E-Cig Articles & Videos

Electronic cigarette
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An electronic cigarette, otherwise known as a personal vaporizer, is a battery-powered device that provides inhaled doses of nicotine by way of a vaporized solution. It is an alternative to smoked tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. In addition to nicotine delivery, this vapor also provides a flavor and physical sensation similar to that of inhaled tobacco smoke, while no tobacco, smoke, or combustion is actually involved in its operation.

An electronic cigarette usually takes the form of some manner of elongated tube, though many are designed to resemble the outward appearance of real smoking products, like cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. A common design is also the “pen-style”, so named for its visual resemblance to a ballpoint pen. Most electronic cigarettes are reusable devices with replaceable and refillable parts. A number of disposable electronic cigarettes have also been developed.

In automatic models, when a user inhales through the device, air flow is detected by a sensor, which activates a heating element that vaporizes a nicotine solution stored in the mouthpiece. On manual models, the user must depress a button to activate the heating element to produce vapor. It is this vapor that is inhaled by the user. On most models an LED on the opposite end of the device is also activated during inhalation, which serves as an indicator of use. Color of the LED is usually a matter of preference, as the most widely used electronic cigarettes come with options for many different colors.
Components

While electronic cigarettes take many forms, they each generally employ the same basic components: a mouthpiece, a heating element, a rechargeable battery, and various electronic circuits. Mouthpiece (cartridge)

The mouthpiece is a small disposable plastic cup affixed to the end of the tube. Inside, the piece contains an absorbent material that is moistened with a flavored nicotine liquid solution. The mouthpiece is referred to in the industry as a “cartridge”. When the liquid in the cartridge has been depleted, it can either be refilled by the user, or replaced with another pre-filled cartridge.
Heating element (atomizer)

The heating element serves to vaporize the liquid in the mouthpiece so that it can be inhaled. This component is referred to in the industry as an “atomizer”. Some models combine atomizer and cartridge into one disposable component referred to as “cartomizer”.

Battery and electronics

Most electric cigarettes employ a lithium-ion rechargeable battery to power the heating element. Battery life varies depending on the battery type and size, frequency of use, and operating environment. Many different battery charger types are available, such as wall outlet, car, and USB. The battery is generally the largest component of an electronic cigarette.

Most electronic cigarettes employ an electronic airflow sensor to automatically activate upon inhalation, while some models instead have a manual button that the user must press while inhaling. Various other electronic circuits are usually employed as well, such as a timed cutoff switch to prevent overheating, and an LED to signal activation of the device. An orange-colored light is often chosen for its visual resemblance to actual burning tobacco in the front of the cigarette.

While some larger ecig models employ an independently replaceable standard-size battery cell, many models are too small to house a standard-size cell and instead require a proprietary component made by the electronic cigarette manufacturer. For those models, the battery and electronic components are housed within a single replaceable part, which is generally referred to in the industry simply as the “battery” — even though it actually contains many other components as well
Nicotine solution

Nicotine solutions usually consist of nicotine diluted in propylene glycol, or less commonly, glycerin, both common food additives. They also commonly have a variety of different flavorings added. Nicotine solutions sold separately for use in refillable cartridges are commonly referred to as “e-liquid” or “e-juice”. Solutions are available in a variety of different flavors and nicotine concentrations. Nicotine concentrations range from high doses (to mimic the content of regular cigarettes) to midrange and low doses.

Dosage generally follows the same patterns as regular, light, and ultra-light strength cigarettes. Solutions are also available which contain little or no nicotine. Some flavor varieties attempt to resemble traditional cigarette types, such as regular tobacco and menthol, and some even attempt to mimic specific cigarette brands, such as Marlboro or Camel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cigarette

Is Nicotine bad for you?
Nicotine is good for you. Medical research shows that it can make us feel better, improve concentration, memory and help prevent and combat a number of serious diseases.
Nicotine simply has a bad reputation because it is consumed in cigarette smoking, however in its pure form it is safe and non toxic. Here are some nicotine facts you may find surprising.
1. Nicotine Fact: Nicotine does not cause cancer
Nicotine does not cause cancer or death. It is only one of 4,000 odd chemicals consumed in cigarette smoking and it is some of these that cause death and disease NOT nicotine.
In addition to tar, there is also carbon monoxide, ammonia and arsenic which are all poisonous in fact, at least 43 of the chemicals in tobacco smoke are known to cause cancer or death and nicotine is NOT one of them
2. Nicotine Fact: Nicotine is part of the natural food chain
Nicotine is part of the natural food chain and many people consume nicotine everyday without even realising it.
Nicotine as the New England Journal of Medicine, States:
“Is a naturally occurring compound. Trace elements are found in common foods and vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower, eggplant, chili peppers, and some teas”
3. Nicotine Fact: Nicotine improves mood
Nicotine is known to switch on receptors on the surface of cells in the brain, causing these neurons to release the Neuro-transmitter dopamine, a chemical that is associated with feelings of happiness and pleasure.
4. Nicotine Fact: Nicotine can help with serious illnesses
Leading on from the above Nicotine does not just cause feelings of pleasure it can help with memory and concentration and this has led to considerable research in diseases including:
Depression, Schizophrenia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease where it is believed alleviate the symptoms and in the latter two even reduce the chances of getting the disease
5. Nicotine Fact – Has a bad reputation!
Many people simply assume nicotine is bad for you because it is consumed in cigarette smoking, but that’s like saying grapes should not be eaten as they are in wine and you can die from drinking too much!
Nicotine as we have seen above is a naturally occurring compound that is part of the food chain and is safe and non toxic. Not only is it safe and non toxic much of the research of nicotine at present actually shows it could do us good.
Of the nicotine facts given above expect fact 5 to change as more people become aware of the truth about nicotine.

Online PR News – 29-September-2009 – electronic cigarettes have been around for a couple of years now and slowly but surely they are gaining market share against to traditional tobacco cigarettes. Recently, however the FDA in America tried to ban sales in the US stating that the products were unsafe and dangerous to your health.
However, a simple Google search easily reveals the holes in the FDA report and shows a suspicious amount of bias towards both pharmaceutical and tobacco companies – both outspoken adversaries of electronic cigarettes which is mainly due to the amount of money they will lose when electronic cigarettes take over from dangerous tobacco cigarettes and other smoking cessation devices like Nicorette which has a comparatively very low success rate.
According to a recent medical study in South Africa, 45% of smokers using the electronic cigarette were able to quit within two months of switching to the innovative new product, compared to 5% of Nicorette Gum users.
Of course, what counts is whether smokers can cease smoking for the long term. However, the results remain extremely encouraging.
“an e-cigarette is the most effective treatment method on the market for quitting tobacco smoking”
The survey results found:
• 6% of smokers quit within two weeks
• 45% of smokers quit within two months
• more than half reported improved energy levels and an improvement in their appearance.
All of the doctors involved in the study felt that the electronic cigarette could be an aid to overcoming all physical and psychological effects of smoking, with one doctor adding that:
“an e-cigarette is the most effective treatment method on the market for quitting tobacco smoking”.
But whilst this study is not unique it will take a lot more to beat off the bottomless pockets of the tobacco and pharmaceutical giants and this study alone does not prove that electronic cigarettes are safe and should be used for smoking cessation.

Propylene glycol

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What is Propylene glycol?

Propylene glycol,  is an organic compound (a diol or double alcohol).  It is a colorless, nearly odorless, clear, viscous liquid with a faintly sweet taste, hygroscopic and miscible with water, acetone, and chloroform.

Because of its low chronic oral toxicity, propylene glycol is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a direct food additive.

The United States Food and Drug Administration listed these items as “Generally recognized as safe” or GRAS and these are listed under both their Chemical Abstract Services number and FDA regulation listed under the US Code of Federal Regulations

How is Propylene glycol used?

• As a solvent in many pharmaceuticals, including oral, injectable and topical formulations.
• As a humectant food additive, labeled as E number E1520
• As an emulsification agent in Angostura and orange bitters
• As a moisturizer in medicines, cosmetics, food, toothpaste, mouth wash, and tobacco products
• As a carrier in fragrance oils
• As an ingredient in massage oils
• In hand sanitizers, antibacterial lotions, and saline solutions
• In smoke machines to make artificial smoke for use in firefighters‘ training and theatrical productions
• In electronic cigarettes, it is used to deliver vaporized nicotine
• As a solvent for food colors and flavorings
• As an ingredient, along with wax and gelatin, in the production of paintballs
• As a moisture stabilizer (humectant) for snus (Swedish style snuff).
• As a cooling agent for beer and wine glycol jacketed fermentation tanks
• As a less-toxic antifreeze
• As a solvent used in mixing photographic chemicals, such as film developers
• In cryonics
• As a working fluid in hydraulic presses
• As a coolant in liquid cooling systems
• To regulate humidity in a cigar humidor
• As an additive to pipe tobacco to prevent dehydration.
• To treat livestock ketosis
• As the main ingredient in deodorant sticks.
• To de-ice aircraft.^[6]
• As an ingredient in UV or blacklite tattoo ink

Side Effects of Smoking Cigarettes

• Every year hundreds of thousands of people around the world die from diseases caused by smoking – Smoking KILLS.
• One in two lifetime smokers will die from their habit. Half of these deaths will occur in middle age.
• Tobacco smoke also contributes to a number of cancers.

• The mixture of nicotine and carbon monoxide in each cigarette you smoke temporarily increases your heart rate and blood pressure, straining your heart and blood vessels.
• This can cause heart attacks and stroke. It slows your blood flow, cutting off oxygen to your feet and hands. Some smokers end up having their limbs
  amputated.
• Tar coats your lungs like soot in a chimney and causes cancer. A 20-a-day smoker breathes in up to a full cup (210 g) of tar in a year.
• Changing to low-tar cigarettes does not help because smokers usually take deeper puffs and hold the smoke in for longer, dragging the tar deeper into their lungs.
• Carbon monoxide robs your muscles, brain and body tissue of oxygen, making your whole body and especially your heart work harder. Over time, your airways swell up and let less air into your lungs.
• Smoking causes disease and is a slow way to die. The strain of smoking effects on the body often causes years of suffering. Emphysema is an illness that slowly rots your lungs. People with emphysema often get bronchitis again and again, and suffer lung and heart failure.
• Lung cancer from smoking is caused by the tar in tobacco smoke. Men who smoke are ten times more likely to die from lung cancer than non-smokers.
• Heart disease and strokes are also more common among smokers than non-smokers.
• Smoking causes fat deposits to narrow and block blood vessels which leads to heart attack.
• Smoking causes around one in five deaths from heart disease.
• In younger people, three out of four deaths from heart disease are due to smoking.
• Cigarette smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of low birth weight, prematurity, spontaneous abortion, and perinatal mortality in humans, which has been referred to as the fetal tobacco syndrome.

This list can only begin to convey the health effects of smoking cigarettes and why quitting makes sense. Next we consider reasons why smoking is bad those around you in the effects of second hand smoke.

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