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NeuroStar TMS Depression Therapy System First To Be Given FDA Approval
FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
MedEx1000 Packs All Your Intensive Care Needs Into a Suitcase
Sexual Gadgets Can Now Be Seized at US Borders Too

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Curves
11/13/09

In reply to NeuroStar TMS Depression Therapy System First To Be Given FDA Approval
I thought shock therapy went out in the 50s. #neurostar
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pete1061
11/13/09

@Curves: This seems a lot more targeted and gentile than shock therapy. #neurostar
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LastAndLeast
11/13/09

@pete1061: and y'know, not actually electrical. Article says it's magnetism. #neurostar
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Curves
11/13/09

@LastAndLeast: Definition: "Magnetic fields surround magnetic materials and electric currents and are detected by the force they exert on other magnetic materials and moving electric charges". Sounds pretty electrical to me. #neurostar
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roflwaffles is attempting hipster irony
11/13/09

@Curves:
It's powered by electricity, but doesn't use it on the patient.
For example, a dentist wouldn't use electricity to polish a tooth. #neurostar
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Curves
11/13/09

@roflwaffles is attempting hipster irony: I am all for it if it helps people, but it just sounds really bad. I am, personally, crazy, but thank goodness not THAT crazy. #neurostar
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NotEdible
11/13/09

@Curves: The magnetic field as described in the definition above does not carry any electric current, it is the result of the electric current. To understand the relation, electrical engineers use something called the right hand rule. If you put your hand in front of you and point your thumb up as if hitch-hiking and keep your other fingers half-curled, then the thumb shows the direction that the current flows through the wire, and your other fingers shows the direction the magnetic field travels radially around the wire (outside the wire). This is why electromagnets make normal magnets more powerful, because whenever current flows through a wire it always creates a magnetic field as well. The device described in the article is much like sticking a magnet against your forehead, except they are able to control the strength and how often the magnet is on (somewhat similar to an MRI). There would be no electrical shock at all. #neurostar
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Curves
11/13/09

@NotEdible: I love it when you guys get all technical. I learn an amazing amount of stuff on Giz, which is why I read it. Thanks.

And still I think this therapy is kind of creepy. #neurostar
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NotEdible
11/13/09

@Curves: No problem ;-) And despite my comment about no electrical shock, it is pretty creepy. I'm really curious as to why this would actually do anything. I wouldn't really want anything passing fields through my head, although with things like cellphones and even headphones we already do. Alas. #neurostar
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Curves
11/13/09

@NotEdible: I figured out how it works. The patient is so terrified by this s/he SWEARS they are better so they dont have to go through it. I know it would scare ME straight. #neurostar
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Kristofer Kathmann
11/13/09

@Curves: If you think electroshock is scary, you should watch this TED Talk discussing how the presenter's life was saved by it. It was moving to me and changed my perception of the treatment.

[www.ted.com] #neurostar
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Jacubious
11/13/09

In reply to NeuroStar TMS Depression Therapy System First To Be Given FDA Approval
Apparently dentists have an abnormally high suicide rate compared to other professions, so that chair might be quite soothing for those who need it. #neurostar
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Applejackson
07/25/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
It all comes down to this: Some people look at this product as a method to quit smoking (and some are successful, depending on their definition), but many, including myself, use e-cigs as an alternative to smoking that has the added benefit of being much less harmful than the real thing. If it helps, think of it like someone choosing to smoke a cigar or pipe instead of smoking an "analog" cigarette with the happy coincidence of not harming anyone around you or stinking up the place. It shouldn't concern you whether or not I'm harming myself, but the fact remains that I'm doing much less harm to myself with these than I'm doing with real cigarettes. I still consider myself a "smoker", but I'm doing it in a much more socially conscious manner than before. Opponents of e-cigarettes have yet to present an informed argument against them. They're all based on the stigma applied to "analog" cigarettes already, or biased and/or misinformed media sources. Please, if you're going to debate, come correct and do your research.
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bustedchain
07/24/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
Let's review: the device that's supposed to help you get healthier and save money by quitting smoking is more likely to worsen your addiction, be more harmful to your health, and be an even bigger waste of money. ---- What's funny about this is that you sound surprised.
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RhodaHaloo
07/23/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
I have absolutely NEVER seen e-cigarettes/pipes/cigars marketed towards a younger audience. In fact, I have yet to see real cigarettes marketed towards anyone younger than 18. Considering with all the laws in place, cigarette companies can barely even advertise. The only place I've seen any sort of promotion is where they actually sell cigarettes.
The biggest negative I've read about the e-products is that you have a higher chance of taking in too much nicotine because you don't have an urge to stop. However, I assume this is different from person to person.
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AnonJr
07/23/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
Lets all remember, anything good in life falls into one of three catagories:

1) Illegal
2) Immoral
3) Fattening

If it doesn't fit into one of these three categories it causes cancer in rats.
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BathshebaAthos
07/23/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
This article boiled down to 'there is poor quality control in this brand spanking new market'. Nowhere in there does it say that e-cigs are more harmful than cigarettes, the only message this article gives me is ‘until this delivery system has more quality control it is not completely free of risk’.

The last line is particularly hilarious 'the highest concentrations deliver more than we recommend to people who want to quit smoking'. If you're using the highest potency liquids you're not looking to quit. The manufacturers have voluntarily dropped the highest concentration already. Used to be 32 was the strongest you could get; now it's 24 (which I use).

The real joy of the device is for people who want to continue to use nicotine but don’t want to stink like an ashtray or cough all the time. I use my e-cig all day at the office; it produces no discernable odor at all. My co-workers think it’s hilarious; I’m enjoying my nicotine buzz and laughing at them while they go outside to smoke in the rain.

I have no intention of giving up nicotine, even if it means going back to setting plants on fire in a paper tube. Even if it means growing tobacco in a hidden field somewhere!

I use a DSE-901. You can get a kit for $35, and a $22, 30ml bottle of fluid from somewhere like truevapor.com will last about a month and a half. That’s a combined cost of LESS than a carton of premium cigarettes at the grocery store.

The FDA continually tries to extend their sphere of influence through hyperbole and a zero tolerance attitude toward personal risk, no matter how slight. Witness the Ephedrine fiasco, where the FDA arbitrarily banned the drug but was forced to do an about face by the court system after failing to prove that it was a systemically dangerous product.

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UnderLoK
07/23/09

@BathshebaAthos: You have to admit that people need to know going in that you can get even more addicted using these products as they are stronger than smoking a cig (unless you cut the hell out of it as I do).

Note that you can still get 30+mg. I use less than 8mg, 30+ cut by 75%.

I just got a couple Titans not too long ago and it has cut down on my smoking dramatically (normally I would have had 3+ smokes already today and I’ve had 1). While I was already smoking better tobacco as it was (pack my own) this is another step in the right direction.

I love smoking and have yet to have the urge to quit, but people need to be careful with e-cigs or you could wind up even worse off as it’s easy to up your nicotine intake. There is a chick on YouTube that does howto videos. She has short blond hair and if you watch her, you can tell there is something wrong and my guess is that it’s from too much nicotine.
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nutbastard
07/23/09

@BathshebaAthos:

woah dude, i had no idea it lasted that long! i'll have to look into it. i was rolling my own before the tax hike that made doing so less than worth the time.
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OMG! Ponies!
07/23/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
There is only one person that looks good chomping on a stogie: Katee Sackhoff.

You, Mark, are not her.
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Nick
07/23/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
isn't this just like those fat free foods that contain . . . fat.
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notaverage2
07/23/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
I tried one of these e-cigarettes, and I think one of the most important thing it does compared to cigarettes is that there is no tar when inhaling. It's all steam. I understand that the nicotine is still present, but removing the tar helps your lungs. It's still bad for you, but I'm not sure if it's just as bad or worse than cigarettes.
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Reil: Save Stars, Save Peach
07/23/09

@notaverage2: Dude, no need to quadruple post, but comment is fair enough.
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notaverage2
07/23/09

@Reil: Sorry, had no idea I posted 4 times. BTW, they sell these at costco now.
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
07/22/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
Everything causes cancer..
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Edited by Jrsy Devil's Advocate® at 07/22/09 11:53 PM

Bokusatsu_Tenshi
07/22/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
Anyone else felt from the beginning that a mix of electronic components and smoking couldn't end right?

It's like, unholy matrimony.
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strider_mt2k
07/22/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
Someone tell Jackson Publick!

WAIT!

I WILL!
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Edited by strider_mt2k at 07/22/09 10:33 PM strider_mt2k was starred strider_mt2k was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
07/22/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
So I guess Cigar Aficionado Hero is not a possibility.....:(
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macpatrik
07/22/09

In reply to FDA Deems E-Cigs As Bad As The Real Thing
If I get to look as badass as Mark does there, I don't care how much it costs or how much it destroys my body.
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Rosa Golijan
07/22/09

@MacPatrick: Damn it! I was aiming for the opposite effect. Next time I'm using a picture of Jesus.
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macpatrik
07/22/09

@Rosa Golijan: Get him to do it with his shirt off and I'll never smoke again. I still can't look at a pin-up girl to this day.
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Edited by macpatrik at 07/22/09 10:45 PM macpatrik was starred macpatrik was unstarred

OMG! Ponies!
07/23/09

@Rosa Golijan: The closest thing in existence is the infamous IRON BAR!!! photo.
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