Non-Smoker and hope that I shall be able to remain that way. I have responded to the MHRA Consultation Document and signed all the petitions 'out there.' I hope sense prevails and that the Tobacco and Pharmaceutical Companies don't use their power to crush a product that has done so much good for so many people.... See more

E-cigarettes are NOT a form of nicotine replacement - they are nicotine delivery devices. They do NOT contain 'antifreeze' they contain propylene glycol (found in many everyday items - toothpaste/mouthwash/cosmetics), or vegetable glycerine.There is no Ethylene Glycol used. The pharmaceutical grade nicotine content is in a highly diluted form and the flavouring is food grade. I investigated thoroughly before switching to e-cigarettes as I certainly didn't want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. I only wish I'd heard about these devices when they first came to the UK - I'm hugely disappointed that I may now be forced back to tobacco smoking again.

I assure you I have no vested interest in e-cigarettes other than in the way they've helped me to feel so much better after smoking for more than 44 years.

I cannot for the life of me understand why such a beneficial invention is being unfairly denegrated in favour of NRT that simply doesn't work for so many people, particularly in the long term.

*****

It seem even 'professionals' have no idea what an 'e-cigarette' is "All About!"

Fox

PS: I was so miffed by the response, I just walked into my kitchen, picked up a lighter and almost set fire to my 401!!!!!!!

[kate]

That's a great reply Foxy, nice one.

I had heard that a lot of professional health campaigners and anti smokers haven't a clue about ecigs and that's why I think it's important for us to engage with them and educate if we can.

I posted a link to the tobacco harm reduction site on one of those Facebook groups and the buggers deleted it.

Crazy single mindedness and pharm company brainwashing.

[jaki]

Well done Foxy - I'm looking forward to seeing if they can come back with anything against your comments!

I've joined so I can 'like' your comments and have also posted a very short piece in favour of e-cigs on one of the discussion topics.

[foxy9212]

Thanks Jaki: sometimes I feel as though we're just whistling in the wind; well, most of the time really.

Fox

[Chrissie]

Well done from me as well Foxy.

Agrees with Kate, it's a lot to do with pharm company brainwashing & their funding of course.

[foxy9212]

I've had a couple of responses, one saying that I should continue to do the 'right' thing for me but that the NHS can't recommend an untested product. Another was from "Christine" who simply asked, "What's an e-cigarette?"

My Reply:

Christine: An 'e-cigarette' is an electronic device that vaporizes a mixture of liquid nicotine (as used in the Nicorette Inhalator), Glycerine (either propylene as used in smoke machines, or vegetable glycerine used in cookery mainly but also in soaps, toothpaste, mouthwash, cosmetic creams and as a delivery system for medication - essentially it's an humectant) and food grade flavouring.

The e-cigarette/personal vaporizer/electronic nicotine inhalator, consists generally of three elements; a battery, an atomizer and a cartridge containing the liquid. Drawing on the mouthpiece activates a switch in the (automatic) battery that, in turn, activates the atomizer thus producing a vapour rather like that which one sees when breathing on a frosty day, or is produced by smoke machines at concerts, stage shows etc. To date this vapour has not been found to be harmful either to the user or by-standers - unlike the smoke produced by a tobacco cigarette.

The liquid used in e-cigarettes contains no noxious substances and nothing is burned. Nicotine in its raw form is, of course, poisonous but that used in the device is highly diluted and is likely no more dangerous (in fact a good deal less so) than household cleaning products such as bleach or caustic drain cleaners.

The e-cigarette is not a 'cheap' option as the hardware needs replacing regularly but from my experience is less than half the cost of cigarettes.

Also from personal experience, the e-cigarette is much less likely to cause a nicotine overdose than smokers such as I who used patches etc., and smoked as well! Not something I'm proud of but that was just one more reason for stopping NRT. I needed to see and feel the smoke or, in the case of the e-cigarette, the vapour. The only difference between the electronic cigarette or EN-I is the atomizer that produces vapour. The NRT device releases a nicotine 'hit' each time the user sucks on the mouthpiece. That is where the comparison ends for me - the NRT inhalator tastes revolting and I was using it constantly during the day, changing cartridge after cartridge and still gaining no satisfaction.

I cannot understand why in the two years or so that the e-cigarette has been available in the UK, there have been no tests done that compare the smoke from a tobacco product with the vapour from an e-cigarette - the results would be interesting! Why do cigarette manufacturers not have to list the ingredients in their product or supply them in kiddy-proof containers. I've read that there is enough nicotine in one packet of twenty cigarettes to kill two adults if ingested in raw form.

There is now no time for UK producers of e-liquid to present their products for the testing required by the MHRA before the proposed date for the start of the ban - 21st June '10. This ban will cause distress to many of we new non-smokers who owe our present success solely to the e-cigarette. We will have no option other than to return to smoking tobacco, go Cold Turkey that rarely works, or try NRT products again that also do not have a good long term success track record.

Obviously the NHS aren't in a position to recommend a product that is so disliked by those with power - my own GP however, would like to be able to do so.

As to the 'harm' caused by high doses of nicotine quite wrongly supposed to be 'in' an e-cigarette, a two-year test on rats exposing them to exceptionally high doses of nicotine vapour, showed no ill effects at all. Nicotine does not cause cancer; it is the combination of the approximately 4,000 noxious substances in burning tobacco that is a major contributor to that.

Of course, as with NRT, the e-cigarette is not the answer for everyone but the hundreds of success stories I've read assure me that I'm doing the right thing for me.

*****

Sorry to go on ad nauseum but I'd like those not on Facebook to see what's occurring!!

Fox

[jaki]

The same 'Christine' asked where to get an e-cig from on Kate's post. I gave her a short reply, suggesting she try vaporstation and suggesting my post would get deleted.

Guess what? They deleted the whole of Kate's wall posting, including Christine's question and my reply. The poor woman was saying how she is not getting on with NRT and how (due to ill health) she need to give up smoking as a matter of urgency, but 'they' tried to deny her a potential solution. So, the NHS in all their wisdom, would rather her health deteriorate than give her a potential life line! I know that sounds dramatic, but that is what the nitty gritty comes down to!

I did think to send her a longer private message, giving some more information suggesting she has a look here and/or UKVapers.com for more advice.

I'm quite excited now to see if she turns up

[Chrissie]

Once again, brilliant Foxy

I feel awful that I've not been in that facebook group yet, (I've still not completely got the hang of facebook). I'm trying to catch up with a whole load of things I need to do in RL & just haven't got the time or energy to keep up with all the different forums/groups.

[foxy9212]

I'm appalled to see that posts are being deleted and if mine goes then so do I. I'm aware that there are none so pious as non-smokers but that takes the biscuit!!! >

All I've done in my last post there is to answer Christine's question; I've not advocated everyone should take up vaping - that's quite clear from my last sentence.

I wait!

Fox

(edited for cruddy typing)!!

[Chrissie]

(((Foxy))) I really hope they don't delete your posts.

[foxy9212]

I thought for a moment my posts had been deleted but I found my last one 'hidden.'

Flogging, dead and horse come to mind.

Fox

[keef]

Foxy that was an Excellent reply

I am afraid there are some people on this planet that not only enjoy being ignorant but feel it their duty to nurture it and spread it about......

With said beings you can Jump up and down and bang your head off a brick wall - their blinkers are firmly in place

[magicma]

Foxy - that made me remember that - at least 25 years ago (probably longer) that I tried the patches.. I still have the round dried out skin area on my chest to prove it!!!
Obviously, they didn't work - but I am scarred for life!!! MM

[foxy9212]

Mar 10, 2010 13:01:03 GMT magicma said:

Foxy - that made me remember that - at least 25 years ago (probably longer) that I tried the patches.. I still have the round dried out skin area on my chest to prove it!!!
Obviously, they didn't work - but I am scarred for life!!! MM

That's awful! You should have sued the pants off 'em! The patches gave me very itchy places on my arm as I'm allergic to sticking plaster adhesive. The last time I tried them the pharmacist assured me they were hypoallergenic - not for me they weren't!

Fox

[Chrissie]

Agrees with Foxy - MM that really is awful