Sorry, this is long, but this is my perspective since coming off cigs (was a marb red smoker, 1 1/2 packs a day for 11 years.):
I'm one of those people that believe there's other stuff in tobacco we have to go through withdrawals from. Probably the natural MAOIs in tobacco. Everyone's different. For me that was a nuisance for like 3 days, dealing with the sudden urge to "go to my smoking spot" which was on the outside steps, and getting a lot of tiredness despite vaping (and no i wasn't dehydrated, i was sure to drink a lot of water, it was just my body dealing with trying to cleanse itself of the harmful tobacco crap for 10 plus years and going without the MAOIs imo. kinda left me feeling dazed and a bit slowminded, but it passed).
Keeping my nic juice at 24mg and vaping at low resistance on an Ego was enough to get rid of that urge immediately if I chose to just have a little vape session instead. Within three days or so i was full of energy and being able to taste and smell had me thinking very differently. Go ahead and have a cigarette if you need one. The first drag might be satisfying, but you'll more than likely be disgusted by the second drag if you haven't had one for a few days. You realize vaping is just more satisfying on all levels.
sometimes we do just have to force ourselves not to have one for a day or two. there is sometimes withdrawal despite getting your nicotine. whether its some of the other chemicals in cigs, MAOIs, or just the habit itself, withdrawal is sometimes there no matter what.
I know the initial investment when we're figuring out what device works for us is tough to swollow, but it's definitely worth it. Use your credit card if you have to and make payments, but by all means, do your research. So many cheap ways to get started right. And no, a 510 cig-alike style probably won't be enough for most people to quit thinking about cigs, wasn't for me.. They're just too much of a hassle and you'll want something more satisfying or they'll let you down on a stressful day and you just give up.
can grab 3 ego batteries from fasttech for only $13.54
$13.54 650mAh Rechargeable Battery for E-Cigarette (3-Pack) 3-pack - champagne + black + red at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
charger for $2.38
$2.38 USB Charger for EGO Electronic Cigarette - cable length 25cm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
that's like 16 bucks for enough batteries to last all day. I bought these to replace my old Egos and I've had no issues with them and they're workin great, just as well if not better than the ego kit i bought a year ago for 70 bucks or whatever. wish i'd known about fasttech back then. the long shipping time sucks (about 10 days), but just smoke until then if you have to. couple more days won't hurt.
maybe grab an evod tank and some extra low resistance heads too. that's the cheapest route since the heads are only like 1.50 to replace from some vendors, or get some low resistance 510 attys if you can afford em. evods can get a muted flavor so if that's not to your liking at the moment just grab one 510 atty if you can to hold you over.
throw a low resistance 1.5-1.8 ohm atty on there with 24mg juice and you're golden. i even bought my juice unflavored bulk at 54mg when i didn't have much cash, and found that cutting it down with VG from wal mart and vaping it unflavored wasn't bad at all either.
I'm now waiting on a k100 clone and a rebuildable atomizer, and though I could get by no problem with these egos, these last purchases will cement me as a vaper from this point forward. rebuilding my coils will be awesome.
since smokes are still relatively cheap where i am, about 3 bucks a pack on the reservation, regular attys were too expensive and unreliable for me back in the day. i dont care about health, it was always the money/smelling like an ashtray that put me off smoking.
the new cheaper evod/protank heads and rebuildable atomizers really convinced me to stick with vaping this past year. but yes, there is likely a bit of withdrawal, no matter what, for some of us when we stop tobacco. if you're a heavy marb red smoker, can't stress enough the importance of higher percentage nicotine juice (24-36mg) starting out, and a device that you know how to use and is reliable.