Fear of replacing one addiction with another

[Stargel]

One day one step at a time drop the dose adjust to it enjoy it for a bit drop it again let yourself realize that time takes time. you'll get there and with 0 nicotine flavors available why worry on quitting completely. You will find yourself picking it up less and less Good luck

 

[MickeyRat]

You definitely are not replacing one addiction with another because it's the same addiction. You are choosing what appears to be a healthier way to satisfy it. Besides there are other substances in cigarettes that are at least suspected to contribute to the addiction. So, you are giving up something.

 

[grandmato5]

Congrats on switching to vaping. You haven't had an analog in 4 weeks and that is something you should feel good about. Enjoy that success and try to stop looking for something negative. Right now you've chosen an alternative way to still enjoy some nicotine and the actions of smoking but eliminate many of the negatives of smoking. That is something you've not been able to succeed at in the past so enjoy your success right now.

At some point in the future I'd like to stop vaping but I have no idea when or if that day will come. I'm addicted to the actions of smoking which my PV's allow me to enjoy. As long as vaping prevents me from returning to smoking I couldn't be happier at the moment. I do know without a doubt that IF I do ever give up vaping I will always have a PV available if the urge to light up a cigarette should rear its ugly head and that I considered a very very good thing.

 

[Tamster]

Wow! I am a member of a couple of other fora, and usually make an effort to personally reply to those who post on my threads. However, this place is hoppin' with friendly people, and I couldn't possibly do each one of you justice, individually, so:

Thank you to everyone -- and I do mean every one of you -- who has taken the time to share their thoughts & experiences with me!

Only one-month into vaping, and I can carry groceries up the stairs without huffing and puffing! So, yes, it is definitely a step in the right direction! And sometimes, I even wonder, "Hmmm... it feels like I'm missing something..." and then realize I haven't vaped for a few hours -- so, yes, at the low-nicotine levels, it doesn't seem to have nearly the same hold on me as analogs did. With those, I'd be well aware of what I missing, and obsess about it until I finally sucked one down. Vaping at low-nic levels has made a gigantic difference in my life, already!

Thanks, y'all!

 

[swedishfish]

Relax and enjoy! And be proud of yourself.

 

[GreenTeaIsForMe]

I like the addiction!

 

[kabonk]

I have found that without the add chemicals that big tabaco puts in cigarettes the nicotine is less addicting. when I smoked if I had to go more then 1 1/2 with out a smoke I would start to get cranky and really crave it now that I'm vaping I can go all day without it without thinking about it.

 

[ScottinSoCal]

Even people who don't smoke and aren't nic-fiends have dependencies - it just so happens that our dependency is socially unacceptable.

Amen. I have several, and they're all stress relief for me. I putter in the garage. I browse the intertubes. I post on forums. I restore old cars. I build furniture. And while I'm doing all those things, I vape, and all of them keep me from going postal when someone is tapdancing on my last nerve.

 

[Sandybeach40]

Some people who smoke will go most of there short lives without ever considering the damage they are doing to there self. Then there are people like me and you. We know the dangers and yet are overwhelmed by are addiction and spend everyday as a slave to it. I know that both my Grandfathers died at young ages due to a heavy smoking habit. One died at 35 he was a 5 pack a day smoker and I never met him. The other died at the age of 55. He was a heavy smoker and a alcoholic who died a horrible and painful death from throat cancer. My mother and father both smoke. My mother barely 50 has suffered from COPD for 10 years now. My father 55 years old just suffered a massive heart attack a few weeks back. The surgeon who worked on him told me that in no uncertain terms it was smoking that brought this on to my father.

I guess my point here to you is this. Smoking is a terrible habit that will ruin your life in one way or another. I have been vaping for over a year now and I feel alot better since I started. I am no longer a slave to big tobacco and taxation. I dont put out my PV and feel regret like I did when I was smoking. I dont worry that I stink like and ashtray any longer. The best thing about me and my wife switching to vaping is that my kids no longer have to be subjected to my second hand smoke. Think of me what you may but I was raised in a house where my parents smoked several packs a day and some days I had trouble seeing through the smoke to get my shoes on for school. I followed in there foot steps exactly. I and my wife smoked a few packs a day without regard for are children's safety. We have both switched to Ecigs and I can really really really see a difference in my son and daughters allergies. And breathing.

Don't worry about the fact your switch from one addiction to another. I read a very interesting article from a swiss research study a while back. There scientist found that some people are incapable of quiting smoking or using nicotine in any short amount of time. There studies showed that it could take years for someone to break there analog habit with the use of nicotine replacement therapy. The proof is there that this is a fact. Look at all the people who tried patches or gums or any other form of replacement. I firmly believe you have to become a vaporer completely. You have to move from the im a smoker using Ecigs to quit to I a smoker who is choosing to become a vaporer mentality.

Have fun and enjoy vaping. After all, It is the future as long as it doesnt kill anyone.

 

[RichardLOZ]

Hi Tamster, I sure know what you mean. I have smoked for about 28 years as has my wife. Our kids have been begging us to give up for years, and I had tried many times with the longest lasting about 11 months or so. My wife had never tried, as just the thought of giving up would have her chewing her arms off and reaching for another smoke.

Well 7 weeks in now I feel better, and as you I have found that I can now walk up stairs without puffing and feeling like crap etc. Will I do this forever? Who knows, but what I do know is that it has to be better than smoking, of that I am 100% sure. Unfortunately my wife is having reactions to both PG & VG (or perhaps nic, or nickel in the attys, who knows, but we are working through a process of elimination right now) and she hopes to be able to get back to vaping also.

Definitely noticing the health benefits and to some degree the cost benefits (just have to stay away from those mods).

Good luck in your journey and it is going to be quite different for each of us.

Cheers

Richard

 

[Tamster]

Dear Dockholiday:

Your family history is heartbreaking! Thank you for taking the time to post a reply, and for reinforcing my desire to move forward. You have broken the pattern of self-destructive-behavior in your family -- what a tremendous move forward; very brave and definitely to be commended!

Best to you and yours, always,
Tam

 

[DerekUrban]

I don't think of it as "Switching one addiction for the other," it's the same addiction... Vaping just makes it tasty, and healthier!

Don't stress too much, it sounds like you're actually doing great.

Edit: Posted, and had an afterthought. Keep in mind that Analog cigarettes are a nicotine addiction, but there's quite a few other elements added in by beloved Big Tobacco companies that are there purely to make Analog Cigarettes more addictive. When you were smoking cigs you were actually addicted to much more than nicotine, hence why we still crave Cigarettes for a while after taking up Vaping. With that in mind, I'd argue that that you should instead ask yourself is this: "Do I want to replace an unidentifiable number of addictions with a healthier version of one of them?"

And that, I hope, isn't a fearful question.

 

[Teke507]

I find even though I'm vaping all day I still felt the craving for an analog but I resisted now 10 days later I crave less but when I do The ecig satisfies me more and more everyday I use it. I don't know if I ever quite ecigs but as long as I don't go back to analogs my body is already thanking me...

 

[BB3]

Tamster-
I have to admit, I had some of the same concerns. Was this really healthier or merely a justification for my weakness in not being able to put down the analogs despite knowing they were slowly killing me. I still don't know what the science will ultimately show but the guilt ended or me when my nine year old daughter asked last night, completely unsolicited, why my breathing was "funny." On further questioning I figured out he meant she wasn't hearing me wheeze with every breath. That's an eye opener after only 15 days. So, substituting addictions or not, I'm OK with the tradeoff. And maybe I'll now get to see her graduate from college sans wheelchair and oxygen tank.

Vape on without guilt--it's better than here we were.