Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 170 posts

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#151

Post by djillionsmix »

chimeracoder wrote: post #113
GhotiFish wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry, I must object to that line of thinking We can say with near certainty that they are less harmful, because we know what caused harm when smoking cigarettes, and those elements are not present. We also know what is being inhaled is either inert, or the point of smoking. Also, whether a substance has a measurable LD50 or not is irrelevant. Most medicens have easily measurable LD50's, Some Vitamins have LD50's…

> Most medicens have easily measurable LD50's Well, most medicines could be considered medically toxic. It's just a matter of dosing and whether their desired effect outweighs any risk (whether negligible or non-negligible) of adverse reactions[0]. LD50 is only one of many ways to express toxicity; water can be considered toxic under some circumstances as well. It all depends on the context in which we're discussing…

In casual conversation many people would describe advil as harmless

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#152

Post by xxpor »

KC8ZKF wrote: post #24
cliveowen wrote: post #9

I can't fathom who thought these things were a good idea. I see people "smoking" these things everywhere: on the bus, on the train, at the effing university during classes! I don't care if it's just steam, I don't want it in my face. I can't believe people don't get this.

People tap-tap-tapping at their fucking phones gets the same reaction from me. Of course it's irrational for me to feel this way, so I've learned to ignore it.

You get mad at people for looking at their phones on the bus?

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#153

Post by stevewillows »

I recently switched from smoking half a pack a day to vaping about 95%. I still smoke here and there, but the craving is covered.

I had one of those smokes that looks like a cigarette, but it was garbage. The e-liquid with a KangerTech EVOD is the way to go.

Outside of the health benefits or whatever, the smell is one of the best reasons to switch. It's a good career move.

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#154

Post by bmelton »

praxeologist wrote: post #97
riquito wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

#1: they're addictive. It's in my list of harmful things

Sugar is addictive and vastly more dangerous than ecigs IMO.

Conversely, caffeine is addictive, but is otherwise harmless (except in insane doses.) So long as you never try to quit, you'll never experience any negative side effects of caffeine addiction.

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#155

Post by jlgreco »

djillionsmix wrote: post #151
chimeracoder wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most medicens have easily measurable LD50's Well, most medicines could be considered medically toxic. It's just a matter of dosing and whether their desired effect outweighs any risk (whether negligible or non-negligible) of adverse reactions[0]. LD50 is only one of many ways to express toxicity; water can be considered toxic under some circumstances as well. It all depends on the context in which we're discussing…

In casual conversation many people would describe advil as harmless

Particularly when comparing it to tylenol.

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#156

Post by jlgreco »

bashinator wrote: post #136
tomjen3 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I must admit I have tolerance for that bullshit. The cigs don't contain any of the dangerous chemical in a cigarette - you don't need a study to prove they are safe, you just need a decent understanding of chemistry. But a million anti-smoking advocates don't give a shit.

If nicotine isn't harmful in itself, why does chewing tobacco cause cancers of the mouth?

Are nicotine skin patches causing an epidemic of skin cancer where they are placed?

Not all side effects are caused by the active ingredient.

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#157

Post by nerfhammer »

Game_Ender wrote: post #146
nerfhammer wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

lacking regulation you have no idea if such claims in their marketing material are even true

Even with regulation you still have to trust the companies making products. Most regulations do not require statistically significant independent sampling of every batch of product people consume. With such independent testing, you are going to have to trust the producer.

That would make sense if the penalty of finding a tainted batch were to send it back for another one. However, the case is that if you ever get caught selling tainted products you could get shut down completely.

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#158

Post by KC8ZKF »

xxpor wrote: post #152
KC8ZKF wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People tap-tap-tapping at their fucking phones gets the same reaction from me. Of course it's irrational for me to feel this way, so I've learned to ignore it.

You get mad at people for looking at their phones on the bus?

No. I ignore them.

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#159

Post by goatsecx »

driverdan wrote: post #147
ams6110 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/EmergencyResponseCard_297500... At one time, nicotine was used in the United States as an insecticide ... Nicotine affects the nervous system and the heart. Exposure to relatively small amounts can rapidly be fatal.

Like anything the dose makes the poison. The amount of nicotine used in ecigs or tobacco products is well below the amount needed to cause the effects described here.

True, you can die from overdosing on carrot juice.

Re: The E-Cigarette Industry, Waiting to Exhale

#160

Post by gwern »

ams6110 wrote: post #143
gwern wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can assure that this is a topic on which I have done far more research in my lifetime than that blog post. I'm not trying to be snarky; I'm just emphasizing that I have a lot more knowledge on this topic than I can reasonably compress into a 124-word HN post (like my original comment). Then I would appreciate your links to the studies of the harmful effects of nicotine alone that I have somehow failed to find. >…

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/EmergencyResponseCard_297500... At one time, nicotine was used in the United States as an insecticide ... Nicotine affects the nervous system and the heart. Exposure to relatively small amounts can rapidly be fatal.

Good thing I'm not an insect and people generally avoid taking anywhere near the LD-50 of 50mg or so (depending on bodyweight & tolerance etc).
Post reply on HN