NHS Turnaround?

[lobeydosser]

A couple of weeks back when I was at the Doctors, I was asked that now I have stopped cigarettes, when was I also going to stop the e-cigs?

Now this was a complete turnaround from his earlier comments that he was glad I had changed from cigarettes to e-cigs.

Indeed his recent comment on me stopping e-cigs was so out of the blue that I ignored it.

Yesterday I saw the Diabetic Sister for my Annual Diabetic Review and she made exactly the same comment.

This can only mean that the NHS Staff now have had some guidelines regarding patients that are using e-cigs.

This particular Sister is all for me using e-cigs and mixing my own e-liquids and has helped me in the past by giving me "out of date" syringes to help with my measuring and so I had no problem in telling her that I had no intention of ever stopping vaping as it wasn't doing me any harm whereas any alternative could do me a great deal of harm.

So for her to now start to suggest that I should give up e-cigs really is a bit ridiculous and it smacks of authoritative bullying by NHS Management.

[Ripshod]

Yh, I've seen that too, but I can understand it. We have taken a major step quitting the smoke, but the nicotine still has an effect on the cardio-vascular system. We've all heard of hardened arteries. That would be a concern with diabetes.

[andy01424]

Think that is a valid Question ,some see Ecigs as an Alernative,but Medical see it more as a Quitting device.....end of the day its our choice

[Jerri]

Unless they know something we don't (conspiracy theory face!).

I imagine they see it in the same way as patches etc. a device for stopping altogether. So now want to encourage you to quit vaping just as they did smoking.

Yes vaping is vastly better than smoking but it's not better than nothing at all. Which is what they aim for.

[clairea]

it depends on if the diabetic nurse is at the same surgery as your gp, might just be your practice views, All my dr's have been supportive of vaping, although my diabetic team at the hospital have yet to find out i've given up smoking

[nurseygirl]

I work for NHS Scotland and we havent had any guidelines/ information on e-cigs at all.

[MarkS]

I don't think its anything sinister and quite a normal question for a health professional to ask.
Is it the right question to ask? Maybe not, but the right answer to the question is.......

'Give me one valid reason why I should?'

[surfatwork]

I think it would be naive to think that vaping is harmless. There is nicotine, for a start and it's associated side effects for some people. But even if you are vaping 0mg, the PG and VG do cause unpleasant reactions. for e.g. VG when drunk as a liquid doesnt seem to do any harm, but when I vape it, I get severe bloating and IBS. So clearly, the way VG metabolizes when vaped is different from when it is drunk. and I have no idea what is in any of the "flavors".
Given that, I think it is entirely fair for the NHS to encourage one to stop it.

[sej016]

Whilst vaping is surely significantly less harmful than smoking, one must assume that putting stuff into your lungs that they were never intended to process is likely to be deleterious, even in some small measure. That is not an unreasonable assumption - and assumption it must be, as there is no long term study or evidence - it just does not exist.

As someone else has already pointed out - much is known about the main carriers, VG and PG, but not about any flavouring material (except perhaps for food use).

The effects of nicotine are known.

So I agree, it is fair for the NHS advisors to try and get people to quit completely. That is the best long term outcome.

[lobeydosser]

Aug 9, 2014 16:21:14 GMT Ripshod said:

Yh, I've seen that too, but I can understand it. We have taken a major step quitting the smoke, but the nicotine still has an effect on the cardio-vascular system. We've all heard of hardened arteries. That would be a concern with diabetes.

Really???

I have been diabetic for some years, as was my father before me and I have never heard of nicotine having anything to do with either hardening of the arteries or diabetes.

However my late brother was part of the hardening of the arteries Research Team in Glasgow's Royal Infirmary and it was them that found the link between cooking oil and hardening of the arteries.

Ofcourse e-cigs were not around back then.

If they had been, they would maybe have got side-tracked.

Yes the Diabetic Sister is part-time at the same GP's Surgery and so it could be that it is a surgery thing and not a general thing, but I don't think so as this Sister covers many other units, including the recent Commonwealth Games and events like that.

I wonder if they are saying the same thing to those that drink Coffee or eat Tomatoes? Both bearers of Nicotine.

Overall, I would, perhaps, take more notice of anything my medical team said if I thought for one minute that they had actually researched anything they were saying and therefore actually knew what they were talking about, but clearly they have not. They were both just spouting off the same sheet of paper.

 

[spacey]

When I told my doctor I'd given up smoking and was vaping, she said to me in a patronising tone "oh you don't want to be using those e cigerettes - I've read reports and they kill people".

I was gobsmacked by her attitude - not even a "well done" for stopping smoking.

[lobeydosser]

Yes spacey, There are a large amount of folks around who appear to only pick up on anything bad that is said about things, but equally have the ability to ignore anything good about the same things.

No has more clout than Yes.
Bad has more clout than Good.
Sickness more clout than Health.
Criticism more clout than Praise.

Misery Rules these days.

Joe Public can be a dammed depressing Clan to be a member of at times.

[Karma]

I just cba with debating it anymore so just say that I haven't smoked in over 2 years, lets face it, it's none of their business really. I'm sure we all fib a bit about the amount of alcohol we drink/excercise we take/fruit and veg we eat, and I'm sure the medical proffession know we fib so it's no biggie

[beetle]

Aug 9, 2014 20:43:42 GMT spacey said:

When I told my doctor I'd given up smoking and was vaping, she said to me in a patronising tone "oh you don't want to be using those e cigerettes - I've read reports and they kill people".

I was gobsmacked by her attitude - not even a "well done" for stopping smoking.

Next time you go, take a print out of this.

[MarkS]

Aug 9, 2014 16:21:14 GMT Ripshod said:

Yh, I've seen that too, but I can understand it. We have taken a major step quitting the smoke, but the nicotine still has an effect on the cardio-vascular system. We've all heard of hardened arteries. That would be a concern with diabetes.

The problem with that is the studies regarding the health effects of nicotine such as hardening of arteries etc have been done via smoking or tobacco as the delivery system.