e-cigarettes

What are Variable Voltage E-Cigs?

June 29, 2015

What do variable voltage e-cigs bring to the vaper?

Simply put – they give you more control on the amount of vapor (allowing you to increase or decrease) created by your tank. This in turn affects the throat hit you experience which is done by changing the amount of power (wattage) generated by your Tank.

Some people prefer to change the amount of vapor for different flavours.

Chocolate, tobacco, and coffee flavours are noted by some to taste better when exposed to more power, while fruit flavours such as apple, strawberry or peach often taste best with less power.

Some people simply prefer more vapor and the stronger throat hit at different times and like to change according to their mood or circumstances.

The downside of Variable Voltage E-Cigs is that the tank kits invariably cost a lot more than standard Starter Kits and can run into hundreds of pounds with some kits costing more than £200. However top end kits can cost a lot less – at Matchless there are two very high quality kits coming in at £70 for the VV1 kit and £60 for the VV2 kit.

Don’t however assume that Variable voltage kits will necessarily give you a better experience.

If you aren’t a heavy smoker, or if you smoke low tar cigarettes, you may find the amount of vapour production / throat hit of a variable voltage device too much at higher power levels and not to your liking.

If you have to turn a variable voltage e-cig down to 3.7 volts or lower ( the voltage of most standard kits ) to give you the vapour levels you prefer you would probably be best to stick with your standard kit.

In addition using variable voltage / wattage E-cigs is not necessarily straight forward (particularly if you are new to vaping). There is more to vaping than just simply pressing a button, and a lot of people underestimate how tricky using some devices can be.

For example, when using an E-cig at 5 volts + , an atomiser can give you a harsh / dry vapour with an unpleasant flavour if the heating coil in the tank is not kept wet.

The best results with the Variable Voltage units are generally achieved by the more experienced E-cig users.

Some of the geek speek relating to Variable Voltage E-Cigarettes you#ll come across are:

  • Volt – unit of electrical potential or motive force, potential is required to send one ampere of current through one ohm of resistance.
  • Ohm – unit of resistance, one ohm is the resistance offered to the passage of one ampere when impelled by one volt.
  • Ampere – units of current, one ampere is the current which one volt can send through a resistance of one ohm
  • Watt – unit of electrical energy or power, one watt is the product of one ampere and one volt – one ampere of current flowing under the force of one volt gives one watt of energy

Power (P) or (W), = Watts,
Voltage (V) or (E), = Volts,
Current or Amperage (I), = Amps (Amperes),
Resistance (R) = Ohms.

Power is usually abbreviated by (W) and measured in Watts. The formula generally given for Power is:
W = V x I or W = I2 x R or W = V2 / R.

Simply put – if you increase your voltage you increase your power. and the main feature of variable voltage e-cigs are the ability to adjust the power and therefore the strength

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By admin

Vaping and Vanity

June 25, 2015

While the Welsh Assembly debate on vaping in public places and reducing us to the same corners as tobacco – it does make you think: Send the vapers outside where the smokers are and then wonder if those trying to quit are converted back to smoking. It is an odd world!
You would think that vapers, and many do convert to vaping to quit smoking – would want to avoid any possible incentive back to their old habits.

Let’s stay positive this week and look at the benefits for your vanity of e-cigarettes . We explore the areas and reasons we think E-Cigarettes for women are a better alternative than traditional smoking.

That Stale Smoky Smell…

What is worse than the lingering smell of smoke? On your clothes, hair, breath and so on – the smell stays for days and actually thinking about it- I find the stale smell days later one of the most repulsive memories of my past smoking days! Vaping e-liquid will not cause your clothes, hair or breath to smell like an ashtray. You can actually choose an aroma such as Vanilla or Cherry which is far from off putting. The flavours will no doubt increase as your experience will allow.

Smoking stains your hands and hair…

Smoking tobacco will stain your fingers and your nails and worse still your teeth. But did you know smoking can also change the colour of your hair? especially in cases where you have coloured it beforehand. Ecigs contain nicotine so you’re addicted to the same drug as smoking but you don’t get the stains you would from cigarettes. That’s one less unpleasant side effect to worry about.

Better for your skin…

Smoking damages the skin – it makes it age. Collagen and elastin are damaged by smoking and this simply makes the skin looser and more wrinkly. It is the toxins in tobacco that does this and not the nicotine. Further, the toxins will cause your skin to fight back and this is visible by redness and inflammation. If you easily get red skin or have blood vessels near the skin, smoking will only inflame this more. As an alternative vaping does not contain the same damaging toxins as smoking- you still get the nicotine and have less to worry about your vanity.

Did you switch from cigarettes to e-cigarettes? Tell us how it was for you by leaving a comment below.

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By admin

Studies on E-liquids and Cartridges

April 21, 2015

Further studies into flavouring is required.

Studies on popular flavours such as bubble gum, cotton candy, chocolate and so on in the US by Portland State University in Oregon: found that the flavouring chemicals comprised anywhere from 1 to 4 percent of the e-cigarette liquids, equivalent to about 10 to 40 mg/mL. Of the 24 compounds used, 6 are aldehydes known to have respiratory irritants. If you vape all day on one of these flavours using e-cigarette cartridges or e-liquid, the exposure is above the safety guideline limit.
The flavours are originally based on consumption and your stomach is a different organs than your lungs. Further studies are required to investigate the effects of flavours with e-cigarettes.

The threat of formaldehydes

A study published into a study into the formaldehyde with e-cigarettes that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in January 2015: identified that the risk was significantly more with high voltage setting hardware.
So clearly it makes no sense to have high voltage hardware set to the highest setting.
Regulations are needed, know the ingredients
It is clear that tighter regulations are needed on the flavourings used in e-cigarette cartridges and e-liquids. Further studies are needed on inhaling as compared to edible flavourings. Clear labelling of ingredients and maybe limiting the amount of added flavouring, possibly reducing the flavourings such as Bubble Gum that appeals to the younger generation. E-liquids and e-cigarette cartridges should be made in EU with full traceability on all ingredients used.

What do we know so far

“We really have no idea about the potential health consequences yet,” said Dr. Avrum Spira, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. He added “The prevailing wisdom is that they’re less harmful than cigarettes.”

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By steffanr
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Politics of e-cigarettes

February 10, 2015

In the last week we have seen further discussions on e-cigarettes, in this blog we refer to the politics of e-cigarettes for many reasons.  It first started with the study of mice that was published in various newspapers and online forums.

Interesting to read the BBC news feed which stated that “In experiments on mice, scientists found that e-cigarette vapour could harm the lungs and make them more susceptible to respiratory infections.”

The word that must be stressed here is could, similar to ‘maybe’, which means that it is not a fact. On the daily feed from vaping news the story evolved into facts.The screen shot

Politics of e-cigarettes the recent headlines shows how it transformed into a fact. See how BBC news “could” becomes Sky News “Are”…

THE POLITICS OF E-CIGARETTES

The ongoing debate of e-cigarettes spilled over into the Parliament and naturally lead to further Politics of e-cigarettes. In light of all the negative publicity last week, e-cigarettes can be used in Parliament. MPs and staff will be allowed to vape in three areas- these are the Portcullis House building, MP’s offices and their main pub Stranger’s.

ON GOING DEBATE

Circulating on facebook and newspapers are surveys and perceptions of addictions and bad habits. Last week we came across the public vs scientists’ views

chart showing public and science opinions on drug harm

Further, the Mirror has continued to ask the public opinion, should e-cigarettes be banned. Image posted for the update as of 10th April 2015.

should e-cigs be banned? survey on mirror.co.uk

The Politics of E-cigarettes continues…

 

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By steffanr

Cigarettes & E-cigarettes Health effects

February 10, 2015

The key difference between conventional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes or vaping) is tobacco. There are plenty of studies on cigarettes health effects that prove tobacco is linked to cancer. There are few studies of e-cigarettes health effects. Conventional cigarettes contain a whole list of chemicals which are harmful to your health.  E-cigarettes have some similar chemicals. One of these chemicals is Nicotine. Note: everyone tests positive for nicotine. It is a normal part of our diet, unless someone does not eat vegetables. It shows up in everyone’s blood stream in small amounts, because it is a common ingredient in vegetables. It is highly addictive and has been linked to reduced bone health. (1)

E-cigarettes health effects: what do we know?

Jonathan Foulds, who studies cigarettes health effects like tobacco addiction at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center states “E-cigarettes are at least 90 percent less harmful, and maybe much less harmful to your health than that”. He adds “It’s really the smoke that does the harm”. “Burning tobacco produces thousands of chemicals, including dozens that cause cancer. It produces carbon monoxide, which is a poisonous gas, and tar, which clogs the lungs.” Still, excessive nicotine can contribute to heart disease, although it’s not the main contributor to heart disease that results from smoking. He adds, nicotine is especially dangerous to an unborn foetus, so e-cigarettes don’t offer an acceptable option for pregnant women.But for most smokers, “any cigarette replaced by vaping is probably a step in the right direction,” says Foulds.

Studies by the FDA on E-cigarettes Health effects in 2009 (2) found detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals in e-cigarettes.  It is therefore understandable that some legislation will be needed on manufacturing of e-liquids. Traceability and transparency in the manufacturing of vaping liquids will be in the public interest.  The truth about the studies on health has yet to be proven it is almost impossible to determine if a product increases a person’s risk of cancer or not until the product has been around for at least 15-20 years. Despite positive reviews from e-cigarette users who enjoy being able to smoke them where regular cigarettes are prohibited, very little is known about their safety and long-term health effects. To date e-cigarettes health effects compared to cigarettes are considerably less damaging.

(1) Tanaka, H.,Tanabe, N., Kawato, T., Nakai, K., Kariya, T., Matsumoto, S., & … Maeno, M. (2013). Nicotine Affects Bone Resorption and Suppresses the Expression of Cathepsin K, MMP-9 and Vacuolar-Type H+-ATPase d2 and Actin Organization in Osteoclasts. Plos ONE, 8(3), 1-12. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059402.
(2) Summary of Results: Laboratory Analysis of Electronic Cigarettes Conducted By FDA. FDA News & Events. FDA, 22 July 2009. Web. 09 Aug. 2013.

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By steffanr