How did u go about stopping smoking?

Dulchie12

Hi guys, well I bought a nicofresh starter kit on Thursday to try stop the smokes. I bought it just to try, I hadn't given much thought to actually quitting the fags! I'm finding the ecig really good. Yesterday I smoked 5 cigs, that's down from 20 a day. However I still have this fear of actually stopping the fags. I'm not sure what to do next. How did you do it? Did u stop the smokes cold turkey or wean yourself down? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

shamrock55

Havent smoked since 3rd of jan, i just stopped, although i have just stopped plenty times before only to go back on them, but i have a good feeling about this time, the only thing is i havent had a drink since then either and its then that i find it hardest not to smoke, in fact anytime i have fallen off the smoking wagon its when ive been on a night out in the pub,:D

grindle

I bought my first kit with the idea of quitting, so our mindsets were different from the off. I did enough reading to know that buying anything cigarette-sized would probably lead to cigarettes again. eGos had cemented themselves as the best cost/value battery-style over the previous year so I leapt in there and just haven't needed to smoke since.
If you aren't satisfied, either upgrade your device and/or up your dosage.
Depends what you have and why you feel you haven't switched.

Dulchie12

I find the ecig as good as a fag for satisfying me but still feel this compulsion to smoke, like my brain is telling me I'm missing something?!? Then when I have a smoke it's no better than the ecig. I'm happy enough with the actual ecig, I'm using 24mg liquid, I like the taste etc. I suppose I'm wondering if it took people a while to 'get' it if u know what I mean? And I was actually in the pub last night (just for 2 hours) but I just loved the freedom of not going outside, but of course I had a smoke when I came home

grindle

Dulchie12 wrote: »

I find the ecig as good as a fag for satisfying me but still feel this compulsion to smoke, like my brain is telling me I'm missing something?!? Then when I have a smoke it's no better than the ecig. I'm happy enough with the actual ecig, I'm using 24mg liquid, I like the taste etc. I suppose I'm wondering if it took people a while to 'get' it if u know what I mean? And I was actually in the pub last night (just for 2 hours) but I just loved the freedom of not going outside, but of course I had a smoke when I came home

Takes some people ages to switch if at all. Habit of a life-time can be hard to break at once, especially when it wasn't your initial aim. Just get used to using the ecig more and wind down your cig use over time & after a while you'll be down to the morning and dinner cigs and eventually they'll feel unnecessary too.
Cigs do have a lot more going on than ecigs do to keep you hooked so the compulsion is understandable. They're designed to do that and you are missing massive parts of what makes a cig so satisfying.

Ole Rodrigo

Depending on how long you've been smoking, and how many. I'm off them 5 years in June after going cold turkey. It was possible for me by making a good plan and sticking to it, i.e, what I would do for the first three days, then three weeks, three months, 6 months and year etc. Making realistic goals and sticking to them as well as making necessary sacrifices ( I didn't go to a pub for a year ) saw me through. Overkill, maybe, but it worked.

I firmly believe cold turkey offers the best chance of quitting for good.

grindle

ror_74 wrote: »

I firmly believe cold turkey offers the best chance of quitting for good.

Based on cold turkey's 90-95% failure rate I'd say not.
Your view might come down to what it is about smoking you hate - the unhealthiness/death, the cost, the [phenomenally over-exaggerated] addiction to nicotine [which is an addiction to much more than nicotine in cigarettes] or the aesthetic of breathing visible particles out of your mouth and nose.
As far as quit-smoking attempts go cold turkey is the next-best thing to continuing smoking because it generally leads to continued smoking both statistically and speaking from my own point of view having "quit" cold turkey a few times.

was.deevey

Yeah cold turkey is easy, done it loads of times

But seriously, I was a 5-6 a day smoker alongside e-cigs for about 2 years (down from 20 a day) , I'd been though just about every battery, cartridge and clearomizer under the sun and either broke them easily or they were actually ****e despite me paying way more than my smoking habit for them.

I really wanted ecigs to work for me, but honestly they just weren't good enough to warrant a 100% switch.

Wasn't until I got a decent mechanical Mod and Genesis atty that I discovered how much nicer ecigs really tasted (after alot of screwing around making it work properly !).

Why a mechanical ? - Because I have a pile of various dead electronic mods and batteries which died though either dropping, shorting etc ..

I put off getting a dripper for ages and ages due the feeling that it would be a pain in the ass, but honestly its easier than refilling tanks, keeping a bottle of juice in the pocket and to keep it clean is as easy as running it under a tap every day or so.

It honestly was a revelation, mind was blown and haven't touched a fag since.

My Advice, If I was to do it all over again I'd ...

1. Not buy any of the budget devices / Starter kits / Disposable / Cigalikes / Clearomizers
2. Not be concerned so much by size - bigger batteries equals more wattage which equals better performance. And honestly the cig-alike ones actually look stupid at this stage I reckon.
3. Buy a solid, well built mechanical mod - e.g. Nemesis or Chi You clone from the onset - it will cost you less long term!
4. Buy spares !

Dulchie12

Thanks everyone. I can understand someone saying cold turkey is easy after the fact, but honestly unless you have an iron will I dunno how anyone manages it., I certainly never managed more than a few hours cold turkey! But thanks for your input.
I just think its gonna take a while to get off the fags completely. I suppose after only a few days I don't fully trust the ecig, that its gonna keep me from turning into a raving lunatic.
I have an eGo ce4 kit, I'm using 24mg liquid (tobacco flavour). I'm happy with it, but sometimes feel I'm getting less of a throat hit than other times. I'm assuming that's my technique and not the kit? I'm loathe to start upgrading just yet but I may in the future when I'm used to the whole vaping thing.
If anyone thinks its the kit causing the problem and not my mind please feel free to share your wisdom!

grindle

Dulchie12 wrote: »

I have an eGo ce4 kit, I'm using 24mg liquid (tobacco flavour). I'm happy with it, but sometimes feel I'm getting less of a throat hit than other times. I'm assuming that's my technique and not the kit? I'm loathe to start upgrading just yet but I may in the future when I'm used to the whole vaping thing.
If anyone thinks its the kit causing the problem and not my mind please feel free to share your wisdom!

If using the same device through the day and you notice the TH come and go and come and go you might find it's coming back every time you eat something - swallowing your food removes whatever coating of PG/VG that's built up through the day and it's like you have a fresh throat again.

Apart from eating or gargling vinegar and/or spirits there's no way around that coating building up.

There are also huge variations in TH from device to device and certain wick materials are better than others for it (mesh is best for TH, ferocious) but you're probably a few weeks or months away from that bother.

If you're able to restrict the airflow to your CE4 by covering an airhole, try it out - less air results in more TH.

Eff Four

I bought an Ego starter kit last July or August, intending to stop smoking, and had the same fears as yourself OP. Today I'm 2 weeks a non-smoker. I had trouble convincing myself to just take the plunge, just get up one day and not have a fag with my cuppa, but honestly it was a piece of piss compared to what my mind had conjured up! What grindle said about all the other crap in fags that keeps you hooked I can totally attest to - for the first three days I did feel a bit blegh at times, very shakey, but compared to cold turkey, easy. Every time I thought I was missing out somehow I went outside in the cold wind and used my ecig. It didn't take me long to realise I was being an eejit and not missing out on anything at all, besides all the negative effects of smoking! I kept a box of fags in my handbag for the first week, then threw them out when I got to the stage where I just didn't want anything to do with smoking in my house anymore. When I had to wash all my clothes twice to get the stink off them. Try lots of juices, find a few you love, make a list of all the nice stuff you'll be able to afford. Whatever it takes. Above all else just remember that switching to an ecig from fags is not like cold turkey - you're still getting the nicotine. You're just cutting out all the nasty stuff. Good luck!

Neil_Sedaka

My own savior came in the form of a very basic rechargeable e-cig.
I smoked about 20 - 25 B&H a day since Ronald Reagan was considered cool!
I saw e-cigs advertised in very, very small circles and thought "what the ****"

One fine day, out of curiosity I bought a very basic kit and honestly didn't expect much.

Well I was stunned! I couldn't believe the throat hit and nicotine delivery and although the kit was crap, I instantly knew that with a better, more advanced kit, I would never smoke again.

I then bought myself that better, more advance kit (a 901 at the time) and I never did smoke again.

Go for it!!!

Pawwed Rig

I did cold turkey on each of my three attempts to give up. I failed the first two times but now I haven't had a cig in 5 years. First off I gave them up for lent. When lent finished I extended that to another 6 weeks, After that it was a month at a time.
I helped myself by telling my new girlfriend at the time I was a non smoker so had good incentive not to take them up again. I also had to cut a couple of people out of my life as when I was with them would be the time I would be most likely to fall back into old habits. Pretty much had to avoid smokers and smoking situations for a couple of years. It is easier now in that I no longer crave the cigs even when on a night out but the first couple of years were tough.
I always loved to smoke but in hindsight they were a ridiculous waste of money.

Gryzor

Neil_Sedaka wrote: »

My own savior came in the form of a very basic rechargeable e-cig.
I smoked about 20 - 25 B&H a day since Ronald Reagan was considered cool!
I saw e-cigs advertised in very, very small circles and thought "what the ****"

One fine day, out of curiosity I bought a very basic kit and honestly didn't expect much.

Well I was stunned! I couldn't believe the throat hit and nicotine delivery and although the kit was crap, I instantly knew that with a better, more advanced kit, I would never smoke again.

I then bought myself that better, more advance kit (a 901 at the time) and I never did smoke again.

Go for it!!!

Pretty much my story aswell, 20 a day for about 16 years.
About this time 3 years ago, I bought a triple pack of disposables for a tenner. They were pisspoor to say the least, but enough to prompt the chase for better.
Better at the time was the Ego-t tank system. It never blew me away but it was enough and I never bought cigs again.
In the early days, I might have had one or two if I was out. That was more out of self-consciousness than actually wanting a cig. Those days are gone..

You're spoiled for choice there days in terms of batteries, atties and juice. It might take some time to find what works for you, but it's well worth it...

visual

I smoked 40 a day and have given up cigarettes two weeks before Christmas using e cigs.

Ego battery and kangor T2 clearomiser is what a friend recommend and I have found them excellent.

I started on VIP liquid usa tobacco flavour strength 24 after trying a few liquids I find liqueen usa tobacco very good.

30ml bottle last almost a week

I was very anxious at the start and felt it would end up like all the other methods I tried in the past, another miserable fail.
For the first couple of days I did smoke too but kept vaping. I still have cigarettes left over from when I stopped.

Pathes gum spray nicorette didnt work for me will power only a few hours but e cigs did.

Dulchie12

Thanks for all your stories and advice guys. I'm slowly cutting down, 3 yesterday and it was fairly easy. Can't seem to kick that morning one though! I'm using 1.5 ml per day at most, the man in the shop said that's the equivalent of 30 smokes so I was trying not to go over that, maybe I'm not using enough. Anyway ill keep going as I am for now and think about upgrading in a few weeks. Have to say, although I'm freaking out a bit I've never felt this positive about quitting before.

Pawwed Rig

I would recommend starting a fitness regime as you give up. You need to replace the bad habits with a good habit. In my case smoking was replaced with snacking and I put on about 6kg over the first year. Where you are training you will feel the effects even 1 cig has on your body which will hopefully motivate you further to quit.

was.deevey

Can't seem to kick that morning one though! I'm using 1.5 ml per day at most, the man in the shop said that's the equivalent of 30 smokes

Don't believe the man in the shop - 30 smokes my ass! it totally depends on the device, the strength and the way you inhale.

IMHO vape to your hearts content and don't worry about the "equivalent" number of cigarettes, its a mute point.

Vapor is ingested differently to cigarettes, if you don't vape enough you'll get cravings and its very difficult to vape too much.

meoklmrk91

First of all well done on taking the plunge. My own story is that I adored cigs, had no intention of giving them up ever, smoking was literally one of my favourite things to do, when I started going onto my second pack a day I knew that I had to do something and researched e-cigs but didn't take the plunge. Then I moved into my own place last May and literally could not afford to smoke anymore so I bought myself a kit.

I have done pretty well since then, I continued to buy a box of smokes when I went out though. Because I wasn't really smoking in between I started getting sick every time after a night out, I am currently coming to the end of a two week flu, which was my second time being sick in a month. So no more cigs for me. I have finally found a tobacco liquid I like and will be using that from now on because while I am normally a sweet liquid vaper I find that gummy bears and cola really doesn't cut it when you are drinking

My advice is to take it at your own pace, don't deny yourself your first cig in the morning if you feel you really need it, but make sure and think about it before you do. Always get spares, batteries, tanks etc. You never know when something is going to fall and break and spares will save you from falling completely off the wagon. Explore different liquids, you never know what you are going to like etc. and it makes it more fun. Some people get an e-cig and never smoke again, I was not one of those people, but I am very nearly there, it's been quite a long while since my last smoke. Oh and another word of advice make sure you ask family and friends NOT to offer you a smoke, it can be very hard to say no in those situations.

Dulchie12

Thanks everyone for the advice and sharing your stories. Good to hear I'm not vaping too much. Definitely must get spares too, think this is definitely gonna work for me. 3 today but v stressful day so not too bad!

Vape Freaks

Great post meoklmrk91, well done.
Stick with it Dulchie12 you're well over the hump by now.
Congrats to the pair of ye

Ole Rodrigo

Is it not true that the jury is still out on whether e-cigs are a healthy alternative ( well maybe just not an unhealthy one) ?

I'm sceptical of them, simply because they don't treat the habit of smoking, only the nicotine addiction itself.

grindle

ror_74 wrote: »

Is it not true that the jury is still out on whether e-cigs are a healthy alternative ( well maybe just not an unhealthy one) ?

I'm sceptical of them, simply because they don't treat the habit of smoking, only the nicotine addiction itself.

They're definitely a healthier alternative, it's a fact that's rarely denied by the naysayers nowadays, and the ones who do go around saying they're less healthy than cigarettes are alienating themselves from their peers and come out looking like deranged lunatics and damaging the cause they were originally supposed to be fighting for (these are the assholes of the jury - there are always a few).
Nothing except pure air is the healthy alternative.

I'm confused by what your scepticism means - every reach for an ecig over a cigarette is defeating the habit of smoking. Did you mean the action?
And although they can be used to wean off of nicotine I wouldn't say that's the primary use of ecigs.

JacquesDeLad

I tried vaping but it was just swapping one addiction for another in my mind. Champix is the only effective method of quitting I've found. It gets rid of the cravings so all you've got to deal with is the habitual part of the problem.

Arbiter of Good Taste

I went cold turkey and am off them 12 1/2 years now. It definitely wasn't easy, but what helped is that it coincided with moving country. Now I am not saying you need to pack your bags! But is there some way that you can change some of your normal routines? What helped for me that I wasn't associating specific times with a smoke any more.

One poster suggested a new fitness routine. If, for example, you can replace your morning cigarette (in my case I usually had 3 before I got to work) with a 20 minute workout.

And I know it's cliched but, seriously take the approach of one day at a time. It's easier to think about getting through 12 hours than 12 months.

Best of luck what ever way you choose. It's not easy, but it's not impossible. You will feel great when you have finally kicked the habit. Food will taste better, you will smell better (you will be shocked at how much you stink as a smoker), you will sleep better, hangovers will be less intense, and you will have loads more money. It's all good.

Ole Rodrigo

I fully empathise with anyone trying any method to quit. What I mean by being skeptical is that they don't deal with the habit of smoking, which is potentially just as potent as the chemical addiction. What if you end up at some function, a wedding lets say, and you've forgotten your e-cigs had a few beers and someone is offering you a cigarette ? There are a multitude of scenarios where ecigs will leave you still vulnerable, even years later. Thats why I say cold turkey offers the best option for quitting for good - its tackles both the habit and the addiction.

I understand why they e-cigs are popular though. They seem like an easy option and cold turkey is not an easy option for anyone, it can disrupt your life for months. But, as I said, it is possible with some sound planning and will power. I wouldn't underestimate the power of planning, and making changes in your life.

grindle

ror_74 wrote: »

I fully empathise with anyone trying any method to quit. What I mean by being skeptical is that they don't deal with the habit of smoking, which is potentially just as potent as the chemical addiction. What if you end up at some function, a wedding lets say, and you've forgotten your e-cigs had a few beers and someone is offering you a cigarette ? There are a multitude of scenarios where ecigs will leave you still vulnerable, even years later. Thats why I say cold turkey offers the best option for quitting for good - its tackles both the habit and the addiction.

I understand why they e-cigs are popular though. They seem like an easy option and cold turkey is not an easy option for anyone, it can disrupt your life for months. But, as I said, it is possible with some sound planning and will power. I wouldn't underestimate the power of planning, and making changes in your life.

I can see how some might fail at that hurdle but that's why the vaper's mantra is "Back-ups, back-ups, back-ups".
Cold turkey is only the best option once it's been successful for any given person. It's the worst option available because it's success rate is abysmal. How anyone can say cold turkey is the best option when it's the one that in turn leads back to smoking most often...I don't get it.

One thing that a lot of ex-smokers or never-smokers don't seem to get is that we like the act and the pick-me-up. Most smokers want the feel of smoking but without the health issues or dying, so whenever I see anybody say "the best way to quit is to have nothing", in my mind I'm thinking "But I liked that... Why would I want to have absolutely none of it? Is there a reason I should deprive myself?"
With smoking the answer is obvious, there are many reasons people should deprive themselves of cigarettes. There are no reasons known for why I should deprive myself of ecigs. Just for deprivation's sake and to achieve the culturally-groomed sanctimoniousness of [some] ex-smokers?
Those are the only reasons posited so far and other sceptical (to say the least) posters have this ground well-trodden. I get it. They see nicotine as the bad thing (despite the fact it's not the killer). I see the killer as the killer (for the fact that it's what is actually killing people).

I dunno. Seems barmy to me, but people are.
One of the strangest posters that's espoused this nicotine-is-the-enemy argument would defend to the hilt people's right to take whatever drug they wanted to over on AH but nicotine is indefensible in his mind. Weird as fvck, but he's a real person who actually exists.
If I'd written him into a play I would've written him right out as utterly implausible, a caricature of hypocrisy. I'm seeing this angle coming from a lot of people who carry on with much more unhealthy activities than vaping.
Will they ever just piss off? Serious question, not goading anybody in particular with that. Will they actually ever take a look at themselves and what they're getting their panties twisted over and just go away? Stop getting self-righteous about an issue just because it looks like something else - it has the potential to destroy that much-more-dangerous something-else that they were originally so annoyed about.

Stained Class

I got into Vaping about 2 years ago.

Tried a couple of systems, but they weren't reliable enough to replace ciggies.

Then, I got a proper 510 kit with clearomisers.

Bought it on a Sunday at a market. Had 20 smokes on me at the time.

Anyway, the kit worked very well. Ran out of fags by the Wednesday & didn't bother with them afterwards.

Thought I'd get into the vaping 'scene' a lot more, buying all the latest kit & juices like some posters do.

Stuck with Kanger T2's with 900mAh batteries & RY4 juice. Bought extra batteries & chargers as I went along though, cos I didn't want to get caught short when at work/home/in car, etc

Started on the 18mg & am now on 12mg juices.

I reckon I'm spending about 1 euro a day on this as opposed to nearly 10 before.

Never looked back.

As far as I'm concerned, if you smoke, want to give up & have tried other methods without success, give vaping a try.

You'd be nuts not to!

Ole Rodrigo

grindle wrote: »

I can see how some might fail at that hurdle but that's why the vaper's mantra is "Back-ups, back-ups, back-ups".
Cold turkey is only the best option once it's been successful for any given person. It's the worst option available because it's success rate is abysmal. How anyone can say cold turkey is the best option when it's the one that in turn leads back to smoking most often...I don't get it.

I wouldn't say its abysmal at all. There are 3 people posting on this thread off them 5 years and over. I personally know several at 10 years plus. I have never met anyone off them long term that used a replacement device. If you keep failing, maybe look at where you're going wrong and make some changes, keep at it until you have refined your strategy - it could take a year of several attempts - and then you have a very good chance of being off them for life.

The reality is once you substitute one nicotine delivery system for another one, you're only getting into the messy business of deluding yourself - you still need nicotine, you still spend the time and money ingesting it. While doing this, you are at a much higher risk of smoking again. You might say to yourself it was only one, until the next one comes along when you've forgotten your devices..and so on. Ive been there and done that - the only thing that really works is cold turkey. Nothing worthwhile is easy and all that.

grindle

ror_74 wrote: »

I wouldn't say its abysmal at all. There are 3 people posting on this thread off them 5 years and over. I personally know several at 10 years plus. I have never met anyone off them long term that used a replacement device. If you keep failing, maybe look at where you're going wrong and make some changes, keep at it until you have refined your strategy - it could take a year of several attempts - and then you have a very good chance of being off them for life.

This is like talking to a victim of cults or something - how self-absorbed are you that you think a 90-95% failure rate isn't abysmal? A killer habit that 20-25% of the population picks up and you think saving 5-10% of that number is a success?
And ecigs users are delusional, riiiiiight.

ror_74 wrote: »

The reality is once you substitute one nicotine delivery system for another one, you're only getting into the messy business of deluding yourself - you still need nicotine, you still spend the time and money ingesting it. While doing this, you are at a much higher risk of smoking again. You might say to yourself it was only one, until the next one comes along when you've forgotten your devices..and so on. Ive been there and done that - the only thing that really works is cold turkey. Nothing worthwhile is easy and all that.

FFS, it's proven that cold turkey works the least! What are you yammering on about? How can it "really work" when it leads most of those who try it back to smoking?
I've already forgotten my devices and had no cigarettes (and zero inclination), and through this found out how much less addictive nicotine is than the perceived wisdom which has been based on evidence gleaned from cigarettes. I missed the fiddling and the stimulation but I wasn't falling apart gagging for a cigarette or a vape. I just replaced the vape with coffee and got on with the day.

You've got the misinformed and manipulative anti-nic rhetoric learned by rote just like the other dilettantes who sometimes pop their head in & you've gone down the precise route I knew you would in my previous post.

Me wrote:

One thing that a lot of ex-smokers or never-smokers don't seem to get is that we like the act and the pick-me-up. Most smokers want the feel of smoking but without the health issues or dying, so whenever I see anybody say "the best way to quit is to have nothing", in my mind I'm thinking "But I liked that... Why would I want to have absolutely none of it? Is there a reason I should deprive myself?"
With smoking the answer is obvious, there are many reasons people should deprive themselves of cigarettes. There are no reasons known for why I should deprive myself of ecigs. Just for deprivation's sake and to achieve the culturally-groomed sanctimoniousness of [some] ex-smokers?
Those are the only reasons posited so far and other sceptical (to say the least) posters have this ground well-trodden. I get it. They see nicotine as the bad thing (despite the fact it's not the killer). I see the killer as the killer (for the fact that it's what is actually killing people).

That you can't see you're wrong (at best) is worrying, that you're attempting to cast others as delusional when you consider high failure rates as a sure sign of success is horrific.
"Here, you really should try out nothing to keep you from smoking!"
"Will it work?"
"The data says "No" but I think if I say "It. Will. Work." repeatedly that will somehow change the facts! Success!"

Did you go to some shitty self-help guru or convention or something? Empty phrases backed with enthusiasm, but no meat to the bone, just an unhelpful and largely unhealthy dose of the quit-or-die mentality.
For every 20 people who listen to your spiel, yes, 1 or 2 will quit and good for them - but 18-19 will go back to smoking and around 9 of them will die early.
Carry on succeeding!

johnno1970

For what its worth heres my story so far. I am 43 years old and have smoked for the past 27 years. I have tried, on about 4 occasions over the past 10 years or so to quit by going cold turkey. My longest stint being off the cigs lasted for 10 weeks. I felt great at the time but still missed the enjoyment of smoking as well as going through the motions of smoking at specific times of the day, after eating, with a cuppa, with a drink in the pub. Anyway I cracked at the 10 week mark. Since then a few weeks at a time is all I have managed to stay off them.
During this past Christmas my brother in-law showed my the device he is using to quit. It was one of the green smoke devices that looks like a cigarette. I was a bit dubious, thinking to myself that cant possibly replace the real thing. He gave me a puff and I got a nicotine hit from it that surprised me. I didnt think much more about it until I saw my Father with the same device. He tried to give me his spare battery and cartomizer that comes with the kit, in the hope that I might join him in his effort to quit but I said no.I thought to myself " I've tried quitting before and it doesnt work, I don't need the hassle of it all" . Anyway, that evening out of sheer boredom I started checking out the different types of e-cigarettes on the internet. Up came a huge amount of info, and videos on youtube. I was amazed to see just how many youtube videos are out there reviewing all the different types of e-cig. I was also amazed at how much these people were enjoying vaping as its called. So I searched for Irish online sellers and decided to order a starter kit out of sheer curiosity more than a desire to quit. I ordered the ego-c twist with the Iclear 16 clearomizer. I had plenty of tobacco still in the house as I had taken to rolling my own over the past 2 years or so. I was thinking that maybe this e-cig could cut out a few cigs a day for me and that could only be a good thing.
The kit arrived on Wednesday 5th of February, 11 days ago now. I have not smoked a single cigarette since! I am absolutely amazed by the lack of craving for a cigarette since I've started vaping. I know they say "once a smoker always a smoker" but as I sit here here typing this I am of the belief that I will never smoke a cigarette again. I don't even feel like I am off the cigarettes! The hardest part for me in the past, was that it was always on my mind when I tried quitting, constantly thinking about cigarettes and the horrible thought that I would never put one to my lips ever again.It was almost a grieving process. With e-cigarettes I don't have any of that. I find it hard to believe how easy this has been for me and can't praise the whole e-cig idea highly enough. I recommend it to anyone who wants to quit smoking.
Just to add another little plus to this story, my wife, a smoker of 25 years, started this the same day as I did, and she hasn't smoked since either, and also speaks of how easy this is.
I know its only been 11 days but I hope this story will help some people who are skeptical about whether e-cigs can work, and might help them finally kick the habit.

Vape Freaks

Great post and well done to both of you.

Ole Rodrigo

With all due respect - although from your tone I'm not so sure you deserve it - I thought this thread was a place to discuss how best to give up smoking ? As such, I figured folks reading it could benefit from the experience of others who have done it.

If you think its an opportunity to rant about replacement devices, quoting the skewed data analysis their vendors use to market their products, knock yourself out.

I doubt there is anyone who wouldn't trade all their devices for giving up cold turkey, if they could figure out how best to do it for themselves. Anyway I've read enough and wish you all the best.

grindle

ror_74 wrote: »

With all due respect - although from your tone I'm not so sure you deserve it - I thought this thread was a place to discuss how best to give up smoking ? As such, I figured folks reading it could benefit from the experience of others who have done it.

If you think its an opportunity to rant about replacement devices, quoting the skewed data analysis their vendors use to market their products, knock yourself out.

I doubt there is anyone who wouldn't trade all their devices for giving up cold turkey, if they could figure out how best to do it for themselves. Anyway I've read enough and wish you all the best.

Ehh? You're in the Vaping sub of the Giving Up Smoking forum... The OP was asking how vapers stopped using cigs once they'd started vaping and you started banging on about not using anything at all.
Reading comprehension - > try it out, it's the new "in-thing".

My data doesn't come from vendors or their analysis of studies, it comes from peer-reviewed studies I've read myself and the 90-95% failure rate of cold turkey is considered as factual as a studied conclusion could be at this stage. There will be variations but the average has stayed the same.

As for your final supposition - Hello. I have nary a want or wish to give up vaping. I'm certain many other feel the same as it's been said many many many times before.
If somebody wants to quit cold turkey, good for them - if (but most probably when) they fail they can now vape, wean themselves off nic over time and then kick the vaping if they so wish. Much easier and not even a dash of the holier-than-thou quit-or-die approach.

Dulchie12

Thanks for all replies. Interesting debate going on! I can understand where ror74 is coming from, in that cold turkey, if it works, is probably better than vaping for quitting. But for me and countless others, it might as well not even be counted as an option when our willpower has failed us over and over, making it harder each time to even contemplate going through it again for nothing. But I suppose it's why I originally posted. I am afraid that I'm quitting one addiction for another and will never be 'free' of smoking in one form or another. So vaping for me is the much much lesser of 2 evils. Tomorrow at 6pm ill be one week off the cigs, something I haven't been able to achieve in 15 years. I have to tell myself to take one day at a time. E cigs are fairly new so time will tell if they're really an effective quitting tool, but from the stories I'm reading its looking like they are. So although cold turkey might be ultimately the best method, lack of willpower for most people makes it a non runner.

Vape Freaks

Great post, well done and the best of luck.

I gave up smoking 32 years ago. I had a small cardboard calander and marked off each day. When I felt weak, I looked at the calander and gained strength from the increasing number of ciggie free days. I also took up knitting, to keep the hands occupied and gave up drink for about 6 months, as that was when I felt weakest.

Vape Freaks

Well done, it's not easy and I think everyone here respects what you have accomplished and wishes you well.
Thanks for posting and the best of luck.

masonchat

1 month off the stinks tomorrow : - ) . WAS a smoker for 20 years was 40 a day, down to 20/day last 7ish years.

Longest i went cold turkey was 3 months and was happy out to be honest apart from the fact deep down i didnt REALLY want to quit, so ended up slipping back onto them.

I got seriously addicted to sugar, Yes SUGAR during that 3 months , i was eating bags of hard sweets a day , and was finding if i didnt have a sweet for say an hour i was getting cravings that were worse that nicotine cravings.

So i went about finding out how addictive sugar really is , and also surprising fact a lot of sugar also used in stink stick production.

So i said fark that bye bye sweets, i swear to god the next 2 weeks were worse that any nicotine withdrawal. I thought i was having a breakdown tears running down my face for no reason severely over emotional craving alcohol (again SUGAR and alcohol strongly intertwined a lot of alcoholics will crave sugar when on the wagon) got over the sugar and remained off smokes for a further 6 weeks.

That was about 5 years ago and couldnt muster the will power to make another attempt, until NOW thanks to e cigs.

Taste buds back smell back no longer stink chest and sinus much clearer , falling asleep a lot easier at night , often took me hours to drop off to sleep, no loner since quitting the stinks, so far have spent the same as i would have smoked, but when all my current orders arrive, i reckon im good for at least 6 months of vaping, and that includes a smokegreen premium kit a ego c starter kit and nem clone

I will admit i havent got the usual energy boost id normally get when i gave up the smokes, but im really really enjoying vaping and have no intention to give it up (why would i) i enjoy it, its 1/10 of the cost of smoking its infinitely LESS harmfull to me and everyone else.

THERE AINT NO GOING BACK NOT THIS TIME

Vape Freaks

Yeah, sugar was my crutch too after quitting once.
I would happily devour chocolate and ice cream, even though I never had a sweet tooth before!

kikidelvin

Having smoked for 45 years I was rolling my own and smoking about 40 per day.On the 09Jan.I had my last smoke and started using the green smoke cig.I felt a lot better within 2 days no more coughing first thing in the morning etc.I now use the Itaste134 and various ego with different liquids and so far so good.I will not smoke again.

Thespoofer

Dulchie12 wrote: »

Hi guys, well I bought a nicofresh starter kit on Thursday to try stop the smokes. I bought it just to try, I hadn't given much thought to actually quitting the fags! I'm finding the ecig really good. Yesterday I smoked 5 cigs, that's down from 20 a day. However I still have this fear of actually stopping the fags. I'm not sure what to do next. How did you do it? Did u stop the smokes cold turkey or wean yourself down? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

Cold Turkey. Wasn't easy be any means but if you really want to do it just go for it.
I smoked for 15 years and am now free over 12 years now, its as like I never smoked in my life now.

csi vegas

I bought a Smokegreen kit on the same day as my usual two packets of (then lovely) menthols, got home, tried the kit for a few hours, smoked a cig, felt sick, kept on with the kit, smoked some more, extra sick and around two months later still had around thirty out of forty cigarettes left. They really worked for me, never thought they would.
Moved on to other 510 type batteries with refillable cartridges after that and then on to Ego types (so as to be able to use a larger amount and whatever flavour I wanted of liquid, in clearomizers). Haven't smoked a cigarette in sixteen months and never will again.
You don't get the same/if any real cravings for an e-cig that you do with an analogue - like first thing in the morning/from stress/after food/with coffee. Least I don't anyway.

Engine No.9

When I started vaping, I had been on rollies for about a year getting through... I wanna say 2 pouches a week but it might have been 3, I've been off em over a year now so I can remember fully. But I do remember that I was smoking boxes of fags before that and I'd go through 10 boxes in a week, easy.

But I got a mate to get me a starter kit as I hadn't a clue. Got me a Joyetech eGo-The. Haven't looked back since. Instantly off the rollies. Now, having said that, if I go over to my ex to pick up the kids n she offers me a fag, I'll more than likely accept. A few months ago I decided I was having no more of that so got her a starter kit. She's on the electronic ones now.

So it's a vape filled future for me. I don't think I'll be smoking fags again so long as these yokes stay legal (and I'm not plied with copious amounts of booze )

JH_raheny

my story is very similar to some of the above, I'm 40 and have smoked since I was 14, I did manage to quit in 2005 and stay of them for 3 1/2 year, then some **** happened and I went back ( ****ing stupid it was )
I bought an ego c kit last year and used it for a few days and it worked sort of ok but of course it ran out of power while I was in the pub and I left it for a while when on holidays, decided to give it a go again in December so bought an extra battery and charger, first 2 days I started using it at work and got through the day no problem so decided on day 3 that it was going to be the end of me paying for ciggies again, didn't take long before I decided to upgrade to a proper MOD so bought a Tesla VW and some better batteries than the one it comes with, haven't tried different clearomizers I find the Aspire Nautilus the best ( unfortunately it also one of the more expensive ones at 32 Euro ) however it sort of evens out when the coils/atomizers for it last very well.
Haven't had a ciggie since 16th December and I smoked an average of 30 a day, the freedom of being able to have a puff in the pub and in the office is just great and it doesn't bother anyone, then there is the added benefit in not having to go and pay the GP and pharmacy to get rid of Bronchitis once or twice a year.
I switched from the 24mg juice to 16 after 2 months and sticking with that for now, plan is to drop to 9mg when I come back from my next holiday ( the holiday that the ciggies have now paid for )

Dulchie12

Hi everyone, love reading your stories! I'm off the fags 11 weeks now, not a bother on me I don't miss them at all. At the beginning I couldn't see how I would ever get the courage to stop completely but it was kind of easy. I'm still using the ego battery with a kanger evod clearomiser. I'm happy enough for now but I might look into upgrading when the batteries are done.

I kind of feel like I'm cheating or something, like I'm not really off the fags? Anyone else feel like that? I'm on 6mg now and I will try 0 soon, but I still crave the ecig just like the fags. I'd love to stop the ecig but I can't see it ever happening! Maybe if they ban them 😭

RossFixxxed

Dulchie12 wrote: »

HI kind of feel like I'm cheating or something, like I'm not really off the fags? Anyone else feel like that? I'm on 6mg now and I will try 0 soon, but I still crave the ecig just like the fags. I'd love to stop the ecig but I can't see it ever happening! Maybe if they ban them ��

Few things that have occured to me on this front:

1) it is better than cigarettes! That's still very important and relevant!
2) Yes it is a bit of swapping addictions, and you do feel you're not a non/ex smoker yet to be fair.
3) You are dealing with addiction here, so your brain is shouting HAVE A SMOKE, and the addiction is saying: these ifags are lame, you're still taking nicotine, just have one last cigarette, go on... you know you want to etc. Keep that in mind as it is easy as hell to lose sight of what you are trying to achieve here.
4) Focus on every cigarette you DON'T have along the road!
5) Addiction sucks.
6) F*** cigarettes
7) It is a bit silly sucking on a big battery and a bunch of liquid in something resembling a hypodermic yeah. I always feel like I'm lying to myself etc, but hey lighting up a bunch of leaves on fire and stucking it in your mouth isn't the most sensible thing either!

Berch

Similar story here, I am 52 been smoking since I was 16, was never able to give up I tried all the patches, gum, will power you name it. Then just before Christmas I was in Dublin With the wife and came across a VIP e-cig kiosk, on impulse bought there vaping kit and have been off the fags since January 1st this year. I have has no desire to smoke a real cigarette since. Not bad for a twenty a day man. I still use the VIP menthol juice and their batteries but just started using the CE8 cleromiser with replaceable coils, much better than those supplied by VIP and cheaper. Not sure what to do next really , the juice I use is 12mg the lowest they supply, but I mix it with some zero nicotine menthol now so getting a lower intake of nicotine, need to find a nice zero nic juice now I guess

kikidelvin

there are lots of zero juices around and great deals .check out some of the vendors and see what they have .

dePeatrick

Berch wrote: »

Similar story here, I am 52 been smoking since I was 16, was never able to give up I tried all the patches, gum, will power you name it. Then just before Christmas I was in Dublin With the wife and came across a VIP e-cig kiosk, on impulse bought there vaping kit and have been off the fags since January 1st this year. I have has no desire to smoke a real cigarette since. Not bad for a twenty a day man. I still use the VIP menthol juice and their batteries but just started using the CE8 cleromiser with replaceable coils, much better than those supplied by VIP and cheaper. Not sure what to do next really , the juice I use is 12mg the lowest they supply, but I mix it with some zero nicotine menthol now so getting a lower intake of nicotine, need to find a nice zero nic juice now I guess

First purchase I made was from a VIP booth in a mall....worked well enough to know I would stay at vaping, second was a set of Egos and clearomisers and now I am completely hammered with drippers, and kayfun clones, etc etc.....main thing is that I will never smoke again...ever......don't worry about the nic level, that is not what kills you, the crap in a cigarette is what does and as long as you are vaping you are relatively free if that......vape on bro.....:)

Calibos

For those in a transitionary period between vaping and smoking (ie. still having a few cigs a day) something which helped me and those I told was to remember that for god knows how many years and how many times/cigs a day, your brain was primed to picture a cigarette when it felt the nicotine craving. You don't break that neural programming overnight. You need to realise that when the craving hits and your brain pictures the cigarette, it's only doing so out of habit. Its not telling you that it really wants a cigarette rather than a vape(why am I still craving real cigs?). It's simply telling you 'nicotine please' and using the image it's used to signal craving 20-40 times a day for nearly 20 years (in my case). For some people it takes a few weeks for their brain to start picturing their EGO twist and patting their pocket for a fresh cartomiser instead of patting their pocket to find their cigs and lighter. It's at that point that you realise that during the transitionary period you weren't craving a real cig at all.