Ok, so I'm new to the forum, but I wanted to keep a running blog of my journey to vaping.
My name is Steven, and I'm 26 years old. I started smoking when I was around 17. In the last 10 years I have been struggling to quit but never found a method that didn't leave me susceptible to relapse. The first time I "quit" was during the 19 weeks of my Army basic training. That lasted until I hit the airport gift shop on my way out. To this day I still can't figure out why I was so willing to throw 4 months of non-smoking down the drain so easily. Fast forward 6 months, and I made a resolution to quit smoking as I was getting ready to board a plane headed for the Middle East. That lasted all of 2 weeks spent in Kuwait prepping our tanks for combat. Day 1 in Iraq, and rockets and mortars were raining down on us. As soon as the "all clear" was given, I headed straight to the pavilion where everyone smoked to burn one. Fast forward to 2010, another tour in Iraq later, and I was getting out of the Army. For some reason or another I just didn't feel the need to smoke anymore. This was in July 2010. I was officially out of the Army in August, and ventured out on my own for the first time in 5 years. That October, for no apparent reason, I bought a pack of cigs and have been smoking ever since.
on 7/6/13 I was introduced to vaping. A long time friend(and smoker) had a PV and had claimed to have not smoked an analog in 2 weeks. I didn't really think anything of it at the time, but a week later, on 7/12/13, my wife and I were headed to the stinky store to get our cigs and they had a few starter kits for sale there. She wanted one so bad, but I almost talked her out of it. Something compelled me to buy us these kits. So $100 later and a few puffs on the PV and the questions were running through my head. How long does the juice last? What is a bottle equivalent to in cigarettes? Ultimately that is what led me here to ECF.
For the next 2 days, my wife and I were smoking the remainder of our analogs (it's a hard economy, don't want to waste anything!) until we ran out. On 7/14/13 we had switched completely to vaping. We hadn't realized that we even wanted an analog. In fact, I hadn't realized until today, 7/17/13 that neither of us had bought a pack of analogs in 3 days! This is huge, considering that neither of us had intended to quit smoking. Today I asked my wife if she even wanted to go back to smoking and she said "---- no! Why would you even think that?!"
I feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I no longer have to avoid certain situations because I smoked. I'm not worried what people will think of me for paying to get cancer. I don't stink anymore. Even in the last few days, I've noticed that my energy has been increasing. For the first time in the last 10 years, I feel like I have kicked the habit of cigarettes for good. I feel like I have my life back.
There are things that I've been wanting to do, but have been pushed off because I was a smoker. I want to compete in triathlons. Not exactly the type of sport that a smoker fits in very well. I want to take vacations with my wife and daughter. Not the easiest thing to save for when between us we smoked 3-4 packs a day. That's right, we have been spending around $500 PER MONTH on cigarettes. UN BE LIEVABLE.
We are both so confident that we will never smoke cigarettes again that we are planning a trip to Las Vegas for New Years. All with the money that we won't be spending on tobacco. (Well maybe not entirely from diverted funds but the vast majority)
I work a LOT but I will try to keep a blog going about how different my life is starting from the very beginning of switching to vaping. Thanks to everyone who reads/comments. I look forward to hearing your feedback!
-Steven
My name is Steven, and I'm 26 years old. I started smoking when I was around 17. In the last 10 years I have been struggling to quit but never found a method that didn't leave me susceptible to relapse. The first time I "quit" was during the 19 weeks of my Army basic training. That lasted until I hit the airport gift shop on my way out. To this day I still can't figure out why I was so willing to throw 4 months of non-smoking down the drain so easily. Fast forward 6 months, and I made a resolution to quit smoking as I was getting ready to board a plane headed for the Middle East. That lasted all of 2 weeks spent in Kuwait prepping our tanks for combat. Day 1 in Iraq, and rockets and mortars were raining down on us. As soon as the "all clear" was given, I headed straight to the pavilion where everyone smoked to burn one. Fast forward to 2010, another tour in Iraq later, and I was getting out of the Army. For some reason or another I just didn't feel the need to smoke anymore. This was in July 2010. I was officially out of the Army in August, and ventured out on my own for the first time in 5 years. That October, for no apparent reason, I bought a pack of cigs and have been smoking ever since.
on 7/6/13 I was introduced to vaping. A long time friend(and smoker) had a PV and had claimed to have not smoked an analog in 2 weeks. I didn't really think anything of it at the time, but a week later, on 7/12/13, my wife and I were headed to the stinky store to get our cigs and they had a few starter kits for sale there. She wanted one so bad, but I almost talked her out of it. Something compelled me to buy us these kits. So $100 later and a few puffs on the PV and the questions were running through my head. How long does the juice last? What is a bottle equivalent to in cigarettes? Ultimately that is what led me here to ECF.
For the next 2 days, my wife and I were smoking the remainder of our analogs (it's a hard economy, don't want to waste anything!) until we ran out. On 7/14/13 we had switched completely to vaping. We hadn't realized that we even wanted an analog. In fact, I hadn't realized until today, 7/17/13 that neither of us had bought a pack of analogs in 3 days! This is huge, considering that neither of us had intended to quit smoking. Today I asked my wife if she even wanted to go back to smoking and she said "---- no! Why would you even think that?!"
I feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I no longer have to avoid certain situations because I smoked. I'm not worried what people will think of me for paying to get cancer. I don't stink anymore. Even in the last few days, I've noticed that my energy has been increasing. For the first time in the last 10 years, I feel like I have kicked the habit of cigarettes for good. I feel like I have my life back.
There are things that I've been wanting to do, but have been pushed off because I was a smoker. I want to compete in triathlons. Not exactly the type of sport that a smoker fits in very well. I want to take vacations with my wife and daughter. Not the easiest thing to save for when between us we smoked 3-4 packs a day. That's right, we have been spending around $500 PER MONTH on cigarettes. UN BE LIEVABLE.
We are both so confident that we will never smoke cigarettes again that we are planning a trip to Las Vegas for New Years. All with the money that we won't be spending on tobacco. (Well maybe not entirely from diverted funds but the vast majority)
I work a LOT but I will try to keep a blog going about how different my life is starting from the very beginning of switching to vaping. Thanks to everyone who reads/comments. I look forward to hearing your feedback!
-Steven
