1. Community
  2. Chest and lungs
  3. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

COPD

Posted , 17 users are following.

shauna_90606
shauna_90606

I am sorry if I have got this wrong, but I have never used a forum before. I have been diagnosed with COPD. Can anyone tell me why vapour e cigs are forbidden please. Thank you

0 likes, 71 replies

71 Replies

Next
  • martin63346
    martin63346 shauna_90606

    Posted

    For those of us with COPD and form of inhaled substance including vaping is dangerous despite what the manufacturers and suppliers say. My honest advice is - Stay Away! and you will live longer
    • shauna_90606
      shauna_90606 martin63346

      Posted

      I think you are right martin, but for now, one step at a time I think because I don't want to set myself up for failure and go back to the cigs. Thank you for responding. I really appreciate it
  • DawnDedee
    DawnDedee shauna_90606

    Posted

    Hi Shauna.

    I do not know the exact medical scientific reasons, by I do know a common sense reason. COPD offers a slow long miserable death. It will disassemble your life as you know it, bit by bit until one day you realize you cannot walk from the bedroom to the bathroom without taking a spontaneous aerosol breathing treatment first, and despite this treatment, you still feel like you have run a marathon.

    The breathing machine has to sit next to your bed along with the boxes of medicine to use with it and that does not create a flattering decoration. You can forget walking to the mail box even with your oxygen tank. No more sports, or fun outings because you will not have any energy to go anywhere.

    Your body will go unwashed for days at a time because you become so breathless with the effort. You will not be able to work anymore because even if you can fight your way through your breathlessness, you will miss too many days of work because when a virus comes along, it will go straight to the weakest part of your body...your lungs. What would take a normal set of lungs to fight off a virus in 10 days or so, will take your lungs weeks to get over and that will only happen after visits to the doctor, the emergency room and hospitalizations. COPD is costly.

    Then you will begin to need to take corticosteroids which will help you breathe this time but long use of it will cause your hip and shoulder joints to die and require replacements.

    The awful list goes on and on. Please do not even pretend to smoke. Find good medications and use them faithful. Then your descent into COPD he'll will go a lot slower. Every choice we make in life carries with it natural consequences. We can control our choices, but we cannot control our natural consequences. I wish I had good lungs but. I do not from birth.

    Wish you the best!

    💛 Dawn, USA

  • jude65855
    jude65855 shauna_90606

    Posted

    As far as I know and my information comes from a doco shown on Australian TV not long ago which focussed on the UK, it's because they haven't been proven to be safe.

    Apparently they started off being produced by small companies for people trying to give up smoking cigarettes, but most or not all were then taken over by  guess who?   Tobacco companies of course, and why would anyone trust them?  It's only very recently they've admitted the health risks of smoking.

    I'm guessing you're a smoker:  lots of people used to give up smoking without any aids at all and there are plenty of these around now: gum, sprays, lozenges, patches, Alan Carr's books, quit groups.

    I don't understand how anyone with COPD can physically keep smoking:  my emphysema was caused by decades of my own smoking and I'd given up before I was diagnosed, but I now find myself very adversely affected by other people's cigarette smoke.  I've kept my lung capaciy at 70% since diagnosis a few years ago and I'm sure it would've deteriorated by now if I'd still been a smoker.

    If you're new here you won't have read my story about how I knew I'd never smoke again after hearing a Doctors Without Borders doctor describing the working conditions in some countries where tobacco is grown:  child slave labour as young as 5 and kids who don't meet their quotas are raped.  I knew when I heard that, that I could never again support such a disgusting exploitative industry.

    • shauna_90606
      shauna_90606 jude65855

      Posted

      Thank you jude. Yes, I was a heavy smoker...am no longer. I too have been adversely affected by second hand smoke, but I have been for a number of years...now I know why! I haven't read your story, but thank you for explaining it to me
  • ladyjack51
    ladyjack51 shauna_90606

    Posted

    Hi Shauna90606,

    I guess everyone's got an opinion on this so I'm gonna give you mine....I swear by the vapor cigs!! I smoked over 35 years and stopped cold turkey with help of a vapor cig on Sept 3rd of this year and I am very thankful. I was still in the hospital and asked the the lung Dr how he felt about them...fully expecting to hear negatives...but he said he had no problem at all with them. He said it's just vapor that evaporates very quickly and also there isn't any negative stats about them. He said when u light the paper of those cigarettes and suck in all the carcinogens from that and of course the tar that u coat your lungs with...he just couldnt see anything harmful about them. The idea of still suckling in something foreign into our already damaged lungs gets to alot of the patients who have answered you on here...and I get that...I truly do but I can only say I've had no shortness of breath from it and in fact they have helped me kick the worst habit of my life and I am thankful. I still try to be moderate about it bc I hope not to have a crutch at all oNE day. I also have 2 sons who stopped smoking using the vapor cig. Don't forget, you can get with no nicotine at all...lots of folks just like to do it using the many flavors they have. There seems to be no residue and no residual effects. So thats my 2 cents. You gotta weigh the pros and cons and do what works for you but there is a positive review for you! Keep us posted....ladyjack51

    • shauna_90606
      shauna_90606 ladyjack51

      Posted

      Thank you ladyjack51. I have now been 4 weeks cig free with the help of a vapouriser. I too fully understand the negative aspects, such as inhaling a foreign substance, but for now, I think I will continue using the e cig because it is helping me to quit the real ones and I believe the risks to be so much less. I hope to give the vapouriser up at some point, but...one step at a time I think 
    • josephine_30311
      josephine_30311 shauna_90606

      Posted

      I was a 2-pack a day smoker for over 30 years, until I stopped at the beginning of last year .I was diagnosed with COPD a few years ago and I tried everything to stop .. (patches, sprays,counselling, ‘Stoptober’ ..will-power) but within a few weeks I always relapsed. I found e-cigs just too expensive, so it was ‘Vaping’ that finally worked for me The transition from cigarettes to vaping was so smooth, I barely noticed the difference. No ‘withdrawal’ no cravings, and 6 months later my spirometric readings had improved a lot.

      So if you’re a heavy smoker and are finding it hard to stop, I would certainly recommend it as the first step to breaking the nicotine habit. It’s not ideal .. and I don’t think it should become a permanent solution .. (I’m gradually reducing the nicotine levels in my ‘juice’ and hopefully, in a few months I’ll be able to ditch the vaper too) .. but it’s a start.

      Good luck.

    • shauna_90606
      shauna_90606 josephine_30311

      Posted

      Thank you Josephine. I too was a 40 a day smoker, but I started when I was 14 and am now 59. I will reduce the nicotine levels too. Good advice - thank you
    • ladyjack51
      ladyjack51 josephine_30311

      Posted

      Applause for you josephine30311,

      I feel the same and I have gone from 21mg of nicotine down to 10MG now. I should probably reduce some more now bc it's time but I also loved that there was little to none discomfort and it's actually kinda fun bc I experiment with the different tanKS and batteries...the 1 I have now will go 24 hours before it needs a charge and it let's me adjust the voltage or how hard I have to pull on it...it's digital but fits in the palm of my hand like a zippy lighter....I went with this shape to get away from the long round feeling that your hands long for...I guess I'm trying to say to get away from anything close to the feel of a cigarette. All that is mental but if I can change it physically then that will help mentally, ya know? Anyway this is COPD, not VAPORS but just wanted to share with ya!

    • linda76363
      linda76363 ladyjack51

      Posted

      Hi ladyjack51,

      I couldn't agree more. I started using ecigs 2 years ago and haven't touched cigarettes since. I asked my GP what he thought and he said he couldn't see any harm at all from them. While they may not be 'good' for you they are much safer than regular cigarettes. I have also been diagnosed with COPD and my breathing is much better using ecigs than it ever was while I was smoking. I mix my own liquid and I am gradually making the liquid slightly weaker each time until I wean myself off them completly. Like you I understand everyones point of view both pro and cons but I know ecigs has improved my quality of life.....linda76363

    • ladyjack51
      ladyjack51 linda76363

      Posted

      Good for you Linda76363!!

      Whatever works I say!! I do vapor, not Ecigs but I still am on alittle nicotine. But just today I went down from 10MG to 8mg. When I began I was using the standard 21mg. So...for me, that's real progress! So....good for you, good for me and good for everyone who has really put cigarettes down. It's not easy and without the vapor cig, I would probably be 1 of those folks that keeps smoking with COPD....that the Dr's have no faith in their future.

      Ladyjack51

    • hypercat
      hypercat ladyjack51

      Posted

      Hi Ladyjack that's the way to do it isn't it?   To start off with enough to keep you off the fags,  then cut down gradually until you don't need anything anymore.   Well done.  x

  • hypercat
    hypercat shauna_90606

    Posted

    As far as I know they are not banned in the UK.  Why should they be?   I think the reason they are slagged off is because the Govt (call me a cynic) isn't making money from them with huge taxes like cigarettes!   They have far less chemicals in them than cigarettes and if it is a choice between smoking or using an e-cig I know which I would go for. 

    Of course it is best to give up without using them if you can but if you can't use them.  x

    • shauna_90606
      shauna_90606 hypercat

      Posted

      Thank you hypercat. I agree, vaping has to be better than smoking, so at least it's a step in the right direction. I will try to give up the vaping when I feel that it won't make me go back to smoking
Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.