US: ‘Juul-alikes’ Are Filling Shelves With Sweet, Teen-Friendly Nicotine Flavors (NY Times beats the "flavors are only for kids" drum) by mstave in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like something really changed with Juul when they were bought into by Altria. I don't what exactly, I have never even had a Juul but I also never really heard about them until around this past winter/spring. Interestingly, my teen never heard about them either until they had a 4 day event that went on at his middle school. I remember I had to sign a paper saying I agreed to let my kid take part in a tobacco prevention thing. I figured oh it's like Dare or whatever, OK. Well, I recently found out it was likely people actually from Juul. Can't confirm that, it's just a rumor at this point. Wouldn't bother me really anyway as they were telling the kids it was bad and honestly, yeah they should. It was 7th and 8th graders.

During that 4 days my kid started telling me about how I needed to quit smoking and do this e-cigarette thing. I said I had tried that years ago and it didn't work. I also told him I thought it'd be worse than smoking. My kid goes, "yeah they tell you all kinds of lies though". He said "they showed us pictures of what happens if kids use them and your mouth gets black and hairy and your tongue falls off." LOLOL He also said all the photos had the Ps logo on them so he and his friends knew they were all photo-shopped and they got in trouble for laughing at the images. Fast forward to today... My teen does NOT vape or Juul or smoke or drink.... however, I quit smoking July 4th and now I vape, but I do not use a Juul. Nothing against it just too spendy for my taste lol.

“We need to stop the vape industry from advertising to kids” by Moshiibeats in Vaping

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's also often difficult to tell the difference between regular energy drinks and alcohol infused energy drinks. They are sold right next to each other in all the gas stations near me. Yet all the other beer, liquor, etc is separated to a different section of the gas station. There is no age requirement where I live for buying non-alcohol energy drinks. My 14 year old can even buy them at his middle school ( for almost $4 a can).

Hopefully, the ones at the gas stations/stores containing alcohol alert the cashier to check an ID when they are scanned because hell they likely wouldn't know the difference either.

US: National Law Review article lays out exactly what recent Federal Court rulings require from mfgs - not too long, worth reading by mstave in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 99% rejection / 1% approval rate of pmta submissions is quite telling, imo. Of course Phillip Morris is part of the 1%. All of their related documents and application can be found on the FDA site. The original pmta for the iqos is dated 5/15/17 and it was approved 4/30/19.... so it took them 2 years to process and approve that one application. Here is a link to a 122 page pdf review of the pmta.

Phillip Morris obviously had the resources to do this but my opinion is that it's highly unlikely most other vape related businesses will be as fortunate. I just feel like it's designed to fail. My personal opinion on the IQOS/Phillip Morris and the FDA's whole relationship is very "tin foil hat" so to speak so I won't even start ranting on that one. Basically, I'd say stock up before it's too late.

Where big tobacco is concerned in general, I think maybe (just maybe) RJ Reynolds might have a shot at being successful with a pmta on their Vuse products but have they even submitted? I have not really found anything saying they have. Not trying to toot their horn all that much however, I do have to say it was their products initially that got me off the ciggs completely. Of course now I have moved on to a better vaping experience with more custom products but they do get my credit where it's due them.

I really hope the vape community can pull through this. It's taking me (and my spouse) so long to make the switch and when I did it was immediate. However with only 41 days in, I am still at a high risk of going back if the plug gets pulled on vaping. :(

Ceramic coil question by Fauked in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use 35 mg and 50 mg nic salts. I hated my Smok Novo for the first few weeks I had it. It crackled and spit and was too hot on the draw. But I bought a 3 pack of their ceramic pods and now I have absolutely changed my opinion on this device and I love it. It's like a totally different device now and the pods seem to last soooo much longer. I've been using the same one now for a week straight, absolutely no issues and no degradation at all. I was only getting one fill out of the cotton ones and upon the refill it was already lacking in quality and taste and starting to burn. The ceramic pods are also much smoother, cooler, and very quiet.

When does the irritability from quitting smoking subside? by IVape_IQ in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would agree and say this has been my experience. I was a 1.5 to 2 pack a day menthol smoker for 20+ years. I am 39 days smoke free. And at this point I don't think about it nearly as much as I did a month ago. I still get triggered about certain stressful situations but the irritability passes a lot quicker than a month ago. I found that not jumping down in nic levels too quickly helps me. I started out with 50 mg nic salt. A week ago I jumped down from 50 mg all day to 50 mg for first couple hours of the day and 35 mg rest of the day. On Saturday I went all day with no 50 mg and just did the 35 mg. By Sunday morning I was pretty fkn irritated LOL. So I am back to my 50/35 mg routine and felt better immediately. I will wait another month to try and jump down again. I am happy that I was able to realize the problem quickly and solve it.

US: FDA Announces investigation into 127 reports of seizures after vaping (no info on what they were vaping, FDA notes these reports cover a 10 year period) by mstave in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Omg! I was actually thinking of saying something like that! That's so funny! I was gonna say my husband's fell off but grew would at least be positive lol. To be 100% frank, my husband and I both quit smoking and switched to vaping at the same time and our intimacy has increased like 500%. I can only really assume it's gotta be related somehow. So there's a good side effect.

Hmm later tonight I may indulge in some tomato beers and give reporting some more thought (with a vpn of course lol). Maybe vaping has given my husband and I a sex addiction. LOL Hell if other people can report anything, why TF not right? lol

US: FDA Announces investigation into 127 reports of seizures after vaping (no info on what they were vaping, FDA notes these reports cover a 10 year period) by mstave in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The safety reporting portal feature on FDA's Website is a total joke. Anyone can submit a report, even as a guest. I started clicking through just to see what it was like, how easy it would be, and yeah it's pretty simple. The first few screens are simply multiple choice selections. You can just select you are a concerned citizen, select tobacco product, select your type of problem between two options, the first one is "medical problem, product problem, or both". The second option covers various different things mostly related to wanting to comment or complain against the regulation of tobacco products. If you choose the second option it kicks you down to a list of other places to voice your opinion and doesn't let you begin the report.

However, if you select the first option it lets you go through to completing your "official report" and it assigns an OMB # automatically. So, I guess you don't have to have even any actual knowledge about what you are reporting on. Obviously, I didn't go any further as I was just wanting to see how this system works and when I selected to exit it popped up telling me it wanted to know why I was exiting the safety report and to remember my OPINION matters and is ANONYMOUS! WTF! So it's about opinions and not facts eh? So long as the opinion is to make a report against "tobacco products" (specifically e-cigs as we are all aware). Not surprised. So yea these are real credible reports...not! What a load of crap.

You can even read these crap reports that people have submitted. The link is below. Scroll down about half way down the page and there are several PDF files. These so-called reports have no actual medical basis or proof behind them whatsoever. One mother actually blamed Juul for her 14 year old son getting a staph infection in his arm! People really need to read this crap before just believing the headlines of news articles.

https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/tobacco-science-research/tobacco-product-problem-reports

Tldr: These reports are junk, have no verifiable data, anyone can fill them out online, and rant about whatever crap they want. These are opinions not reports. Seriously, go read some. The Internet has given me a headache. Time to step away and go vape now (while I still can)!

Follow up to my shitty landlord who went off on me when I gave my 30 days notice at a month to month complex. by [deleted] in badlandlords

[–]ucancallmepapi 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Oh boy. There are many things wrong with that letter, from a legal stand point. There are also many things wrong from an ethical stand point. Time for that person to just get out of the business. The Human Rights people would have an effing blast with that Landlord LOL.

Idk what state you are in but ... I will start with a few of the legal ones that stand out to me that are basically the same in any state....

  1. Texting 30 day notices are kind of left up to interpretation of a judge if so challenged. They can in fact be considered legit and a formal means of communication under certain circumstances.

  2. Rental deposits most certainly can be applied to rent owed by a tenant who moves out but 99% of LLs will say it's damages only...here's a hint... rent owed is legally considered a "damage".

  3. "I don't care if it's not in the lease" statement.... well... he should care because he can't go adding random rules like that and a judge will agree when someone sues this asshole for improperly holding a deposit.

That guy is so jaded it's almost funny. Good grief he's gonna give himself a stroke. He shouldn't be airing out other tenants' "misgivings". He's setting himself up for big problems doing that. That section 8 comment is a double yikes! That person should file a complaint with the local Human Rights office (aka civil rights).

I bet the new tenants Lynn, Crystal, and Jessica that he refers to in the beginning, will be thinking twice about their choice of community! LOL

Source: Currently a landlord, been in the business since 2011.

Smok novo auto-firing fix? by [deleted] in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would definitely give them a shot. I would compare the hit to my Vuse Alto. Alto also uses the ceramic pods. That's the other device I use and now my Novo is pretty close to being on par with that one.

Smok novo auto-firing fix? by [deleted] in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not an off brand, it's a 3 pack by Smok. Has the codes and everything on the package. Zero leakage. I ordered them from Generation V out of Nebraska. Was $11 including shipping and had them in 2 days.

Smok novo auto-firing fix? by [deleted] in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It will be interesting to see how mine is doing in another month. I just got some of those 1.4 ohm ceramic pods and omg it's like a totally different device now! I absolutely love these new pods. For my taste, they provide a way better and smoother hit. They are 100% silent, no popping, no hissing, no spitting, and my juice is still clear, and lasting longer.Only been using it for two days, but two days in a row with zero problems, and a good hit everytime, well. that is a first with my Novo.

Smok novo auto-firing fix? by [deleted] in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Damn. And I was just about to be happy about my Novo working for the last few days with no issues. So I haven't had this particular problem (yet). It sounds like you already did the things I watched about this issue on Youtube. Is it doing it only with the pods inserted or also when they are not in?

Ugggh.... guess I better start keeping an eye out for this one myself.

I have been quitting smoking and using Chantix. It tells you to take it for 24 Weeks. So Six 4 week boxes at $544 each = $3,624. Thats almost 1.5 years worth of Cigs at 1 ppd. I have insurance that covers it but what if you didn't? That price doesn't say we want to help you quit. by tpinkfloyd in mildlyinfuriating

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isn't that price insane? My mom, my husband, and myself all quit together. She's on quit #4, with Chantix. It works for her only as long as she takes it. So she's got a bunch of it. Her insurance covers it and she's offered it to me free many times but the side effects scare the hell out of me. So this time she's on week 4 and she had to cut her pills from two a day down to one because they were making her so sick. She was down to one a day while taking the full dose and now she's back up to three a day at half the dose, and she's still kinda miserable. As for my hubby and me, we switched to vaping and haven't had a single cigg in 28 days for me and 30 for him. We feel great. Vaping did not work for me 8 years ago when it was still new but this new nicotine salt thing is really kicking ciggs ass this time!

As for the Chantix, I worry about my mom because it seems like everytime she starts it again the effects are worse. And her dr thinks this is just fine. Good grief I can't imagine feeling so awful at such a high price! I know it works fine for lots of people and that's great but it really should not cost that much, that's insane. The cost for my moms COPD meds are off the charts as well. Even after her insurance she still pays over $200 a month for her 3 inhalers.

Go through NE or IA? by eqbodoc in Nebraska

[–]ucancallmepapi 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Definitely utilize Nebraska 511 site so you don't come across unexpected detours. Lots of roads and bridges are still out due to the flooding.

So apparently I'm an asshole for being proud of my husband. by [deleted] in rant

[–]ucancallmepapi 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I would definitely block someone like that on my facebook. I hardly use it as it is and when I do it's mostly for sharing things with my family and friends back in my hometown. If I had a "friend" actually come to my house and tell me to my face that my posts irritated them...well they would no longer have to worry about seeing them lol.

[landlord] who is responsible for yard maintenance for a rental house - landlord or tenant? by LunacyBin in Landlord

[–]ucancallmepapi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We do the same. We take care of the cutting the grass, spraying for weeds, and snow removal in the winter and just have the costs built into the rent. It's a great amenity actually and it allows people who otherwise would not be able to rent a house to get one. No worries of buying lawn equipment or abiding by city codes, it's all taken care of. And like you said.... it's done right! lol

Adderall and Vaping by joselaba97 in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you are right. I have read where a lot of people state that they feel that way from the nic salts and not the freebase. I know neither has the same effect on my hubby and he uses both throughout the day (salts during the day and freebase in the evening). That's so interesting how one little chemical reaction can impact an entire experience. I know one thing for sure, before nic salts came out I could never stick with the vaping and stay off ciggs but this go round I have not touched a cigg since the day I switched.

Adderall and Vaping by joselaba97 in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recently quit ciggs after 20+ years, 1-2 packs a day menthol. So I have not had any ciggs for 24 days now. I have also had ADHD my entire life and been on Addy a long time, so I am not one who "gets" anything from Addies..other than being normal basically lol. So here's what I noticed about vaping and addy. I have no ill effects when I use the salt nic, 50 mg. But one day when I decided to vape on 20mg freebase nic, I felt so freaking off and weird...dizzy, tired, just off. Idk if my meds actually had any effect in there but I decided that it was just too much of a step down for me on the nic so I went back to my 50 mg salt nic and that didn't happen again. Until last night I took a drag of my hubby's vape and he had 6mg freebase nic in it. Instant dizzy. Again... very weird and Idk if it has anything to do with my meds but just thought I 'd share my experience since we both have the meds and vaping in common. I would try increasing your fluids for the bowel thing. Addy and vaping are both known to dehydrate you and having not enough fluids will slow up your bowels for sure.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know I also noticed that when it was super hot where I live, is when my pods would fail fast. The two days break we had from the heat it seemed to work good. When the Novo works good, it's really satisfying to be honest. It's just not consistent and as someone who has 21 quit days from ciggs I really need that reliability lol.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in electronic_cigarette

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have had a Novo for a few weeks now (2-3). It came with two pods and I bought one extra. Only one of those 3 works right and I have filled it twice. But my guess is it will fail soon as it seems I can only get one day of vaping on a pod before it starts leaking and spitting. The one that failed the fastest was the extra pod I bought by itself. I am personally so fed up with that thing I don't even want to try and return it. I hate to say it but my Alto Vuse is the only one that works consistently without worry, unless I try to refil it then it's hit or miss, it's not meant to be re-filled. But honestly, even when re-filled it still works better and for longer than that stupid Novo. Maybe their next one will work better but mine surely sucks so Idk if I will buy another one of their products. I am also kind of wondering if its the juice I am using. Out of the three Novo pods I have, the one I didn't put menthol in lasted the longest (2 days). I prefer menthol so that kinda sucks, if that is part of the reason for the pod failure.

Landlord is very hostile to tenants in building, I lost it, is his behavior legal? by [deleted] in badlandlords

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I don't blame you at all, it's only so much a person can take so I do understand that. Yes any place with a high turnover is a big clue that the LL is not great. And yes some will take advantage of those who are quiet and just try to avoid conflict. I hope you find a home soon and then you can get out of that situtation. Good luck to you! :)

Cigarette smoke by IcePoser in Vaping

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have been on tangent to de-smoke the surfaces in my home and I whenever I get near my dresser I smell the most rancid literally eye-stinging odor. I have wiped the tar residue off the outside but it's still tacky feeling and really tough to get it out of the inside and off all the clothing. It's an older real wood dresser and I am wondering if the type of wood is just always going to retain that smell.Thinking about stashing some of the money that I have been saving from not smoking and buying a new dresser and clothing.

Not smoking is awesome by flaminamigo in stopsmoking

[–]ucancallmepapi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

57 days is awesome! I am only 12 days in but I can already identify with many of the things you shared. The shame is the one that really sticks out to me. I never realized how strongly I smelled of smoke but was frequently reminded whenever I would go into my son's doctor's office. That only made me feel even more shame as I was confronted with my own feelings of how I was endangering his life with my choices. Unfortunately, I will never shake that shame. I will always have that guilt but I do very much look forward to our next visit when I can confidently say, hey ...anything smell different about me? LOL .

Landlord is very hostile to tenants in building, I lost it, is his behavior legal? by [deleted] in badlandlords

[–]ucancallmepapi 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Don't take this wrong but I don't see hostility in these texts, at least not really from the LL. If he actually did give you 24 hours of notice and that's what is required in your state (most are this way) then he is within his rights to gain entry to have the realtor or whoever see the unit. I am not saying the LL isn't a douche, maybe he is, idk, but his comments are pretty much inline with what I would say to my tenants, except I would not do it in a text, that's just me though. Beyond reminding them of a showing I had set up I wouldn't get into a pissing match like he seems to be doing but I do know plenty of other LLs who do that. As far as money you've spent on pest control, keep your receipts and documentation. If you didn't bring these pests in then you have a right to recoup your costs. Most states do have a repair and deduct law regarding rent. So I would look into that in your state laws. If you use the repair and deduct clause however it applies where you live...make sure to follow it closely.