Drs Pah!

[preston234]

I am new to vaping so dont profess to know a lot about it BUT i have been a nurse for 25 years so do know much about what is good for the health. I am proud to say, that having been a smoker from the age of 11 yrs, that i have not had a ciggie for over a month and was having this discussion in our staff room at work today. I was very disappointed from the negative reaction from varying staff members, mostly doctors i have to say.Their comments were ' well arent you swapping one addiction for another?, well arent you still addicted to nicotine?, well how do you know what vaping does?'  
So my answer was, ' well yes, ideally i wouldnt have put cig to mouth at age 11 and ideally i would just stop smoking at the click of my fingers and not look back but HELLO the concept of an addiction means that you are addicted and this means it cannot be done easily.So i find myself arguing with doctors, 20 years younger than myself, who have never smoked, never vaped, probably have never been addicted to anything who are trying to tell me smoking is bad, vaping is bad etc
But to me its a no brainer.Inhale 500 chemicals per session or inhale 0-20 per session. The nicotine is going to happen for me whatever for quite some time longer, if not forever, considering i started smoking at 11. Oh, and by the way, no one ever before  (dr or otherwise) showed me the hideous list of these 5000 chemicals that i would be regularily sucking into my lungs (it has been the ecig community that have educated me on this, i had no idea) 
So i was quite cross at the lack of support shown by my medical colleagues, and all i can say is   you know nothing about this, so, either shut up, respect and support, or research and give some real, informed arguments.
And , we didnt even get started on red wine! Thats for another day

[Raffles]

preston234... Don't worry about it. Like everything else in life you'll find opposing views. Yes... I'm ADDICTED to fresh air and exercise... am I wrong?

YOU know that you are right, along with a growing number of people. We're all addicted to something, but at least WE know our addiction is healthier than what what we were addicted to before... so ENJOY!

[womble]

Vapers do a lot of research and eagerly read any new bit of info that comes out, plus we talk amongst ourselves, non vapers don't.

Sure they may read a couple of newspaper articles and then think they know the basics enough to argue a point, while we know better.

We all get it every day, but it is disheartening to read that younger doctors are the same way. I had an older nose/throat specialist who treated me, who knew nothing, but soaked up information like a sponge when I gave it to him (he asked for it). I know next time I see him, he will have read more about it. Whether it's for good or bad, I will find out.

I find that GP's have mostly already made up their mind and don't want to know anything new about ecigs, some are for and some against, the best ones are in the middle and evaluate ecigs as each new bit of information comes along.

You would have thought that they would class ecigs as a higher importance than they do. Stopping smoking is classed as a high importance, but often the treatment is brushed off onto a quit nurse, the GP's having little to do with it.

Fact is, the BMA view will play out in most doctors surgery's and if you consider the amount of information they have to engage about various things, this may not be a bad thing. Blaming the doctors is probably short sighted, blaming the BMA however is quite the right thing to do IMO.

[lobeydosser]

There is research going on at the moment on Nicotine as a possible, and safer, substitute to Morphine for acute pain relief.
Morphine causes drowsiness, Nicotine, used in pain relief does not and people taking even mild doses of Morphine, cannot work machinery or drive.
Using Nicotine instead will allow them to take this pain killer and then carry on with their normal jobs.

So Nicotine is not the big bad boggy man that many "experts" (?) believe it to be.

As for substituting one addiction for another. I proved to myself when I changed over to Vaping, that there were a number of addictive substances in Cigarettes that were not in E-cigs, and it took me 6 weeks of vaping to get over the addiction of these other chemicals.
Yes, I am still addicted to Nicotine, but I am no longer addicted to these other unknowns.

The only new "chemical" (???) that I am addicted to and that has been brought about by Vaping, is commonly known as a swelling bank account!
Not sure just how this is affecting me, because SWMBO tells me she has discovered an antidote for it but won't tell me what it is. All I know is that she disappears to the nearest town every so often and comes home with loads of packages of things!

[Jaguar7777]

Strange ........

Nicotine is naturally produced in the human body in small quantities. This is the reason that when you artificially take more on board you get high. You are, in a way, overdosing on your normal levels.

Also strange are doctors questioning the use of Nicotine when they hand out patches and inhalers like confetti! Now, that is hypocrisy of the highest level.

They will happily allow you to use VG for a child's cough, but then start saying they are not sure if it is safe to inhale! Thus proving that the initials "GP" after their names suggests one thing; General Practitioner, Master of none.

These are people that won't even allow suffering individuals to use Marijuana to ease their discomfort.

They are very handy to have around, but they don't know everything.


Time will tell if vaping is dangerous, until then the Jury is out.


Jag. (Is ANYTHING in this world really safe?)

[GunJack]

The lack of support from some members of the medical profession never ceases to amaze me..... good on you preston, keep firing facts at them and they may start to sink in (eventually.......)

[Deleted]

Be encouraged...a few months ago I saw the asthma doc at the surgery (GP) and he was really picking my brains on e-cigs. Even saying to me 'a number of patients have asked me if I can off the record say these are better for me than cigs'. I pointed him to this forum and like showed him my mod at the time (wee gripper) and how it worked and everything. He just soaked it up like a sponge He wasn't over 40 either (not sure if he was over 30 to be honest)

But don't get me on about my neurologist friend. Not even addicted to caffeine LOL (senior reg)

[Deleted]

I would ask these doctors one simple question the next time you are all enjoying a cup of tea or coffee in the staff room .... "Is nicotine more or less harmful than caffeine to the human body" .... the proven answer is slightly LESS.

[charon]

preston234

Sadly it's not just the "earnest young medics" who don't know their Anus from their synovial hinge joint. I know a senior GP at a local medical centre who was talking with me as I was Vaping. First he offered congratulations on giving up smoking, then asked why I chose to use "that thing".
When I explained that it was a method of reducing my nicotine intake to my chosen level, He promptly asked ........wait for it..................Why do you bother!!!

There then followed the usual BMA diatribe on smoking, all this from a profesional educated man who thinks nothing of putting away a couple of bottles of red wine at a time. I did however manage to point out the recent articles in the Lancet and BMJ that he should be advised to read......his answer..........I'm a very busy person with little time to read the medical journals.

[fagin]

Some people, including doctors, are addicted to stupid.

[lobeydosser]

It seems to me that Dentists are more educated to E-cigs than GPs.

[moonraker]

My doctor is all in favour of me using e cigs he was very interested the first time I told him & wanted to see my ecig & how it worked

[andy01424]

Can see his point , but then ask well in that case patches gums are really pointless then,yes ecig has nic in it,point a lot of us came to was none of the others worked,so we eventually found this route more healthy and WORKS....eventually a lot of us will get to the point of 0nic mg,but will carry on,for me its the flavours i enjoy,in my first yr[ Nov1st] i have gone from 1/2oz of hand roll a day to 36mg now down to 8mg,an addiction is an addiction in what ever form,be it smoking to chocolate,never know when his wage packet arrives and he buys a new toy every month thats an addiction,do you call someone mad on 00 trains a nut job then because he has a complete working village of trains in the attic?

Trouble with a lot they will see it as your still addicted to Nicotine...but this way they forget its a damn sight healthier than the other options..oh when you ever have a convo on this drop in the well i can vape as much Chocolate flavour as i like 0 calouries,you eat it and how much cals is that addiction? or the glass of wine you have everyday ...they soon shut up

[charon]

Oct 25, 2013 10:21:28 GMT andy01424 said:

Can see his point , but then ask well in that case patches gums are really pointless then,yes ecig has nic in it,point a lot of us came to was none of the others worked,so we eventually found this route more healthy and WORKS....eventually a lot of us will get to the point of 0nic mg,but will carry on,for me its the flavours i enjoy,in my first yr[ Nov1st] i have gone from 1/2oz of hand roll a day to 36mg now down to 8mg,an addiction is an addiction in what ever form,be it smoking to chocolate,never know when his wage packet arrives and he buys a new toy every month thats an addiction,do you call someone mad on 00 trains a nut job then because he has a complete working village of trains in the attic?

Trouble with a lot they will see it as your still addicted to Nicotine...but this way they forget its a damn sight healthier than the other options..oh when you ever have a convo on this drop in the well i can vape as much Chocolate flavour as i like 0 calouries,you eat it and how much cals is that addiction? or the glass of wine you have everyday ...they soon shut up

  Hoho, andy01424 has given the game away.....his new nic shall be   "Anorack"  model trains in the attic indeed.

But on a more serious note,  a well reasoned and thoughtful post

[Jaguar7777]

I tried the 0-0 Train thing a few years back. It was so bloody expensive that I would have been better off buying out Virgin Rail.


Now ...... I just blow clouds of vapour and pretend I'm a choo-choo .............


Jag. (Nothing wrong with my mind, Doc, you need to have yours checked out .....)