Vaping devices - is there something going on?

Micheál Martin was the minister in charge when we brought in the smoking ban in 2004. Farts became the dominant smell in pubs. Smoking areas were designed, and became the place to be if you wanted to have a smoke, a sneaky fart, or to make conversation with other people who were also in the smoking area.

Society changed, and everyone accepted that you couldn't just light up a fag in a pub, operating theatre, cinema.

What's with the sudden proliferation of these Elfbar and Lost Mary devices that are being sold these days? Every shop now has them on display right behind the counter. No tobacco, but with more nicotine than your grandfather would have enjoyed in his pipe 70 years ago. Made of hard plastic that is non-recyclable, lurid advertising, can be sold to teenagers.

Are we introducing another generation to standing outside vaping these yokes? And who is responsible?

BattleCorp

Bill Gates is clearly responsible. He's also been injecting 5G into us through the COVID-19 vaccine, that's made from dead babies by the way.

Trump is also to blame too, although I can't think of a reason at the moment, but he's to blame for all of the World's ills, so I'll come up with something eventually.

On a serious note, I reckon that vaping will turn out to be every bit as harmful to people as smoking is. Give it time.

Hungry Burger

You can vape away on these things inside the pubs for the moment. Can’t see that lasting too long. When these devices came out they were only 3 euro 50 and now in some places they’re up to 8 euro, the shiny reflective packaging will be the next to go. You have to give Nanny State the time to regulate things into oblivion.

theteal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120419588#Comment_120419588

The better half is an ITU nurse. They've already seen plenty of cases of lung fibrosis that can be linked to it apparently.

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120419634#Comment_120419634

There is no law against it, but a lot of pubs would have banned it independently. I personally hate having a cloud of chemicals blown in my face in a boozer.

BattleCorp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120419696#Comment_120419696

In my old job, I imposed the same rules around vaping as I did around smoking. Fcuk off down the car park to the smoking shelter if you want to vape.

kirk.

Kids are starting out on vapes as a fashion statement and switching to cigarettes when they need to

Disaster really

Mister Vain

More worryingly a lot of teenagers vape while looking at their phone while crossing the road.

EmmetSpiceland

It’s fairly cringeworthy when you see some lad well into his 30s, and over, “puffing” out lemonade candy-floss flavoured vapes.

From the childish flavours it should be fairly obvious that these “products” are for kids, either ones who legally can’t smoke or have only recently come of age.

Maybe they are good way for cigarette smokers to give up but it just comes across as, more than a bit, cheugy for grown men to be vaping the kiddie flavours.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120420050#Comment_120420050

They were sold as a way to help smokers quit, in reality they are a stepping stone to get teenagers hooked to smoke.

Guffy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120420050#Comment_120420050

I haven't smoked in 6-7 years thanks to these. I feel much better well into my 30's than i did well into my 20's. Apologies for being cringe but i guess that's part in parcel with being old

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120420050#Comment_120420050

They also come in tobacco flavour and no flavour at all.

I've given up lots of things like my life, inc class B drugs, alcohol, junk food and cigarettes. I would say the cigs are the hardest to give up and vaping is an excellent way to get off them for those who find it really hard.

I could equally say it's pathetic to see grown adults eating chocolate bars, sweeties, crisps and so on at lunch break. That's stuff you give to kids to shut them up.

Strumms

From the HSE…

Q: Are non-users at risk from electronic cigarettes?

A: The aerosols produced by various e-cigarette products have been shown to contain large amounts of propylene glycol, nicotine, flavours, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, volatile organic compounds, acetone, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzo(a)pyrene and particulate matter, as well as silicate and various metal particles (2). Several of these constituents are carcinogenic (cancer-causing). Although levels of most substances measured are lower in the mist of electronic cigarettes than in conventional cigarette smoke, they do pollute indoor air. Four of the metals measured (sodium, iron, aluminum and nickel) are present at higher levels than those known in cigarette smoke; five others (copper, magnesium, lead, chromium, manganese) are present in the same amounts; and two (potassium, zinc) at lower levels. Nickel and chromium are carcinogenic, and lead is suspected to be carcinogenic.

Substances emitted into indoor air when electronic cigarette are used may be inhaled by non-users present in the same room. Therefore, adverse health effects for third parties due to second-hand exposure cannot be excluded.

——————————

vapes have essentially made smoking cool for kids…. Also…..likelier pathways for kids to use real cigarettes….

in 2020 in the US, cigarette smoking increased for the first time in 20 years. Are vapes contributing ? Hard to quantify but a worrying trend. Be some coincidence…

Baba Yaga

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120420111#Comment_120420111

same as that,smoked 30-40 a day for the best part of 30yrs,dont care what it looks like either cause Im old and grumpy too 😎

Pauliedragon

Don't vape in the pub but an oul line or 2 in the jacks is grand.

Potential-Monke

I changed to vaping after about 20 years of smoking. Initially, I felt better, but only slightly. Then I started to feel worse. Coughing more, getting sick more often. Tried loads of different types, bought a proper vape/battery kit (didn't go the route of making my own), but wasn't getting better. Eventually went back to smoking rollies and my health improved slightly. Finally stopped smoking tobacco only years ago. Still use it with me spliffs, but my lung health has improved by at least 90%. No more coughing up a lung, or coughing in general (pre-spliffs, and only small coughs post-spliffs).

But I do see a lot of people smoking the disposable vapes. They last a couple of days and you throw them away. Pure waste that can't be recycled. You should only be able to buy the juice, everyone should have their own reusable vape pens.

Larbre34

Gateway drug to laughing gas is all. The the lighter fluid Joe.

Grayson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120420050#Comment_120420050

remind me not to buy icecream. It comes in kiddy flavors.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120421792#Comment_120421792

I've been vaping since just before covid hit. I was on 20+ smokes a day for 20 years. I've noticed my health getting better. I'm actually far healthier than I was beforehand. I even had lung tests done and I'm fine now.

But, like you I tried lots of different devices. There's a few that burned the crap out of the back of my throat. That was down to a pg/vg mixture that caused the back of my throat to dry out. Some just didn't relieve the nicotine cravings. Eventually I found something that works for me.

I vape sweet flavours because they taste nice. On the few occasions I've had a smoke I've hated the taste. I vape for the nicotine so if it was only cigarette flavour I'd still do it but it wouldn't taste as nice.

Timfy

I too am a grumpy aul fecker (50+)

I have been vaping since 2014, using only non-flavoured liquids but with a reasonably high nicotine content.

I tried everything (champix, patches, sprays and hypnotherapy) to give up my 40 - 60 day smoking habit. Nothing worked.

Vaping substitutes the experience of smoking, giving a mouthfeel and nicotine delivery similar to a cigarette without the tar, particulates and other crap in tobacco. My own health has improved immeasurably since moving over to vaping.

I see a poster above has listed a vast list of "nasties" in vape liquid, but please compare that to the same substances found in cigarettes, lipstick, kids toys and combustion particulates and you will see that in most comparisons the difference is a thousandfold greater than in vapes!

The few health scares around vaping came mostly from two different very special types of idiot.

Idiot number one was the genius who added diacetyl base flavour to a vape liquid. This is well documented to cause a health issue known as "Popcorn Lung"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronchiolitis_obliterans

Second set of idiots were the ones who added pure cannabis oil to their vapes. Vaping liquid is not an oil and inhaling burnt oil, strangely enough, is a really terrible idea.

https://news.sky.com/story/us-vaping-deaths-linked-to-thc-not-nicotine-11848431

Now, I have a hatred of all the flavoured liquids and cannot stand the stink of someone puffing out clouds of sickly sweet candyfloss flavoured vapour, but it is no worse than the lads on a Friday night drenched in aftershave or someone with bad breathe getting up in your face.

Disposable vapes are a problem and should be legislated out of existence. The sheer volume of plastic waste and the disposal of perfectly recyclable LiIon batteries is beyond comprehension, as is the active marketing towards teens. Vaping should be for over 18's and additives and flavouring should be treated the same as foodstuff, with much tighter regulation.

That said, there is a place for vaping and, as someone whose life has been positively affected by it, I should have the right to access safe and regulated products. Even if I do look like a cringeworthy old man!

kirk.

Asked a young person there yesterday were they still vaping

" No , just smoke cigarettes now"

So it's working both ways

Cigs>>vape and vape >> cigs

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120422777#Comment_120422777

Big Tobacco putting a lot of money into film and tv shows ensuring that main characters smoke a lot on screen. Been going on for years now.

Hungry Burger

I gave up smoking and went solely on the disposable Elfbar yokes. While I’m sure they are no better for you than smoking I vape on it considerably less than a cigarette. If I want a nicotine hit from cigarettes I have to roll a roller and then naturally, I’ll smoke it all whereas with these I only take two puffs and might not take another one for an hour or two.

AndrewJRenko

Yet another way for us to destroy our planet.

https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2022-12-15/lithium-being-trashed-by-the-tonne-as-disposable-vapes-flood-us-market

Arghus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120420050#Comment_120420050

I vape some of the sweeter flavours because they taste nice, that's all. I presume that's the main reason for most. It's never crossed my mind once that I should chase the flavor rainbow because it's what the "kidz" do.

Is it any less edifying than blowing out good old fashioned cigarette plumes, I'm not sure that it is.

Emblematic

When I vaped, I found menthol flavour the best. Masks the harshness of nicotine but still gives a "hit" at the back of the throat. The other advantage is that it doesn't really have much of a smell to others around.

While not completely risk free, I doubt very much that vaping is anywhere near as unhealthy as smokes. Hate the scaremongering that goes on.