What's the best way to suggest an e-cig to long time heavy smoker?

[wmrwl]

After getting into vaping and only smoking analogs when I had a lack of equipment or equipment failure (shouldn't be an issue anymore) I realized how effective vaping could be for smoking cessation. I didn't have any plans whatsoever to quit smoking, but I found out about e-cigs online and wanted to try them. From the moment I took my first vape I had no desire for analogs anymore.

If I can quit analogs without even trying after being a 15 year, pack a day smoker I start to think of several people in my life that could benefit from this. My next target seems like it will be either really easy or really hard to convert. This person smokes at least 3 packs a day and has been smoking for at least 45 years. I know she obviously loves smoking and wouldn't want to force something upon her. I was thinking about suggesting 36mg or 48mg nic juice and a JOYE 510 and obviously spare everything. I would probably let her try my 510 and explain the huge cost savings before explaining the health benefits. Is there anything else I might not be thinking of?

 

[St_Francisco]

My personal opinion is that e-cigarettes are similar to nicotine patches and gums, only way better because of the variety, and satisfying the physical habit of smoking. However, in all three cases I think one mindset is needed: you still have to WANT to quit smoking. I was at a point where I still enjoyed smoking, but didn't want to enjoy it anymore...so switching to e-cigs was easy for me, because when I get the occasional craving for an analog, I can resist it because my mindset is one of wanting to get as far away from analogs as possible.

So, I think that's most important in trying to cross someone over. Other than that, just present the benefits: WAAAAYYYY cheaper, more variety and options, no more coughing, no more smelling awful, no more staining teeth, walls, etc., no more standing out in the cold puffing away, etc. Also, tell them what we know about the any health side effects...which is limited, but still, nothing horrible has been detected in e-liquid as far as I'm aware.

 

[Moriah]

I've been trying to figure out how to convert my mother. Her father died of lung cancer when I was 12. She quit once for 5 years and started back up under stress. She's at 2 packs a day, and can sometimes blow through a carton in four days. She smokes cigarettes that are cheap and taste terrible because they're all she can afford. And right now she has two broken ribs. She said she's interested in trying mine when I come down to see her to see what it tastes like, and she's proud of me for using it, but I am not about to try to push it on her. (I'm a stubborn rebellious expletive deleted and I got it honestly... heheh!)

If she asks me and expresses interest in acquiring one, I'll be happy to help her get it, but I'm not going to really do much more than "Wanna taste?" then vape in front of her inside in perfect bliss... since she's required by her hubby to smoke outside. Her hubby already said when I come to visit that I can vape inside.

I was almost thinking about waiting until her next attempt to quit, since she often does attempt to quit (and fail after a week or two), and gifting her with a disposable 510 and a small bottle of the juice she says tastes the best out of the 3-4 I plan to let her try, and say "Here Mom, if you get a craving I wanted to give you this if you want to see if it'll tide you over, instead of buying a pack of cigs just to smoke one..." and we'll see.

 

[nneptune]

To help some people, I've given starter packs as gifts.
Not birthday or Christmas gifts, but just a gift from a friend.

Just have to say that you found this cool thing, and should try it out.

Most will try out of curiosity immediately.

From there, it's their choice. But, it's something I've done a few times.

Some barely use analogs any more. Others said it's helped them to cut down their smoking in a dramatic fashion.

I don't know. Kits from places like cignot.com, are so inexpensive now (as compared to just a couple of years ago), that it's worth it.

 

[doots]

Id suggest letting her try yours first..

 

[Lubes]

Let them borrow an extra 510 and some good e-liquid. They will either like it and want to try it long term or they won't.

 

[Elendil]

There are several suppliers that sell "disposable" models. I would suggest buying a couple and handing them out. This way the perosn won't feel "funy" about trying yours.

Buy the disposables for them, give them to them and leave them alone. By this I mean even if they don't use it in your presence it is theirs and they may give it a try after you leave........

Some folks my be self conscious about trying it for the first time in front of someone else. If they are a long time smoker, it may make it easier for them to try if they don't have to give an immediate reaction to someone.

With how well ecigs have worked for many of us, we tend to be a little overzealous in our support. We all know annoying people who are a bit to forward in their support of something(their church, sports team, PETA, etc...). We should try to not be that annoying...

Good Luck

 

[stormlover]

I'm going to start vaping when my first kit comes next week, so I don't have advice about how to get your family members on the bandwagon. But I can share my experience as it applies to roll-your-own (RYO).

Michigan is a high tax-per-pack state and when I heard the government was going to raise taxes (again) in 2009, I went to RYO. My local smoke shop walked me through all the variables, did a little training to show me how to do it and their enthusiasm caught on to me. (Well, that and the fact that instead of paying $45.00 a carton I paid $7.00 - HUGE savings right there)

Bought my first RYO machine, worked on it in my spare time, and when I became fairly good at RYO, I did a demo for all my family members who smoked - about four of them. My father and sister were caught up in the enthusiasm (and savings) and bought their own machines right away. BIL and brother weren't so excited and stuck with their Marlboros.

Father, sis and I rolled our own all year. No further comments were made to BIL and brother; we just rolled our own and enjoyed our cigs just like they did. Around July of last year, BIL finally got sick of having to pay so much for ready-made and asked to try sis's cigs for a week. After that week, she was rolling for two.

In November, my brother finally caught the bug and he's rolling his own now, too. AND saying to us that he can't believe how much money he's given the government in the form of taxes.

All this was done without harranging, bugging or nagging. MAJOR KUDOS to my sister for not being a witch about how much her husband's smokes were costing while hers were costing less than 1/5 the price. She kept herself happy knowing that she was saving them money.

Patience and simply being happy (living by example) won out in our case. I suspect when I go to vapes, the same situation may happen. I'll sit there happily smoking my "cig" while they enjoy their analogs. I may also mention how happy I am being able to smoke inside at work again (haven't been able to do that since the late 80's) not to mention all the hotel chains that are now open to me once again because no matter what room I get, it's a smoking room (HUGE deal to me!)

I intend to lead by example. I'm lucky to have found out rather early in life that words don't teach. Examples and experience do. It just requires a bit of patience.

 

[VapingRulz]

I think it's good to keep in mind that most long-term smokers have either quit at least once, or tried to. They remember how ineffective the quit-smoking aids really were and how difficult the attempt was overall.

If a long-term smoker doesn't realize just how effective - and delicious - e-cigs can be, they'll view it the same way they view patches, gum, laser therapy, etc. The trick is to get them to give the e-cig an honest try. To accomplish that, it's probably best to get them a model that doesn't intimidate them (510 and KR808D-1 seem to be the most popular models), and make sure they have everything they need to quit effectively without having to wait for replacement parts or supplies.

Sometimes parents don't want to be told what to do by their children, no matter how well-meaning their kids are. Ditto for aunts/uncles/grandparents, etc. Give them the kit, show them how to use it, give them pointers on best practices - then leave them alone to "discover" vaping on their own. That's my advice to young people who want to help their older relatives quit smoking.

 

[AlexTM]

I usually tell them two things: a) That I prefer my nicotine without tar or carbon monoxide, and b) unless they manage to quit for good within the next four weeks, statistically, their risk of harm is greater than anything that could come from a life-time of vaping.

Of course, I also make sure, at these temperatures, that they can see me vaping happily inside, while they stand in the cold. Which actually is funny, since I like those breaks in fresh air. Those things we do for others!

 

[Scott EE]

Change their homepage to ECF.
Seriously if they are a close loved one maybe do some prep work know their brand tastes and carry liquid in various strengths. Also a new clean decent model like a 510 starter kit. Avoid the hard sell and wait for the questions to come. Then out with your premade kit for them lol. Simply vaping in their presence should be enough to gauge their interest in the PV.

You should be knowledgeable considering all the FUD media outlets are spreading about PV's. If they express interest one of their first stops for info should be this forum.

 

[Moriah]

With how well ecigs have worked for many of us, we tend to be a little overzealous in our support. We all know annoying people who are a bit to forward in their support of something(their church, sports team, PETA, etc...). We should try to not be that annoying...

Yeah.... and as you can see from my post count, I have a tendency to get enthusiastic about things I like. Hehehe.

I'm very pleased with my 510 -- that's an understatement. But I don't want to push anything on anybody, because it's almost the least likely effective way. Since Mom doesn't mind sharing my germs, at least, and has said she wants to taste my 510 when I visit, I feel comfortable with offering to let her try a few flavors. But after that I'll just enjoy mine in the comfort and peace of the indoors and smile, and wait for any gifting until she says she's trying to quit again.

Especially since right now MadVapes is out of stock on their disposable 510s....

 

[mr quackums]

my dad had some health issue lately (im not sure exactly what the diagnosis was, but sounds like high blood pressure to me) and has quit smoking. he has been a heavy smoker for at least as long as i have been alive. as of christmas he quit smoking, and as a result is now sucking on mints like a madman.

i dont want to tell him about e-cigs for fear of him having a bit of nicotine and starting smoking again, but if he starts back up with the analogs then i will buy him an e-cig for sure.

 

[Valhalla1]

good angle is to get around the smoking bans, smoke in the airport, planes, bars, everywhere.. not having to go outside in the cold. the feeling of having gamed the system, having my cake and eating it too, etc., also the part about not stinking might appeal to some. that's all before you even get into the health benefits when compared to analogs which when I was a smoker had surprisingly little effect on me. You could drone on all day about how I was killing myself and showing me pics of ....ed up lungs etc but I would have kept on smoking

 

[Wireguy]

When my dad told me I had to cut my hair we had a battle. When ever someone tries to change me I dig in.

What worked for me was watching my wife vaping while hacking my lungs out. She didn't push it. I decided to try it on my own. Sometimes silence is the best course. You have to know who you are dealing with. If It had been 'suggested" or forced I would still be smoking.

 

[wmrwl]

Good points. I think I'll just vape in front of her next time I see her and let her ask me about it (I'll be sure to have a clean extra cart ready). After she asks about it and tries it, I could mention all the benefits. She's my sister's mother-in-law (not sure what that makes her to me) and I don't particularly feel the need to convert her, but I just figured she would be a great candidate for it. I'll see her in about 2 weeks so I'll be sure to post the results.

 

[Oggy]

I have had ALOT of success with vaping, but i still hang out in the smoke hole with my buddies to be sociable. It didnt take long for others there to start asking what i was doing when they realized i wasnt smoking. After getting tired of everyone else smoking my PV i decided to carry around one of the old Disposable 510's for others to try. I am now on my 3rd order of disposables, i buy 5-10 at a time and then sell them to the people that want to try them at my cost and throw in a little bottle of juice. I have some little cards made up that give a couple of sites that i order from and a couple of forms for them to check out then tell them to come ask if theres anything i can do to help. I have found that if they are in the least interested in quitting this is a cheap easy way for them to try an E-cig without all the cost up front.

 

[M & M]

That is sooo great of you.

 

[CaptJay]

Wow yeah it really is! to you!

As for introducing one to a non smoker - apart from the great idea above - letting them try yours IF they express interest is the only way I can think of. Trying to persuade them won't work - and when i got mine it was purely because I was curious, and thought it was an interesting idea. I did NOT buy with the express intent of giving up smoking. I like smoking. I just didn't enjoy cigarettes. Maybe I enjoyed the first one and then the one after dinner, maybe a couple of others too but a lot of times I was just smoking..well because..some of them very definitely weren't enjoyable. Sometiems they made my mouth taste horrid and I hated the constant coughing (pretty much gone now unless I take a massive hit on the PV and blow my throat to 'Bama lol) and feeling hung over in the mornings, and I don't drink!
So I didn't WANT to quit smoking but thats what happened. I'd definately not push the quit smoking idea on anyone - I'd push the alternative idea though, that should appeal to a lot of people and it doesn't have the 'this is brought to you by people who do fake coughs when you smoke' kinda vibe about it.

 

[nightowl]

I ordered 3 kits 1 for me, 1 for my 20 yr old son, and 1 for my 75 yr old father. My dad is impossibly stubborn and disagreeable. My son and I plan to just vape around him and wait for him to ask. I really feel like vaping will sell itself to him as long as he thinks it's his idea.