Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor. I have no medical training. Nothing I’ve mentioned in this section was done for any kind of scientific study, monitored, or verified by others. The information below details only my personal assumptions, experiences, and opinions.

I’ve been using electronic cigarettes for several years. Whether or not they have any significant and long-term negative health affects is somewhat uncertain. I, like many other e-cig users, assume that any potential problems caused by using e-cigs will always be far less severe than the known risks that are associated with smoking regular cigarettes (sometimes jokingly called “analog cigarettes”). Hopefully, this will prove to be the case several years from now.

Personally, I’ve experienced one health issue caused by using e-cigs and nicotine-containing “smoke juice”. It didn’t manifest until recently after about three years of use. I began to experience “extra” heartbeats. After visiting my doctor and having my heart monitored for 24 hours (via Holter monitor) I eventually narrowed down the primary cause to the nicotine in the smoke juice.

I’m not writing this to inflame or discourage anyone. In fact, I still use my e-cig just as much as before. When I first started using e-cigs I began with much higher concentrations of nicotine than I use these days. However, I’ve significantly reduced the amount of nicotine in the smoke juice that I use. Typically, I’ll order two 30 oz bottles at a time. One contains the lowest amount of nicotine and the other contains no nicotine. I mix the two bottles together to further decrease the ratio of nicotine and then redistribute it among the two bottles.

I’ve experienced this symptom when using smoke juice purchased from different sources.

I have no idea how common this problem is. Each person may react differently and the amount of nicotine present in the smoke juice, in addition to the frequency of use, are all factors. Keep in mind that using a low-nicotine smoke juice very frequently could result in more exposure to nicotine than if one use a high-concentration smoke juice infrequently.

I’m not stating that “normal”, careful use of nicotine-containing smoke juice is dangerous or even that it doesn’t have risks. Again, I still use (and prefer) smoke juice with nicotine. The extra beats weren’t life threatening, as far as I know, but they were very uncomfortable. My current nicotine intake has reduced the extra beats to a point at which they are usually non-existent. If I don’t use it at all then I do not experience any extra beats.