E Juice Safety

Batteries are probably the most common dangers associated with e cigs, but e juice has the potential to be dangerous as well. However, just like batteries, e juice is only dangerous if it isn’t properly stored or if it’s used irresponsibly. The nicotine in e juice is poisonous if enough is ingested (especially if swallowed or rubbed all over the skin), but so is Tylenol, ibuprofen, and a lot of other medications (even medicine that tastes like candy). Most people aren’t going to stop purchasing Tylenol, because it’s toxic in large amounts. Instead, they’ll look up the proper dose, make sure they’re not allergic to any of the ingredients, and store it safely, and that’s all you need to do with e juice – let’s look at how.

1. Keep E Juice in a Cool Dark Place That Children and Pets Can’t Reach

If the vapor from your e juice tastes sweet, it probably smells just as great in the bottle. Let’s face it, small kids and pets are obtuse and put everything in their mouth – especially if it smells amazing. So tuck your e juice away so your pets and kids can’t reach it. If you need to, get a box with a lock on it, or put it in a drawer that isn’t accessible (but if you have kids a box with a lock is ideal – we know from personal experience that kids can be super industrious and have a tendency to climb up places that you wouldn’t have even imagined possible).

2. If You Find Your Child or Pet Covered in E Juice or They’re Near an Empty E juice Bottle – Call the Poison Control Center Right Away

If there’s e juice on their body, wash it off IMMEDIATELY. Keep in mind, that for pets that there is a fee to call the poison control center, but it is free to call most vets. In most areas, there are emergency pet hospitals that are open during the off hours of regular vet offices (i.e. overnight and on the weekends). So get the number of your normal vet AND the emergency vet, and put those numbers in a place that’s easily accessible. In fact, you should do this even if you’re not planning on using e cigs. So if you haven’t already, do it now (or not, but don’t say we didn’t warn you)!

3. If You Get E Juice on Your Body, Wash It off As Soon As Possible

For adults, the fatal immediate dose of nicotine is between 50-60 mg (well there’s actually a debate that the fatal dose is actually higher than 60mg, but for now let’s play it safe and go with what the CDC says for now). For kids, the fatal dose of nicotine is substantially less. For your cats and dogs the fatal dose only 6.4 mg (maybe even less depending on your pet’s weight). Nicotine, while the preferred method of ingestion is through smoke or vapor, can be absorbed through your skin or ingested orally (that’s why things like the nicotine patch and gum works for some people). So if you’re vaping a 24 mg/ml nicotine e juice, per every ml you vape, you’re ingesting roughly 24 mg of nicotine – but that ingestion is spaced out over the amount of time it takes for you to vape one ml. But if you spill, let’s say, 3 ml of 24 mg/ml e juice on your skin – that’s 72 mg of nicotine. While nicotine in an e juice solution won’t absorb into your body the instant it touches your skin (unless you’re messing with PURE nicotine – seriously, use gloves for that shit), you should wash it off as soon as possible, and for the love of Pete DO NOT just wipe your hands on your pants, or lick it off your fingers (yes, we have actually seen people lick stray droplets of e juice off of their little sausage fingers). Soap and water people – use it.

4. If You Find Yourself Chain-Vaping, Use a Lower Nicotine Concentration

Nicotine tolerance varies from person to person. Since most people used to smoke cigarettes in short 10 minute bursts throughout the day, a lot of people start with a higher concentration of nicotine in their e juice. This way, they they get an adequate buzz in the same time it would have taken them to smoke a cigarette. But if you find yourself vaping with your e cig more often and start feeling nauseous, light headed, like your heart is pounding in your chest, or any of the other symptoms of nicotine poisoning, put the e-cig down right away! You’ll find e juice in concentrations anywhere from 0 mg/ml to 32 mg/ml, so find what works for you and adjust accordingly.

5. If You Have a Propylene Glycol (PG) Sensitivity, Use 100% Vegetable Glycerin (VG) E Juice

PG is everywhere. It’s in inhalers, fog machines, medical facilities as a sanitizing agent, and it’s a common preservative. However, there is a small subset of the population whose either sensitive, or full blownallergic to PG. So if you’re vaping and you have an itchy throat that doesn’t disappear after a few weeks, or your mouth/tongue/gums hurt – cut out the PG. It’s not even that hard to do. Most of the amazing e juice vendors out there have PG free e juice varieties. Just keep in mind that not every flavor can be 100% free as some flavorings contain PG within them.

CREDITS TO ONVAPING.COM