I'll be completely honest--I almost didn't want to vape.
I had a number of reasons. Personally, the word "vaping" sends a rather unpleasant chill up my spine, and I can't help but think of similar words like "vapid" and "raping." One of the conditions of my partner and myself switching to electronic cigarettes was that the words "vape" and "vaping" are not allowed in our house. We just call it smoking.
Second, I like smoking. It's something I enjoy. I never felt like I was a slave to nicotine, even though I knew I was terribly addicted. Quitting was something that I just never really considered.
I'm also terribly frightened by fanaticism of any kind.
When I began my preliminary internet research, I stumbled upon a whole new subculture, and a whole new lingo to go along with it, that I had no idea existed. I saw YouTube videos in which seven or eight acronyms per sentence were not uncommon, paired with indecipherable terminology like cartomizers, low-res atties and 510-T's and eGo drip tips.
It was almost enough for me to run screaming from the house.
But a friend of mine, probably the most "no-nonsense" person I know, had successfully replaced her "analog cigarette" (again, I hate that term) for an electronic one and had become quite knowledgeable on the subject, and she assured me that if I just got started, the rest of the pieces would fall into place.
At my request, she sent me an e-mail with a list of everything I'd need to get started, all hardware she recommended from suppliers she'd grown to trust. Since I live in Mexico, and in a part of Mexico where the postal system works with something like a 30% success rate and Fedexing a package from the United States runs just shy of $100, I had to purchase enough to get us by for 6 months, since we only make it back to the States so often.
Needless to say, I was going out on a limb.
I ordered the supplies a few nights before my flight to the United States. Two 510 starter kits, four 510-T atomizers, 20 empty cartridges, a PCC and 500MG of 36m-strength juice (with a few bottles of flavoring on the side.) All-in-all, my investment was around 300 bucks.
My packages were waiting for me when I arrived.
I'd watched several videos on how to load up the 510-T (see, I'm using these acronyms and it's driving me crazy) so I had the thing up and running in two minutes flat.
My first impression?
It was marvelous.
I was able to get all of my stuff through customs at the Cancun airport without any problem (the woman who checked my bag had obviously seen them a number of times before.) That was a week ago, and I haven't even thought about smoking an "analog cigarette" since. I have had a few issues with the 510-T tanks leaking and dumping fluid in my mouth, but after getting some advice here, I think I have solved that problem (it seems that if you remove the cap when filling it, the more you fuss with it, and the more fluid you put in when you fill up, the likelier this is to happen.)
I can't tell you how satisfied I am with electronic cigarettes and how grateful I am to my friend for getting me started on them. So far, I figure I've already saved about 40 bucks. My lungs feel 100 times better, I feel less winded and most importantly, I love not smelling like a stale ashtray all the time.
Seriously though, we still have to do something about this "vaping" word.
I had a number of reasons. Personally, the word "vaping" sends a rather unpleasant chill up my spine, and I can't help but think of similar words like "vapid" and "raping." One of the conditions of my partner and myself switching to electronic cigarettes was that the words "vape" and "vaping" are not allowed in our house. We just call it smoking.
Second, I like smoking. It's something I enjoy. I never felt like I was a slave to nicotine, even though I knew I was terribly addicted. Quitting was something that I just never really considered.
I'm also terribly frightened by fanaticism of any kind.
When I began my preliminary internet research, I stumbled upon a whole new subculture, and a whole new lingo to go along with it, that I had no idea existed. I saw YouTube videos in which seven or eight acronyms per sentence were not uncommon, paired with indecipherable terminology like cartomizers, low-res atties and 510-T's and eGo drip tips.
It was almost enough for me to run screaming from the house.
But a friend of mine, probably the most "no-nonsense" person I know, had successfully replaced her "analog cigarette" (again, I hate that term) for an electronic one and had become quite knowledgeable on the subject, and she assured me that if I just got started, the rest of the pieces would fall into place.
At my request, she sent me an e-mail with a list of everything I'd need to get started, all hardware she recommended from suppliers she'd grown to trust. Since I live in Mexico, and in a part of Mexico where the postal system works with something like a 30% success rate and Fedexing a package from the United States runs just shy of $100, I had to purchase enough to get us by for 6 months, since we only make it back to the States so often.
Needless to say, I was going out on a limb.
I ordered the supplies a few nights before my flight to the United States. Two 510 starter kits, four 510-T atomizers, 20 empty cartridges, a PCC and 500MG of 36m-strength juice (with a few bottles of flavoring on the side.) All-in-all, my investment was around 300 bucks.
My packages were waiting for me when I arrived.
I'd watched several videos on how to load up the 510-T (see, I'm using these acronyms and it's driving me crazy) so I had the thing up and running in two minutes flat.
My first impression?
It was marvelous.
I was able to get all of my stuff through customs at the Cancun airport without any problem (the woman who checked my bag had obviously seen them a number of times before.) That was a week ago, and I haven't even thought about smoking an "analog cigarette" since. I have had a few issues with the 510-T tanks leaking and dumping fluid in my mouth, but after getting some advice here, I think I have solved that problem (it seems that if you remove the cap when filling it, the more you fuss with it, and the more fluid you put in when you fill up, the likelier this is to happen.)
I can't tell you how satisfied I am with electronic cigarettes and how grateful I am to my friend for getting me started on them. So far, I figure I've already saved about 40 bucks. My lungs feel 100 times better, I feel less winded and most importantly, I love not smelling like a stale ashtray all the time.
Seriously though, we still have to do something about this "vaping" word.
