So, it's been about six weeks since I started using a PV. I didn't really switch to quit - I switched to switch. I got tired of coughing and getting hangdog looks from my husband, stepkids, and mother. My dad smokes like a chimney, so there was never any judgment there, although I'm sure he'd prefer I didn't smoke. You know how it is.
I started out with a 510 pass-through, since I did most of my smoking either while on the computer or driving (and I got an adapter to plug the PT in in the car). I smoked about 1.5 packs a day, although that amount was greatly increased depending on what I was doing: long drives, stressful times, or videogames. Gaming was the worst, since I would basically just have a cigarette lit the entire time so I could take a drag whenever the moment presented itself, and I ended up burning down more cigarettes than I smoked. Inevitably, after a night of feverish gaming, I'd cough myself to sleep and wake up feeling like 16 kinds of crap, with that deep lung ache that announced that you'd overdone it.
After about two weeks with the PT, I got my first KR8. In the beginning, I didn't want to deal with the charging of the batteries and having to have two just in case, and I still wasn't sure if I wanted to fully commit to exclusively using the PV. I went for the KR8 because I figured I'd try a different model for the hell of it. I got an automatic, which I still don't really like - I'm always really worried about getting liquid into the battery, and I don't like having to primer puff. I got a kit with two, and as soon as I had a "walkaround" model I found myself smoking analogs much, much less.
Pretty quickly, I got sick of the short battery life and decided to get a Riva. I didn't (and don't) want something too big and heavy, and this seemed like the way to go. I'm still mostly using cartomizers (holy crap did I go through a lot in the first couple of weeks while I tried to get the hang of it all, and I'm reluctant to throw any of the old ones away yet), although I used my first atty and cart when I got the Riva and really enjoy the flavor. I tried a zillion types of liquid and I have to say that the sweets are just too sweet for me and I could never vape them all day, although some (like VaporBomb Green Apple) are truly delicious. Once I discovered RY4 (yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!) I found my all-day vape, so I stick to that and Ms. T's coffee. Now that I've finally gotten myself into a rhythm with all the gear and maintenance and don't feel so overwhelmed by the chemistry of it all, I feel like I can really assess the differences and what makes it easy - and difficult - to use a PV instead of smoking. So here it is.
What I don't miss:
The Stink. In my clothes, in my hair, in my carpet and furniture and drapes. The cats narrowing their eyes and jumping out of my lap. The dogs sniffing the air and sneezing. My husband trying (halfheartedly) to be subtle while he waved the smoke away.
The Burning. I specialized in Doc Gonzo-style clenching of the cigarette between the teeth or lips, so consequently I burned pieces off all the hair around my face. There would always be a special shift between the sound of the cigarette burning when it touched my hair and sizzled some of it away. I burned a hole in one of my favorite shirts. Pieces of ember would drop off my cigarette and onto the carpet, making pretty, stinky little caramelized nylon nubbins. Occasionally, I would sear a little bit of the skin around my mouth when I hands-free smoked a cigarette down to the filter (damn games!).
The Ash. This should be number one. Ash everywhere, and it's really the ash that stinks. I didn't - and still don't - mind the smell of cigarette smoke, but ash ... reeks. And it would get everywhere and is so much more resilient than most people think - it would float into my hair, lay on the furniture, ball up in the corners of a room. Because of both The Ash and The Burning, I could never drive with my driver's side window down.
The Coughing and the Ache. I smoked for 25 years. Jeezum crow. But it was only in the last year that I started coughing - that dry, unproductive cough that doesn't stop and is that horrible, shameful hallmark of a long-time smoker that ends up in all the stereotypes. Wake myself up coughing. Start coughing in the middle of a meeting and have to leave the room. Laugh and cough. And both the awful coughing and the excessive smoking led to the ache in the lungs that makes it impossible to take a deep breath. No one likes to be reminded, with such painful accuracy, that they are killing themselves.
The Cost. 'Nuff said.
And what I do miss:
Ease of Use. I don't generally like complicated things, and this was a real hurdle to choosing PVs, especially in the beginning. Getting all the little bottles and wires and batteries and parts and pieces sorted out, charged, filled, and ready. Nothing is easier than pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one up. With the PV, you have to be sure that you've got at least two batteries charged, and all your carts and/or cartos filled up. You have to bring extra cartos with you, along with a paper towel or tissue (the most crucial component of any self-respecting PV kit), and your juice, too. Sure, I've got a cute little first aid kit bag that I got on clearance at Staples for $1, and it's got cartos and batteries and q-tips and my mouthpiece remover (one of the arms of a binder clip; perfect for the job) and a usb charger for the KR8 and the case and COME ON HOW MANY PARTS DO I NEED?!?
Knowing When to Stop. Cigarettes are nice in that they have a start point and end point. You need to willfully overdo it by chainsmoking, and even that would more often produce a sore throat and a nasty taste in the mouth than shaking hands and a racing heart. This may be the main problem with tasty vapor - you enjoy the deliciousness, so you take a vape. And another. And another. And before you know it, you're literally buzzing. I still overdo it by accident, both because of the nice flavors and the longer time it takes to feel the effect of the nicotine. I almost wish the PV would beep or something after 6 minutes so you'd put it down.
Simplicity. You chose a cigarette brand you liked, and you smoked that. End of story. With the myriad of flavors - and the variations in those flavors produced by a bunch of good liquid companies - you could search out your all-day vape for months. Too many choices sometimes leads to paralysis, and this can be an obstacle for someone who is really hoping PVs will help them quit.
Cigarette Breaks. Most of us get so little time to ourselves that smokers almost had an advantage: we had a recognizable, if not always condoned, excuse to walk away for some me-time every now and then. At work? Walk outside! See the sun! Breathe the (cough) air! Move around! The cigarette breaks themselves became almost as important a ritual for me as the smoking during the breaks, and I'm trying to keep them. I shouldn't feel guilty or need an excuse to take some time for myself, at home or at work or wherever.
So that's how I'm feeling, for now. Will I keep it up? I still don't know, but I can't see it getting any more difficult from here. If I do go back to smoking analogs exclusively (I still have maybe one or two a week), it will be because of laziness (or, god forbid, a ban). But I'm enjoying it now, and I'm willing to keep going. Ask me again in another six weeks.
I started out with a 510 pass-through, since I did most of my smoking either while on the computer or driving (and I got an adapter to plug the PT in in the car). I smoked about 1.5 packs a day, although that amount was greatly increased depending on what I was doing: long drives, stressful times, or videogames. Gaming was the worst, since I would basically just have a cigarette lit the entire time so I could take a drag whenever the moment presented itself, and I ended up burning down more cigarettes than I smoked. Inevitably, after a night of feverish gaming, I'd cough myself to sleep and wake up feeling like 16 kinds of crap, with that deep lung ache that announced that you'd overdone it.
After about two weeks with the PT, I got my first KR8. In the beginning, I didn't want to deal with the charging of the batteries and having to have two just in case, and I still wasn't sure if I wanted to fully commit to exclusively using the PV. I went for the KR8 because I figured I'd try a different model for the hell of it. I got an automatic, which I still don't really like - I'm always really worried about getting liquid into the battery, and I don't like having to primer puff. I got a kit with two, and as soon as I had a "walkaround" model I found myself smoking analogs much, much less.
Pretty quickly, I got sick of the short battery life and decided to get a Riva. I didn't (and don't) want something too big and heavy, and this seemed like the way to go. I'm still mostly using cartomizers (holy crap did I go through a lot in the first couple of weeks while I tried to get the hang of it all, and I'm reluctant to throw any of the old ones away yet), although I used my first atty and cart when I got the Riva and really enjoy the flavor. I tried a zillion types of liquid and I have to say that the sweets are just too sweet for me and I could never vape them all day, although some (like VaporBomb Green Apple) are truly delicious. Once I discovered RY4 (yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!) I found my all-day vape, so I stick to that and Ms. T's coffee. Now that I've finally gotten myself into a rhythm with all the gear and maintenance and don't feel so overwhelmed by the chemistry of it all, I feel like I can really assess the differences and what makes it easy - and difficult - to use a PV instead of smoking. So here it is.
What I don't miss:
The Stink. In my clothes, in my hair, in my carpet and furniture and drapes. The cats narrowing their eyes and jumping out of my lap. The dogs sniffing the air and sneezing. My husband trying (halfheartedly) to be subtle while he waved the smoke away.
The Burning. I specialized in Doc Gonzo-style clenching of the cigarette between the teeth or lips, so consequently I burned pieces off all the hair around my face. There would always be a special shift between the sound of the cigarette burning when it touched my hair and sizzled some of it away. I burned a hole in one of my favorite shirts. Pieces of ember would drop off my cigarette and onto the carpet, making pretty, stinky little caramelized nylon nubbins. Occasionally, I would sear a little bit of the skin around my mouth when I hands-free smoked a cigarette down to the filter (damn games!).
The Ash. This should be number one. Ash everywhere, and it's really the ash that stinks. I didn't - and still don't - mind the smell of cigarette smoke, but ash ... reeks. And it would get everywhere and is so much more resilient than most people think - it would float into my hair, lay on the furniture, ball up in the corners of a room. Because of both The Ash and The Burning, I could never drive with my driver's side window down.
The Coughing and the Ache. I smoked for 25 years. Jeezum crow. But it was only in the last year that I started coughing - that dry, unproductive cough that doesn't stop and is that horrible, shameful hallmark of a long-time smoker that ends up in all the stereotypes. Wake myself up coughing. Start coughing in the middle of a meeting and have to leave the room. Laugh and cough. And both the awful coughing and the excessive smoking led to the ache in the lungs that makes it impossible to take a deep breath. No one likes to be reminded, with such painful accuracy, that they are killing themselves.
The Cost. 'Nuff said.
And what I do miss:
Ease of Use. I don't generally like complicated things, and this was a real hurdle to choosing PVs, especially in the beginning. Getting all the little bottles and wires and batteries and parts and pieces sorted out, charged, filled, and ready. Nothing is easier than pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one up. With the PV, you have to be sure that you've got at least two batteries charged, and all your carts and/or cartos filled up. You have to bring extra cartos with you, along with a paper towel or tissue (the most crucial component of any self-respecting PV kit), and your juice, too. Sure, I've got a cute little first aid kit bag that I got on clearance at Staples for $1, and it's got cartos and batteries and q-tips and my mouthpiece remover (one of the arms of a binder clip; perfect for the job) and a usb charger for the KR8 and the case and COME ON HOW MANY PARTS DO I NEED?!?
Knowing When to Stop. Cigarettes are nice in that they have a start point and end point. You need to willfully overdo it by chainsmoking, and even that would more often produce a sore throat and a nasty taste in the mouth than shaking hands and a racing heart. This may be the main problem with tasty vapor - you enjoy the deliciousness, so you take a vape. And another. And another. And before you know it, you're literally buzzing. I still overdo it by accident, both because of the nice flavors and the longer time it takes to feel the effect of the nicotine. I almost wish the PV would beep or something after 6 minutes so you'd put it down.
Simplicity. You chose a cigarette brand you liked, and you smoked that. End of story. With the myriad of flavors - and the variations in those flavors produced by a bunch of good liquid companies - you could search out your all-day vape for months. Too many choices sometimes leads to paralysis, and this can be an obstacle for someone who is really hoping PVs will help them quit.
Cigarette Breaks. Most of us get so little time to ourselves that smokers almost had an advantage: we had a recognizable, if not always condoned, excuse to walk away for some me-time every now and then. At work? Walk outside! See the sun! Breathe the (cough) air! Move around! The cigarette breaks themselves became almost as important a ritual for me as the smoking during the breaks, and I'm trying to keep them. I shouldn't feel guilty or need an excuse to take some time for myself, at home or at work or wherever.
So that's how I'm feeling, for now. Will I keep it up? I still don't know, but I can't see it getting any more difficult from here. If I do go back to smoking analogs exclusively (I still have maybe one or two a week), it will be because of laziness (or, god forbid, a ban). But I'm enjoying it now, and I'm willing to keep going. Ask me again in another six weeks.
