People that are confused about nicotine intake in with e-cig

[Die5el]

I recently read the following on the ECITA Site. Hopefully it should help people on here

How much nicotine is absorbed following electronic cigarette use?


It’s an interesting (and important) question, but it is also one of the biggest blank spots in the science about e-cigs. It is a question that is currently without an answer (as far as I am aware, and I do my best to keep up with the state of research).

So what do we know?

We know the average nicotine delivery for a tobacco cigarette is 1.4mg (this is the actual nicotine delivered to the consumer, not the machine estimated delivery of 1mg), and that on average cigarettes contain 10.2mg[ii] of nicotine. This means that cigarettes have 14% efficiency for nicotine delivery.

A pack a day (PAD) smoker will consume 20 cigarettes of 1.4mg each for a total of 28mg/day (out of 204mg in the cigarettes they have consumed). One of the reasons that the delivery of nicotine from cigarettes is so low is that the delivery method involves combustion and hence some of the nicotine is burned. There is also detectable nicotine in second-hand smoke, so not all the nicotine that is made available is actually absorbed.

So how does this relate to electronic cigarettes?

From online discussions[iii], we know that most vapers were 1 to 2 PAD smokers, and now use 2 to 3ml of 24mg liquid, or 3 to 4ml of 18mg liquid (with a tendency to use either more or less depending on increased or decreased strength). We know that there is no combustion involved, so how much nicotine is actually delivered?

We know it is more than none[iv] and less than 100%[v] since nicotine is detectable in the exhaled vapour. The levels of nicotine in exhaled vapour are low. In fact, nicotine was detected in vapour exhaled directly into a 10 litre test vessel but was not detected in an 8m3 room testv. Indeed, the Clearstream study[vi] confirms that nicotine levels found in indoor air after vaping are extremely low:

“Nicotine concentration in the air from the traditional cigarettes was on average 0.034mg/m3, while for the electronic cigarette it was less than 0.001mg/m3”.

But I digress….

If electronic cigarettes delivered 100% of the nicotine contained in the liquid, this would equate to 48-72mg/day. This would be a lot (although the indications for the Nicorette inhaler are for 6-12 10mg capsules/day, for a maximum of 120mg), but we know it must be less than this…… so how much is it?

This where we move beyond provable science and into the rather more vague world of assumption (or possibly expert opinion).

We know that in tests of vapers in an ad-lib vaping session, blood nicotine levels rose to those found following smoking cigarettesiv (15ng/ml[vii]).

Given this, we can assume that vapers will consume enough nicotine in a vaping session to reach this level, as they would if they were smoking (i.e. they self-titrate to the level they desire). If we assume that this would result in a nicotine intake per day of around the same amount, what percentage delivery effectiveness does this give us?

A PAD equivalent vaper would be using approx. 2ml of 24mg liquid to obtain approx. 28mg of absorbed nicotine, so an efficiency of about 60%.

A 1.5 PAD equivalent vaper would use approx. 3ml of 24mg (or 4ml of 18mg) liquid to obtain approx. 42mg of nicotine, with the same efficiency.

This would seem to fit well with the experiences of vapers in online communities with regard to their usage patterns.

This seems likes an eminently reasonable set of assumptions to give us a guide to expected intake, but hopefully this question will be answered by an actual scientific study in order to provide real data.

[Perpetua]

To be honest, it's my opinion only and I appreciate it's something folk might like to know  . . . but it actually doesn't bother me in the slightest, nor did it when I started vaping.

I use anything from 5-10mls a day, strengths from 10-24mg and vape until I feel nicotine satisfied, depending on the situation.

Personally, I think it's possible to get too hung up on stuff like this, as long as I'm not burning tobacco, that's all I need to know.

But those are just my sentiments.

[blakey]

That's a a question that lots of lurkers want the answer to before they bite the bullet.
Its also handy to be able to explain to the complainers of second hand vape.
Well laid out mate

[barrynorton]

I never heard anyone giving up coffee for tea start to calculate how many cups of which tea they should drink, obsessively checking the labels of each

(But I also agree with blakey - newbies and politicians care)

[Jaguar7777]

This has proved very difficult to nail down for both the Scientific and Medical researchers.


The problem is that even under the most stringent of conditions the intake varies wildly between individuals. From what I have read on this subject they are scratching their heads .........


It seems some of us get much higher than others.


Jag. (What the hell is that cloud?)

[dnglos]

The bloke from the BMA on the One Show really annoyed me when he implied second-hand vapour was dangerous "because we know it contains nicotine". So this is good to know:

Oct 11, 2013 4:44:53 GMT Die5el said:

Indeed, the Clearstream study confirms that nicotine levels found in indoor air after vaping are extremely low: “Nicotine concentration in the air from the traditional cigarettes was on average 0.034mg/m3, while for the electronic cigarette it was less than 0.001mg/m3”.

According to the "dark truth" poster one small baking potato contains 1 microgram (0.001mg) of nicotine. So we can reassure anyone who's worried that the nicotine we're exhaling poses no risk at all. The concentration of nicotine in the air around one of us is equivalent to less than one potato per cubic metre - and that's indoors.

[djs]

I liked reading that ECITA information.

One things that comes out from it (having been an E-Lites user) is that ECITA have basically said that a 20-a-day smoker might well consume 2ml of 24mg.

In other words, if E-Lites use 24mg liquid, then you'd need 2 cartomizers (at least) per day. That's £1,500 a year purely on the "e-tips".

Not to mention that ECITA conveniently allow expressions such as "up to 400 puffs"....etc.

another way of looking at it is that by ECITAs own admission, people use quite a bit of e-liquid to match their 20 or 40 cigarettes or whatever. The nicotine yield of an E-Lite is probably not even one pack of cigarettes.

If you try to get off fags with E-Lites, you will struggle...or it'll cost you a fortune.

[geoffthechef]

I have no problem whatsoever with the amount of nicotine i intake just as i also have no problem with my intake of tea.
It is just the word nicotine has been burned into peoples heads as a negative..
We are fighting against propaganda that has had millions spent on it..

[harare2482]

Just remember that the big tobacco companies have billions at their disposal and can pay so called experts to to find anything negative on vaping. It's in their interest to keep people smoking. So when I see these so so called experts on tv I I just change the channel and vape on..Stopped smoking now for five months vaping has saved my life. Plus I prefer it to smoking lots to learn and its my hobby now. Love building a new coil firing it up and and enjoying a good vape