I'm alarmed at the ubiquitous use of aldehydes in flavorings. Most of these have no solid research proving the safety.
If money is not an issue, I would use the patch everyday instead of e-cig.
Nicotine, I've found, is the only sustainable option in the long run. Methylphenidate, amphetamines, other dopaminergics, caffeine, modafinil, they all poop out eventually.
I'm also convinced that nicotine is the safest and most effective nootropics known at the moment until cortex gets around to releasing their ampakine. The structures of which are all under secret, so we self-experimenters can't even get it custom synthesized.
This is very true. I have been very concerned with "vapers" I know buying cheap juices from China - to me this is rolling the dice, almost as bad as smoking!
You will find that reputable juice mixers will generally make statements about their ingredients. My usual favourite (indigo vapours - I have no commercial interest, just a customer) for example explicitly state that they do not use any flavour containing diacetyl, acetyl propionyl or acetoin.
Flavours which may contain aldehyde elements are a concern, but what is much more my concern with e-cigs is the long-term effect of propolene glycol inhalation, and potentially significant formaldehyde levels potentially produced by the heating and/or oxidation of the base liquids. There's a decent amount of research ongoing in these areas.
Despite these issues I am reasonably confident that e-cigarettes are within a safety range I am comfortable with if (and only if) used with high-quality liquids.
Here is a (rather editorialised) summary: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/new-study-of-...
The study found variations up to 20x in levels of formaldehyde contained in the vapour produced by some top e-cigarette products. At the low range, the levels are of little concern and barely above background. At the high range, they are of some concern. Unfortunately brands, etc are not broken down.
I have a strong suspicion that formaldehyde levels correlate with country of origin and/or quality of the liquids involved. If you stick to using PG sourced from countries with reliable certification systems I think it is OK.
The reason I prefer nicotine over other stimulants, it's oddly relaxing and motivating at the same time.
Caffeine either leaves me jittery or anxious or it doesn't work at all after 2 weeks. There is a ton of research out there proving the positive effects of nicotine.
I can only assume that it is because the patch maintains a constant level of nicotine in your bloodstream causing tolerance to develop faster and it is unable to spike the nicotine concentration unlike ecig when you can take a deep drag.
Ecig gives a totally different feeling than patch. You'll definitely feel it hit when you take a long deep drag.
Nicotine has several metabolites. NNN, NNK and cotinine. The first two are carcinogenic, but the risk is negligible (but not absent) for smoking cessation therapy. The effects of cotinine appear to be slightly negative on brain health, but of course there are dietary and lifestyle factors which play into the cash value of all this.
Nicotine also appears to be slightly deleterious for kidney and heart health, so it's not entirely benign. It also has to be avoided with female oral contraceptives (greater risk with age) otherwise the risk of stroke increases fairly dramatically.
Do I use nicotine knowing these risks? Yes as a cognitive enhancer, but under the assumption that I'll cease before the age of 40 or upon financial success, while in good health and maintaining a fruit and vegetable rich diet.
Eh... not for me. I can use caffeine for days and then not use it for days no problems at all. Of course probably because caffeine does absolutely nothing to me. I just like the hot beverage.