Email to the FDA on E-Smoking

Comment:  My name is Tim Fuller and I am commenting on Electronic Cigarettes and the Public Health; Second Public Workshop; Docket No. FDA-2014-N-1936-0003.

I smoked approximately a pack and a half of full flavor Marlboro cigarettes per day beginning in my early twenties and continuing until the age of 56. I gave up cigarettes for e-smoking about the middle of November, 2014, shortly before my 57th birthday and no longer purchase or consume combustible tobacco products. Like I suspect many do, I first switched to a ‘cigalike’ product, and after testing several of the popular e-cigarette substitutes (Vuse, Mystic, Fin, Bu). I settled on the Blu brand, partly for the convenience of the portable charging case but mostly for availability of their flavored e-juices. I found the tobacco flavored e-juices unappealing and would likely have returned to cigarette smoking had I not found the option of the flavored varieties offered by Blu.

Shortly thereafter (weeks) I discovered the existence of superior vaping products being offered by several other manufacturers which offered longer battery life (Ego, eLeaf et.al.) In addition to the convenience of longer battery life and adjustable power output, I found a vast assortment of different atomizers to choose from which offered a much improved vaping experience. These allowed the option of purchasing and refilling from a multitude of flavored e-juice products at customized nicotine levels. I purchased several atomizer tanks and several flavors of mid-strength (12-18mg) e-juices, finding the ability to easily switch out tanks/flavors beneficial in my conversion from tobacco. An added benefit often overlooked is the huge savings in cost over that of consuming tobacco, not an insignificant issue for someone on an extremely limited income as I currently find myself in.

I cannot speak to the issue of whether or not these devices are ‘safe’ but in relation to the ingestion of what are known to be hundreds of proven hydrocarbon carcinogens it seems a no-brainer that there must be at least a decent level of harm reduction involved in my decision to abandon nicotine delivery via burning tobacco. I had previously tried to quit smoking via gums and patches with no success. I do not know if I will break my nicotine habit thru vaping but given the ability to wean down the nicotine levels in my e-juices it seems a more likely route and in the meantime I am sure I am abating a great deal of additional health risks.

E-juice Safety and flavored options.

I am not in support of any regulations on restricting flavors of e-juices. Of course I do support limiting e-emoking devices and e-juice access by minors as is currently the case with other nicotine delivery products such as chewing tobacco, cigars and cigarettes. I have yet to see any confirmed deaths of children accidentally ingesting e-juice but barely a day goes by that entire families are lost to the vagaries of smoking related fires. This should be weighed heavily in terms of ‘consumer safety’ when considering the perceived dangers of e-juices and e-smoking. I have not noticed any adverse reactions to the use of any of my e-cigarette devices.

Vaping device safety.

I now vape on higher output highly regulated devices but at much reduced nicotine levels, well under six percent nicotine levels. I vape when I feel like vaping but certainly not in as consistent a fashion as I used to when consuming cigarettes. I do not have access to the statistics on vape device safety but prefer to use a regulated device in order to minimize the risk of overheated lithium batteries, short circuited atomizer coils, etc. If there is any segment of the e-smoking market which may need oversight I imagine it would be in the area of DEVICE safety. I do not have any firsthand horror stories to share in regard to this, but I can easily visualize situations where unlocked or non-locking unregulated mechanical ‘mods’ could be potential trouble sources.

My experience with the commercial cigalike makers leads me to believe that many of them are so poorly designed as to lead one directly back to smoking. I do not know if this is a feature or a bug from their point of view but I do not trust the established cigarette producers given their track record of consumer deception. I would not wish to see the market for vapes or e-juices restricted in terms of availability or innovation. I see many articles in the press which are obviously ginning up fear, uncertainty and doubt over e-smoking and it’s patently obvious that many of these stories are being planted by deep pocketed tobacco corporations concerned with nothing more than protecting their market share and profits.

Please don’t allow yourselves to be unduly influenced by those in the industry who have proven themselves to be totally disreputable in the past. Thank you for taking the time to collect and analyze public opinion on this issue.

Tim Fuller
thetimtimes@gmail.com
Member of Casaa.org

Enjoy.

Best of Mississippi

Best of Mississippi and a Farewell Kiss Goodbye

I did a best and worst of Iowa series while visiting my sister up north, so I figured I’d attempt to recapture that again in my final blog post from deep down in Dixie. I’ll be heading out of town next week to continue on my “Pike’s Peak or Bust” Mystery Tour.  I’ll refrain from a “worst of” entry for Mississippi since there’s entirely too much of that on display in mainstream media already.

Special Thanks to Mike Parker

Bandit and I have been staying with a long-time and dear friend in the suburbs.  We’ve been extremely well cared for by my good buddy Mike Parker.  Mike is a successful restauranteur here in Jackson.  Mike and his late partner Larry were highlighted in a local magazine article in 2012 as a Jackson area “Power Couple” and as the article above notes, their pizza business has received multiple awards since it’s opening in 2006. Sadly, Larry passed away of cancer a couple years before my wife Rita followed him to the great beyond.  Mike has since found a new and loving partner to help him pick up the pieces of his life.  I’m not ready for that kind of commitment again at this point in my life since I’m still mourning the more recent passing of my beloved mate (and best friend).  Even though Mike has remarried, I know there’s still a void in his soul from the passing of Larry that will never be filled.  It’s good to be staying in a house with such love and understanding of what I’ve been through in the last six months.  I cannot say enough good things about the quality of support my friends here in the South have provided for both myself and my furry travel companion.  Such blessings are hard to come by.

Fond Memories of Mississippi

Below is a slideshow of some of the highlights my hairy beast and I enjoyed here in Dixie during the last several months.  Even as we make our way forward and on to new and exciting adventures, I will always cling to the pleasant memories of my stay here in Mississippi.  There are others in my sphere who have also been essential in keeping our spirits high and our bellies full.  I shall respect the anonymity I know they desire but I shall not fail to make note of them here in passing.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Enjoy.

Hacking the new Blu E-cig Tanks

Blu would prefer you just shell out five dollars every time one of their electronic cigarette tanks runs out of e-juice.  Here’s a relatively simple and inexpensive way to refill (and re-seal)) the new Blu tank system yourself with any flavor e-juice you desire.  The heating coil in the tank (atomizer) is not replaceable so there is a limit to how many times you’ll be able to reuse it before it fails, but I’ve refilled mine a couple times already with no problems.

Enjoy.

Video Adventures

Retiring the Raging Moped

I’ll be attempting to up my YouTube video production in the near future on a variety of topics.   I’ll need to lose my “Raging Moped” intro and insert something less moped-centric now that my Euro moped adventure is over.  Get it while it’s still hot!  It’ll slip back into my regular YouTube video list as soon as I do a new one to replace it.

One new topic I’ll be working up videos for is electronic smoking (vaping).  These will document my move away from cigarettes shortly upon my arrival back to US soil.  There are a lot of smokers out there who need the information I’ve acquired to make a successful transition to a safer nicotine delivery system.  I’ll also be discussing my future tiny home plans as well as my “Pikes Peak or Bust” relocation adventure.

Once I start talking there’s no telling what else I might say.

Subscribe early and often.  Cleaning out the upload backlog from Germany.  Here’s a sample.

Enjoy.

Electronic Cigarettes

From a New York Times op-ed piece by Sally Satel

“ELECTRONIC cigarettes, battery-powered devices that convert a solution of nicotine and other chemicals into a vapor that can be inhaled, or “vaped,” have the potential to wean a vast number of smokers off cigarettes.”

Here’s what Tristero at Digsby Hullabaloo had to offer:

What an elegant structure! It’s got a clause within a clause terminated by soft, fuzzy positive words – “potential,” “wean” – and a grandiose, hopeful final phrase: “vast number off cigarettes!” The sentence is so complex that many a reader may not notice that Satel openly admits she has zero evidence that so much as a single smoker has – let alone will – trade in her Marlboros for vaping.

I’m normally a huge fan of Hullabaloo, but the “fuzzy headed” journalism by tristero that claims not a single smoker has switched from smoking to vaping e-cigarettes is the biggest bunch of malarkey outside the Flat Earth Society.  I offer myself as an affirmative example of switching from smoking to vaping and there are plenty more here that are easy to find for any  journalist who is actually practicing journalism.  On top of that, the rapid growth in the retail market for ecigs and vaping accessories undermines any argument to the contrary.

On the issue of safety, there’s no way that switching to vaping e-cigarettes or nicotine juice can be anywhere near as damaging to the human body as smoking!  Nicotine may not be a health food but on it’s own the risks are known to be much less toxic than sucking in the hundreds of dangerous chemicals (not listed on the cigarette packages btw) involved with burning tobacco.  To top it off you’ll  never see a report of an ecig smoker falling asleep in bed and burning their house down.

For more information on electronic cigarettes and how to protect your right to access to these devices visit and join casaa.org.

Enjoy.