Stimulants There's something sinister about those disposable vapes...

[sadmachine]

TL;DR: I'm wondering if disposable vapes are potentially negatively impacting my drug experiences.


Not sure how big they are in the US yet, but for the past 5ish years these little shits have absolutely dominated Australia and the UK. For every 1 McDonalds, we have 60 tobacconists here in Australia. Police don't have anywhere near enough resources to shut them down (they are technically illegal here) and every other week there's a firebombing, 115 in 18 months. Some articles claim the police think the organised crime groups importing and setting up these vape shops are making more from them than they are from some drugs. On my street alone we have 4. Everyone here is hooked on them, high school kids, all the guys in the office, I even see the odd junkie in the city puffing away on a strawberry-watermelon ice.

Iget and HQD seem to be the two big brands, manufactured in Shenzhen, China and pretty poorly regulated. God knows what's in them, I know it's all synthetic and assume either freebase, nic salt or some other more unknown synthetic nicotine form (maybe they've figured out something that potentiates it?) but in my experience there's no other nicotine product quite like them that even comes close.

I got off the cigs around 5 years ago when a friend introduced me to the original legal box/pod vapes that used pg/vg and nic salt all produced locally and somewhat regulated. They were nice, but incomparable. Then they banned those and now the black market disposables reign supreme.


Here's where it get's interesting and a little bit conspiracy-ish.

Mind you this is all anecdotal, I haven't even discussed this with my friends who use them yet but here's what I've noticed that has really struck me. If I go a few days without a cigarette and then have one, it's lovely, very pleasant. If I go a few days without sucking on one of these things and then I have a puff, I get a full body wave of euphoria off that first puff, a proper rush, to the point where it's almost too much. I'd trade that first puff in withdrawal over damn near any drug i've had in years. The next puff is business as usual, but that first one... The only comparison I have is one particular experience where in my early meth days I took a monster puff of some very high quality meth and the pleasure was so overwhelming it was almost too much. It's obviously nowhere near the same but that's all I can compare it to. As someone who gets very little euphoria at the best of times from your typical euphoriants (oxycodone, coke, mdma) this boggles me mind.

It also makes me wonder how it's been affecting my bodies dopamine system. With a cigarette I'm good for awhile and with the vape I need that thing constantly. It also seems significantly more painful to withdraw from and quit but I guess that can be put down to the fact that i'm probably consuming much much higher amounts of nicotine when I vape than I when I smoke.

In my very limited and amateur understanding of neurotransmitters, I imagine that these things being dopaminergic are essentially stimulating tons of dopamine out every couple of minutes, thousands of times a day. Can't be good for having a well running dopamine system right? And can't be good for enjoying drugs that are supposed to be doing the same thing? How could it perhaps affect say an opioid high when at the same time my brain is constantly begging for the dopamine release every few seconds?

My little backyard conspiracy theory is that it's interfering with my ability to enjoy drugs. It falls a part in a few places, for example we all know a good cigarette while on opies can really kick in a nod (perhaps there's something different between regular and synthetic nicotine?) I've been off the opioids awhile now but vaping never once kicked my opioids into gear at all whatsoever, but a cigarette would every time. Hell sometimes I'd be about to redose thinking i'd underdone it, go smoke a cig and be suddenly be nodding off.

When I really reflect on it, the times when I've been completely off these things and free of any physical dependence from synthetic nicotine I think I've enjoyed most drugs a lot more. I've also noticed significant improvements in motivation but again, not being dependant on a dopaminergic drug probably does that... (duh)

I suspect these suckers might be a lot more serious than we yet know. Just food for thought.

Have you experienced anything like this?

 

[tryptakid]

Those who have studied plant medicine and its connection to plant-teachers have noted that the tobacco plant is the most powerful of the traditional teacher spirits (ayahuasca, cocaine, marijuana, mescalito etc.). No other plant has enslaved humanity more than the tobacco plant.

Vapes have simply made it simpler to integrate nicotine into every aspect of your day, at whatever escalating dose you chose to use; while spraying your lungs with increasing levels of microplastics.

I quit vaping in january - start with a 14 or 21mg patch, use it daily for a week and then decrease - use nicorette gum to overcome cravings as needed. Tell people you are doing this so you have accountability. Remember that urges only last about 30-60 seconds.

Let me know if you want to discuss further.

 

[sadmachine]

Cheers for your response,

Excellent work on getting off them, even though my days of substance use are dwindling, I've never been more motivated to quit for good. Can't believe 5 years on them went by just like that.

I picked up some patches and gum earlier today, really looking forward to putting this one behind me.

And I totally get what you mean by urges only lasting briefly, that one took me a bit of maturing up to learn but they really do pass especially if you don't indulge yourself with the possibility.

 

[emkee_reinvented]

Sounds bad, the one experience wit a diposable vape was wit the
.... boxer brand. Why it containden HHC+HHCp+Terpenes.

Did it work proper, no it was overpriced.
But i got to experience a vaped HHC + HHCp high, 98% & 2% Terpenes.
And i did it was nice even, but what happened, surprising.
It directly started a cough attack, and each drag made it worse.

While when i vape Herb in a Chamber, that don t occur.
Even smoking my one hitter, like year ago still using Tobacco.
Never made me cough.

As Vapes are more illegal even then, cig s or vapes ment to replace em.
Tobacco flavour + Nicotine not sold under 18. A blooming market was created.
Kid s are supplied via apps with Banana flavour + Nicotin salt loaded vapes.
Probably from China, by dealer s that deliver on the schoolyard in 10 minutes.

100% illegal, and lets assume the Chinese still don t care bout health,
product control. Anything that can be selled will.

 

[Deleted member 576750]

TL;DR: I'm wondering if disposable vapes are potentially negatively impacting my drug experiences.


Not sure how big they are in the US yet, but for the past 5ish years these little shits have absolutely dominated Australia and the UK. For every 1 McDonalds, we have 60 tobacconists here in Australia. Police don't have anywhere near enough resources to shut them down (they are technically illegal here) and every other week there's a firebombing, 115 in 18 months. Some articles claim the police think the organised crime groups importing and setting up these vape shops are making more from them than they are from some drugs. On my street alone we have 4. Everyone here is hooked on them, high school kids, all the guys in the office, I even see the odd junkie in the city puffing away on a strawberry-watermelon ice.

Iget and HQD seem to be the two big brands, manufactured in Shenzhen, China and pretty poorly regulated. God knows what's in them, I know it's all synthetic and assume either freebase, nic salt or some other more unknown synthetic nicotine form (maybe they've figured out something that potentiates it?) but in my experience there's no other nicotine product quite like them that even comes close.

I got off the cigs around 5 years ago when a friend introduced me to the original legal box/pod vapes that used pg/vg and nic salt all produced locally and somewhat regulated. They were nice, but incomparable. Then they banned those and now the black market disposables reign supreme.


Here's where it get's interesting and a little bit conspiracy-ish.

Mind you this is all anecdotal, I haven't even discussed this with my friends who use them yet but here's what I've noticed that has really struck me. If I go a few days without a cigarette and then have one, it's lovely, very pleasant. If I go a few days without sucking on one of these things and then I have a puff, I get a full body wave of euphoria off that first puff, a proper rush, to the point where it's almost too much. I'd trade that first puff in withdrawal over damn near any drug i've had in years. The next puff is business as usual, but that first one... The only comparison I have is one particular experience where in my early meth days I took a monster puff of some very high quality meth and the pleasure was so overwhelming it was almost too much. It's obviously nowhere near the same but that's all I can compare it to. As someone who gets very little euphoria at the best of times from your typical euphoriants (oxycodone, coke, mdma) this boggles me mind.

It also makes me wonder how it's been affecting my bodies dopamine system. With a cigarette I'm good for awhile and with the vape I need that thing constantly. It also seems significantly more painful to withdraw from and quit but I guess that can be put down to the fact that i'm probably consuming much much higher amounts of nicotine when I vape than I when I smoke.

In my very limited and amateur understanding of neurotransmitters, I imagine that these things being dopaminergic are essentially stimulating tons of dopamine out every couple of minutes, thousands of times a day. Can't be good for having a well running dopamine system right? And can't be good for enjoying drugs that are supposed to be doing the same thing? How could it perhaps affect say an opioid high when at the same time my brain is constantly begging for the dopamine release every few seconds?

My little backyard conspiracy theory is that it's interfering with my ability to enjoy drugs. It falls a part in a few places, for example we all know a good cigarette while on opies can really kick in a nod (perhaps there's something different between regular and synthetic nicotine?) I've been off the opioids awhile now but vaping never once kicked my opioids into gear at all whatsoever, but a cigarette would every time. Hell sometimes I'd be about to redose thinking i'd underdone it, go smoke a cig and be suddenly be nodding off.

When I really reflect on it, the times when I've been completely off these things and free of any physical dependence from synthetic nicotine I think I've enjoyed most drugs a lot more. I've also noticed significant improvements in motivation but again, not being dependant on a dopaminergic drug probably does that... (duh)

I suspect these suckers might be a lot more serious than we yet know. Just food for thought.

Have you experienced anything like this?

there is a difference between vapes and cigarettes, cigs typically contain MAOIs to improve the feel of the nicotine while vapes don't, this may also be what impacts opioids

 

[Them Witches]

The pop-up tobacco shops in the US are on every corner now it seems. As if every from 16 to 85 years, but vapes, bongs, 7-OH, kratom, etc.

Many are from Northern Africa.

 

[tryptakid]

Cheers for your response,

Excellent work on getting off them, even though my days of substance use are dwindling, I've never been more motivated to quit for good. Can't believe 5 years on them went by just like that.

I picked up some patches and gum earlier today, really looking forward to putting this one behind me.

And I totally get what you mean by urges only lasting briefly, that one took me a bit of maturing up to learn but they really do pass especially if you don't indulge yourself with the possibility.

Sorry I missed your reply but I wish you the best on your decision to get through. I picked a day in the near future and made sure to tell others - this helped me to sort of mentally prepare for it and also to be accountable to the inevitable 'so how's quitting going' question.

Also, just having them on hand is good because you can sometimes just wakeup and say - fuck it, today's the day i'm just going all in, and then you do it.

I also timed everything for when I was close to running out of juice to refill my vape with so that I could naturally start preparing for it.

Let me know how it's going if/when you take the leap onto the patch. I'll be rooting for you!

 

[pixies+]

god damn these vapes. i quit smoking around 2021 and picked up vaping as it was a much, much cheaper alternative. i can’t say i’ve noticed them impact drugs any differently but i am 1 000 000% far more addicted to them than i ever was to cigarettes. its an awful feeling and i pretty much make myself sick from them daily. i get a lot of headaches and nausea. waaayyyy too much nicotine. of course i try not to… but theyre just too easy and self control.. well.. can’t say i’m known for having much of it.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Anything coming from China that is not under regulation has the potential to be dangerous. You'll never know what's in them without having them tested yourself. We had major issues with Cannabis Oil Vaporizers here in the United States years ago. Back before dispensaries became more affordable, it was quite common to buy these on the street. I'm sure they are still common in Red States or in countries without recreationally-legal Cannabis. They would contain stuff like Vitamin E Acetate and it literally killed many people before the whole thing faded out.

If we are just talking about Nicotine Vaporizers in general, yea they have the potential to be more addictive relative to smoked tobacco I.e. Cigarettes due to regulations specific to the latter practice. I personally love not smelling like tobacco smoke and my girlfriend would never have tolerated it. I've gone through some periods of heavy usage which typically are related to heavy stress or major life changes. However, I don't feel they are impossible to use with discretion. You just have to be mindful.

 

[DeathIndustrial88]

CIgarettes have waaay more addictive chemicals in them than vapes do. Everything from nicotine, chocolate & even MAOI inhibitors.

Perhaps this is why smoking a cig potentiates the opioid buzz but a vape doesn't.


I noticed when trying to save money back in the day, I'd buy the loose leaf tobacco & roll my own. But they still never quite "hit the spot" for some reason, like a commercial cigarette would.

This is when I looked into why. And I believe it was here that somebody pointed out to me that commercial cigarettes have hundreds of different chemicals that affect the "buzz", the taste, way it burns, everything... And some of those chemicals may also play in a role in how big of a "dopamine hit" you get from the cigarette. So therefore, smoking vapes, loose leaf tobacco or taking nicotine as a stand alone chemical isn't gonna be able to replicate what a commercial brand cigarette can.