# Dr Philamon



## Jean claude Vaaldamme (5/11/18)

Ok so I made a few jokes about popcorn lungs. But a bit more serious. Lets just say thsi first. I smoke for more than 25years. Last 10years more than 40 a day, so anything will be healthier than that.
But how healthy is vaping or must I rather say, is it that harmless?
Im a new vaper and have not done much research. But what I did notice going through the classifieds the last week, is how many people say the quit vaping for health reasons or on doctors advise.
So is there anything we should know?

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## lesvaches (5/11/18)



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## baksteen8168 (5/11/18)

I can only give my own personal opinion.

I quit vaping a while back because I just wasn't finding it enjoyable anymore. Then I eventually started smoking again, and again switched to vaping.

Medically speaking... I see a hell of an improvement for vaping over smoking. I am asthmatic as well, and when smoking I had to have my emergency inhaler with me at all times. Playing sports was nearly impossible. When I switched to vaping, the inhaler use largely disappeared. (so much so that I think I have an inhaler in my car... not really sure to be honest)

Lastly, for me at least, the difference between vaping and quitting completely was minimal while the differences between vaping and smoking was vast.

I will always stand up for vaping as I know how my body felt when smoking and how great it felt / feels while vaping. Yes, quitting is most definitely better than vaping... But I have not yet coughed up popcorn so I think I'll keep enjoying my less damaging vaping habit for a little while longer.

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## Elmien (5/11/18)

Here is a link to the report by the Royal College of Physicians, a well-respected body in healthcare, that has been around for more than 500 years and were one of the first who found the dangers in smoking: https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/nicotine-without-smoke-tobacco-harm-reduction-0
They also have a summary there of the most important points if you don't want to work through the whole 206-page document.
Also important to note is that it is not harmless as anything you breathe in constitutes some risk but compared to smoking it is a lot safer.

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## Pixstar (5/11/18)

Although at this stage we know that vaping is safer than smoking (from studies by the Royal College of Physicians in the UK, Dr. Farsalinos etc.) we must bear in mind that our bodies are different and may take to vaping differently.
I have also noticed in the Classifieds section a handful of vapers selling their gear due to health reasons and I'm curious about the reasons, but it's none of my business.

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## Hooked (5/11/18)

Actually,


Pixstar said:


> Although at this stage we know that vaping is safer than smoking (from studies by the Royal College of Physicians in the UK, Dr. Farsalinos etc.) we must bear in mind that our bodies are different and may take to vaping differently.
> I have also noticed in the Classifieds section a handful of vapers selling their gear due to health reasons and I'm curious about the reasons, but it's none of my business.



@Pixstar, Actually, ít IS your business - it's ALL of our business, so whoever sees a sale because of health reasons, I think we should ask for more information from the seller.
@Jean claude Vaaldamme

While there is no doubt that vaping is better than smoking, if there are medical reasons to show that vaping is harmful we need to know that. That being said, I suggest that doctors who advise their patients to stop vaping might not be aware of all the facts themselves and assume, in their ignorance, that it is harmful.

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## Hooked (5/11/18)

Of course it is true that we are inhaling chemicals into our lungs - but we ingest chemicals every day. Chemicals are added to food products to keep them fresh e.g. bread, long-life milk. The only way that anyone can live completely without the addition of any kind of chemical would be to grow their own fruit & veggies and eat only other natural food!

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## Puff the Magic Dragon (5/11/18)



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## RichJB (5/11/18)

Vaping is affecting my eyesight. I can't read the lettering on those graphics.

Reactions: Agree 4 | Funny 9 | Can relate 1


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## Silver (5/11/18)

Hi @Jean claude Vaaldamme 

You are asking a great question.

I think the consensus amongst most credible researchers across the world is that vaping is much safer than smoking. How much safer is hard to quantify. The Royal College of Physicians in the UK thinks its about 95% safer. Studies analysing the contents of smoke versus vapour show that vapour typically has far fewer bad things in it than in the smoke. Sometimes orders of magnitude lower. (i.e. 100x less or even less than that) 

I don't think any of the research points toward vaping being harmless. Just that its far less harmful than smoking.

I know from my own experiences how I feel vaping now for 5 years, compared to smoking for 17 years. I feel better, I don't have that slight wheeze. My heart rate under exercise is on average 10 beats per minute lower than it was when I smoked (I track it carefully). I can now taste lots of things. And there are other benefits.

Is it safe long term to inhale flavoured vapour instead of air into ones lungs? No, probably not, I don't think our lungs were designed to inhale plumes of vapour all day. But I do think that vaping is massively better than smoking and by quitting smoking and moving to vaping my belief is that one is making a good change that I believe helps one's health. 

Ideally, one should not smoke or vape - and that's why I try not encourage non-smokers to start vaping, unless they would have started smoking instead.

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## Hooked (5/11/18)

What's wrong @RichJB, is your vision clouding over?

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## Puff the Magic Dragon (5/11/18)

RichJB said:


> Vaping is affecting my eyesight. I can't read the lettering on those graphics.







As you wish my liege. Eyesight cured.

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## RichJB (5/11/18)

Ah, that's much better, thanks. Nature sure does have some impressive-sounding chemicals.

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## SmokeyJoe (5/11/18)

Ok so to give you a small comparison. I also smoked 30 to 40 a day for about 12 years, even though i had severe asthma. Just getting out of bed in the mornings were impossible. Contstantly out of breath. Due to this i couldn't exercise and my weight ballooned to 105kgs. My asthma meds were 2k a month. About 6 years ago while in cape town for work, the moist air was the final straw. My one lung collapsed and the other filled with fluid (asthma causes over production of mucus)
So emergency flight home to jhb, 3 weeks in icu, heart stopping for a few minutes and a lung scrape later i was better. Been vaping ever since. And i vape A LOT.
I hardly touch my astma meds now. My weight is down to 85kg as i can exercise. I can honestly say from first hand experience, vaping saved my life. . . . And made me broke

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## Silver (5/11/18)

Amazing post @SmokeyJoe 
Congrats on that remarkable turnaround!
Jeepers man that story needs to be framed !
Vaping for the win and kudos to you

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## Jean claude Vaaldamme (5/11/18)

So the next question, does vaping sweet juice carry any calories intake, because with the juice I bougjht Saturday I have a permanent sweet taste in my mouth?

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## Armed (5/11/18)

I work in a pharmacy for a living. Not to put any profession down. Doctors are only human.There is a lot of mis-information out there. I myself used to believe some of it. They read articles that claim that vaping is less healthier than vaping and believe it. Why should they mistrust those articles.
What proofs are there that disprove the article.
Unless you actually go and research further. They have no reason to that. 
Then they come across an article claiming that vaping is healthier than smoking , that's the one they then see as propaganda by pro vape.

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## Armed (5/11/18)

Google doesn't help either. You will answers like vaping is worse.. next article smoking is worse.
It's personal choice at the end of the day.
I have seen a lot of testimonials from people saying how much better they feel since they quit cigarettes.
But I have never , ever, ever seen a testimonial of someone who quit vaping and started smoking and who feels better from that.

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## Dela Rey Steyn (6/11/18)

I dreaded getting up in the mornings to my "Smokers" cough, and i "Numbed it down by have a smoke for breakfast  These days every thing tastes better, i can go hiking, without sounding like a steam train that's going uphill the whole time  now i just need to get past the Nic Juices, my dentist is stating that the nicotine is part of my "receding gums" problem. did some reading and seems that its one of the main culprits. so that my next mile point - no nic juices, and then i'll prob eventually just vape from time to time or on socials, like heading out to the pub or a braai

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## Hooked (6/11/18)

Jean claude Vaaldamme said:


> So the next question, does vaping sweet juice carry any calories intake, because with the juice I bougjht Saturday I have a permanent sweet taste in my mouth?



Jean claude Vaaldamme The sweetness is from artificial sweeteners and the VG. There is no real sugar or calories in juice, as far as I know. This was one of the first questions which I asked when I started vaping, as I'm diabetic.

Some juice is much sweeter than others and unfortunately the only way to find out which they are (for you) is by personal experience. 
Rule of thumb is to avoid juice that has has 80% or higher VG. However, I've vaped 70/30 juice which was much sweeter than other juice of 80/20. It depends on how much sweetener the manufacturer adds. I avoid certain brands because I know their juice is too sweet for me. 

Rule of thumb is to avoid any juice in the Candy category, because obviously that IS going to be sweet.

Try the coffee juices as they are seldom over-sweet. I'm an avid fan of coffee juice!
https://www.ecigssa.co.za/coffee-e-juice-research.t47247/#post-638125

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