Turns out the disposable nicotine delivery systems are, as suspected, worse than the real thing, according to a new study from researchers at UC Davis.
I quit cigarettes 10 yrs ago and had been exclusively using the old school refillable box mods. The kinds with big clouds, not the nic salts like disposables. I was doing fine, great even, for the last ten.
But this past year, after picking up those disposables, I kept having breathing problems. I would stop using them for like two weeks before I picked them up again. The cycle finally led to me going into atrial fibrillation, a cardiac emergency. Had to have my heart shocked. in my 30s!
I ended up quitting nicotine entirely now. it was surprisingly easy to quit! once you wanna do it, it’s already done. as long as you don’t mope about it and celebrate it instead. it’s easier than the whiners would have you believe!
My grandfather wakes up in the hospital after his third heart attack. The Doc comes over and says “you’ll need to stop smoking or else” and my grandad asked “or else what?” The Doc leaned forward and stared him dead in the eyes “Sudden death”
Apparently it worked. He said he never smoked after that
Wow, congratulations for quitting. And thank you for spreading the message.
Can I ask: What caused you to go from refillable box to disposable? And what is the draw to them?
Great question. I used both concurrently. The reason for the disposable: accessibility.
The old school vapes are just getting harder and harder to find. I had to order parts online. The juice companies were getting shut down. I didn’t want to give up my addiction, and I felt so much better on vapes than i had on cigarettes, so I figured it was fine. (Nicotine alone is a bitch to your heart, though…)
I started trying out the disposables because they were readily available. I could pick one up anywhere, I didn’t have to bring juice around with me, no giant batteries or kits to maintain on the go… and in exchange a much harsher hit.
this also led to me doubling my nicotine strength. I had been using 3mg juice for ovet a year by then, but all the disposables measure out to 6mg. Nothing weaker was available. had to switch to stronger stuff on the box mod.
it pisses me off how much they enshittified vaping. it was a really cool and helpful tool that got me off of tobacco. but they started targeting it at minors. instead of rich savory flavors you get all this fruity menthol crap that middle schoolers like. you get tiny vapes with flashy blinking light and fixed high potency. you get bans on it, and regulations/fees so strict that indie vape companies that started this shit for people like me now have to shut down.
oh well. it was all a facade anyway. nicotine itself is the problem. it pushes your systems into overdrive and then wears you out on seconds, until you cant even be at homeostasis without nicotine in your system. the joy of smoking is just the temporary relief of withdrawal. it’s like wearing a pair of tight shoes just so you can enjoy taking them off for 5 minutes. I’m done living my life in withdrawals. so happy to be free! (and it was honestly fucking easy, you all can do it too)
Huh, I never thought about enshitification of vapes :D
And the dosage is another thing I didn’t think about. Of course, if you don’t place your own liquid, you cannot control what is in it and how strong it is. The disposables need to be acceptable to most, for some it’s too strong and I assume for some too weak. Or maybe they have no reason to not make it strong, so people come back.
But yes, seems to me, that convenience is the big draw, they are just there, no need for anything, pay and pull. There used to be so many vape shops everywhere, I thought they went away, because for many the novelty wore off, you say it’s that big companies pushed it on kids, the regulators tried stepping in, the small shops dropped out and everyone is left with shovelware, that is worse in every way? That’s sounds awful.
But it seems like there is still a way out. One can buy anything online. I’m sure in the long run it will be cheaper than disposables and then the dosage is again in the users hand. But I don’t know anything about this.
You said quitting was just a matter of mind? I heard that with smoking for most it is mostly a ritualistic thing of habit and feeling. Unless you are like a chain or lung smoker, the nicotine can be overcome. But you just deciding to stop and doing it is still super impressive, good on ya.
Thank you tough for your long response, it made me think about interesting things I never thought about, which really is the best thing, that can happen to you online.
I’ve been vaping type 2 cannabis for several years with a dry herb vaporizer. It’s great, I have these small cartridges that I fill with herb and that’s good for me for a session. It’s a relatively low THC hit but it’s perfect for me.
A few months ago I went to a dispensary in a neighboring state and picked up a disposable THC vape pen. It is really cool and convenient, but it can fuck. you. up. With the dry herb you’ve gotta pull on it very hard, especially the first hit… and that’s how I hit the disposable the first time. Ruined my night.
oh you’re talking about a whole different drug. yeah, the vape pens are problematic for sure. they are way too strong to be a medicinal dose.
if you’re actually taking medication, you want to take exactly as much as needed to achieve the desired effects. building tolerance is one of many potential criteria for developing a substance use disorder.
the dry herb vapes are nice, though. I broke mine a while ago and have been using just a glass piece. been using CBD flower, and noticed i increased my use this past week. ironically, I think my lungs are a bit worse than when i was vaping (nicotine) lol because I’m replacing it with more smoke! oh well, can cut back on CBD too! not going back to the nicotine shackles either way. day 6 feels amazing.
PLEASE stop using disposable vapes.
I quit cigarettes 10 yrs ago and had been exclusively using the old school refillable box mods. The kinds with big clouds, not the nic salts like disposables. I was doing fine, great even, for the last ten.
But this past year, after picking up those disposables, I kept having breathing problems. I would stop using them for like two weeks before I picked them up again. The cycle finally led to me going into atrial fibrillation, a cardiac emergency. Had to have my heart shocked. in my 30s!
I ended up quitting nicotine entirely now. it was surprisingly easy to quit! once you wanna do it, it’s already done. as long as you don’t mope about it and celebrate it instead. it’s easier than the whiners would have you believe!
Plus those disposables create massive amounts of e-waste.
My grandfather wakes up in the hospital after his third heart attack. The Doc comes over and says “you’ll need to stop smoking or else” and my grandad asked “or else what?” The Doc leaned forward and stared him dead in the eyes “Sudden death”
Apparently it worked. He said he never smoked after that
After i read “sudden death” in the smash announcer voice, i thought your grandpa was going to smack his doctor
Wow, congratulations for quitting. And thank you for spreading the message.
Can I ask: What caused you to go from refillable box to disposable? And what is the draw to them?
Great question. I used both concurrently. The reason for the disposable: accessibility.
The old school vapes are just getting harder and harder to find. I had to order parts online. The juice companies were getting shut down. I didn’t want to give up my addiction, and I felt so much better on vapes than i had on cigarettes, so I figured it was fine. (Nicotine alone is a bitch to your heart, though…)
I started trying out the disposables because they were readily available. I could pick one up anywhere, I didn’t have to bring juice around with me, no giant batteries or kits to maintain on the go… and in exchange a much harsher hit.
this also led to me doubling my nicotine strength. I had been using 3mg juice for ovet a year by then, but all the disposables measure out to 6mg. Nothing weaker was available. had to switch to stronger stuff on the box mod.
it pisses me off how much they enshittified vaping. it was a really cool and helpful tool that got me off of tobacco. but they started targeting it at minors. instead of rich savory flavors you get all this fruity menthol crap that middle schoolers like. you get tiny vapes with flashy blinking light and fixed high potency. you get bans on it, and regulations/fees so strict that indie vape companies that started this shit for people like me now have to shut down.
oh well. it was all a facade anyway. nicotine itself is the problem. it pushes your systems into overdrive and then wears you out on seconds, until you cant even be at homeostasis without nicotine in your system. the joy of smoking is just the temporary relief of withdrawal. it’s like wearing a pair of tight shoes just so you can enjoy taking them off for 5 minutes. I’m done living my life in withdrawals. so happy to be free! (and it was honestly fucking easy, you all can do it too)
Huh, I never thought about enshitification of vapes :D
And the dosage is another thing I didn’t think about. Of course, if you don’t place your own liquid, you cannot control what is in it and how strong it is. The disposables need to be acceptable to most, for some it’s too strong and I assume for some too weak. Or maybe they have no reason to not make it strong, so people come back.
But yes, seems to me, that convenience is the big draw, they are just there, no need for anything, pay and pull. There used to be so many vape shops everywhere, I thought they went away, because for many the novelty wore off, you say it’s that big companies pushed it on kids, the regulators tried stepping in, the small shops dropped out and everyone is left with shovelware, that is worse in every way? That’s sounds awful.
But it seems like there is still a way out. One can buy anything online. I’m sure in the long run it will be cheaper than disposables and then the dosage is again in the users hand. But I don’t know anything about this.
You said quitting was just a matter of mind? I heard that with smoking for most it is mostly a ritualistic thing of habit and feeling. Unless you are like a chain or lung smoker, the nicotine can be overcome. But you just deciding to stop and doing it is still super impressive, good on ya.
Thank you tough for your long response, it made me think about interesting things I never thought about, which really is the best thing, that can happen to you online.
I’ve been vaping type 2 cannabis for several years with a dry herb vaporizer. It’s great, I have these small cartridges that I fill with herb and that’s good for me for a session. It’s a relatively low THC hit but it’s perfect for me.
A few months ago I went to a dispensary in a neighboring state and picked up a disposable THC vape pen. It is really cool and convenient, but it can fuck. you. up. With the dry herb you’ve gotta pull on it very hard, especially the first hit… and that’s how I hit the disposable the first time. Ruined my night.
oh you’re talking about a whole different drug. yeah, the vape pens are problematic for sure. they are way too strong to be a medicinal dose.
if you’re actually taking medication, you want to take exactly as much as needed to achieve the desired effects. building tolerance is one of many potential criteria for developing a substance use disorder.
the dry herb vapes are nice, though. I broke mine a while ago and have been using just a glass piece. been using CBD flower, and noticed i increased my use this past week. ironically, I think my lungs are a bit worse than when i was vaping (nicotine) lol because I’m replacing it with more smoke! oh well, can cut back on CBD too! not going back to the nicotine shackles either way. day 6 feels amazing.