coleen

Thanks for the compliments, everyone! I'm always looking for a "simple solution", lol

Jerry, I found a "simple solution" to my tanks too... I used the same hole-saw (without the pilot drill-bit) to cut four more 2" rounds out of that thin, scrap, pine board. I drilled three holes (just slightly larger than the 510 connection, in a centered, triangle pattern) in two of the rounds, then glued them onto one of the "solid" rounds. I did it this way so I would not have to "measure" the depth of each hole, and the solid piece underneath will contain any drips or leakage (protecting my desktop)... yeah, it was the lazy way

Each one holds 3-tanks, keeps them upright, they rest on their bases (not the 510 connection) and unless they get bumped hard, they don't fall over. I may make a few more like this to hold my mini tanks and drip-tips, too. They're small, and sit perfectly on my desk in front of my monitor so I always have a few tanks within easy reach!

I didn't even bother to stain them...

I've been putting my eGo's upright on my desk, but each time I knock one over, I expected to see a shattered tank... laying them flat was okay, but I just prefer them to be standing straight

Personally, I never liked the little plastic stands they sell at the local vape-shop, and hadn't decided on dropping money for a wooden stand, when I feel I can make one for pennies, and have it fit my needs better anyway... alas, I've not (yet) taken the time to build something big, but I still needed something for my eGo's to reside in on my desk....

So, today I was cleaning some odds-and-ends out of my storage boxes and ran across two of those nice, 2" round closet-door handles that I never used (wife wanted pretty ceramics, instead). The handles are solid pine, and nothing fancy, but gave me a great idea for re-purposing them!

I cut some 2" rounds out of another piece of pine (using a hole-saw)... ran a dowel through the hole in the round, into the hole where you would normally mount the handle with a screw... a little glue, and now, they won't tip over!

I drilled a 9/16" hole for the battery to reside in (perfect fit, BTW)... light sanding, a dab of neutral stain... and now I have two, personalized eGo battery stands!

Cost was nothing, and gave me something to do for 30-minutes this afternoon. What do you think?

I just have to read the countless testimonials to see that vaping has helped a lot of people feel healthier. The things people say about how much better they feel lead me to the conclusion that it's almost as good, if not as good, as quiting all together.

Is vaping nicotine as bad as smoking regular cigarettes? Not even close, in my opinion. Can it cause problems for us in some cases? Definately! For instance, a pregnant, or nursing woman should not ingest nicotine in any way whatsoever. Nicotine itself has been proven to cause many harmful effects to an unborn fetus, such as low birth weight, pulmonary, vascular, and neurological problems, and it has been linked to sudden infant dealth syndrome. Any supplier of ecigarettes should make it clear to thier customers that vaping nicotine is NOT an acceptable alternative for pregnant and nursing mothers.

Ok, So what about the rest of us. Apparently, PG has been said to contain nitrosamines, which have been linked to many types of gastro-intestinal cancers, but the jury is still out on how much of these nitrosamines can hurt us and how much is present in vaping. From what I understand, this substance is barely detectable in lab studies of PG and can be found in higher concentrations in some food we eat.

When it comes to nicotine, each brand of analog is different, but generally speaking one analog can contain between 1-3mg of nicotine. However, through the process of smoking, a person only ingests about .05-.15mg per drag, depending on the depth of drag they tend to take. Most important to understand is that the half life of nicotine is very short; only about 40 minutes. As mass produced cigarettes became popular, tobacco companies realized that packaging cigarettes in packs of 20-25 was perfect for a days worth of smoking. Just enough nicotine to keep a guy coming back each day for a fresh pack. Did you know that if you took a drug test after only 1-2hrs of abstinence, the test would not be able to detect any nicotine in your body?

A lethal dose of nicotine for an average adult man is about 60mg. But how do you get that much nicotine into your system by smoking or vaping? With it's short half life, a guy would have to do an awful lot of vaping in a very short amount of time to overdose on nicotine. And he would feel pretty terrible (nausea, vomitting, headaches, tachycardia, dyspnea, convulsions, and coma, before even getting to the death part). I mean, how many news reports do you hear about people being found dead from nicotine poisoning? I suppose if you drank a bottle of juice containing 36mg/ml you could do some serious damage, which is why it is extremely important to keep this stuff away from kids. Hell, even a small amount to a child is highly toxic, if not fatal.

I certainly don't want to make people worried so much about the amount of nicotine that they may be consuming. That was never my point. Nicotine alone has NEVER been proven to cause cancer, period. In fact, nicotine is a lot like caffeine in terms of it's actual negative effects. It is however extremely addictive, as any smoker can tell you. As I stated in my original post, the only real concern I have about nicotine is when it comes to the eliquid. I think Chris understands full well what I mean.

My point has never been to warn people about nicotine or to say that people need to eventually give up vaping. You can buy 0mg eliquids. And I'm not going to re-state what I said earlier about people who choose to continue vaping nicotine. My point is that I feel like vaping is a wonderful invention and is truly the best way to save millions of people from tobacco abuse, which kills thousands each year. I can't say that any other NTR has the ability to save as many lives as the ecigarette.

But if we as consumers, along with our suppliers, act responsibly, and educate ourselves and others on the benifits and any dangers of vaping, we stand a much better chance of seeing this product around for a long time. I would hate for negative publicity and one or two serious incidents concerning eliquid ruin it for all those that depend on this product. If labeling it as an aide to stop smoking will keep it on the shelve, than so be it. If putting it in child-proof containers (reguardless of how irresponsible some parents can be) will keep it on the shelves, than so be it. If warning people about nicotine addiction is needed to keep it on the shelves, than so be it....

A great thread here.

Now, I'm all for safety, and feel the FDA should get off its butt and begin scientific, non-biased studies of ecigs. I'm not interested in the typical "study" paid for by corporate interests on either side of the ecig fence... I'd like to see real research NOT driven by market agendas.

Packaging can be managed, as Chris has done with the child-proof caps. But there is only so much a manufacturer can do to ensure safety when dealing with a potentially toxic product. Just because e-juice holds the potential of poisoning a person or pet does not mean it shouldn't be sold, and is no justification for keeping it off the market. Were that the case, then we shouldn't have access to many household, garage and industrial products either, which is clearly absurd and way too "nanny-state" for me.

As for nicotine itself... well, I'm on the side of personal liberty here. Adults are responsible for their choices, and if they want to smoke, it's their funeral. If vapers want to continue vaping and NOT use ecigs as a cessation path, it's their choice as well. Nicotine is often likened to caffeine in terms of negative health effects. Simply changing the delivery system for nicotine from burning leaves to something as benign (we assume) as vaping is a giant step forward in and of itself (based on all available data and vaper testimonials). Common sense tells us (well... me, anyway) that vaping is less harmful by orders of magnitude. Unless and until real data surfaces to suggest otherwise, I personally have no problem with substituting vaping for smoking and feeling pretty good about it.

Coffee drinkers, alcohol drinkers, drug users, food addicts (addicts of every stripe, for that matter) make their choices and must deal with the consequences, and I would argue that the government should have no say in those choices. Prohibition should have taught us that personal behavior can only be encouraged, not mandated and controlled by legislation (no matter how well-intended), because such hard-fisted attempts at social control simply don't work, and is counter to the concept of personal liberty and subsequent responsibility.

We are constantly being told what to do, but much less emphasis is placed on why we should do it. If but a fraction of the money spent on the so-called "war on drugs" had been spent on comprehensive, un-biased education of our youth on the science and traditional uses of various substances, on the cultural backdrop of the peoples who have used substances (I'm thinking specifically of Native American substance use and the accompanying spiritual ceremony here), we would have much less of a drug problem today. Native Americans used substances for specific reasons, at specified times, with specific ceremony and meaning infused into the practice. Such conscious and purposeful use of substances has all but disappeared. Back in the 60s and early 70s, the reasons behind why hippies used various drugs were entirely different than the what-the-hell party atmosphere we see today. There's such a thing as responsible, purposeful substance use, and then there's drug abuse. I may take some flack for that stand, but I was there, and I've seen the degrading cultural milieu surrounding the use of substances over the years first-hand. It didn't have to be that way, but the government's "do what we say but we won't educate you as to why you should do it" approach has only led to further inappropriate use of substances. Again... education is the answer, not legislation.

Perhaps that rant seems a bit off-topic, but I'm inclined to say it isn't. What is true of our dysfunctional approach to substance use is certainly true of our similarly bone-headed approach to cigarettes and tobacco use generally.

That's enough for now. I'm spent. lol

Stringdancer, that was one of the BEST, if not THE best posts Ive read since being a member here. I have read it twice now, and cant find one point I dont agree with. The governments justification for banning these products IS ridiculous, and is based on greed not need. There was a thing on Fox news today about a product coming out that helps parents "monitor" where theier teenage children are, to help them keep an eye on them. Right there is a problem. We DONT need products to do the parenting for us, we need PARENTS to take responsibility. My father knew where I was damn near all the time, and I knew the thundering hand of God was coming down if I stepped out of line. Not in an abusive way, in an authoritative way. The man LOVED me and i loved him back and I NEVER got what I didnt deserve. Im getting a little off track here, but it starts somewhere, and this is one area. The spare the rod mentality. The "It takes a village to raise a child" mentality. It doesnt take a village, it takes a parent. And we need to stop infringing on everyones rights in essence to make it easier for someone else to cope with parenthood. Flavors and bells and whistles dont make akid go astray. Non supervision does.