Stop smoking support thread...

[gg706]

I actually PREFER the taste of my Ecig than ANY real cigarette. I could go back to smoking any day I chose to and have chosen my ecig everytime. I do feel I have traded one addiction for another.....however I do feel the ecig is MUCH more healthy than a real cigarette. Still has nicotine if you choose but nothing else.
Thank You DennisK for the encouraging words. I CAN'T imagine having a beer and not having my ecig too! I will probably put the ecig down one day, but probably not today.
The world of Ecigs was very confusing to me, a few years ago it was fairly new but growing everyday. I did not know anyone who vaped (what it is called when using an ecig) I wanted to stop smoking and had tried several times. But never seemed to get to where I could be in my trigger environments (thank you DennisK perfect words for it) and NOT smoke. I had heard of ecigs and decided to give it a try...the more I researched the more confused I got! Ecigs range from a small device that is about the size and shape to a real cig to VERY alien looking contraptions! All kinds of price ranges from $50 dollar packages to upwards of $600. They use the same technology that is used in asthma inhalers. The juice base is also the same as in asthma inhalers but contains a nicotine level chosen by you and the flavor of your choice.
The Ecigarettes are the same size and shape as a real cigarette. They are OK to start out on.....the maintenace of plugging in batteries ALL the time, I had 4 batteries and 2 chargers and they had a difficult time keeping up with my vaping. the batteries take approx. 3-4 hours to charge each time. Also those batteries will need to be replaced every couple of months as their charged life gets shorter and the units performance drops. I got so frustrated with the constant charging and ordering I almost went back to smoking......I probably spent $400 trying to make those kinds of devices work for me. They never did.
Then there are PV"s (Personal Vaporizers) and Mod's. They are much larger than a cigarette probably as long as a cigar and 1 1/2 the width of a cigar. Some are a rectangle design. I have never used a rectangle design so I dont have any experience with them.
My PV has a high drain battery that is removed and charged. the PV I have runs off 1 battery so 1 can charge while the other is in use. The batteries take approx. 30 minutes to charge. 1 battery will last me a whole day. I would consider myself a heavy vaper. I drag hard on the unit and use it ALOT throughout the day. I vape WAY more than I ever smoked. All of them use what is called an atomizer it is actually the part that vaporizes the juice and produces the flavor and vapor. the atomizer needs to be replaced every couple of weeks as the performance drops. You will know to replace it when it isnt producing the flavor and vapor output as desired. There are small filter type disposable atomizers that require adding fluid frequently or you can go to a tank style. The tank is filled and holds fluid so does not require adding fluid as much. Most of the tanks can be unscrewed and a new atomizer installed and used again. No tools are required, it is not difficult at all.
I still feel to have success in switching from smoking to vaping, finding a flavor of fluid that you LOVE is top priority. Once you find a juice you love you will not want a cigarette again. I have tried several juice from several websites....alot of them are HORRIBLE! But taste is very subjective. I have had several friends ask to try my ecig and LOVE it. Several have switched and dont smoke anymore. Some want to switch but do not have the $$ to invest in making the switch yet. Everyone that has tried the juice I use has enjoyed the flavor and vapor output. I would suggest ordering SEVERAL juices and keep ordering juice until you find one you like. I will say I have not found another juice that tastes like the one I use from Smokey Mountain Vapor. RY4 is a juice mix but one supplier of RY4 can taste drastically different fom another RY4's supply. It is expensive and canbe confusing and frustrating starting out....Once you get your setup started it is easy. Once you get setup and have found a juice that you like dont run out of that juice and get rid of the cigarettes for good!

 

[hogster160]

Very well said GG706! And I do agree, one addiction for another. My batteries last me probly 8-9 hours. But I always have a back up with me. Reason: I can't vape if I don't have power. I too vape way more than I ever smoked. I have it with me always!

And finding a joose that you like (love) is time consuming, expensive and frustrating. I know i tired way too many. I also tried making my own. My suggestion on that, NOT. Nicotine can be dangerous. Nicotine is a poison. Always remember to keep any and all forms of nicotine up and away from babies, kids and animals. That being said, once you find the device you like to use, and the joose, it is a very good vape. An alternative to smoking, but it is still one addiction for another.

I explain the cartomizer/atomizer as the lighter bit of the whole thing. The batteries give the carto/atomizer the power to turn the nicotine liquid into a vapor which we inhale. These parts are like the disposable lighter used for smoking. Key word being disposable.

So I am finally after 2 years weaning myself off it too. I will stay at 12 mg for maybe 6 months then drop down to 6 and if i can get down to 6 I'm done.

I use a bottom feeder mob box. One of the rectangular ones. I love love love it. Doesn't feel very foreign to the hand, just a little thinner width wise than a pack of smokes.

I am sorry to have gone on so much about vaping. As you can see for those of us who have used them for a long time have found a successful way to get off the cigarettes. We are very passionate about them because of our success. And wish everyone the same success. They are a really new adventure, actually about 10 years old or so, so still lots of results we still need to see. And I'm sure we will one day. Here is some information on its history. Its a good read, and lots of information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cigarette

Deb

 

[gg706]

I too apologize for going on about vaping...didnt realize i had typed so much! I feel that if i had not gone to vaping I would still be a smoker.....so yes i am passonate about it as well. The effects of switching are almost immediate! After a night of hanging out with friends I would wake up all wheezy and coughing from enjoying too may cigarettes. With my e cig I wake up with a headache and that is it! (probably from the beer not the e cig)

 

[DennisK]

I would like to follow this thread for a while. Even though I quit smoking so very long ago, I have a growing interest in this subject as my second DW smokes. I don’t nag her about it, but I do worry about it hurting her. She isn’t as far along as you folks as she doesn’t want to quit – wanting to quit is the first step, and it isn’t something I can do for her. She knows I would like her to quit, but that is as far as I take it. It is like walking on eggs. I know how defensive people can get with this subject. What was it that make you folks want to quit?

 

[gg706]

Two words...Lung Cancer. Lung Cancer comes from the actual combustion of the cigarette and the 4000 other chemicals being inhaled as they are burning. Ecigs don't burn anything. I can smoke my ecig all night and feel fine. If I stand by a campfire all night I feel horrible the next day. I think your wife would be a wonderful candidate to switch to a Personal Vaporizer. She can still "smoke" it has all the action of smoking, delivers a good flavor and nice full vapor to exhale. All of that ONLY coming from a good PV unit of course. The vapor that is exhaled is water vapor...it has nothing in it that is harmful and has very little odor or no odor at all. She would be choosing a more healthy alternative than smoking. Quitting altogether would certainly be better.....but some never will. So Vaping is a healthier alternative. All an ecig has is nicotine and you can choose how much nicotine....24mg being a high dose 12mg being medium 6mg being low and then 0mg nicotine. You can step your way down if you wish. the flavor does change a little with each step. I am on a 12 mg dose because my juice only comes in 12mg, Halo has some very good juice flavors, with Tribeca and Captain Jack being my favorites there and you can go no nicotine with any of them.
Some juices taste very much like real cigarette...I don't like them anymore because I don't like the taste of a real cigarette anymore. Vaping will not deliver as much of the throat hit as a burning cigarette that takes some getting used to, but once you get over that it is smooth sailing. It took me about 2 weeks to fully make the adjustment. I have not looked back since.

 

[DennisK]

Two words...Lung Cancer. Lung Cancer comes from the actual combustion of the cigarette and the 4000 other chemicals being inhaled as they are burning. Ecigs don't burn anything. I can smoke my ecig all night and feel fine. If I stand by a campfire all night I feel horrible the next day. I think your wife would be a wonderful candidate to switch to a Personal Vaporizer. She can still "smoke" it has all the action of smoking, delivers a good flavor and nice full vapor to exhale. All of that ONLY coming from a good PV unit of course. The vapor that is exhaled is water vapor...it has nothing in it that is harmful and has very little odor or no odor at all. She would be choosing a more healthy alternative than smoking. Quitting altogether would certainly be better.....but some never will. So Vaping is a healthier alternative. All an ecig has is nicotine and you can choose how much nicotine....24mg being a high dose 12mg being medium 6mg being low and then 0mg nicotine. You can step your way down if you wish. the flavor does change a little with each step. I am on a 12 mg dose because my juice only comes in 12mg, Halo has some very good juice flavors, with Tribeca and Captain Jack being my favorites there and you can go no nicotine with any of them.
Some juices taste very much like real cigarette...I don't like them anymore because I don't like the taste of a real cigarette anymore. Vaping will not deliver as much of the throat hit as a burning cigarette that takes some getting used to, but once you get over that it is smooth sailing. It took me about 2 weeks to fully make the adjustment. I have not looked back since.

Gg706, I think you have given me something to think about. I don’t like the idea of replacing one habit with another, but considering the consequences of coming up with a stalemate, this may be a very good compromise. Now I must introduce this to her in a way that will grab her interest. She is a hardheaded, stubborn woman; so this will take some gentle prodding. I must also say that my description of her isn’t a criticism. Life has handed her some very hard experiences that would have broken most people. She came out of them swinging; so when I see her hardheaded stubbornness, I see triumph. If she can use that quality to quit cigs – well, as far as the tobacco industry is concerned, “I pity the fool!” - to quote Mr. T.

 

[gg706]

I love it! A strong willed, stubborn woman isn't a bad thing! If you asked my husband I am sure he would say similar things of me. Pull some websites about ecigarettes and see if she has any interest. Let her know of the benefits. She is probably very reluctant to listen to anything of quitting because she doesn't want to quit. With an E cigarette she doesn't have to.....it is merely a transition into something different that is more healthy than what she is doing now. Before I quit, every time I lit up...I thought about cancer and what I was doing to myself, and even more what I was doing to my family. Not that I smoked inside or anything but that my life would most certainly be cut short and my kids would have to live with the fact I chose cigarettes and did it to myself. It haunted me relentlessly everyday. If she is thinking about any of that, switching to an E cig will be easier than she might think. I smoke my e cig ALL DAY quite frankly because I can! My body tells me it is more healthy than smoking.


Thought of a good "would you rather scenario" that is not unlike what we are talking about, as it is one in the same basically.

Would you rather stand in the thick of the smoke from a campfire for an hour and try and breath. (cigarette)
OR
Would you rather stand in front a humidifier for an hour and breath. (Ecig)

 

[RubyRamona]

Good luck everyone!!! I quit in August after smoking since I was 16 (I quit the 3 times I was pregnant). I started using an ecig and within a couple of weeks was off that. The one thing I had to give up while I was quitting was alcohol. If I had a drink I really wanted to smoke and giving up the occasional drink was easy. I can't stand the smell of smoke now!! ( and the extra $$ is nice too) you can do it!!!!!

 

[DennisK]

For those of you who are trying to quit “cold turkey”, I have been trying to find a way to explain how it was so easy for me, when previously, it was so hard. I have no other way but to use analogy. Please pardon its use:

There is a pair of ravens that live near me. I really like them because they have such a zest for life. When it is windy, and all the other birds are clinging to their branches, these ravens are out playing in the currents. Adverse conditions are such a subjective experience. For some, it can be horrific, and for others it can be ….. fun.

A sea shore’s undertow can drown some people; for scuba divers, it is a handy little thing that helps them get out beyond the breakers. For some, it is something to run from and to others, it is something to be sought. I guess it all depends on what you know and how you are equipped.

When you quit smoking, you enter into a kind of storm. Big rumbling waves of a needful nature will come at you at a high frequency. In time, that frequency will taper off and eventually disappear completely. What you need to do is learn how to take those waves. You need to learn how to ride them – like the ravens. The encouraging thing is that this storm is not an external thing – it is inside you and subject to your control. You can make it hard, or you can make it easy. In doing this, I would suggest you do two things:

1. First and foremost, DON’T PANIC!!
2. When these “waves” come, do not be defensive – accept them, and go on the offense. Your mental posture should be an offensive one – not a defensive one. Ride them suckers! In a very short time, that will become a reflex, and it will be second nature to you.

That was what was going on inside me. On the outside, I developed a little tick. I would fold my hands and put them in my lap – that’s it – that was all I needed to do.
I hope this helps … good luck to you!

 

[Chikenbutwut]

Two words...Lung Cancer. Lung Cancer comes from the actual combustion of the cigarette and the 4000 other chemicals being inhaled as they are burning. Ecigs don't burn anything. I can smoke my ecig all night and feel fine. If I stand by a campfire all night I feel horrible the next day. I think your wife would be a wonderful candidate to switch to a Personal Vaporizer. She can still "smoke" it has all the action of smoking, delivers a good flavor and nice full vapor to exhale. All of that ONLY coming from a good PV unit of course. The vapor that is exhaled is water vapor...it has nothing in it that is harmful and has very little odor or no odor at all. She would be choosing a more healthy alternative than smoking. Quitting altogether would certainly be better.....but some never will. So Vaping is a healthier alternative. All an ecig has is nicotine and you can choose how much nicotine....24mg being a high dose 12mg being medium 6mg being low and then 0mg nicotine. You can step your way down if you wish. the flavor does change a little with each step. I am on a 12 mg dose because my juice only comes in 12mg, Halo has some very good juice flavors, with Tribeca and Captain Jack being my favorites there and you can go no nicotine with any of them.

Some juices taste very much like real cigarette...I don't like them anymore because I don't like the taste of a real cigarette anymore. Vaping will not deliver as much of the throat hit as a burning cigarette that takes some getting used to, but once you get over that it is smooth sailing. It took me about 2 weeks to fully make the adjustment. I have not looked back since.

Oh I loved some of the Halo flavors! I ordered from him back when he first started the business. He had to shut it down for a bit though while he worked things out with the person that was making his liquid, and during that time we had to use someone else. That's when we found AmericaneLiquid. They're great to do business with. I once made a comment on their site, in the reviews section, about how I loved their customer service and some of the flavors, but that my husband goofed up and ordered the wrong menthol flavor for me. The owner saw what I wrote and turned around and sent me free liquid in the flavor that I really wanted, plus some free samples...I couldn't believe it! All I was doing was just writing a review and they did that! We were so impressed and thankful that we've used them solely ever since. They have great prices too. Sorry, I sound like a commercial, lol!