I recently stumbled upon something that really bothered me... a site offering a starter kit described as "the perfect setup for any beginner seeking to chase clouds."
Wait just a second there... what?
Beginner? seeking to chase clouds?
No. No. and No.
This is so many kinds of wrong that I'm not sure where I should start.
a clone mechanical mod
a clone RDA
a drip tip
an OHM reader
an Efest IMR 18650
a 2 bay charger
and some 0mg liquid
Lets think for a minute about who vapes, and why.
Most of us embrace vaping as cigarette users. What that means is that when we need a fix, our setup needs to be able to deliver... right away. no tinkering, no dripping, just instant vapor. What we need is a safe, easy to use device. an ego or 18xxx APV. most definitely NOT a mechanical mod. Any new user that has to fiddle with their device before using it, and then fiddle some more after five puffs, isn't likely to stick with it. Instead they're likely to go back to the instant gratification of smoking a cigarette.
That is, if they don't blow themselves up first.
The beginner who gets this kit is going to have to rebuild coils... coils that they don't know anything about building. They don't know what wire to use, or where to get it. they don't know what resistance to aim for. They don't know what is and isn't safe. And they are going to want a spare 18650. If they're already going the cheap route and buying a $75 set of clones rather than paying for the real thing, what are the odds that they'll also buy cheap 18650s? Esecially if they don't know that they need batteries rated for high amperage.
And cloud chasing? it's fine for those that are into it, but is it any reason to start vaping?
Selling a sub $100 kit with a mechanical and a rebuildable to beginners is a recipe for disaster. Bad enough in a Brick and Mortar where someone can give a quick tutorial on how to use it, but online? At best it's irresponsible, at the worst it's negligent.
Save the mechanicals and the rebuildables for the experienced user.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
SFATA announces Age To Vape program
I wanted to get this posted yesterday… and then life interrupted
my plans.
Anyway, a day later the question remains the same: Does your
favorite Brick & Mortar shop have a minimum age sign? Would they even know
where to get one?
This week The Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade association launched
the Age To Vape Program for electronic cigarette retailers.
Businesses that sign up agree to enforce age verification,
even in the absence of any existing regulations in their area. They also agree
to enforce any existing age restrictions specific to their state, county,
and/or city. And to post Age To Vape signs on the door and at the register of
their business.
Businesses that sign up will also be included in a public
registry listing Age To Vape participants.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Vaping vs. Chewing Gum
The next time some ties to tell you about the evils of vaping and why it should be regulated into oblivion or banned outright, ask them how they feel about chewing gum.
First off, chewing gum is clearly marketed at children. I mean just look at the brightly colored packaging! and those fruity flavors? definitely targeted at children!
It's also unhealthy! A recent study published in the journal Eating Behaviors showed gum chewing mint-flavored gum reduced the intake of healthy food (fruit) and increased the likelihood of eating junk food such as potato chips and candy. Gum chewing can lead to symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorder and can contribute to irritable bowel syndrome. In addition, artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol and mannitol, often found in chewing gum, can cause diarrhea in otherwise healthy people.
What about the other ingredients? just because you don't generally ingest your gum doesn't mean that those ingredients don't go into your body.
And then there are toxins. A study published in the September 1992 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that the lanolin in chewing gum contains several types of pesticide. Some of the identified pesticides potentially could accumulate in fat tissue, and some could accumulate in the milk of breast-feeding women. According to the MedlinePlus website products that contain lanolin can cause poisoning.
Chewing gum... it's being sold to our children and it contains poison.
But it gets worse! some chewing gums also contain nicotine!
Kids might start chewing gum because it's the 'cool thing to do' and then get addicted to the nicotine. which clearly makes chewing gum a gateway to smoking cigarettes!
And let us not forget that chewing gum is certainly a public nuisance. I can't tell the number of times I've narrowly avoided prison time by, just barely, resisting the urge to violently remove the teeth of someone loudly smacking their gum. I mean, seriously, and for the love of all, if you really feel the need to masticate like a cow, go do it in a grassy field somewhere, away from me! Then there is the old gum and wrappers all over the sidewalks. how much do our cities spend each year cleaning that up?
First off, chewing gum is clearly marketed at children. I mean just look at the brightly colored packaging! and those fruity flavors? definitely targeted at children!
It's also unhealthy! A recent study published in the journal Eating Behaviors showed gum chewing mint-flavored gum reduced the intake of healthy food (fruit) and increased the likelihood of eating junk food such as potato chips and candy. Gum chewing can lead to symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorder and can contribute to irritable bowel syndrome. In addition, artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol and mannitol, often found in chewing gum, can cause diarrhea in otherwise healthy people.
What about the other ingredients? just because you don't generally ingest your gum doesn't mean that those ingredients don't go into your body.
The ingredients in gum travel into the bloodsteam faster and in higher concentrations than food ingredients, because they absorb straight through the walls of the mouth, and these ingredients do not undergo the normal filtration process of digestion. - C. Thoms CorriherNow think about some of the common ingredients listed on a pack of chewing gum:
- Gum Base
- Maltitol
- Mannitol
- Artificial and 'Natural' Flavoring
- Acacia
- Acesulfame Potassiu
- Butylated hydoxytoluene
- Calcium Casein Peptone-calcium Phospate
- Candelilla Wax
- Sodium Stearate
- Titanium Dioxide
And then there are toxins. A study published in the September 1992 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that the lanolin in chewing gum contains several types of pesticide. Some of the identified pesticides potentially could accumulate in fat tissue, and some could accumulate in the milk of breast-feeding women. According to the MedlinePlus website products that contain lanolin can cause poisoning.
Chewing gum... it's being sold to our children and it contains poison.
But it gets worse! some chewing gums also contain nicotine!
Kids might start chewing gum because it's the 'cool thing to do' and then get addicted to the nicotine. which clearly makes chewing gum a gateway to smoking cigarettes!
And let us not forget that chewing gum is certainly a public nuisance. I can't tell the number of times I've narrowly avoided prison time by, just barely, resisting the urge to violently remove the teeth of someone loudly smacking their gum. I mean, seriously, and for the love of all, if you really feel the need to masticate like a cow, go do it in a grassy field somewhere, away from me! Then there is the old gum and wrappers all over the sidewalks. how much do our cities spend each year cleaning that up?
Thursday, June 5, 2014
What not to do.
Well then, it looks like things happened while I was distracted by work.
Freetovape.org
And videos promoting it.
Don't do it.
don't.
don't
don't
It all sounds good right? well, no. it doesn't.
Annoying the hell out of our Congressional Representatives and Senators and the FDA is not the best way to get them to work with us.
If you're antsy to do something right now write an op-ed piece and send it to a local media outlet
...and join CASAA.
And if you're antsy to do something now consider these options listed on the CASAA site
Freetovape.org
And videos promoting it.
Don't do it.
don't.
don't
don't
It all sounds good right? well, no. it doesn't.
Annoying the hell out of our Congressional Representatives and Senators and the FDA is not the best way to get them to work with us.
If you're antsy to do something right now write an op-ed piece and send it to a local media outlet
...and join CASAA.
And if you're antsy to do something now consider these options listed on the CASAA site
- Submit your story to the CASAA Testimonials Project
- Prepare a one- or two-paragraph summary of your personal story for use with various Calls to Action that will be issued.
- Continue to encourage others to join CASAA. Membership is free, and more members will increase our influence and reach. CASAA members are more informed on the issues, and having the proper information will result in more effective advocacy.
- Ask vendors to provide information on CASAA to their customers:
- CASAA has a "We Support CASAA" Graphic for use on commercial sites.
- CASAA offers vendor kits at cost which is designed to let customers know about CASAA.
- Informational flyers and brochures are also available on our website for download to print and hand out at vape meets and stores or even for employers and medical professionals.
- Let people know about CASAA’s social networks and encourage them to join our forum on ECF, follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our blog and/or join us on Facebook, so they do not miss important information.
- Share CASAA’s blog posts and emails about the FDA rules and our plan, so they also know what we are doing and what to expect.
Todd vs. Amerivape: What we failed to learn
A short summary of events, in case you missed it.
Todd, of www.toddsreviews.com was putting together a video review of the Amerivape Manhattan.
He had a concern about venting. In short, it appeared to Todd that the Manhattan didn't vent.
He contacted Amerivape.
Amerivape responded that the Manhattan was designed to vent “at 35 psi or when the button is pressed.”
Todd got back to Amerivape after check the venting with the button pressed… it appeared to Todd that the Manhatten didn't vent.
This is where things started to get unpleasant.
Todd posted his review and Amerivape got angry... they threatened legal action
… and then accused Todd of threatening them.
All of this resulted in a bit of a shit storm on social media. (read more here if you're interested)
The thing is, even after things have started to cool down, Amerivape has a lingering problem.
It’s not threatening to sue a reviewer, it’s not deplorable customer relations, it’s something that few people seem to be saying anything about. It’s consumer confidence in the consistency of Americape products.
Todds video showed the Manhattan not venting when he blew into it, both with and without the button pressed. This is a reasonable concern. And Amerivapes explanation about venting at 35 psi is a reasonable response… but then youtube user Craig Cosby posts a video titled “Ameravape Manhattan video showing no venting issues” in it we see a water leaking from a Manhattan….
Think about that for a second.
Fill the tube with water and watch it leak out… at what? 35 psi? not even close. Maybe 14.7 psi. Add another video by youtube user chuff aluffigus showing airflow through the vents at 5 psi… and now we see the problem that Amerivape is facing.
3 Manhattan mods
3 videos
3 different venting behaviors
What Amerivape has is consistency problem… a quality control problem.
If every unit doesn't perform to the published specification, then those specifications are meaningless. And we, the consumers have no way of knowing if our mod will vent at 5 psi, or 14.7 psi, or 35 psi, or any pressure level at all. Think about it, let it really sink in, then consider what happens in the event of a battery failure… a thermal runaway… With full venting this could be unpleasant with hot flaming gasses shooting out… at higher psi it could be very unpleasant with the mod potentially resembling a small rocket. And with no venting… well, with no venting the mod is really just a short pipe. Pipe plus explosive thermal failure equals…
Now, I’m not saying that the Amerivape Manhattan is a pipe bomb waiting to happen. What I am saying is that any mod that lacks venting is a pipe bomb waiting to happen. I’m also saying that any manufacturer that lacks the ability to ship products that are consistently within target specifications may be selling you a mod with unknown venting…
They may be selling you a mod with adequate venting.
They may be selling you a pipe rocket.
And they may be selling you a pipe bomb.
What we, the consumers, should be learning from this is that we need to insist that the manufacturers of our hardware and liquids have both quality assurance and quality control practices in place. Or we need to take our money elsewhere.
Todd, of www.toddsreviews.com was putting together a video review of the Amerivape Manhattan.
He had a concern about venting. In short, it appeared to Todd that the Manhattan didn't vent.
He contacted Amerivape.
Amerivape responded that the Manhattan was designed to vent “at 35 psi or when the button is pressed.”
Todd got back to Amerivape after check the venting with the button pressed… it appeared to Todd that the Manhatten didn't vent.
This is where things started to get unpleasant.
Todd posted his review and Amerivape got angry... they threatened legal action
… and then accused Todd of threatening them.
All of this resulted in a bit of a shit storm on social media. (read more here if you're interested)
The thing is, even after things have started to cool down, Amerivape has a lingering problem.
It’s not threatening to sue a reviewer, it’s not deplorable customer relations, it’s something that few people seem to be saying anything about. It’s consumer confidence in the consistency of Americape products.
Todds video showed the Manhattan not venting when he blew into it, both with and without the button pressed. This is a reasonable concern. And Amerivapes explanation about venting at 35 psi is a reasonable response… but then youtube user Craig Cosby posts a video titled “Ameravape Manhattan video showing no venting issues” in it we see a water leaking from a Manhattan….
Think about that for a second.
Fill the tube with water and watch it leak out… at what? 35 psi? not even close. Maybe 14.7 psi. Add another video by youtube user chuff aluffigus showing airflow through the vents at 5 psi… and now we see the problem that Amerivape is facing.
3 Manhattan mods
3 videos
3 different venting behaviors
What Amerivape has is consistency problem… a quality control problem.
If every unit doesn't perform to the published specification, then those specifications are meaningless. And we, the consumers have no way of knowing if our mod will vent at 5 psi, or 14.7 psi, or 35 psi, or any pressure level at all. Think about it, let it really sink in, then consider what happens in the event of a battery failure… a thermal runaway… With full venting this could be unpleasant with hot flaming gasses shooting out… at higher psi it could be very unpleasant with the mod potentially resembling a small rocket. And with no venting… well, with no venting the mod is really just a short pipe. Pipe plus explosive thermal failure equals…
Now, I’m not saying that the Amerivape Manhattan is a pipe bomb waiting to happen. What I am saying is that any mod that lacks venting is a pipe bomb waiting to happen. I’m also saying that any manufacturer that lacks the ability to ship products that are consistently within target specifications may be selling you a mod with unknown venting…
They may be selling you a mod with adequate venting.
They may be selling you a pipe rocket.
And they may be selling you a pipe bomb.
What we, the consumers, should be learning from this is that we need to insist that the manufacturers of our hardware and liquids have both quality assurance and quality control practices in place. Or we need to take our money elsewhere.
Monday, June 2, 2014
What if our government did... nothing?
I started doing some research for a planned piece on the fiscal impact of consumers shifting from traditional tobacco products to vaping... and as I looked at some of the numbers I found myself repeatedly getting distracted by one question. What if the our government did nothing to restrict vaping? What it it treated electronic-cigarettes just like any other consumer product and let the public shift from smoking to vaping unhindered.
Currently, the average smoker spends more than $1800 a year on cigarettes. About half of that goes straight to taxes (56.6% according to Phillip Morris, but we're going to stick with the simpler 50% for the sake of ease) and the other half goes into the economy... well, sort of. In reality only about $135 of it actually goes back into the local economy, the other $765, give or take, finds it's way into the coffers of big tobaco and their share holders.
Okay, so for each smoker that makes the switch our government would loose about $900 in excise tax revenue every year. This is bad right? except that for each former smoker our economy also gains about three times that amount... or, rather, it sheds about $2700 a year in costs ... direct medical costs and lost productivity costs.
And that $1800 a year that the average smoker spends? imagine that these dollars are spent on local goods and services... like, say, independent vape vendors. Imagine that each of the local vendors who earned those dollars then re-spends that money on more local goods and services. In short, the 'Local Multiplier Effect' results in each former smoker spending $1800 per year with an effective value to the economy of potentially $3,270 . That's $3,270 per individual that is fueling the economy and empowering business… And not just local business, small, private businesses, "The American Dream" businesses. "Shrinking the Gap Between the 1% and the 99%" businesses. "The Gears of the Nation" businesses.
In the long term, if every smoker switched to vaping.... say goodbye to $32 billion in excise tax revenue annually... and say hello to an economic boost as consumers spend that extra $32 billion a year.
Yes, there would be losers, Tobacco growers and cigarette manufacturers would be hit especially hard, nicotine replacement products would all but disappear, and the medical industry would loose an estimated $44.3 billion a year as smoking related medical needs evaporate. but I submit to you that the gains, the gains to our families, our local businesses, our communities... the gains to our economy, would be greater than the losses if our government would just do nothing to restrict electronic cigarettes.
Currently, the average smoker spends more than $1800 a year on cigarettes. About half of that goes straight to taxes (56.6% according to Phillip Morris, but we're going to stick with the simpler 50% for the sake of ease) and the other half goes into the economy... well, sort of. In reality only about $135 of it actually goes back into the local economy, the other $765, give or take, finds it's way into the coffers of big tobaco and their share holders.
Okay, so for each smoker that makes the switch our government would loose about $900 in excise tax revenue every year. This is bad right? except that for each former smoker our economy also gains about three times that amount... or, rather, it sheds about $2700 a year in costs ... direct medical costs and lost productivity costs.
And that $1800 a year that the average smoker spends? imagine that these dollars are spent on local goods and services... like, say, independent vape vendors. Imagine that each of the local vendors who earned those dollars then re-spends that money on more local goods and services. In short, the 'Local Multiplier Effect' results in each former smoker spending $1800 per year with an effective value to the economy of potentially $3,270 . That's $3,270 per individual that is fueling the economy and empowering business… And not just local business, small, private businesses, "The American Dream" businesses. "Shrinking the Gap Between the 1% and the 99%" businesses. "The Gears of the Nation" businesses.
In the long term, if every smoker switched to vaping.... say goodbye to $32 billion in excise tax revenue annually... and say hello to an economic boost as consumers spend that extra $32 billion a year.
Yes, there would be losers, Tobacco growers and cigarette manufacturers would be hit especially hard, nicotine replacement products would all but disappear, and the medical industry would loose an estimated $44.3 billion a year as smoking related medical needs evaporate. but I submit to you that the gains, the gains to our families, our local businesses, our communities... the gains to our economy, would be greater than the losses if our government would just do nothing to restrict electronic cigarettes.
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