Hello Everyone,
I wanted to address some peoples concerns regarding using more cartomizers than expected and the nicotine buzz.
First, the nicotine buzz or lack thereof that some are experiencing. This is absolutely expected once one understands the mechanics of nicotine absorption via vaporization and through combustion.
Combustion of tobacco occurs at ~400 degrees C. Once the smoke filters through the tobacco, and the filter - The temperature decreases to ~40 degrees C but when smoking more rapidly can and often will reach 100 degrees C. The nicotine through combustion attaches itself to other atoms and molecules such as carbon, and other particulate matter and chemicals. Because of the heavier nature of smoke (due to its particulate matter carried) the absorption occurs primarily in the lungs, both upper and lower. The lungs are a very direct route to the rest of the blood stream. An average smoker will receive approximately .9mg or less of nicotine in a full flavor cigarette.
Vaporization of nicotine solution occurs at ~92 degrees C and hits the mouth at ~30 degrees C. There are no particulate matter to attach to the nicotine molecule. Vapor is also lighter than smoke, and therefore most absorption of the nicotine, will occur in the throat to the upper lungs. The membranes will get the nicotine into your bloodstream, however the absorption rate of throat and upper lung tissue is not nearly instantaneous as with the only lungs.
So a smoker will not get a gigantic buzz off of ecigs, what it will do is maintain a higher baseline of nicotine in the blood stream and not create high peaks and valleys of nicotine in the blood serum. Think of it as the difference between an IV push via syringe vs IV drip. You are getting a steady dose vs a fast dose. The only way to get a true buzz off of an ecig is to increase nicotine levels or give a non nicotine user a hit. If we were to do blood and urine tests on smokers who smoke 1 pack a day and e cigarette users using 1-2 cartomizers per day we would find the nicotine metabolites to be the same.
On to the second point, regarding using more than expected. There are 3 reasons for this:
1 the above point regarding speed of absorption as I have already covered.
2 The ability to essentially use non stop all day long - We smokers are used to being notified that a cigarette smoking session is complete when the cigarette burns down. E-cigs don't tell you when you have taken ~15 -20 puffs. It will let you continue to puff away until either the battery goes dead, or the cartomizer runs out of liquid.
3 People tend to enjoy the flavor of an e cigarette more, and therefore use it more.
So add those 3 points up, and some people find they are using a lot more than their expectation, this is not always the case. We have hundreds of customers who use 1 cart a day who were previously 1 pack a day smokers, and they regularly, like clockwork, order every 27-30 days.
Others we have seen an increase in purchasing of cartomizers, when we survey those customers we find that they are experiencing one or more of the above 3 causes. They are either chasing that buzz - which we believe we will solve with the 24mg carts. Or when asked how often they put it down, we get "hardly ever" - Well, using more will consume more, and that is what causes a spike in their usage.
Also as far as carts not lasting as long, in case someone was making this point. Each cartomizer is manufactured to tolerances of 1 ml of liquid. However, just as with any manufacturing process, occasionally one will get less. We have a policy on this where we give store credit for truly bad cartomizers. Of course we know our running fail rate so anything out of the ordinary or a customer that repeatedly claims bad cartomizers shows a possible cheat the system scheme. So we do not advertise this policy.
Also cartomizers can be used faster in the USB Passthru- The pass thru operates at 5.1V this will create higher temperature at the coil and will therefore vaporize more liquid per second than the batteries on their own.
I hope this answers some of your concerns, and Ian wasn't talking about no buzz from e-cigs he was addressing no difference in flavor. Which isn't surprising since in the ultra-lights he was/is using are only .6% per 1ml solution. The ingredients are fairly simple: USP Propylene Glycol, distilled purified water, Glycerine, Natural and Artificial Flavorings, and the least of the ingredients, Nicotine.
As to cost, let me take an example of MWD - a 3 pack a day smoker previously. We would reccomend to him getting 120 - 140 cartomizers a month. Cost with our standing discounts that you can search for on various forums of 20% would be $159 per month - Less than what a pack a day smoker spends. A 3 pack a day smoker on avg in the USA spends $550 per month - So saying that 140 cartomizers is expensive to a previous 3 pack a day smoker is really odd as they are spending nearly $400 less per month - and the health savings are astronomical.
As to why we don't currently carry liquid for refilling, it has nothing to do with profit - I could make a great deal more on liquid than pre filled. Unfortunately there are issues with using liquids, or I should say there are liability issues with liquids. Please let me explain.
Nicotine, in the dosages one gets in cigarettes, or electronic cigarette consumption is non toxic, however consider that in 1 30ml 18mg strength nicotine bottle there is actually 540 mg of nicotine. The average adult has an almost certain fatality at ingestion of 54mg of nicotine all at once. Your average curious child ~10mg. So let me put that in further perspective. 1ml of liquid solution ingested by a child will be fatal. and 3 ml ingestion by an adult will almost certainly be fatal - And this is if the person is an otherwise healthy individual. Even a careless spill onto exposed skin that is not immediately washed off can cause arrhythmia and death. So far there are, I believe, 12 known deaths of dogs in the USA due to liquid nicotine poisoning. There is no known antidote - Doctors can only supply pain relief during the strokes, aneurysms or heart attacks.
Now I have 2 issues with the above. Most importantly, I could never live with myself if my product was directly responsible for someones death, especially a child. Second, It would bankrupt a company that is providing so much help to people in 7 different nations across the world rid themselves of the perils of tobacco. No insurance company on the planet will provide liability insurance for liquid.
I have gone back and forth on this issue. Wanting to provide what my customers want, but not wanting to endanger lives. I have drawn up contracts for potential liquid purchasing agreements with customers that they would agree to keep them safely secured and away from children when not in the immediate process of refilling. That they would agree to wear protective latex gloves, and immediately wash any exposed skin and remove any clothing that may have come into contact with liquid. Since no other company seems to want to address the dangers of e-liquid, I would be unable to sell liquid with the above referred contracts. - Government Courts protect the weak, and even with all the disclaimers in the world I will still lose in court. As someone who has been in the clean room lab mixing flavors - The precautions the workers take are even more than this- They wear full body protection and thick rubber gloves not to mention a respirator in case the nicotine is present during a fire. These are professional people that refill thousands of these things a day, are more competent than any liquid ecig user, and they still take precautions because they know of the risk, and want to mitigate it as much as possible.
I used to refill myself. - I know it is cheaper for the end user. I know that is why people want it. I just cannot sell it because of the above. As e-cigarettes become more and more popular, a tragedy is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. And when it does occur, that will cause the nanny state to ban e-cigs.
The Free Talk Live BBS
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Topic: So You Can't Get a Buzz From E-Cigs? (Read 21244 times)