Can I smoke non nicotine vape to help smoking cravings?

[AbbeyRoadd]

Hi everyone
Hoping someone can shed some light into this area. I'm currently pregnant with my first baby and don't know a lot about pregnancy I'm only just learning, when I found out I was pregnant I stopped smoking cold turkey as I knew the risks of smoking however I'm currently having really bad smoking cravings yet I still don't want to resort to cigarettes as I've been doing well staying off them. Is smoking a non-nicotine vape dangerous or harmful? I would not be doing this all the time, only when my smoking cravings get bad.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

The craving is for nicotine, OP, so a vape with none would expose your baby to all the chemicals in the vape with no benefit to you in reducing cravings. If you continue with going cold turkey, the cravings should diminish.
If you can’t keep going without some nicotine, you could use a nicotine patch during the day but remove it at night to give your baby as long as possible without it. At least that way, you’re avoiding all the toxic and cancer causing substances in cigarettes. Good luck, and I hope your willpower holds out!

Here's latest info from smokefreeaction smokefreeaction.org.uk/smokefree-nhs/smoking-in-pregnancy-challenge-group/smoking-in-pregnancy-challenge-group-resources/e-cigarettes-in-pregnancy/ , links to advice from Royal College of Midwives and others.
Advice in general is ecigs with or without nicotine far safer than smoking, obviously not as safe as not smoking.
Main thing is to stay off combustible tobacco. Good luck.

I don't know the risks of vape with pregnancy but 100% it would help a little bit as you crave habit as much as the nicotine. I quit along time ago and smoke with menthol filters, it was harder to say goodbye to the hit of menthol on my throat than the nicotine.

Try chewing the black airways gum as well that gives you a hit!

so a vape with none would expose your baby to all the chemicals in the vape

what chemicals exactly would cause you concern?

Just get some vape juice with 3mg nicotine, it should keep your cravings down.

Yes you can. I used a 6mg vape during my last pregnancy after using it to stop smoking, doctors and midwifes were more than happy I was using that than smoking. My baby was a good weight and happy and healthy. You are now classed as a non smoker x

what chemicals exactly would cause you concern?

When Public Health England said that vaping is around 95% safer than smoking, they also said that the residual 5% risk is because:

Some flavourings and constituents in e-cigarettes may pose risks over the long term. We consider the 5% residual risk to be a cautious estimate allowing for this uncertainty.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/e-cigarettes-an-evidence-update

(scroll down to 'Authors' note on evidence...')

There's no problem with the nicotine, which has been prescribed to pregnant women in the form of gum, patches, spray, lozenges bla bla for ages. There's a tiny, theoretical risk from some flavourings (well within the scale of all the other everyday risks you're exposed to).

So Babdoc is right that it makes no sense to use nicotine free. It won't help the cravings and it won't reduce the small theoretical risk of vaping.

Just get a decent kit and use enough nicotine to keep you off the fags. Also contact your local stop smoking services for support.

Congratulations on your pregnancy and well done for stopping smoking

Some flavourings and constituents in e-cigarettes may pose risks over the long term. We consider the 5% residual risk to be a cautious estimate allowing for this uncertainty.

"Some", "may" and "cautious estimate". In other words, the square root of bugger all risk that there is any reputable scientific evidence to support. Won't stop the scaremongering about "all the chemicals" unfortunately. Babdoc may have ended up coming to the right conclusion but not exactly for the right reasons.

Do what’s best for you & your baby Op. if you need to vape 3mg of nicotine then do it. Stress is no good for your baby either

There are reports from the US of young patients dying from lipoid pneumonia due to the organic chemicals in the vape aerosol. The risks are definitely real, and as a nicotine free vape would do nothing for OP’s craving, it’s pointless exposure of the baby to chemicals that can cross the placenta, as well as affecting OP’s health for nothing.
A nicotine patch removes all the other chemicals and delivers pure nicotine, which is why I recommended it if OP’s willpower isn’t sufficient.

The reports from the USA are from people vaping illicit black market THC oils. Lipoid pneumonia was thought at first to be the main issue but now it appears criminals were using cannabis contaminated with pesticides, resulting in the production of hydrogen cyanide, combined with vitamin e acetate as a thickening agent, an oil hence lipoid pneumonia.
Absolutely nothing to do with "vaping" as we know it. Don't do illegal drugs and you'll be fine.

Not particularly helpful to bring that up.

Thank you fripp. I'm so angry about the continued misreporting of this story. Radio 4 did it again this morning - 'deaths linked to the use of elecronic cigarettes' with not even a clarification.

www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-paper-and-commentary-on-recent-cases-of-harm-through-vaping-in-the-us/

www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-study-of-lung-biopsies-of-patients-with-lung-injury-due-to-vaping/

Yes, the BBC has been consistently poor on this. The conflation between "vaping" and doing drugs has been very damaging.

I think it's all about harm minimisation. Obviously the ideal is no nicotine, no combustible Tobacco, no vaping, no stress, no cravings. But there is a whole spectrum of "better, better, better" between worst (smoking two packs a day) and best (not being a smoker or nicotine user at all).

I managed to use nicotine replacement to stop smoking when pregnant, but have struggled to give up nicotine completely, and then afterwards switched to the occasional vape and a piece of nicotine gum here and there. Which is considerably better than smoking 2 packs a day like I used to before I had kids (and considerably better than it would have been continuing to do so). Obviously it's not without any risk at all (nothing is!) but I think it's better to minimise the risk than fall into the "all or nothing" camp.

Thanks for the link above. I vape and suffer with health anxiety and have been worrying continuously about the US cases. I'm also worrying about the teenager with the hardened oil in his lungs, can't find any information explaining that one

Just to point out, smoking is not just an addiction to nicotine, it's the actual habit of smoking, so vaping will help with that and definitely better than cigarettes.

Well done for stopping smoking and good luck with your pregnancy

I'm also worrying about the teenager with the hardened oil in his lungs, there's no oil in eliquid. Never has been, it's an issue when inhaled as is evident from this black market stuff.Whatever that teen was using it wasn't a legal product. All liquid in the EU and the US must provide ingredients to the authorities and in the UK emissions data presented to the MHRA.

Thanks fripp. I thought it was a case in the UK, but may be wrong. I've been obsessing about this since reading about it, so very relieved to know it's not likely to occur.

Only two cases I know of in the UK, one from 10 years ago which is pure speculation and a more recent one with a young woman doing sad face in the tabloid press. Even if, and it's a very big if, this woman did get ill from vaping that's one case in 10 years and millions of users. People die in their 100s from smoking every day. And safer than champix.

Thanks. Just checked, it was in the US, sorry. Here's the link

Sorry, I don't know what champix is.

He also vaped THC on occasion, which is the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. There's your answer. Millions vaping nicotine eliquid for 10 years without issue. Champix is varenicline, licensed NRT. Side effects include
• Changes in mood, including depression
• Thoughts of killing yourself or others
• Swelling of the face, mouth, lips, throat, and tongue
• Skin sensitivity and life-threatening skin reactions
• Stroke, heart attack, chest pain, and irregular heartbeat
• Fainting
• Sudden kidney failure or kidney stones
• Bleeding from your stomach or intestines
• Blood disorders

But they're ok cos you know, pharma.

Thanks for the clarification. So there's nothing in UK eliquid that will cause anything to harden on the lungs?

Sorry for hijacking the thread OP.

Adollop Hope you can read this pic, more info here www.gov.uk/guidance/e-cigarettes-regulations-for-consumer-products#submitted-products .
PG/VG have been used for decades, theatrical smoke used in night clubs etc. is the same stuff without the flavours or nicotine, nebulisers can use PG.
Also sorry to OP.