Ask HN: What do you think of e-cigarettes?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=769502

by mannicken • 17 years ago

8 22 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hi,

As usual, I am looking for new ways to hack my brain. This time I'm looking at nicotine.

But not the tobacco; the vaporizing, pure kind -- ecigarette. It seems to be much more safer and doesn't fuck with lungs, which is why I'm even considering it.

I never smoked anything in my life so it's like not I'm trying to drop my habits. I just want new highs.

I'd be glad for any advice such as: THIS IS GOING TO KILL YOU.

Thanks.

charlesju• 17 years ago

How does nicotine help your brain? Relaxation?

kidko• 17 years ago

Depends on how much. A lot of it produces a minor buzz. A bit (like one cigarette) relaxes you, calms your nerves. This effect is still present at a higher dose, but generally overshadowed.

Gertm• 17 years ago

Nicotine makes you feel better for a short while. The reason you've been feeling bad is because you lack nicotine. Non smokers are always on the level of 'feeling good', they don't need nicotine to compensate for their lack of nicotine.

Don't start smoking. You don't need it.

rdouble• 17 years ago

The weird, unregulated and unknown chemicals in the nicotine packets will kill you.

You'll also be the kooky spaz smoking the electronic cigarette, killing your chances to have normal interpersonal relationships with other human beings.

If you want to look stupid and do something socially alienating and dangerous at the same time, why not take a more tried-and-true approach, like rollerblading or riding one of those strap-in mountain skateboard things? At least that would be sort of fun...

SwellJoe2• 17 years ago

This is going to kill you:

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/07/2...

gdee2• 17 years ago

Nah, I think that article is posed wrong. They compare smoking the electronic cigs to not smoking at all. Of course not smoking is better. Much much better. But by blocking them from the market they are denying another use case. For people that already smoke tobacco. I don't know if you smoke tobacco and if so, if you tried ecigs. I do, and I have. And smoking ecigs is much much much better although in a "lesser evil" manner. The e-liquid (what gets vaporized in ecigs) manufacturers should, I believe, purposefully try and try pretty hard to mach the level of toxins and carcinogens in common cigarettes. They don't. What is readily perceivable is to a net BIG gain. I have used these devices for about 3 months last year. They were wonderful. I would ABSOLUTELY prefer them to regular cigarettes even if they would not have a wonderful potential for quitting smoking altogether which I strongly believe (with arguments) they do. Outright denying that opportunity should be considered criminal in my humble opinion.

SwellJoe2• 17 years ago

OP has said he is currently a non-smoker. Starting smoking e-cigarettes for the mild "high" of nicotine is just dumb.

I've made no statement about them as an alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes.

DanielStraight• 17 years ago

I think it's generally agreed that addiction is the opposite of hacking your brain. Unless by hack, you mean like with an ax.

frossie• 17 years ago

It also doesn't do what the OP thinks it does. It's more like a Hawthorne effect - eventually your body adjusts to anything.

A few years ago I had to give up nicotine (and caffeine and alcohol) cold turkey; I did not become appreciably dumber, past the expected adjustment phase. It really doesn't do that much for you, certainly not enough to be worth the addiction.

sirsean• 17 years ago

It sucks. It produces almost no smoke, the cartridges that they claim "contain as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes" last for 2 hours of intermittent puffs, the thing decides to start "cleaning" itself regularly after about a day, and the battery runs out way too fast.

It's a good idea, I think, whose time has not come yet.

* Disclaimer: I bought 2 different kinds. Smoking Everywhere and Smoke Free. Smoke Free was better in that it was actually the size of a cigarette and produced more "smoke" (vapor), but they both sucked so bad I was back to exclusively real cigarettes within 4 days.

dc2k084• 17 years ago

It's a shame your first experience was with over-priced inefficient garbage. Try one of big battery models (with a manual switch) from one of the American or European e-cig start-ups and drip bottled liquid directly onto cheap atomizers which should be considered disposable items. I got through about 2 a month and buy them in bulk for around $6 each.

Here's my list of all the big boys: http://www.e-cignews.com/items/A_run_down_of_all_the_big_bat...

gdee2• 17 years ago

May I ask where you get you atomizers from?

daeken• 17 years ago

I started smoking in November of last year because nicotine is very interesting to me, and I planned to get an e-cig shortly thereafter. Well, the e-cig never happened, and after smoking for about 6 months, all the effects of nicotine that I enjoyed were gone. I smoked because I had to, not because I enjoyed it anymore. I've now nearly quit, but in retrospect, what a terrible, terrible decision to start in the first place.

Don't do it, you'll regret it.

justlearning• 17 years ago

"a new way to get new high" = hacking your brain? one way to hack your brain - sit in complete silence focusing on your breath only for as long as possible..

other ways include picking on drawing(over painting)

"hacking" brain has nothing to do with drugs in my opinion.

(a tangential thought into the misuse of "hacking" - you are not hacking your appetite by eating a macburger instead of a home made meal that probably takes more time with the right nutrition value. )

May I suggest you to reword your question to "want to smoke e-cigarretes" instead of the "hacking". My concern is that some 16year old enthusiastic kid will read your question and consider this as "hacking the brain".

dc2k084• 17 years ago

As an avid e-cig user, I would advise against it. If you are not already addicted to nicotine, then there is no need to start. Although there are some studies that suppose nicotine might help people stave off alzheimers and help with other mental disorders unless you think you stand a good chance of suffering from one of these in the foreseeable future and you think nicotine might be beneficial, there is no need to start a habit that will quickly control you.

If you really want to try e-cigs, there is nicotine free liquid available and one company (the original inventor) announced today that they will be bringing out an e-cig device that will have the active ingredient lobelia, also known as "Indian Tobacco" instead of nicotine. This is because they will be able to market it as a dietary supplement, something which the FDA will not be able to ban (they're guessing anyway).

The FDA are currently in court with 2 e-cig distributors because they decided suddenly to the joy of various associates of the pharmaceutical industry to classify all e-cigs as drug delivery devices (even though no medical claims were made by the two in question - the largest distributors of e-cigs in America) and confiscated their shipments. In a strange turn of events the two e-cig companies are arguing their products should be classified as tobacco products.

_cbsz• 17 years ago

Mayo Clinic warns that lobelia "can be toxic" and is not recommended "as a treatment for any condition, including nicotine withdrawal": http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lobelia/AN01877

dc2k084• 17 years ago

Interesting but nicotine can also "be toxic" and induce similar side effects to lobeilia at certain levels as well. They sound like the act in the same fashion and the amount of lobeilia which will be contained in the device likely won't cause any ill affects.

From wiki: Native Americans used lobelia to treat respiratory and muscle disorders, and as a purgative. Today it is used to treat asthma and food poisoning, and is often used as part of smoking cessation programs. It is a physical relaxant, and can serve as a nerve depressant, easing tension and panic. The species used most commonly in modern herbalism is Lobelia inflata (Indian Tobacco).

The company who are bringing out the product are highly regarded for their dedication to health and safety. They are the only company who have had all their liquid rigorously tested for impurities by an independent clinic in New Zealand. They have also courted the health authorities in every country they have sold their product in and I imagine their new liquid will undergo the same scrutiny.

To be honest, after watching the orchestrated smear campaigns conducted against e-cigs in the past year, it wouldn't surprise me if there was a concerted effort to do the same to lobelia.

bbuffone• 17 years ago

Hack your brain?! For what?! is life to boring, too long, too sane. This is the kind of question I hope my kids never asks (or wants to) and if they do, I would get them a job, or a date.

Want a new high? try running a marathon, benchpressing 315lbs, or screwing the hotest chick in your town. The two previous suggestions may be helpful for the later.

mannicken• 17 years ago

I'm actually a distance runner because (along with other things) I enjoy (mild) high after a run :)

radu_floricica• 17 years ago

Nicotine is way too addictive to be worth it. It may be socially accepted and not obviously harmful, but it's up there with heroine in terms of how hard it is to stop.

drobilla• 17 years ago

That addiction - that very, very strong addiction - will never leave you. Ever.

Understand? If you quit entirely, and never smoke for 10 years, if you were to smoke at all, it would be the greatest thing, ever. Good luck not starting again if you ever do. Even reading this thread about someone considering something I know is so utterly stupid flicks the switch in my brain.

If you want new highs, go get some real drugs that you can actually use to hack your brain and/or make yourself a better person. Nicotine has absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It is a POISON. How could deliberately setting out to get yourself addicted to a poison with no positive benefits not be an absolutely idiotic thing to do? Especially when it's without the enjoyment/day punctuating/social aspects of smoking normal cigarettes. I can't imagine many things that look more depraved and pathetic than someone sucking on some electronic cigarette gadget. You want to be /that/ guy? Really?

Whatever "high" you seem to think is there isn't. Maybe about as much of a beneficial "high" as holding your breath and spinning around really fast a few times. Gee, that sounds worth a lifetime of powerful addiction to an expensive poison, doesn't it? Go huff on a whipped cream container or something if you want a head-rush that badly.

There is no possible way you wouldn't regret this.

Ask HN: What do you think of e-cigarettes?

Related Stories