I love smoking

[BillyWJ]

Like you, I don'I'm want to quit. Like some here, I'm finding the transition to vaping to be more difficult than I think it should be. I see that plenty have made the transition relatively easy.

I'm here to find out why I'm having so much trouble. I'm a light smoker. Pall Mall menthol, Less than 7 cigarettes a day. I've tried several ecig variations & nothing comes close to the simple experience of a single cigarette.

The fake cigarette looking jobs don't settle the nerves, like I'm not getting equivalent nicotine regardless how many drags I take.

I just bought a Millennium E-Go. Tried an 11mg kiwi flavor & I couldn't taste anything. Now I'm on a 24mg Apple Sin flavor & while the taste is great I woke up with the worst throat ache I ever experienced. After 1 day.

I had been on the patch for a little more than a month. 24mg & only smoked 1 cigarette a day for the last two weeks.

Lurking here I've come to realize there are many ways to create my own liquid that may solve the throat aches... but it sounds too confusing & I'm afraid ill be experimenting for a long, long time.

I tried the non inhaling method, keeping the smoke out of my lungs but still find myself craving at least one cigarette.

Inhaling gets me closer to the smoking experience I enjoy.


Any of you guys have difficulty making the switch? What was your EurekAlert moment?

I'm lucky, i got into this to try and quit smoking - i was ready to do it, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that vaping will let me continue to use nicotine - which I do enjoy - until I'm ready to stop.

Cravings are tricky things, especially with smoking, you have to hit all the numbers - flavor, nicotine, vapor, throat hit. That's why the cheap disposable and Blus don't really work, they're not strong enough to deliver the vapor and throat hit of a real cigarette.

Your sore throat could simply be your throat getting used to a pretty high level of nicotine, vapor, and the flavoring. I would simply wait and see a couple more days, and see if it goes away. We all react differently to switching from cigarettes, and your throat isn't used to vapor yet - it took me a couple days of coughing, a slight pressure in my chest and headaches to go away.

Maybe try a smoother, mellower flavor, as well. Apple Sin might be just too much right now.

I agree that 24 might be too much for you, too. Who are you buying liquid from? A lot of the kit flavors tend to not be very good.

Anyway, keep going on your attempt, you just have to find the right combination of gear and strength and flavor, and you'll forget all about cigarettes.

 

[Bunnykiller]

it took me about 6 months to make the transition from 2 packs a day to 1 ciggie a day... eventually the 1 ciggie a day will go too...

 

[BCRich2204]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Seems I made a poor assumption. I figured vaping replaced smoking right away. I got into it thinking that I'm not quitting smoking, just smoking a different way.

Got some good advice from your replies, the, "don't think of the cigarette you're smoking, think about all the ones you aren't." was very good.

To clear some things up, I don't have a headache (at least I didn't at the time of the OP). My throat aches. My two biggest issues with vaping so far, is my throat hurts & I'm blaming the vape. I've been smoking 1 or two cigarettes a day for at least 3 weeks, thanks to the patch. But I've been off the patch for about 4 days now, I maintained the 1 to 2 cigs a day, now I'm trying to add vaping, because I don't "really" want to quit.

1st thing in the morning, well, after I wash-up, get dressed, grab my coffee, jump in the car & start rolling down the street.... that first drag is heaven. That's about 5:30 in the morning. I smoke another one on the way home, 3:30 in the afternoon, it's good, but nothing like that first one. On my off days, pretty much the same thing. I grab my coffee, the paper, & a Pall Mall. Smoke on the patio, about 6:00 in the morning (yeah, I sleep in a little). Then I'll have another one late in the afternoon.

The hardest time for me to resist the urge, is when I'm driving. However, since I've never smoked with anyone else in the car, it's not that bad. Just got to make sure I got someone riding shotgun.

I'll try to order some more liquids, menthol, 11mg & some 0mg & see how that goes. Although, experimenting today I think I might have solved my own problem. I noticed the hit to my throat only happens when I inhale directly into my lungs. When I exhale & breath real quick through my nose, it's pretty close to smoking a cigarette. So I've been pulling a lot of vapor into my mouth, then opening my mouth while puling the vapor through my nose.... now I'm getting a headache. May be because of all the weird breathing, may be because I'm getting all 24mg of nicotine, where I wasn't when I wasn't inhaling.

 

[BCRich2204]

The Millennium E-Go is a Chinese knock-off thing I got from a convenience store. $10, I bought their brand of eLiquid, one at 11mg & the other at 24mg. I'll admit they aren't anything fancy, but I don't roll my own cigarettes & don't plan on building my own rig. It's cheap, looks like it's readily available, if I wear out the one I got, I'll just buy another. One cool thing about it, is the battery has three power levels & they do appear to have a big affect on the vapor quality.

So tomorrow, I'm going to go to a smoke shop we've got down here & see what kind of eLiquids they've got, I might order some on line, we'll see. But going to the shop, I'll see what kind of rigs they've got. If I find something I like better, maybe I'll buy a new one. But... I'm a simple man.

Thanks for all your replies.

 

[doctadrea]

I craved cigarettes like crazy when I first started vaping. Wound up having a few a day for a month or so. Then I just stopped... I don't even remember when. I wasn't craving cigarettes anymore and forgot to smoke any. Now I just vape. If a friend offers me a cigarette, I'll still smoke it and enjoy it, but that isn't often and is no biggie.

 

[duroSIG556R]

Keep in mind, you're not getting a ton of nicotine intake from inhaling, like you would a cigarette. The mouth/nose/lung combination is where it's at.

 

[The Ministry]

Drink plenty of water, too. I find my throat starts to really hurt if I chain vape without a drink.

Vaping is known to dehydrate you - and might be contributing to the sore throat. Just a thought, and harmless to try and see if it works

Some people (like me) started vaping and immediately ditched the smellies. I still have a 50g pouch of tobacco in the car which is just sitting there. Got no desire to smoke it, but equally don't feel the need to throw it out (never know when someone might run out and need a lend!)

I smoked upper end of 30 rollups a day and found 24mg was too much. I rolled them thin and probably smoked half at best, so dropped to 18, and now on 12mg. I may be you are just taking onboard too much nicotine which is causing an unpleasant experience.

I hope you crack it though, vaping (and this community) has literally saved my life, it's worth sticking and trying everything to find the right "blend"

 

[yzer]

I used to inhale when I smoked so I tried that with vaping. Didn't work. I'd cough every time. It turned out that PG didn't work well with me. I had no trouble inhaling VG to the lungs and eliminated PG entirely from my juice.

Everyone is different. Most people have no problem inhaling PG to the lungs. Now that I've been vaping quite a while I actually don't inhale to the lungs very often. I hold the vapor in the mouth and exhale through the nose a lot.

The sore throat is often a symptom of smoking cessation. Whether you quit entirely or cut down dramatically sore throat often follows. Same goes for mouth ulcers and coughing.

 

[Chicken Menudo]

I LOVE tobacco. I love dip, chew, smokes, cigars, and hookahs (never really got into pipes). I've been been a 1-3 packs-a-day smoker (Camel Lights, regular Camels, or unfiltered Lucky Strikes depending on my “give-a-damn” factor).

I picked up some e-cigs about 6 months ago (V2 Cigs). HATED them. Went right back to smoking. Then, actually within the past week, I found myself out of smokes. It was either nicotine gum (not for quitting, for air travel), a re-burn, or my e-cig. So, I decided to bust out the e-cig only this time, I found myself using it correctly. I can't remember what spurred me to take a slow drag vice trying to hit hard but wish I had read a damn tutorial when I first got them. I noticed I kind of enjoyed it so I figured I'd use this as an opportunity to quit. Well, the following day I had smoke and it made me feel like horrid (not in an emotional, I failed myself sort of way). I also started to dislike the taste. Dislike the taste!? I've been smoking/dipping/chewing for 15 years and today I don't like the taste? Well, THAT was my eureka moment.

For all you out there saying “V2s?!” Yeah, yeah. I know. I just upgraded to Halo Tritons... well, I hope I “upgraded.”

 

[Dana A]

I had the sore throat too at 1st. I nearly quit vaping and went back to analogs because of it. In the end I realized it was 2 things giving me the sore throat, lungs and tongue. My nicotine was too high I needed about 20 mg and I was using 26. I smoked more then 2 packs a day before my vaping journey began. I was also using a liquid that had 80% PG. I lowered my nic down and used a 50% PG 50% VG mix liquid and never had another sore throat. I hope this helps. I have been exactly where you are now and it's no picnic. Don't give up. I promise you this IS the way to have your cake and eat it too. You just have to figure out what nic strength you need. I am going to say six mg is where you need to start and go up from there as needed. A good thing you can do is order a bottle of something you like in 0 mg nic as well as 12 mg. Then you can cut the nic down if need be by adding some 0 to it. That ensures that you will get enough nic and you can cut it down bit by bit to see what ratio gives you enough nic but doesn't give you that wretched sore throat.

 

[Dana A]

You can download this calculator for mixing liquids together. Do like 3 ml batches at a time.
eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator

 

[Rail it]

I agree so much...I just love smoking. I smoked a pack a day of Newports for 15+ years up until 1/3/14 when I bought my 1st e cig, ego-c twist with a vivi nova. The smoke shop warned me but I still picked out the 24mg menthol juice and it freakin' burned! I vaped it until getting my first custom juice, 24mg 65 pg 35 vg menthol from an online vendor....and enjoyed it!! I ended up figuring out that the 24mg was a little too much for even an aqua lungs kinda guy like me because I got a headache every now and then and just didn't feel right. I just started 18mg, same ratio, and love it! May even try a little lower next order. I tell you what, I haven't had 1 cigarette since the day I bought that ego!!! But it's certainly not without some challenge. However, this is the greatest thing ever! Hang in there BC Rich. Find the right juice and it could make a world of difference for you...not even getting into all the upgradable hardware yet. Got my Innokin itaste VV3, PT II, and a couple iclear 16's coming Tuesday. Can't wait!

 

[archanie]

Ive been using ecigs on and off since 2008 - each time I failed to stay off the stinkies and went back on them. This time around its so much easier - the important bit for me is firstly the right equipment - its got to have enough oomph for you to think 'thats fab' everytime you take a drag. 2nd is the right nicotine level - if you still want stinkies then you need to take more drags/up the nicotine or make sure you are using your equipment correctly and 3rd is the juice try stuff you don't think you will like - you might be surprised not all juices are equal and everyone likes something different!

Sent by the power of vape

 

[Dana A]

You really should consider some advice from other vapers around here before you spend any more money on set ups. We can help you get a good unit for your needs at the lowest price if your willing to order online. If you keep vaping you will end up ordering online for sure because that's where all the good stuff is LOL.

 

[Plumes.91]

The MORE you smoked, the LESS you should want to use 24mg juice, because it'll give you a headache if you try to vape as much as you smoked. The LESS you smoked, the HIGHER the mg amount in your e-liquid, because you'll want your 5-10 vape sessions a day to do the trick for you. So for 1 to 2 pack a day smokers, 18mg is as high as you should need. (unless you want to decrease the amount of time it takes to get your fix, in that case, 24mg would be okay) For 5-10 a day smokers, 12 to 18 would be fine. I would start with 6 to 12.

 

[DetraMental]

Hello BCRich! Sounds like a lot of great advice has already been given, I loved smoking, absolutely loved it and as someone else posted worked my life around my smokes. It got to the point that I was getting annoyed by my smoking and my inability to control it. My health was deteriorating, esp. my breathing (lungs) and I finally had to quit. I bought a carton as I waited for my first ecig kit to come in the mail. A carton normally lasted me 5 days. Once my kit came in I found it lasted over 2 weeks. I didn't buy anymore cigarettes because I decided it's now or never. Other than a few cravings during my first 3-6 months it has been relatively easy. Yeah I went through all the leaky clearomizers and all that jazz but it didn't deter me, nor did the messy cartotanks (which I have finally mastered). I wanted to quit and vaping really worked. I hope you find what you're looking for. Good Luck and Happy Vaping!

 

[The Ministry]

Just noticed the name BCRich2204 - guitar player by any chance??

Ibanez PGM301/JS1000 here

 

[BillyWJ]

The MORE you smoked, the LESS you should want to use 24mg juice, because it'll give you a headache if you try to vape as much as you smoked. The LESS you smoked, the HIGHER the mg amount in your e-liquid, because you'll want your 5-10 vape sessions a day to do the trick for you. So for 1 to 2 pack a day smokers, 18mg is as high as you should need. (unless you want to decrease the amount of time it takes to get your fix, in that case, 24mg would be okay) For 5-10 a day smokers, 12 to 18 would be fine. I would start with 6 to 12.

I was a 2 pack a day smoker. If I'd started with 6-12 mg, I would still be smoking. What you're saying goes against almost everything ever posted here, everyone's nicotine levels starting out are different. Heavy smokers should try 18-24 to see if it squashes the cravings, even higher if necessary.

I vape 24mg all day, I haven't gotten a headache from it since I started out. That too is different for everyone.

 

[Rail it]

Just noticed the name BCRich2204 - guitar player by any chance??

Ibanez PGM301/JS1000 here

Noticed that myself, Shaunieboy. Just got an old cheap Squier from my highschool/college days hooked up to a nice Marshall combo. Ok sorry...way off topic here!!!

 

[Buggainok]

Hello BCRich! Sounds like a lot of great advice has already been given, I loved smoking, absolutely loved it and as someone else posted worked my life around my smokes. It got to the point that I was getting annoyed by my smoking and my inability to control it. My health was deteriorating, esp. my breathing (lungs) and I finally had to quit. I bought a carton as I waited for my first ecig kit to come in the mail. A carton normally lasted me 5 days. Once my kit came in I found it lasted over 2 weeks. I didn't buy anymore cigarettes because I decided it's now or never. Other than a few cravings during my first 3-6 months it has been relatively easy. Yeah I went through all the leaky clearomizers and all that jazz but it didn't deter me, nor did the messy cartotanks (which I have finally mastered). I wanted to quit and vaping really worked. I hope you find what you're looking for. Good Luck and Happy Vaping!

Detramental, you've been reading my mail! This is more or less my story, too. I still have (fond?) memories of the first time I smoked a cigarette all those eons ago. Somehow I didn't smoke, but all my friends did. I actually asked a girlfriend if she could "teach" me how to smoke. I remember thinking how great it was, and I literally stayed up all night that first night, smoking. So yes, I think I loved it too.

But eventually it was taking its toll and I knew it would only get worse. I am so happy to be free and vaping, instead of trapped and smoking.