Did you tell your dr?

[curtisdon1]

I might do what hanow said
Just whip the old ecig out and give here a demo and ask if she fancies a vape lol

[Katfish]

Great Don, RA is so nasty for you, tell your GP you have quit and you want the drugs NOW!
Smoking seems to be the easy excuse not to give patients expensive drugs, so go for it!
Good luck, and don't take no for an answer!

[hifistud]

This is going to sound awfully petty, but it's quite important to the longevity of e-smoking in the long term.

All this talk of "quitting" is quite likely to harm our chances of maintaining a UK-based supply of ecigs and juice. It gives the MHRA ammunition to unilaterally classify all our kit as medicinal in purpose, as quitting smoking is, to them curing a disease.

To that end, it's not a good phrase to use on public fora, or in conversation with those that know nothing about e-cigs.

For everyday use, I've adopted the phrase "E-cigs are an alternative way to smoke, and no, I haven't quit - I just smoke something with a much reduced risk profile".

Also, if enough doctors endorse or recommend e-cigs, then that, too, gives cause to the MHRA to classify them as medicines. Be very, very aware of this.

[curtisdon1]

Cheers katfish, I agree they do always use smoking as an excuse iv been getting dosed up with steroids and painkillers for 2 years which has made me a chunky monkey, and have been refused a drug called cimzia which can actually put the ra in remission they said it costs somewhere in the region of £13,000-14,000 to put some and they won't give me this because I smoke and I'm a little overweight the only frickin reason I'm overweight is the painkillers and steroids they put me on in the 1st place..................... Wow that nearly turned into a full on rant then lol
Hifi stud you are quite rite I never thought of it like that

[Katfish]

It is such a shame that everything comes down to money Don. If getting the drugs you need comes from saying you have quit smoking, you have to say it, anyone would!

[curtisdon1]

Thats true katfish I remember the rheumatologist explaining why smokeing was dangerous if you are on certain drugs somerhIng about my lungs and contracting tb, that's all I got then she started talking medical terms so I switched of lol

[holycow]

I told my doctor and he just looked at me with suspision!
Have an appointment thi morning with a different practisioner as it happens!
BUT just had the shock of my life!
Cleaning my teeth I stuck my tongue out and it is BLACK!!!
googled it nothing sinister - but does say it can be caused by smoking!
OMG!! anyone else have a black tongue?

[River]

mine still pink

[Perpetua]

I have to say, that I'm coming round to Hifi's way of thinking . . . there are huge implications if ecigs are classified as a 'medicinal' product by the MHRA.

Currently I'm in the employ of a large and well known chain of specialist health food shops . . . new legislation came into force at the end of April this year, basically prohibiting the sale of any herbal product that has a medicinal effect unless it has obtained a license from the MHRA . . . . quite rightly so you may think as consumers do need to be protected as many herbal products also interact with prescription medication.

However, there's more to it than that . . . in order to obtain a license 30 years of traditional use have to be demonstrated and a supporting dossier provided . . . 15 of these 30 years have to have been within the EU. . . . needless to say funding each individual license is a hugely costly enterprise.

The company I work for has had a team of people compiling this documentation for the last 4 years and to date they've only obtained licenses for 27 products . . . . smaller companies without the financial means will simply be unable to afford to do this, so once they've sold through their existing stocks - that's it.

The company are also endeavouring to have certain products re-classified as food stuffs by the MHRA in an effort to keep products on the shelves and to not incur the vast costs there are in obtaining a license . . . . I'd also add that this activity started back in 2004, so the MHRA don't go away once they have something on their radar.

There are several implications and comparisons to be made here to ecigs and possible future regulation if they were to be classified as a medicinal product . . . I'm going to do a piece on this for Vapour Trails with Hifi and will let everyone know the date as I hope it will be of much interest to everyone.

[Lee]

Worrying times. Everything is getting regulated and there must be some fat cats somewhere getting even fatter.

[curtisdon1]

Of to the hospital now, I'll tell you all what my consultants views are on ecigs when I get back,