broken.english
Jedi Council Member
No, but you improved my understanding of the universe.
While visiting with Whitecoast, Saman, and Turgon, I noticed WC with a small vape pod, which kind of piqued my interest. I ended up buying one, with a couple of pod packs, Tobacco, Cubano and Flavorless. (When I ordered, there was another one, Lime Mint, in the box which I didn't order, but they must have thrown as a bonus). I must say, I quite like them. It didn't take me long to figure out that I can smoke (vape) a lot more as it is very discreet, and doesn't have the smell that you get from cigarettes, or cigars. In fact, I did it discreetly with my wife around, and she would walk in and out of the room and didn't seem to notice anything.
Another thing is the cost. One of the pods is around $6 CDN, and even with pretty heavy use, it lasted about a week.
So I will still smoke my American Spirits, but it is nice to have something else in your arsenal to smoke when cigarettes aren't possible. I found sometimes, when I had the opportunity to smoke cigarettes, I would power smoke a couple, feeling that I needed to get them in when I could. But this isn't really satisfying or relaxing to me. With the pod, I can use it pretty well anytime, or anywhere, (with discretion).
Coming from a long time of smoking cigars, with their enormous amounts of nicotine, I almost get the same feeling, where I can get similar levels, and feelings with the pods that I used to get with strong Cuban cigars. And incidentally, one of the flavors I got, was Cubano....
(This is even with the Trudeau government limiting the nicotine strength to 20 mg/mL. back in July 2021).
So, just throwing it out there...
Another thing is the cost. One of the pods is around $6 CDN, and even with pretty heavy use, it lasted about a week.
So I will still smoke my American Spirits, but it is nice to have something else in your arsenal to smoke when cigarettes aren't possible. I found sometimes, when I had the opportunity to smoke cigarettes, I would power smoke a couple, feeling that I needed to get them in when I could. But this isn't really satisfying or relaxing to me. With the pod, I can use it pretty well anytime, or anywhere, (with discretion).
Coming from a long time of smoking cigars, with their enormous amounts of nicotine, I almost get the same feeling, where I can get similar levels, and feelings with the pods that I used to get with strong Cuban cigars. And incidentally, one of the flavors I got, was Cubano....
(This is even with the Trudeau government limiting the nicotine strength to 20 mg/mL. back in July 2021).So, just throwing it out there...
While visiting with Whitecoast, Saman, and Turgon, I noticed WC with a small vape pod, which kind of piqued my interest. I ended up buying one, with a couple of pod packs, Tobacco, Cubano and Flavorless. (When I ordered, there was another one, Lime Mint, in the box which I didn't order, but they must have thrown as a bonus). I must say, I quite like them. It didn't take me long to figure out that I can smoke (vape) a lot more as it is very discreet, and doesn't have the smell that you get from cigarettes, or cigars. In fact, I did it discreetly with my wife around, and she would walk in and out of the room and didn't seem to notice anything.
Another thing is the cost. One of the pods is around $6 CDN, and even with pretty heavy use, it lasted about a week.
So I will still smoke my American Spirits, but it is nice to have something else in your arsenal to smoke when cigarettes aren't possible. I found sometimes, when I had the opportunity to smoke cigarettes, I would power smoke a couple, feeling that I needed to get them in when I could. But this isn't really satisfying or relaxing to me. With the pod, I can use it pretty well anytime, or anywhere, (with discretion).
Coming from a long time of smoking cigars, with their enormous amounts of nicotine, I almost get the same feeling, where I can get similar levels, and feelings with the pods that I used to get with strong Cuban cigars. And incidentally, one of the flavors I got, was Cubano....
So, just throwing it out there...
I've been vaping for over a year now. It started because the cost of cigarettes kept going up in NZ and the actual amount of tobacco in the cigarette kept going down. Before we started vaping, my wife and I were spending around $1600 a month. I have found a tobacco vape I like - Bastard Vulture Salts it is called. I uses a 30ml bottle approximately once per week, and they cost $30 a bottle. Wife vapes a similar amount. Our cost has decreased to around $250 a month plus coils so say $275. Big difference and far more affordable. Ironically, vaping is encouraged by the NZ government as a smoking cessation tool so there is strict monitoring of quality of ingredients as well as checks on what is in the vape liquid. The other interesting fact is that the majority of vape liquid suppliers are small companies. As far as I can tell, there is no Big Pharma involvement in liquid production at all.
I should also add that after messing around with vape pods and refillable pods, I bit the bullet and bought a vape mod with a 4ml tank. Far more reliable, I don't need to replace the pods all the time and crucially, it doesn't leak if it is in my pocket. For the record I bought an Innokin Coolfire Z80 (which comes with an Innokin Zenith 2 tank) that cost NZ$85
Well, that is interesting, I guess things vary by country. The Slth brand is Canadian, so it is cheaper for me to buy from them, and when you order a couple of pod packs, shipping is free. In fact, when I ordered, I got it overnight FedEx. Pretty impressed. It seems to be an all in one system, so you don't need to replace coils or anything, the coil is in the disposable pods. The device is $14.99 and a pack of 3 pods is also 14.99. So pretty cheap to get started. The device has a lithium ion battery which charges in an hour, and seems to last a couple of days. The pods are sealed, so I haven't noticed any leakage.
When I said that one pod lasted about a week, I should clarify that I was also smoking a few cigarettes, so maybe just the pod alone would use up quicker.
Magnolia
Jedi
Another view on the possibility that "smoking is good?" -- in this instance, due to possible alkalinity.
The Revenge of the Furtive Smokers: Fewer COVID-19 Infections Due to Alkalinity
by Wayne Lusvardi on Lew Rockwell.com
Current Smokers Protected from C-19
"...the ban on smoking and the vaccine mandate has recently led to an emerging empirical and ideological contradiction: Current Smokers are less likely to get COVID-19 than Non-Smokers or Former Smokers, despite that countless correlation studies produced ...... concluding otherwise.
Which leads to a question of whether there is a protective or hormesis effect from smoking on COVID-19? [Hormesis is defined as a phenomenon in which a harmful substance gives stimulating and beneficial effects to living organisms when the quantity of the harmful substance is small (Sakai, 2006).]
Alkalinity and COVID-19
A plausible mechanism of action for the protective effect of smoking on COVID-19 infection is greater alkalinity in the alimentary canal and, ultimately, in the blood from tobacco. As the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology puts it: “It has recently been proposed that the pH (potential Hydrogen) of cigarette smoke particulate matter is higher (meaning more alkaline, less acidic, or better) than previously thought, and thus, a larger portion of nicotine would be in the unionized (combined or bonded) form, facilitating rapid pulmonary absorption”. And the Journal of Chemical Research Toxicology expresses it this way: “The available information combines to create a picture of nicotine in cigarette smoke that contradicts the traditional view that cigarette smoke PM (particulate matter) is typically acidic, with little free-base nicotine typically present in the smoke PM phase”. Smoking isn’t quite like taking baking soda, but it is alkalinizing."
The Revenge of the Furtive Smokers: Fewer COVID-19 Infections Due to Alkalinity
by Wayne Lusvardi on Lew Rockwell.com
Current Smokers Protected from C-19
"...the ban on smoking and the vaccine mandate has recently led to an emerging empirical and ideological contradiction: Current Smokers are less likely to get COVID-19 than Non-Smokers or Former Smokers, despite that countless correlation studies produced ...... concluding otherwise.
Which leads to a question of whether there is a protective or hormesis effect from smoking on COVID-19? [Hormesis is defined as a phenomenon in which a harmful substance gives stimulating and beneficial effects to living organisms when the quantity of the harmful substance is small (Sakai, 2006).]
Alkalinity and COVID-19
A plausible mechanism of action for the protective effect of smoking on COVID-19 infection is greater alkalinity in the alimentary canal and, ultimately, in the blood from tobacco. As the Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology puts it: “It has recently been proposed that the pH (potential Hydrogen) of cigarette smoke particulate matter is higher (meaning more alkaline, less acidic, or better) than previously thought, and thus, a larger portion of nicotine would be in the unionized (combined or bonded) form, facilitating rapid pulmonary absorption”. And the Journal of Chemical Research Toxicology expresses it this way: “The available information combines to create a picture of nicotine in cigarette smoke that contradicts the traditional view that cigarette smoke PM (particulate matter) is typically acidic, with little free-base nicotine typically present in the smoke PM phase”. Smoking isn’t quite like taking baking soda, but it is alkalinizing."
I got an email from the vape supplier this morning, warning of a new excise tax coming in the next budget on vape products. Haven't crunched the numbers yet, but seems that it will make vaping much more expensive.
(This comes on the heels of reducing the strength last year to a maximum of 20mg/ml. Need to buy more product to get the same amount of nicotine). Related? I think so.
stlthvape.com
(This comes on the heels of reducing the strength last year to a maximum of 20mg/ml. Need to buy more product to get the same amount of nicotine). Related? I think so.
Vaping Products Excise Tax and What That Means for Consumers | STLTH – STLTH VAPE
The proposed excise tax on vaping products has been approved, all e-liquids are subject to an excise tax that will result in an increase in price.
stlthvape.com
Something similar happened here in Finland 2-3 years ago. Even the finnish vaping forum has become very quiet.I got an email from the vape supplier this morning, warning of a new excise tax coming in the next budget on vape products. Haven't crunched the numbers yet, but seems that it will make vaping much more expensive.
(This comes on the heels of reducing the strength last year to a maximum of 20mg/ml. Need to buy more product to get the same amount of nicotine). Related? I think so.
Vaping Products Excise Tax and What That Means for Consumers | STLTH – STLTH VAPE
The proposed excise tax on vaping products has been approved, all e-liquids are subject to an excise tax that will result in an increase in price.
There just might be ways to buy stronger nicotine base, but as it seems to become more and more 'prohibited' everywhere, it shouldn't be done through any forum(at least publicly). And it can be very risky. That's probably the main reason I quit vaping.
Although I prefer smoking, I would still like to see alternative(s) for us smokers, who either want to quit smoking or simply can't smoke enough due to certain restrictions, like what we have here, the "smokeless" apartment houses, where one has to go outside of the block/quarter to smoke.
So yeah, a good alternative is killed simply by taxing it to death.
rodirozmar
A Disturbance in the Force
When I first started smoking hand-rolled cigarettes, there was no such choice of different accessories as today.
Claus
Dagobah Resident
As I can see, that is your first post.
So please go to the Newbies & Important Notices to All Members section and make your introduction, so that we can welcome you to the forum.
Thank you!
Damian
Padawan Learner
I came across this article today about smoking and covid19 - The great Covid and fags cover-up - thought I would share.
SubnetUnMask
Jedi
Nice find, and for those interested the author has compiled a list of studies, about 100 of the, on his blog with links:
Smoking and COVID-19: a new evidence update
Christopher Snowdon blogging about the nanny state, smoking, drinking, vaping, gambling and food policy. Established 2009.
velvetgloveironfist.blogspot.com
Jo Bugman
Jedi Master
I did give vaping a try, unfortunately it destroys my gut. It seems to be the vegetable oil that does it.
I was enjoying American Spirits till I read somewhere (probably SOTT) that plastic is used in most filters these days so I figured I’d just carry my pipe around with me to smoke on breaks.
With the curve in the pipe there’s no need for a filter to stop bits from getting into my mouth, and I can better control how much I tobacco I use depending on the time I have to smoke. All the ash can go into a trash can or some patch of grass and I clean it once a week.
The only downside is the wind, it has become my archenemy. I’ve debated on a pipe lighter to combat it but I’m not sure if it will be a better option since they don’t look very windproof.
I was enjoying American Spirits till I read somewhere (probably SOTT) that plastic is used in most filters these days so I figured I’d just carry my pipe around with me to smoke on breaks.
With the curve in the pipe there’s no need for a filter to stop bits from getting into my mouth, and I can better control how much I tobacco I use depending on the time I have to smoke. All the ash can go into a trash can or some patch of grass and I clean it once a week.
The only downside is the wind, it has become my archenemy. I’ve debated on a pipe lighter to combat it but I’m not sure if it will be a better option since they don’t look very windproof.
There is actually PG (Propylene glycol) and VG (Vegetable glycerine) that are used in ready-made liquids. Not sure about ratios though. Back when I did vape, I used to watch vaping related videos, and one guy had stomach cramps as a reaction to PG.
As he mixed his liquids himself, he left PG out, or most of it, and the symptoms went away. So that's one thing to consider, if one would like to test vaping as an alternative or addition to smoking. Of course it might not be that handy to have to buy different ingredients (VG or PG, nicotine and flavoring). I guess it depends, where one lives. But essentially it's DIY-thing like baking.
And last but not least, one should have some kind of refillable pod or a tank. Don' know what to recommend, as I haven't been following the scene for years.
Jo Bugman
Jedi Master
That is interesting. I did look into it and apparently a small percent of people do react negatively to PG. I found a site that sells VG and PG separately along with liquid nicotine but at that point I already spent a decent chunk of money trying different premixes that would result in my gut being ruined for a week each time, so it was becoming a difficult experiment.
It only costs around $30 for a bag of pipe tobacco in the USA that lasts for months, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in every country like you mentioned.
