General Etiquette is definitely important and the cornerstones of modern society and can only be positively driven through the thought for others:
Consideration for others requires self-control.
Considerate Vapers know how to behave in social settings and will always make proper decisions while in public.
Consideration includes being polite and especially how we behave on social media.
One of the rudest things a smoker can do is to blow smoke into another person’s face. The same rule definitely applies when vaping. Even though vapors are perceived to be less toxic, the act of blowing vapor is rude in itself.
“VAPE” – Vaping Associated Preffered Etiquette:
Each vaper is expected to be aware of these facts regarding their preffered daily past time….
“Vaping is perceived to be potentially less harmful than smoking?”
“With vaping we tend to take in fewer or less toxins than our stinky smoking counterparts?”
“Vapor” or “clouds” should be less of a nuisance than smoke from a cigarette?”
This being said, as Vapers we all feel that we should be able to vape anywhere. By focusing on being considerate of others you positively drive and promote the basic and expected Vaping etiquette.
Some Considerations:
It makes a lot of sense that Confined spaces are not a good place for vaping.
There maybe people occupying the same space that will have to breathe in the vapors.
This may not be so pleasant for others around you.
A closed space means that the vapors will hang around longer and the concentration will rise with each cloud.
So where can you Vape?
DO IT AT HOME
You have the privacy to do what you like in your place.
Good Etiquette is to always be considerate and courteous and air out your space before having guests over.
TAKE IT OUTSIDE
Good etiquette is to go and vape outside and or find a suitable place downwind.
People around you perceive vaping to be just like smoking and vaping in or around them can be both offensive and inconsiderate.
Always be courteous and minful of not getting your vapor into the faces of others persons.
OUT AND ABOUT
It is always recommended not to vape while out in any public places or spaces, in restaurants, while shopping, etcetera.
Just don’t vape where you wouldn’t smoke.
Most of the time adhere to the same warnings and restriction adainst smoking in all public places, it is considerate and best practice to follow the same rules for vaping.
WHILE IN A VEHICLE
If you are in your own vehicle you will tend to vape in you own vehicles confined space, that’s your choice.
We recommend rolling down the windows to avoid impairing your vision while driving.
Be considerate to others and air out the vehicle before transporting children, friends or guests.
Vaping Etiquette: Be an Example and make a Good Impression……
Making a good impression is key to improving the perception of what vapers and vaping is all about and always be mindful of how it compares to smoking.
Answering a few quick questions about vaping makes a great impression and helps out everyone.
The Majority of people do not understand the difference between vaping and smoking If you see that someone is curious be cordial and enlighten them as to what they are witnessing and how vaping works and try to educate them.
THE SOCIAL ASPECTS:
Vaping socially is becoming more common and when it comes to vaping with or near other people a few pointers should be taken into consideration.
ALWAYS ASK FOR PERMISSION
When you go into someone elses car or home, you always need to ask for permission for a number of reasons especially if you are in close proximity to them and are occupying their space.
Always ask the house owner or driver before you start thinking of heating up those coils….
If you are in the company of people that do not smoke take a few moments and ask if it is okay to vape.
If they end up having any questions be polite and try to inform them about just what vaping is all about.
Most times, they will try be gracious and say yes. Even so be considerate and always offer to take it outside.
PETS AND CHILDREN
Vaping around children and pets is considered similar to smoking.
Recommended good practice to avoid doing it at all.
The risk of your pet or child getting into your nicotine e-juices could be fatal.
VAPING AROUND SMOKERS
The majority of us vapers have previously been inconsiderate smokers before.
About educating other vapers to be more tolerant and accepting.
In conclusion:
“A persistent and focused positive vaping etiquette will go a long way to countering the stigma and negative bias being experienced against Vaping as a whole.”
For the most part, we know exactly what goes into the production of the liquid used in the majority of electronic cigarettes. E-liquid typically consists of four main ingredients: propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine and flavoring. What isn’t exactly clear is what constituents make up the vapor e-cigs produce.
Most e-liquid and e-cig cartridges list the ingredients on the label.
Key Points
Most e-liquids are made with propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, USP grade nicotine, GRAS flavoring and, in some cases, distilled water.
A 2012 study published in the scientific journal Indoor Air found e-cigs vapor contains only 6 out of 20 chemicals found in cigarette smoke.
VOC levels in vapor were far below safety limits and up to 40 times lower than those of tobacco smoke.
2nd hand nicotine inhalation is not a concern as only trace amounts were detected from vapor directly exhaled into a 10L glass chamber.
Chemical reactions produced by heat as well as components of the atomizer will often produce unexpected results in electronic cigarette vapor. That’s not to say the vapor is bad, it just simply has more than the four ingredients, on average, that make up the liquid that produces it.
Electronic Cigarette Ingredients
Fortunately, an increasing amount of evidence has shown the vapor produced by e-cigs to be far safer than cigarette smoke. Before we dive into what actually makes up the contents of electronic cigarette vapor, let’s break down each of the main ingredients used in the manufacturing of e-cig liquid.
Propylene Glycol
Propylene glycol is an organic compound generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA. It is used as an humectant, solvent, and preservative in food and tobacco products, and is one of the main ingredients in the liquid used in electronic cigarettes.
It is also used in pharmaceutical and personal care products. Propylene glycol is a solvent in many pharmaceuticals that are insoluble in water. While it won’t produce the amount of vapor that vegetable glycerin will, PG provides much of the throat hit in e-cig vapor that many smokers are accustomed to feeling in that of a cigarette.
Vegetable Glycerin
Like propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin is another base ingredient of e-liquids that produces the vapor of an e-cigarette. Also known as vegetable glycerol, VG is a considerably thicker liquid solution than PG and thus produces more vapor, albeit with a weaker throat hit.
Because of this, it will cause gunk to build up in atomizers, reducing their life span. However, it isn’t as allergenic and doesn’t cause irritation as often as propylene glycol does in sensitive users. Most e-cigarette liquids incorporate a combination of both PG and VG to give vapers a good throat hit as well as vapor production.
Nicotine
Contrary to popular misconception, nicotine is NOT the cancer causing agent found in most tobacco products. It is an addictive stimulant similar to caffeine that is produced from tobacco leaves.
Nicotine can then be used in the manufacturing of various pharmaceutical products like gums, patches and lozenges to help smokers wean off cigarettes. In the case of e-cigs, it is extracted into a liquid form, often combined with different mixes of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin to dilute its strength.
Distilled Water
Sometimes distilled water is used in place of propylene glycol to thin out mixes that only use vegetable glycerin as a diluent. This is done to decrease the viscosity of the mix to ensure it wicks better in some atomizers and doesn’t gunk up as quick as 100% vegetable glycerin would.
Flavoring
Malic Acid: Malic acid is an organic compound made from living organisms that is used in fruit flavored e-liquids. It’s what gives green apples and grapes their sour, tarty taste and has been approved as a food additive in the USA, EU, Australia and New Zealand. Malic acid is also added to some cola drinks to lower their pH levels.
Acetylpyrazine: Acetylpyrazine occurs naturally in peanuts, corn and sesame oil. It is another commonly used food flavoring that is often used in tobacco, chocolate and coffee flavored eliquid.
Vanillin: As one might expect, vanillin is used in most vanilla and other desert flavored e-liquids. It is the primary component of vanilla bean extract. Vanillin may be extracted from vanilla pods or artificially made from lignin.
So What’s In the E-Cig Vapor?
The nitrosamine argument has been hotly contested for a while now. The electronic cigarette industry doesn’t claim e-cigs to be 100 percent healthy, as nothing we eat, drink or breathe is perfectly safe. We do know that the quantities of impurities found in e-juice are far lower and thus exponentially safer than those in tobacco cigarettes. But what is actually in the vapor and how safe is it?
A 2012 study published in the scientific journal Indoor Air compared the vapor of electronic cigarettes to that of conventional cigarette smoke. The German researchers analyzed volatile organic compounds after test subjects either smoked or vaped in an 8 cubic meter steel chamber. One 0mg and two 18mg nicotine liquids in apple and tobacco flavor were used during the experiment, along with a regular cigarette.
Out of 20 of the chemicals found in the tobacco, only six of which were present in the electronic cigarette vapor and at much lower concentration levels. Those chemicals included butanone, acetic acid, acetone, isoprene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.
Image by Elaine Keller
As the table above shows, the concentrations of the six VOCs found in the e-cig vapor were at levels far below the occupational safety limit. For comparison, levels found in cigarette smoke were anywhere from 2.5 to 40 times higher.
However, the researchers also examined the vapor contents of a direct exhale into a 10 liter glass chamber to get a clearer picture of what vapers actually inhale. Of the nine chemicals found in the chamber, five are not considered toxic for inhalation at any level. The other four were found to have at least a 90 percent safety margin.
Image by Elaine Keller
Another not of importance was the amount of nicotine found in the e-cigarette vapor. While it wasn’t detected in the 8 meter steel room, nicotine was found in the much smaller glass chamber but only at very low levels. According to Allvoices, bystanders would have to directly inhale the same amount of vapor that the user inhales for 300 puffs in order to receive as much nicotine as that of a piece of Nicorette gum contains.
Conclusion
In addition to knowing what the majority of manufacturers use to create their e-liquids, we also have scientific evidence of what typical electronic cigarette vapor contains. Some of the chemicals found are indeed toxic, but only at levels far lower than those detected in cigarette smoke. Next time your local politician goes on a misinformed tirade about the lack of knowledge for electronic cigarettes, just refer them to this evidence. The Indoor Air study further backs the fact that not only do we know what’s in e-cigarettes, but vapor they produce is far safer than cigarette smoke and is not a threat to bystanders.
Nicotine is a chemical that contains nitrogen, which is made by several types of plants, including the tobacco plant. It is also produced synthetically.
Nicotiana tabacum, the type of nicotine found in tobacco plants, comes from the nightshade family. Red peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and potatoes are examples of the nightshade family.
While not cancer-causing or excessively harmful on its own, nicotine is heavily addictive and exposes people to the extremely harmful effects of tobacco dependency.
Fast facts on nicotineHere are some key points about nicotine. More detail and supporting information is in the main article.
Chewing or snorting tobacco products usually releases more nicotine into the body than smoking.
Nicotine is at least as difficult to give up as heroin.
The side effects of nicotine can affect the heart, hormones, and gastrointestinal system.
Some studies suggest that nicotine may improve memory and concentration.
There are more than one billion tobacco smokers worldwide.
History
Nicotiana tabacum, the type of nicotine found in tobacco plants, comes from the nightshade family
The tobacco plant is indigenous to the Americas and has been used as a medicine and stimulant for at least 2,000 years.
It is not known how tobacco first reached Europe. However, Christopher Columbus is often thought to have discovered tobacco while exploring the Americas for the first time.
The smoking of pipes and cigars spread quickly throughout the 1600s. The plant divided opinion when it was introduced to Europe. Some saw tobacco as medicinal, while others saw it as toxic and habit-forming.
The tobacco industry grew throughout the 1700s, and exploded in 1880 when a machine was first patented to mass-produce paper cigarettes. From then on, cigarettes became much easier to produce, and this saw in the dawn of the major tobacco corporations.
By the end of the 19th century, lawmakers had begun to realize the harmful effects of nicotine. Laws were passed banning stores from selling nicotine to minors in 26 states by the year 1890.
It was not until 1964 that the Surgeon General of the U.S. published a study linking smoking with heart disease and lung cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took until 1994 to officially recognize nicotine as a drug that produced dependency.
Even after this landmark recognition, the FDA was not granted control over nicotine regulations by the Supreme Court until June 22nd, 2009. On this day, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gave the FDA the power to regulate the production and advertisement of tobacco products.
Effects
Nicotine has a range of effects on the body.
The ‘nicotine effect’
Nicotine is both a sedative and a stimulant.
When a body is exposed to nicotine, the individual experiences a “kick.” This is partly caused by nicotine stimulating the adrenal glands, which results in the release of adrenaline.
This surge of adrenaline stimulates the body. There is an immediate release of glucose, as well as an increase in heart rate, breathing activity, and blood pressure.
Nicotine also makes the pancreas produce less insulin, causing a slight increase in blood sugar or glucose.
Indirectly, nicotine causes the release of dopamine in the pleasure and motivation areas of the brain. A similar effect occurs when people take heroin or cocaine. The drug user experiences a pleasurable sensation.
As users become more tolerant to nicotine, they require higher doses to enjoy the same effects.
Dopamine is a brain chemical that affects emotions, movements, and sensations of pleasure and pain. If your brain dopamine levels rise, the feeling of contentment is higher.
Depending on the dose of nicotine taken and the individual’s nervous system arousal, nicotine can also act as a sedative.
Pharmacologic effects
When humans, mammals, and most other types of animals are exposed to nicotine, it increases their heart rate, heart muscle oxygen consumption rate, and heart stroke volume. These are known as pharmacologic effects.
Psychodynamic effects
Consuming nicotine is also linked to raised alertness, euphoria, and a sensation of being relaxed.
Concentration and memory
Studies have shown that nicotine appears to improve memory and concentration. It is thought that this is due to an increase in acetylcholine and norepinephrine. Norepinephrine also increases the sensation of wakefulness, or arousal.
Reduced anxiety
Nicotine results in increased levels of beta-endorphin, which reduces anxiety.
How the body processes nicotine
After inhaling tobacco smoke, nicotine rapidly enters the bloodstream, crosses the blood-brain barrier, and reaches the brain within 8 to 20 seconds. Within approximately 2 hours after entering the body, half of the nicotine has gone.
How much nicotine may enter a smoker’s body depends on:
the type of tobacco being used
whether or not the smoker inhales the smoke
whether a filter is used, and what type of filter it is
Tobacco products that are chewed, placed inside the mouth, or snorted tend to release considerably larger amounts of nicotine into the body than smoking.
Nicotine is broken down in the liver.
Nicotine tolerance
Tolerance increases with the amount of nicotine consumed and people require higher doses to enjoy the same initial effects. As most of the nicotine in the body leaves the body during sleep, tolerance may have virtually disappeared first thing in the morning.
Nicotine has less of an effect as the day progresses because of the buildup of tolerance.
Nicotine is one of the most difficult substances to quit once addicted.
Nicotine is highly addictive.
People who regularly consume nicotine and then suddenly stop experience withdrawal symptoms, which may include:
The American Heart Association says that nicotine consumed from smoking tobacco is one of the hardest substances to quit. It is considered to be at least as hard as quitting heroin.
A 2013 study showed that reducing the amount of nicotine in cigarettes also brings down their level of addictiveness.
Humans get their nicotine “fix” primarily through smoking tobacco, but can also obtain it by snorting snuff, chewing tobacco, or taking nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), such as nicotine gum, lozenges, patches, and inhalators.
By far, the most popular way of consuming nicotine is by smoking cigarettes. Worldwide, over one billion people are regular tobacco smokers, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Approximately 16.7 percent of adult males and 13.6 percent of adult females in the U.S. are smokers. Smoking leads to over 480,000 deaths in the country per year, and over 16 million people in the U.S. are currently living with a disease caused by smoking.
More people die as a result of smoking than all deaths due to HIV, vehicle accidents, murder, suicide, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse combined.
Are e-cigarettes and vaporizers safe?
In recent years, liquid nicotine has been touted as a less risky replacement for smoking cigarettes. This can be delivered to the system in an electronic cigarette or vaporizer. These are known as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
These battery-operated ‘e-cigs’ and ‘vapes’ atomize the liquid nicotine by applying heat but without the harmful, oxidative effects of burning. Liquids are available in a range of strengths and flavors.
Current evidence suggests that using liquid nicotine is a safer alternative to inhaling tobacco smoke, as nicotine in itself is not classified as carcinogenic, or cancer-causing, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
It may also help people that are trying to quit smoking mimic some of the addictive behaviors of cigarette use, such as raising the hand to the mouth or seeing smoke inhaled, that other types of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) cannot imitate. Liquid nicotine can help replicate these behaviors without the harmful effects of tobacco use.
Any form of nicotine is highly addictive, so e-cigarettes and vaporizers remain unsuitable for young people and those who do not already smoke. Liquid nicotine can act as a gateway to cigarettes for those not already regularly taking in nicotine.
The use of e-cigarettes rose from 1.5 percent to 16 percent among high-school students and from 0.6 percent to 5.3 percent in middle-school students between 2011 and 2015, with 81 percent of young e-cigarette users putting their use of the products down to the wide availability of flavors.
There are also other chemicals present in e-cigarette and vaporizer liquid that could be harmful, and these chemicals will be different in various brands, products, devices, and uses. Some products that are available online may also contain dangerous concentrations of nicotine.
While nicotine does not itself cause cancer, some of the other substances in liquid nicotine may well contribute to it. For example, a flavoring called diacetyl, used in some e-liquids, is also associated with severe respiratory problems seen in workers at a factory that produces microwaveable popcorn, known as “popcorn lung.”
These products have been regulated by the FDA since 2016 and, as of 2018, must bear the nicotine addictiveness warning on packaging and marketing materials. However, as a relatively new technology, the full effects of liquid nicotine are not known, and caution is advised.
Treatment
The treatment of nicotine dependency is known as smoking cessation therapy. It aims to reduce the urges to consume nicotine as well as the associated risks and health problems.
Medications
Drug treatment options for nicotine dependency include:
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT): This is available in skin patches, nasal sprays, inhalers, and solutions that can be rubbed into the gums. These replace part of the nicotine normally supplemented by smoking cigarettes and reduce the severity of urges and cravings.
While NRT does not completely prevent withdrawal symptoms, a 2008 review advises that it can double the chances of quitting smoking long-term.
No single NRT product has been demonstrated as more effective than another.
A range of NRT products are available for purchase online, including skin patches, lozenges, and gum.
Bupropion: This was used in the first instance as anti-depressant medication. However, it was then found to be useful in reducing nicotine cravings. It has a similar rate of effectiveness to NRT.
The way it works is not yet understood. It can cause insomnia as a side effect in 30 to 40 percent of patients. Bupropion carries an FDA “black-box” warning, as some anti-depressant drugs have been linked to suicidal thoughts and behavior.
Varenicline, sold as Chantix: This medication partially triggers a certain receptor in the brain that usually responds only to nicotine. It then blocks the receptor, preventing nicotine from doing the same. This reduces the urges a person experiences while quitting smoking. It may also reduce the satisfaction an individual gets from smoking, which in turn decreases the risk of a relapse.
It can cause mostly mild nausea in around 30 percent of people who pursue this course of treatment, but varenicline is normally well tolerated. It has also demonstrated a stronger effect on nicotine dependency than bupropion.
Treatments that are used when these first-line treatments are not successful, as they are more likely to cause severe side effects, include:
clonidine, an anti-hypertensive drug that has also shown to reduce symptoms of nicotine withdrawal but can also cause low blood pressure, dry mouth, constipation, and a slow heartbeat
nortryptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant whose effects can replace those of nicotine but has many of the major side effects of antidepressants and has not been given a full safety profile
Counseling and psychological support
Reviews have indicated that NRT and other medications are most effective when supported by counselling and psychiatric care.
This can range from counseling as simple as advice from a primary care physician to stop smoking to individual, telephone, and group therapy.
Supplied Courtesy of:
These interventions can help people with nicotine dependency overcome the psychological aspects of withdrawal, such as low mood and irritability, while the medications help tackle the chemical side of dependency.
News
Research is ongoing into the best ways to manage nicotine dependency, and news regularly comes to light about treatments and tobacco industry regulations.
Meanwhile, recent research on mice demonstrated that exercise may help with smoking cessation. Mice who were exercising on a wheel after 14 days of being treated with nicotine showed significantly fewer withdrawal symptoms than those who were not.
Researchers writing in the European Respiratory Journalfound that tomatoes could help repair lung damage caused by smoking and slow the decline in respiratory health that normally follows a long period of inhaling cigarette smoke
VooPoo Drag Mini versus the VooPoo Drag 2 – Starter Kit Comparison
In late 2018 VooPoo released two new versions of its existing extremely popular VooPoo Drag Box Mod that had its successful release in 2017. Now……
Let’s compare the Box Mod Devices…
VooPoo Drag Mini on the left with the VooPoo Drag 2 on the Right
The new VooPoo Drag Mini and the VooPoo Drag 2 come standard in starter kit packages both with a 5ml capacity VooPoo Uforce T2 tank with a N1 and a P2 single mesh type coil that tends to produce the most flavour out of your preferred vape juice.
An exotic appearance and exquisite structure adorns the UFORCE T2 that looks almost similar mechanical design of a TRANSFORMER. Equipped with P2 (U2 instead for TPD) and N1 coils, the DRAG mini kit is remarkable for its acceleration power and the rich flavors it produces.
The VooPoo Drag Mini
The VooPoo Drag 2
VooPoo Mini
VooPoo Drag 2
Type
Box Mod
Materials
Zinc Alloy, Resin
Chipset
GENE.FIT
Size (mm)
81.5 x 48.5 x 25.5
88.3 x 51 x 26.5
Range (W)
5 – 117
5 – 177
Battery
Factory Fitted Non-Removable Li-Ion 4400mAh
2x 18650
Display Type
OLED 128 x 32Pixels; 4:1 ratio with ~145 ppi density
Weight (g)
178
158
Modes
VW, TCR, TC-Ni, TC-Ti, TC-SS, TC, Bypass
VW, TCR, TC-Ni, TC-Ti, TC-SS, TC, Bypass
Firmware Upgradable
YES
VooPoo Drag Mini vs. VooPoo Drag 2
The devices, as you can see in the images below, they look kind of similar.
The Drag Mini is completely sealed while the VooPoo Drag 2 comes with a DRAG branded magnetized removable cover for ease of access to the batteries.
VooPoo’s design on both mod’s has kept them looking almost identical on the outside with the VooPoo Mini reassembling a scaled down version of the VooPoo 2, a concept that seems to favour and possibly create and avail itself to a perfect “his and hers” option.
Both VooPoo variants are available in a variety of resin options with 8 colour pallets each for the respective Drag 2 and Mini variants having Uniquely Visual Resin Accents that adorning the VooPoo Drag 2……
And the VooPoo Drag Mini……..
The DRAG 2 Battery panel Cover and
Installing batteries into the VooPoo Drag 2
VooPoo have really produced two exceptional premium devices, they are well put together, and both look and feel great. VooPoo’s typical design on both mod’s has them looking almost identical from the outside with the VooPoo Mini reassembling a scaled down version of the VooPoo 2, this similar dual box mod concept actually produces an almost positive “his and hers” appeal.
A quick visual comparison?
The VooPoo Drag 2 is now the new flagship device.
The VooPoo Drag 2 can be classified as a decent when used with the original supplied tank fitted with P2 mesh coil, I am still using the original installed first coil for just over two weeks of testing now.
I really like the feel of and the way they look. I have mainly been using the VooPoo Drag 2 over the last couple of weeks. I have found the performance to be consistent and perfect as can be expect with the use of the “GENE.FIT” chipset.
The previous VooPoo Drag design has definitely been aesthetically improved on with the smoothed down refined finish.
The new VooPoo Mods is around 30% lighter, less angular and smoother than the original VooPoo DRAG.
Functional OLED display Panel above looks better and also uses less power to operate.
The VooPoo Drag 2 operates exceptionally well with all the RTA’s, sub ohm tanks, RDA’s and RDTA’s, delivering kick ass performance throughout the varying wattage ranges that were tried.
The original VooPoo Drag Box Mod actually performed just as well if not better than the VooPoo Drag 2, in the authors view anyone considering purchasing the new VooPoo Drag 2 is basically paying a lot more for the new design accents and a better refinement.
The current price of the VooPoo Drag 2 puts it out of the reach of entry level vapers, because of this I would rather recommend the original VooPoo Drag as it is available at about 50% of the current VooPoo Drag 2 price.
It’s a smaller device that can perform at up to 117Watts. Unfortunately running the device at 117Watts will definitely greatly reduce the expected battery life. I found that when using the VooPoo Drag Mini between 40 to 50Watts the battery life was comparable to the VooPoo Drag 2 that operates with two 18650 battery cells.
With the VooPoo Drag Mini I found that it worked best with MTL and also single coil RTA atomizer. Using these types of tanks on the VooPoo Drag Mini will definitely conserve at keep battery life at an acceptable level.
Thanks to the GENE chipset the VooPoo Drag Mini can also perform well at higher wattages at the expense of battery life, unfortunately this becomes a part of life when choosing to buy and use any mod with a non-removable battery.
My only concern with the VooPoo Mini is that It is not fitted with the most recent USB Type C technology, has no Quick Charge facility available and uses standard USB charging that can normally take anything between 90 to 100 minutes. If a quick charge facility was fitted to the VooPoo Drag Mini it would have been able to charge from flat to full in just over 35 to 45 minutes.)
Best Atomizer’s To Use on the VooPoo Drag Mini?
Tanks that can operate at lower wattages as well as any single coil RTA’s or low powered MTL atomizer were found to be suitable alternatives.
You will have no problems with battery life when running the lower wattage single coil RTA or a low powered MTL atomizer’s on the VooPoo Drag Mini.
I have also been using the Vapefly Galaxies MTL RTA on mine, running this set up at around 16Watts the VooPoo Mini gets an average of two days of battery life.
Vapers that prefer to vape between the 80 to 100W range will definitely find the VooPoo Drag 2 their go to VooPoo Box Mod of choice.
When all is said and done!
The new VooPoo derivatives are equally good and have been supplied to suit the varying and respective styles of vaping.
If you prefer to do high-powered vaping then the VooPoo Drag 2 is the choice that will satisfy you more with its longer battery life (Drag 2 Runs on 2x 18650 Batteries) and is better suited for performance type vape tanks.
The slightly smaller VooPoo Drag Mini is less powerful, and is designed for use with certain types of atomizer’s that can run at lower wattage ranges the VooPoo Mini is specifically suited too single coil RTAs and suitable MTL atomizer’s.
Both of the new VooPoo derivatives are great options depending on the type of vaper you prefer to experience.
Researched, tested, drafted and Post by: Reaversadmin
Marlboro maker attacked for ‘hypocritical’ anti-smoking campaign
Re-Post Courtesy of CNN and By Rob Picheta, Updated 1548 GMT (2348 HKT) October 22, 2018
As well as Marlboro, Phillip Morris owns e-cigarette and heated tobacco brands.
(CNN)The world’s biggest international tobacco company has come under fire for a “hypocritical” campaign encouraging people to give up cigarettes.
Philip Morris — which produces Marlboro cigarettes among other brands — launched it’s “Hold My Light” push in the UK on Monday, urging smokers to switch to vaping or heated tobacco products instead.
But anti-smoking campaigners attacked the company, which also owns e-cigarette brands, saying it is “jumping on the bandwagon” of declining smoking rates in the UK while still selling cigarettes around the world.
“It’s not that the message is the wrong one — it’s that it’s hypocritical for a company that is still promoting smoking in most parts of the world to be saying that it’s turned over a new leaf,” Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), told CNN.
“They’re basically hanging on the coattails of government anti-smoking regulation that has worked, and they’re trying to get some kind of benefit for them from it,” she added. “They’re looking for a commercial advantage, make no mistake.”
The campaign was launched with a wraparound advert on the front page of British newspaper The Daily Mirror. It encourages people to give up smoking cigarettes with a 30-day challenge, using products such as e-cigarettes to help.
Philip Morris owns e-cigarette and heated tobacco brands including IQOS, Vivid and Nicocig.
“This is a staggering hypocrisy from a tobacco company to promote its own smoking cessation products in the UK while continuing to promote tobacco cigarettes across the world,” George Butterworth, Senior Policy Manager at Cancer Research UK, said in a statement.
“The best way Philip Morris could help people to stop smoking is to stop making cigarettes,” he added.
The company has pivoted towards marketing smoking alternatives in recent years, with the company’s online manifesto saying it is “designing a smoke-free future.”
Mark MacGregor, Corporate Affairs Director UK and Ireland at Philip Morris International, told CNN the company was “surprised” at the criticism of its campaign. MacGregor said: “This campaign is designed to stop people smoking and to give up cigarettes as fast as possible.
“If we simply stopped selling cigarettes tomorrow, literally all that would happen is that smokers would switch to our competitors’ products,” he added.
At the beginning of this year the company launched an advertising campaign in British newspapers encouraging smokers to quit with the tagline: “Our New Year’s Resolution: we’re trying to give up cigarettes,” again citing smoke-free products like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products as alternatives.
But Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, also questioned the company’s motives.
“Their claims of ‘commitment to a smoke-free future’ might be more believable were they not continuing to aggressively advertise Marlboro across the developing world, where tobacco regulation is regrettably far laxer than in the UK,” Cramer said, adding that “this latest messaging from Philip Morris stretches credulity.”
‘We’re suspicious’
Arnott, from the charity ASH, said the campaign was an attempt to subvert the ban on advertising tobacco products.
Get CNN Health’s weekly newsletter
“Wherever it’s legal Philip Morris is still advertising its Marlboro brand. The fact of the matter is that it can no longer do that in the UK, we’re a dark market where all advertising, promotion and sponsorship is banned, and cigarettes are in plain packs,” she said.
“So instead Philip Morris is promoting the company name which is inextricably linked with Marlboro. That’s why we’re suspicious.”
Smoking rates in the UK have declined rapidly in recent years, with 400,000 kicking the habit in England last year. Public Health England recently predicted that just one in 10 people in England will be smokers by 2023.
Advertising tobacco products has been illegal in the country since 2003, but advertising e-cigarettes is permitted.
Philip Morris International, which sells tobacco products outside the US, has annual profits of over $6 billion and is 108th on the 2018 Fortune 500 list.
A new report by a U.S. government agency says that their tests showed that levels of “vaping-related chemicals” in the air of a vape shop were all below workplace safety limits.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) issued the report — titled “Evaluation of Chemical Exposures at a Vape Shop” — in July, but the testing took place in January of 2016. The shop isn’t named in the report.
NIOSH is a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Its stated mission is, “To develop new knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health and to transfer that knowledge into practice.” NIOSH says it has a mandate to assure “every man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.”
What were they looking for?
According to the report, NIOSH was asked to evaluate the shop by its owners. The agency’s “primary objective was to evaluate employees’ potential exposures to chemicals associated with
vaping in the shop.”
“Our work involved (1) sampling air for specific flavoring chemicals associated with respiratory disease; (2)sampling air for nicotine, propylene glycol, formaldehyde, and other VOCs [volatile organic compounds]; (3)sampling work surfaces for metals and nicotine; and (4) observing work practices.”
Oddly enough, we haven’t seen any CDC publicity about this report.
The shop sold both pre-packaged e-liquid brands, and their own juice made on site. The custom e-liquid was mixed at a juice bar by employees. The shop was about 1,000 square feet in size, had 10 employees, and was open during typical retail hours.
NIOSH took air samples at several locations within the shop, testing for the presence of diacetyl, acetyl propionyl (2,3-pentanedione), acetyl butyryl (2,3-hexanedione), acetaldehyde, acetoin, and formaldehyde. They also tested for nicotine, propylene glycol (PG), and volatile organic compunds (VOC’s) in the air, and collected samples from surfaces to measure metals.
What did they find?
The first thing they found was ridiculous: the employees kept nicotine base (100 mg/mL) in the refrigerator that also was home to food they ate. That should just never happen. And it really shouldn’t happen when a government agency is observing your routines. Employees also rarely wore gloves (which were present and available) when handling 100 mg/mL nic. Again, not wise.
As far as air samples…well, none of them even remotely approached the various exposure limits NIOSH compared to. Results varied, but overall there just wasn’t much to be said.
“The results for the area air samples taken over the entire work day in the juice bar and
lounge areas using silica gel tubes are presented in Table 3,” says the report. “Diacetyl, 2,3-pentanedione, 2,3-hexanedione, and acetoin were not detected in the lounge area. For the full-shift area air samples taken behind the juice bar using silica gel tubes, we found detectable, but not quantifiable, concentrations of 2,3-pentanedione on day 1.
We did not find detectable
concentrations of any of the other flavoring chemicals in the other juice bar samples.”
Formaldehyde was found in two of the eight samples at about half of the NIOSH recommended exposure level (REL). The rest of the samples were lower or not detectable. “Low concentrations of formaldehyde exist in many indoor environments because of off gassing from furnishings, clothing, and other materials,” they noted.
Nicotine measures came with an asterisk. “Estimated concentration; this concentration was between the minimum detectable and minimum quantifiable concentrations,” they said. In other words, the amount measured was too low to provide an accurate number.
Volatile organic compounds: “Employees exposures to all of the compounds quantified were well below OELs [occupational exposure limits].”
Metals: “Quantifiable concentrations of calcium (15–94 micrograms per 100 squared centimeters [µg/100 cm2 ]), copper (ND–0.49 µg/100 cm2 ), iron (ND–1.8 µg/100 cm2), and potassium (ND–17 µg/100 cm2) were identified in the wipe samples. Detectable, but not quantifiable, concentrations of chromium, lead, magnesium, nickel, phosphorus, strontium, and tellurium were also identified in some samples.”
“Some of the other elements that we detected on surfaces are found in human sweat (calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorous),” they noted. “It is unknown if their presence on surfaces was from e-cigarettes, people touching surfaces, or both.”
NIOSH’s conclusions were pretty bland.
“Employees were exposed to detectable levels of diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione in the air
while working in the vape shop,” they wrote. “Although the measured concentrations were below all applicable OELs, to better protect the health of employees we recommend that the employer implement a policy prohibiting vaping in the workplace with e-liquids that contain diacetyl and 2,3-pentanedione.
“The concentration of other vaping-related chemicals that we measured were also below their relevant OELs. Employees should be trained on proper chemical handling procedures and the need for consistent use of chemical protective nitrile gloves when handling liquids containing nicotine.”
No news is good news
Oddly enough, we haven’t seen any CDC publicity about this report. You’d think the CDC would want to share the good news that vapers and employees in vape shops aren’t endangering their health by breathing the vapor-laden air. No press releases or news conferences, no amending of the scare-mongering Surgeon General’s report from last year.
This adds to the evidence from earlier studies. There has never been any indication that breathing e-cig vapor poses risks for vapers — let alone bystanders — but it’s nice to have confirmation from the usually anti-vaping CDC.
As vapers, the vast majority of us are addicted to nicotine. E-cigarettes can realistically be thought of as nicotine delivery devices, providing hordes of ex-smokers with the drug they crave without the vast quantities of harmful chemicals you find in tobacco smoke. Many people who argue against e-cigs are incensed by the technology because vapers are still addicted to nicotine, but these arguments inherently side-step the entire purpose of the technology: it’s a harm reduction device.
This means that yes, addiction to nicotine does often persist in vapers, but what damage does addiction really do if the chemical itself is relatively innocuous? Would anybody look down on somebody who drinks a few cups of coffee a day? Well, they probably have a mild caffeine addiction, and caffeine is a drug, so why is it any different?
It’s clear that the opposition to e-cigarettes on the basis that they allow addiction to continue leaves several fundamental questions unaddressed. To work out whether vapers are the degenerate drug addicts they’re often perceived to be or whether they’re more accurately comparable with chronic coffee-drinkers (who can enjoy their drug of choice at minimal risk to themselves), we need to look at the research on nicotine itself. It’s no angel – since around 50 to 60mg will kill you (as long as you consume it within half an hour) – but with the average e-cig cartridge or liquid containing around 18mg per ml and lasting for the majority of a day, it’s clear that overdose isn’t a legitimate concern for e-cig users. In fact, when scientists start to look at amounts somebody could realistically consume, there are a surprising amount of potential benefits of nicotine and not too many downsides.
Here are 10 studies that will change the way you look at nicotine forever…
1: Pure Nicotine Inhalation Doesn’t Cause Cancer
The most notable thing about e-cigarettes for scientists and doctors looking at e-cigarettes is that unlike in tobacco analogues, the nicotine consumed is in pure form. To investigate the effect of this, scientists subjected lab rats to pure nicotine in twice the quantities consumed by even heavy smokers. As if this wasn’t enough, they did it for 20 hours per day, five days per week, for two years.
For a smoker to consume this much nicotine, he or she would have to chain-smoke, but with two cigarettes in their mouth at any one time, and only sleep four hours per night to accommodate their goliath habit. At the end of the study, the heavily nicotine-addicted rats didn’t have more tumors or die more frequently than the “control” group of rats (who breathed ordinary air). In fact, the only difference between the two groups was that the nicotine-consuming rats lost a little weight. This study is one important piece of evidence that shows that the other chemicals in tobacco smoke cause cancer, not nicotine.
2: Nicotine Aids Weight Loss
So, why did the rat equivalents of chain-vapers end up weighing less than their ordinary counterparts? To find out the answer, a group of scientists fed one group of mice a high-fat diet and another group the standard chow diet and investigated the effects of nicotine vs. an inactive saline solution. The researchers found that the mice dosed with nicotine weighed less overall after seven weeks, and the effect was more pronounced in those on the high fat diet. In addition, the mice consuming nicotine took on fewer calories – which accounted for all of the weight loss in the ones on an ordinary diet and two thirds of it for those on the high-fat diet. It was also found that nicotine was particularly effective against belly-fat.
As an additional test, the scientists then gave the mice a drug to block the nicotine receptor (preventing the drug from taking an effect) and tried again, so that if something other than nicotine was causing the effect they would notice. The weight loss was no longer observed, thus demonstrating that it was as result of the nicotine.
3: Nicotine May Improve Cognitive Impairment
Mild cognitive impairment might not sound like much of a big deal, but it’s actually an important indicator and a significant symptom of Alzheimer’s disease and numerous types of dementia. However, nicotine had been reputed to have a positive impact on the symptoms, so a six-month pilot trial was conducted to determine if there was any truth to the claim. The study used nicotine patches (at a dose of 15mg per day), allocating them at random to half of the participants (who all suffered from mild cognitive impairment and were non-smokers) and giving the other half fake (placebo) patches.
Aside from the treatment being evidently safe after the six-month period, they found that the nicotine-consuming participants improved on tests of mental processing, attention and memory (the main outcomes they were looking for). There was no improvement on the clinician rated global impression scale (essentially doctors’ assessments of the condition), but the study supplied strong evidence of an overall benefit. The authors suggested more studies to further investigate the potential of nicotine for Alzheimer’s and dementia sufferers.
4: Nicotine Stimulates Blood Vessel Formation
Here, another important piece of information is provided about the link between nicotine and cancer. Researchers from Stanford University investigated the effect of nicotine on the process of new blood vessel growth in mice (known as angiogenesis) and on the growth of tumors. After subjecting mice to the amount of nicotine consumed by a 20-per day smoker, they found some surprising benefits. For mice whose hind legs had been (purposefully) deprived of oxygen, the researchers found that nicotine notably increased the rate of new blood vessel growth, which gives it huge treatment potential for people suffering tissue damage as a result of a stroke or heart attack. The effect is assumed to be related to nicotine binding to a specific receptor found throughout the blood vessels, triggering the release of chemicals which stimulate angiogenesis.
A related effect was also confirmed, however. Since tumors rely on blood vessels for growth (due to regular deliveries of oxygen and nutrients), nicotine has the knock-on effect of speeding up the growth of tumors. It’s important to distinguish this from causing cancer – the effect was only observed with mice which already had cancer – nicotine still did not cause the cancer. However, the take-away warning is extremely valuable: vaping is not a good idea if you have cancer, but only because nicotine stimulates angiogenesis. What is otherwise a benefit is turned into a negative by the presence of a tumor.
5: Nicotine Protects Against Ulcerative Colitis
As you may have noticed, there are numerous potential benefits to nicotine, and researchers have looked into its effect in a wide range of conditions. Ulcerative colitis is a bowel disease – similar to Crohn’s disease – and there have been suggestions that smoking actually protects against it. A researcher set out to review the existing evidence on the subject, and found that nicotine (in patch or other forms) does appear to have a notable benefit for people suffering from the condition.
Research shows that smokers have a greatly reduced chance of developing ulcerative colitis, and even that people who start smoking when they have the condition tend to get better. Obviously smoking is not a good thing, so several clinical trials were conducted (often using patches) to determine whether nicotine was the active component. The review of multiple studies concludes that nicotine is the therapeutic ingredient, and when given in addition to existing medicines for the condition, results in significant improvements compared to the medicine alone. In fact, the study suggests that it could even serve as a back-up treatment when corticosteroids can’t be used.
6: Nicotine Doesn’t Cause Serious Side Effects
Thanks to the prevalence of nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs – like patches and gums) as quit-smoking aids, there have been many clinical trials conducted on their impact on both smoking cessation and adverse health effects. A systematic review of the available evidence on the topic (looking at over 2,700 smokers in total) found that whilst NRTs have modest success rates (at best), the side-effects from consuming pure nicotine are minimal. The pooled evidence-base showed that those taking pure nicotine (in one form or another) didn’t suffer significantly more adverse effects than those taking a placebo. The only difference was that nausea was more common amongst the nicotine-consuming group, with 8.7 percent of them experiencing it in comparison to 5.3 percent of those on the placebo.
7: Nicotine Doesn’t Increase Cardiovascular Risk
Heart complications have long been associated with smoking, but a group of researchers correctly pointed out that tobacco smoke is a cacophony of things, not just nicotine. To test if it was the nicotine or the other chemicals, they reviewed studies which looked at the effect of nicotine (in the form of NRT) on people at particular risk for “acute cardiovascular events” (like heart attacks). The evidence showed that nicotine itself did not increase the frequency of cardiovascular events in the trials. This was assumed to be because other chemicals in tobacco smoke lead to the thickening of the blood (which raises the likelihood of heart problems) and nicotine does not. The researchers conclude that “The risks of NRT for smokers, even for those with underlying cardiovascular disease, are small and are substantially outweighed by the potential benefits of smoking cessation.”
8: Nicotine Doesn’t Cause Cancer
Although other research quoted above has addressed the commonly-held misconception that nicotine causes cancer, there has been plenty of research conducted on the topic. One particularly notable one involved a direct comparison between smoking and pure nicotine in over 3,000 participants, by looking at the numbers of them who went on to develop lung cancer. Unsurprisingly, they found that smoking was definitively linked to the risk of developing lung cancer. They also found that the use of pure nicotine did not increase the risk, providing yet more evidence that nicotine itself does not increase the risk of cancer, just the multitude of carcinogens in tobacco smoke.
9: Nicotine Could Help with Depression
The link between smoking and depression is well-known, but in 2006 a group of researchers looked at the impact nicotine itself has on the condition. This is a bold move in itself, since most people would assume that if anything, the psycho-active drug central to smoking should make things worse. However, the study found that when non-smokers who scored high on the depression scale were randomly assigned either a nicotine patch or an inactive placebo patch for four weeks, the ones who received nicotine had significantly decreased depression scores after eight days. After that point, the assigned dosage decreased to just 3.5mg per day, and the positive effect disappeared. Since their mood wasn’t observed to improve just after the dosage, it indicates there is a deeper underlying mechanism involved than simply the pleasurable effects of nicotine. The suggested mechanism of action has also been confirmed in animal tests.
10: Improvements in Focus and Working Memory
If you were to basically classify nicotine in terms of a type of drug, it’s a stimulant, like caffeine. This means that like other drugs in this class, it should have the effect of increasing alertness. To test this, some researchers recruited one group of smokers and another of non-smokers, assigning them two different sets of “searching” tasks (like scanning a page of text for pertinent information) of increasing difficulty. These were used to test the effects of nicotine on attention and “working memory” (which is basically equivalent to short-term memory).
The smokers were given one task when they hadn’t smoked for two hours, and then another (of equivalent difficulty) after having a cigarette. The second round of tests was more difficult to account for their familiarity with the task. In both tests, the nicotine consumption enabled better performance on the tasks. At first – when the task was new – the smokers (after a cigarette) spent much less time re-examining something they’d already looked at (indicating a short-term memory improvement). On the second nicotine-fuelled attempt they “changed strategy,” enabling them to increase the proportion of things they looked at which were relevant (indicative of greater focus on the problem). This test may have used cigarettes – but with e-cigs the same benefits come without the well-documented risks of smoking.
This eye opening documentary details “the worldwide drive against Vaping,” driven by biased big business, Pro tobacco and pharmaceutical lobbyists, governments, affected “non profit organizations” and affected “non government organizations,”
driven by the perceived threat to losses in their respective revenues.
“A Billion Lives” is the kind of documentary that seeks to get you all worked up about an injustice but leaves you feeling as if there were nothing you could do about it. It’s also the kind of documentary that asks you to accept one set of experts’ version of things and reject another’s, when you suspect that disinterested parties are probably rare on either side.
A preview of the film.
By ATTENTION ERA MEDIA LLC on Publish DateOctober 27, 2016. Image courtesy of Internet Video Archive. Watch in Times Video »
The film, by Aaron Biebert, promotes vaping and e-cigarettes as tools for helping smokers who want to quit. Its title is said to refer to one projection of how many lives will be lost in this century because of smoking.
Mr. Biebert employs the standard documentary format — talking-head experts mixed with personal stories — to explain why vaping is safer than cigarettes and to sketch a vast conspiracy that keeps these products inaccessible and, in some places, illegal. The tobacco industry, of course, is his conspirator in chief, since it doesn’t want its profits cut, but the players also include governments, medical professionals with a vested interest in smoking-cessation prescription products, even anti-cancer charities.
It’s a net broadly cast and woven of implications rather than of indisputable evidence, but — especially given the tobacco industry’s credibility problems — you’ll probably be inclined to think there’s some truth to the film’s allegations. And certainly you’ll feel for the smokers who testify movingly of being eager to try anything that might help them shake their habit. The film, though, doesn’t have any suggestions as to what the average viewer might do to help break the supposed conspirators’ blockade.
” There’s definitely a Conspiracy Against Vaping”
A MUST SEE:
The associated full Documentary/Video is also available on iTunes, App Store, Google play, Amazon and Android TV
and recently released follow on editiorial made available on Facebook courtesy of “A Billion Lives”
A box mod that will definitely attract plenty of attention from other vapers?
“The SMOANT RABOX is both functional and an amazing looking piece of vaping kit.”
The SMOANT RABOX is one of the most unique and amazing looking mods that you may ever have the pleasure of owning and looks even better in real life. Unique having a mod housed inside a hand-made stainless steel frame?
The SMOANT RABOX resembles a high-end gaming consul crossed with a mechanical mod?
The SMOANT RABOX is waterproof and has many features, including a microswitch that moves the power from soft to hard mode and is ideal when you’re using any RDA, it also has built-in LED lights and is powered by a large 3300 mAh battery and the device features modes for every conceivable style of vaping you can imagine.
The SMOANT RABOX comes standard with a custom PCB “nano-coating technology” that currently isn’t available anywhere else.
Specifications:
Mechanical/Unregulated Mod
Steel frame manufactured using 304 Stainless
Dimensions: 70 mm x 31 mm x 90 mm
Dry Weight: 288 g
510 threaded connection
custom transparent chassis
unique design
Nano waterproof PCB coating
available in Black or Red
comes standard with a powerful 3300 mAh battery
Battery LED
Micro USB charging
uses up to 100 watts of power
hard/soft modes
3.2 v to 5 v voltage range
minimum atty resistance of 0.1 Ohms
in conclusion:
Pros.:
The unique, sophisticated and interesting design will make this the mod to show off to other vapers
The solid built stainless steel frame coupled to the use of acrylic panels make this a very tough mod
The mod has a build that exhumes quality of workmanship
The mods LED’s lights up whenever you fire it up
The Mod fires up instantaneously
Cons.:
Large and Bulky
Switch protrudes out of side mod
The open design looks potentially dangerous
Open design is prone to liquid contamination
No specific information available on the battery
Very pricey for a mechanical mod
Atomizer Gap, some atomizers may not fit or work on this mod
Should you get a Smoant Rabox?
The design of the Smoant Rabox is super cool, unfortunately it is more of a novelty than being practical
The toy like design may attract unwanted attention of children and some of the features make it hard to take it seriously
The open design potentially makes the mod dangerous as liquid could easily get into the open devise, which is a major safety concern
The Smoant Rabox is definitely a novelty if you want too show off to friends and other vapers.