Calming the Fear by Steve Chase
I think one of the biggest obstacles we face with the general public is the perception that the electronic cigarette is just as dangerous for them as a tobacco one. Especially when the ANTZ have spent years insinuating that we are ‘smoking anti-freeze’. They have an endless supply of money and a fawning media to get their message out. They also have had years of experience at this game and know what buttons to push to get the politicians in line. However, sooner or later the lies catch up with them and they are forced to start relying on the dangers of second hand smoke/vapor and their old tried and true trump card, NICOTINE. A vile word that is so interchangeable with the word ‘cigarette’ they have become one and the same. We need more than theories in this battle. We need ideas to demonstrate that the ANTZ are making a mountain out of a molehill and it doesn’t take decades to prove it. The public needs to know that the electronic cigarette is not a different way to ‘smoke’ but that it is an effective and safe way to help SOLVE the smoking problem.
My wife has never smoked in her entire life. She hates smoking and for very good reasons. Unfortunately I loved it, so except for a very short time early in our relationship I have never smoked anywhere in her vicinity. I became quite accustomed to being an outside smoker…even in winter, and I HATE winter. Our homes and her automobiles have been absolutely smoke free for our entire marriage.
Smoking is one thing…but vaping is an entirely different ball game. I did a lot of research before I committed to buying my first starter kit. Safety was a big issue. It made sense to me that since the vapor was being absorbed and filtered through my body, and there was no side stream vapor, that any elements like nicotine in the residue would be miniscule in number. I started vaping inside. People I encountered were telling me that they couldn’t really smell it and most important to me was that it did not bother my wife…until…Fall came around and our central air conditioner was not being used. With little or no air movement in the house my wife started telling me for the first time that she could definitely smell my ecig. That alarmed me because this was a new revelation. Everything I had learned to that point indicated that the smell of e-vapor was practically non-existent. My thought was that if she could smell it that much, what else was going on with the vapor? I didn’t have much concern with the PG but nicotine was another matter. Time to head back outside and re-evaluate.
It dawned on me that we had a unique situation. Our home was never contaminated with cigarette smoke. We are alone and for the most part we are home 24/7. If my wife had elevated levels of nicotine in her system it would have to be coming from my ecig and I would be back outside for good. The simple solution was for us to take a Cotinine test to check for nicotine levels in our bodies. The test is very easy to administer and not very expensive, $15. It can detect as little as 6 nanograms per mL of cotinine (a nanogram is one billionth of a gram) and can show results if you have been in a tobacco smoke environment for as little as an hour in the past 2 to 3 days. On a scale of 0-6…I tested between 4 and 5. She tested 0. Obviously this test was not a scientific clinical trial. Far,far from it but that does not mean it wasn’t valid either. The fact is that she is spending the vast majority of her time in a confined space with a husband that vapes and she is not ingesting elevated levels of nicotine from that experience. A first hand common sense demonstration that alleviated any fears in both of us that my vaping should not be any more of a concern than thousands of other things we come in contact with on a daily basis…like her coffee for example. She has seen the benefit the electronic cigarette has done for both of us and is now a big advocate.
I think Dr. Carl V. Phillips said it best, “No one is claiming they (ecigs) are 100% safe, just that they are about as low risk as drinking soda or eating French fries or commuting to work, and a miniscule fraction of the risk from smoking”. That quote is in reference to the user of the product, and not directed to bystanders because their risk would be even less.
Here is an idea for local vaping groups and vendors to consider. When a bunch of ANTZ want to ban electronic cigarettes in your area, design and run a Cotinine test yourselves on a little larger scale than mine. If you can demonstrate that nicotine is not affecting bystanders you will have severely limited the issue of second hand nicotine. Of course the ANTZ will scream bloody murder and yell about pseudoscience at a hearing. Too bad. The test is so simple and common sense that even a politician or a journalist can understand it and perhaps they will not be so eager to hop on the ‘ban’ wagon. What are your ideas to calm the fears? I would love to hear them.
The bottom-line. Tobacco Harm Reduction not only saves smokers… it saves bystanders as well.
That is great evidence that second hand vapor does not get in the system of my kids. Thanks for posting this!
Great blog and idea about the test. One thing that came to mind is this what flavor were you vaping when your wife noticed. Most of the time my family doesn’t notice me vaping but their are a few flavors that they claim seem to hang in the air or have a unpleasant smell. My sense of smell hasn’t recovered enough to tell for myself. So I take they word for it and put that flavor aside and all happy again.
I have to agree that there have been only a few flavors where family members noticed the smell. There was a cappuccino eliquid I tried once and the family said it smelled like burnt coffee beans and they couldn’t stand it, so I stopped using it. Good to know that it’s not affecting others in the house!
I knew that second hand smoke well vapor wasnt an issuie! Nice article btw.
What a great idea! Excellent personal study you did there. Thanks for sharing this with the rest of us!
Thanks, Steve…cool idea about the test. every now and again I’ll run across a juice hat seems to leave a lingering aroma in the air, but I’d be hard pressed to say any of them smelled as rank as old ciggy smoke!
Thanks for sharing the info. That’s the first I had even heard of that test.
Thank you for the great experiment and for writing about the results. While vapor is not completely ordorless.. it is at least less offensive, but it is the world to understand that the nicotine is not being absorbed by others around it.
I applaud your efforts and will remember the info.
Thanks for sharing!!
Great post Steve. I vape inside, and in the car with others.
Great post!!! As for “The test is so simple and common sense that even a politician or a journalist can understand it ” Good Luck on finding that politician …..LOL
Nice post. There is some very interesting information.
Thanks intrasting idea
people are crazy
Very interesting. I think I’m going to do some more research myself! Thanks.
Thanks for you the info.
Sorry, I meant thanks for the info
Thanks for the blog. I wish they would use the test you did on a large scale and in small enclosed environments and share the data. That could be a huge weapon for use to fight with.
very informative article and thank you for setting my mind to rest that vaping inside doesn’t have consequences for my loved ones, at least when it comes to nicotine and i don’t think there is any harm in any other way
good info !!!
it’s great that you went that far to prove to yourself that the ecig was safe to use around your wife, and a great idea for others to demonstrate the safety of ecigs as well…
Nice work.
Seeing as how there are so few of us compared to the number of non-vapers, we have to work overtime to counter the misinformation and fabrication spewing from the pie-holes of the Scum. And Good, Confirmable Data always helps!
They always try to control us. ban cigarettes, Not E-cigs
Quit banning most things actually……Geesh..1984
Great write up.
Great info. I vape inside and had been smoking for 30 years (since my son was born) outside, I’ve never contaminated my home, no matter how cold, wet, rainy it was outside! So I know that vaping clouds of vapor can smell, since my friends said they could smell vanilla in the car, and it’s good to know I am not harming another human soul with my vaping. I am so disgusted that there are so many misleading stories from reputable places out there and that people believe these are more harmful than cigarettes!
great blog i must say so myself
Awesome write up and an excellent Idea on the nicotine testing. Now if only we can show them our ecigs and be able to be exempt from an employer testing since its a much safer alternative. highly doubt thats gonna happen though.
thanks fo de information…..
great post!
read it again awesome
Great comment, TheCrookedOne; why the hell does the government feel compelled to ban a damn thing? If I wanna smoke tobacco until I cough up my lungs, it’s none of their damn business. If I wanna vape myself silly, so effin’ what? It’s the power trip these nitwits are hooked on….
Good work
second hand smoke when orginnally tested was found insignificant, really gives smoking a bad name, that study is irritating.
Very well said!
nicely written and true!
Nice, Love it
great post keep it up
geat blog! keep writing!
I read all your blogs! Thanks for writing!