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The current vaping lung ‘epidemic’

Have you SEEN the amount of smoke on exhale with an actual tobacco vape?
It’s like they’re smoking 8 full strength cigarettes at once!

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s speeding up progression of people’s lung deterioration.

That said no one can actually pin point what’s triggering the rise in diagnosis.
I personally experienced an extremely early diagnosis simply because I needed an unrelated MRI on my chest, liver and kidneys and it picked up the damage at least a stage earlier than the average (most don’t feel the full effects of COPD til stage 3, before that it’s just slower shorter breathing)
Better imaging and breathing diagnostic tools very likely are bringing about a lot of early diagnosis of the illness today that would have been missed earlier previously.

Along with environmental factors.
My grandfather never smoked a day in his life but all of his jobs involved working in and around substances corrosive to the lungs, from building roads and the harsh chemicals required in the 70’s to create pulp in a timber mill.
When he passed his lungs, liver, kidneys and prostate were FULL of cancer.
The only organ left undamaged was his heart.

I had a vape for a few weeks, couldn’t be bothered stuffing around with all the cartridges and recharging and ended up just going out and buying smoked so I doubt it had any affect on me.

I also live 2 km from both a rubbish dump and tyre recycling joint (same home for 10 years) that somehow ‘magically and inexplainably since it’s illegal to burn tyre rubber in an urban setting, is set on fire 3 times a year prompting health warnings for us all to close all our windows and doors and turn off air con circulation to the house.

According to the EPA, benzene, mercury, styrene-butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and arsenic, among several other chemicals, heavy metals and carcinogens, have been found in tires. Studies have found that crumb rubber can emit gases that can be inhaled.
Benzopyrene specifically is a proven carcinogenic when inhaled.
And wow was I obsessed with this concept when both my 13 year old fell ill at the same time the same year the tyre joint went up in flame 6 times! That same year she developed epilepsy and I was diagnosed with lupus (which I now believe was drug induced as the symptoms vanished when I cut back on the shit) and lung disease.
I still haven’t let go of that little bit of paranoia lol

I’ve gone over this a thousand times, even taking on board what my sketchy user mate say about smoked meth recrystallising in your lungs and causing damage as well.
If I held my smoke in too long he’d slap me so I’d cough it out 😂😂😂
That said this guy doesn’t smoke cigs, only IV’s meth, smack and his suboxone (which I have heard can break off and travel to the lungs causing damage) and only smokes meth when his veins are playing up, so I can see why he blames the meth.
He’s only 33 and his emphysema is on par with mine at 41. Also happens til 3 k from said ‘accidental’ tyre burn offs.

Too many contributing factors for ANY so called expert to pin point the one cause
 
I also live 2 km from both a rubbish dump and tyre recycling joint (same home for 10 years) that somehow ‘magically and inexplainably since it’s illegal to burn tyre rubber in an urban setting, is set on fire 3 times a year prompting health warnings for us all to close all our windows and doors and turn off air con circulation to the house.

According to the EPA, benzene, mercury, styrene-butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and arsenic, among several other chemicals, heavy metals and carcinogens, have been found in tires. Studies have found that crumb rubber can emit gases that can be inhaled.
Benzopyrene specifically is a proven carcinogenic when inhaled.
And wow was I obsessed with this concept when both my 13 year old fell ill at the same time the same year the tyre joint went up in flame 6 times! That same year she developed epilepsy and I was diagnosed with lupus (which I now believe was drug induced as the symptoms vanished when I cut back on the shit) and lung disease.
I still haven’t let go of that little bit of paranoia lol

I
No difference this side of the pond. Next to the dike that protect's the island from the sea. Is a dump with 30 million kg explosives. It was the most economical sollution and consist's of German ww2 leftover's.

And old English shit. Our army switched to buying American weaponary at a certain time. This went on untill 1968 and unlike most people who like to think of it as a purely ww2 dump. It is not, it went on long after the German trash was cleared.

Did I mention it is on the surface of the seabottom. Not even a layer of mud or sand to cover it up. So this shit has been corroding for atleast 50 year's in salt water, Proven fact as the concentration's of chemical's are measureable higher then natural during death tide.

Assholes!
 
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Do you guys live near huge cities or something?

I think the closest, most heavily polluted thing near me is just the Chesapeake Bay... and, like, I don't even know specifically what's wrong with it. I just know that contaminants have fucked up fishing and crabbing a bit, and it's typically recommended to not jump in the water.

I couldn't imagine having an explosive-filled dump or regular junkyard tire fires right down the street, fuck.
 

^ I used to live in the #1 city for air pollution in the US (which isn't even a particularly large city). Managed to contract bronchitis twice while living there, have never experienced respiratory issues living anywhere else. Air quality is truly awful there...this country most definitely needs an empowered EPA, IMO
 
Do you guys live near huge cities or something?

I think the closest, most heavily polluted thing near me is just the Chesapeake Bay... and, like, I don't even know specifically what's wrong with it. I just know that contaminants have fucked up fishing and crabbing a bit, and it's typically recommended to not jump in the water.

I couldn't imagine having an explosive-filled dump or regular junkyard tire fires right down the street, fuck.
Nope not anymore little fishing/ farmer village myself.

A side note: research on pesticide concentration's revealed measureably higher level's. Countryside vs city.

Back to the explosive's they were dumped right next to the dike that protects the inland from flooding. The site where the corroding toy's of warcraft lay, leaking Phosphor and who know's what more. is about 3 km from the capital of the island (about 20.000 people so a small town).

According to demolition experts a mass detonation is not an impossibility, it is a matter of time!
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Luckily we were neutral during WW I, in Belgium there is also carbonyldichloride (Phosphorgas ?), 1,1'-thiobis(2-chloorethaan (Mustardgas) and Dichloor (Chlorogas) near the beach.
 
I couldn't imagine having an explosive-filled dump or regular junkyard tire fires right down the street, fuck.

pretty OT but this reminds me of an old box of forgotten dynamite I found lying in a shed on the family grounds. I was there cleaning the shed and was just throwing stuff I found out without fucks given because I was using the shed normally and 99% of the shit in there was totally harmless, at most a small risk of tetanus.

Now, some people might say MacGuyver was fake as shit BUT there was an episode where he found old dynamite and scraped nitroglycerin off the sticks and it was because I saw that episode that I realized that the sticky shit the dynamite was coated in was nitroglycerin!

when my dad bought the dynamite it was perfectly legal to just go and buy dynamite but by the time i found the box it was no longer legal, and so to avoid the awkward situation of calling the bomb squad out to the middle of nowhere to deal with it we dispatched it with a blasting cap and a long fuse and ran far far away and now there sits a pond where a shed once stood.
 
It's not the thx/oil it's about a part going bad and it being vaporized at least that's what I heard
 
I vape. A lot. All day/ night pretty much and have done so for the past 3 years.
Before that I was smoker for 15 years.
I use the pg/vg oils with a nicotine level between 6-8mgs.
Last week I decided to get a lung xray, just to see what/ if I'd done any damage. My results were 100% perfect.
I'm not condoning vaping.. I could very well end up with some serious damage in the future if I don't stop now.
I don't use any THC oils etc.
Just thought I'd share my experience and results so far.
 
I vape. A lot. All day/ night pretty much and have done so for the past 3 years.
Before that I was smoker for 15 years.
I use the pg/vg oils with a nicotine level between 6-8mgs.
Last week I decided to get a lung xray, just to see what/ if I'd done any damage. My results were 100% perfect.
I'm not condoning vaping.. I could very well end up with some serious damage in the future if I don't stop now.
I don't use any THC oils etc.
Just thought I'd share my experience and results so far.
Intuition wise vaping be it dry herb, cartridges with PG & VG and some actives (cannabis derived or tobacco) and/ or inactives (aroma's and terpene's). Seems like it can't be the cullprit of the lung damage.

But these story's keep popping up. Over here no casualty's afaik but the Nicotin salt's used in a device popular among the young are at questioning. As they are easy to deliver an hefty dose of Nicotin. And are addictive and dangerous pure by the ammount of it present in the liquid.

Belgium had their second vaping casualty this year. Without direct proof the cicumstances point towards liquid's based upon Cannabis deratives. CBD in this case and most of the victims were youngsters. 2000 and counting worldwide atm.

Vaping herb seem's pretty safe at this point. The liquid's, cannabis or tabacco mimetic's, I would def leave untill they get to the bottom of this.
 
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Do you guys live near huge cities or something?

I think the closest, most heavily polluted thing near me is just the Chesapeake Bay... and, like, I don't even know specifically what's wrong with it. I just know that contaminants have fucked up fishing and crabbing a bit, and it's typically recommended to not jump in the water.

I couldn't imagine having an explosive-filled dump or regular junkyard tire fires right down the street, fuck.
My drinking water get's poisoned by a sidekick of Dupont, Chemours.

After doing this year's with Perfluorooctanoic acid. Now Gen X is apperently in my tap water which comes in my house through oldschool Asbest pipes.
 
The liquid I'm vaping turns from colourless to a dark shade of brown after some time. And I'm still vaping it, too. That's just sad, I have to admit.
 
NEJM this week


Vitamin E association in BAL (~lung) fluid, 48/51 cases and questions in the other three. MCT, coconut also tested. Timing of vitamin E as an additive is discussed briefly. 16 states.

Curious to see the limonene as well, as a minor note.
CDC just confirmed vit e acetate. Couldn't find the original CDC article just saw it posted on social media. The timing of vit e on the market coincided with trends in extremely cheap vape carts and middleman cutting kilos of distillate.

 
CDC just confirmed vit e acetate. Couldn't find the original CDC article just saw it posted on social media. The timing of vit e on the market coincided with trends in extremely cheap vape carts and middleman cutting kilos of distillate.


There should be some data on pyrolyzed terpenes within a month or two. However, it is Health Canada conducting the studies, so....

Definitely makes me nervous when I was considering picking up a bunch of distillate even with lab certificates.

Tom
 
thought it was mostly benzene?

I’ll try to find the peer reviewed pre pub article and link to it. It seems that some terpenes, when heated to (I’ll just say high temperatures) form, or can form a class of compounds called ketenes (correct spelling). These ketenes are quite toxic, esp. when inhaled.

This is a Wikipedia entry regarding ketenes

Ketene is a respiratory poison that can exhibit delayed toxicity to alveolar structures (mainly capillaries) to produce death by pulmonary edema. ... Like phosgene, the pulmonary effects of inhalation exposure to ketene may be manifested in the absence of direct irritation by ketene or its breakdown product, acetic acid

Tom

source #1 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsomega.7b01130

source #2 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ja01621a055

source #3 https://www.researchgate.net/public...c_hydrocarbons_from_the_pyrolysis_of_terpenes

Depressing
 
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I’ll try to find the peer reviewed pre pub article and link to it. It seems that some terpenes, when heated to (I’ll just say high temperatures) form, or can form a class of compounds called ketenes (correct spelling). These ketenes are quite toxic, esp. when inhaled.

This is a Wikipedia entry regarding ketenes

Ketene is a respiratory poison that can exhibit delayed toxicity to alveolar structures (mainly capillaries) to produce death by pulmonary edema. ... Like phosgene, the pulmonary effects of inhalation exposure to ketene may be manifested in the absence of direct irritation by ketene or its breakdown product, acetic acid

Tom

source #1 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsomega.7b01130

source #2 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ja01621a055

source #3 https://www.researchgate.net/public...c_hydrocarbons_from_the_pyrolysis_of_terpenes

Depressing
interesting.. I was referencing what I remembered from this article

Either way, if this current "epidemic" is from pyrolyzed terpenes then it would be seen in heavy/hot dabbers and probably smokers as well, I would think. The tip of a joint is close to the same temp as hot dabs I believe.
 
Mafioso; thanks for posting the link to that article. I almost wish peer reviewed published articles like this did not exist because they will give some Canadian politician ideas. Temperature restricted vape pens/batteries is one possibility.

I dabbed a few times several years ago and burnt myself trying to get the dab inside of a glass dome covering a nail. Other than hash, no concentrates until October/18 when I started hitting on vape/dab pens. The first bunch of carts were cut with VG (it was listed as an ingredient and I just didn’t know any better). The dispensary owner pointed me in the direction of full spectrum oils (huh?). It was a quick learning curve and I started buying only carts with certified lab results. But those were pricier.

I’ve never dabbed off of a banger or e-nail....yet.

Oh yeah, I did try an electric honey straw. Took too much > greened out 😜

Tom
 
I almost wish peer reviewed published articles like this did not exist because they will give some Canadian politician ideas.
lol...just look at the hayday politicians are having in the US with the vape crisis now that people have finally died related to cannabis use. Tragedy, indeed, and likely a direct result of greed. One could also blame over regulation and taxation as well though, which is why the black market is still 2/3-3/4 of CA market. CA just increased rec taxes, making cannabis an industry taxed like no other, and at every corner. No one I know in the legal side is having an easy time, it's a struggle to survive as the Starbucks, walmarts, and amazons of the weed industry are fighting for market share.
The first bunch of carts were cut with VG
2nd pass distillate is usually done 2 times max to preserve d9thc, as it's more psychoactive and higher priced than an isomer that can form d8thc. 3 passes is usually to correct an error and sold as mostly d8 for lower market value. This exist in the legal wholesale world because certificates of analysis are required, and people know what they are dealing with. However, when it comes to labeling, I do not believe which isomer is required to be labeled- or how much the cart has been cut with terpenes. Many manufactures report as little as 3-5% terpene blend needed to achieve low enough viscosity in carts, however, as demonstrated by the recent epidemic, many unscrupulous manufacturers were cutting much more than the amount needed, I've heard upwards of 40-50%. Combine that with buying a cheaper THC isomer, and profit margins look a lot better. This existed mostly on the black market though, I'm not sure the legal requirements for potency and ingredients, but one could label "only distillate and terpenes" and still have some nasty stuff, as terpenes include a wide range of compounds, many terpene companies offering a thick, colorless, odorless, tasteless, "terpene blend", some cutting with MCTs....
full spectrum oils
This term always makes me smirk at least. There is no legal definition, so it's really up to the manufacturer or distributor to decide on it's definition. When used honestly though, it's meant an extraction that retains a "full spectrum" of desired components(cannabinoids other than thc, native terpenes, terpenoids, esters, thiols, and a lot more I'm told). Again, this would have a lot to do with the manufacturer's process as well as what distributors can label. Many "live resin" distillate carts are 90-95% THC distillate with 5-10% live resin(probably a high terpene fraction) instead of botantical/non-native terpenes. Brand research really pays off right now. Honestly, I try to avoid the legal market as much as possible, although it slowly seems to be improving.
those were pricier.
which makes one wonder, with no legal definition... hmmm....

just to add, many report that hemp terpenes provide a much more natural cannabis taste, much more like dabbing that hitting a flavored nicotine vape. Is this what companies are calling "full spectrum", which doesn't cost a whole lot more to manufacture(if at all with this years hemp glut).

Most companies I'm aware of are running large wiped film or short path distillation for cart production, falling film and closed loop with/without chromatography colomns for non-distillate concentrates, or crude to be turned to distillate. There's many problems with things less refined than distilled THC, even using other methods to refine THCA, in high enough concentrations it will crystalize and need to be heated to melting point to be useful in a cart(so more likelihood full spectrum and live resin carts are largely distillate). Without degumming, dewaxing, and a few other steps, the coil will become nasty very quickly. I've spent a lot of hours reading other's R&D on these ideas, which is why I'm pretty confident most carts are distillate with botanical terpenes and possible other cuts like PG, VG, MCT, unknown terpene/terpenoid.

The owner of one of the products containing vit e acetate, honey cut, claimed it was for CBD distillate, which actually needs to be cut down to around 60%? to prevent nucleation of CBD in the carts. There are still many similar products that are apparently safe, like PG and terpenes on the market today.

Lastly, not all distillate is the same, as i'm sure you'd know as I think you said you had 30 yrs experience on a thin/wiped film distillation. There are a few nasty compounds, some are even terpenes, that can give a burnt rubber taste or harsh chemical taste.
 
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