Transitioning from smoking

[Orphiel]

Hi everyone.

New vaper here, stopped smoking analogs just over 2 weeks ago and then started vaping a couple of days later when the withdrawal and cravings got appalling. So far it's ok, but I do find myself really craving a cigarette sometimes (yesterday was pretty awful, and I felt like I needed one all day). I have had some issues with my set up and juice which I *think* I've worked out, but I've been reading loads of this forum and you're all so supportive that I thought actually joining and posting about it might be useful

So I have a few questions, I think they're mostly the normal newbie ones, sorry, but basically I think I need the support, experience and reassurance more than actual information!

1. I am feeling pretty ....ty and flu-ey, which I know is a really common thing after quitting cigs, but I'm confused about it because I thought it would happen straight after giving up, if I was going to get it, and it's only been the last couple of days. Anyone else had 'quitter's flu' this late on? Also my throat is starting to get sore, again I'm thinking just body getting rid of stuff and unrelated to actual vaping, as it's some way in, and I'm drinking loads of water (always did drink almost a litre of squash whilst smoking a cig, so didn't have to step up much tbh).
2. Getting nicotine levels right and feeling like I'm smoking a cigarette - I started off on the Aspire N30 with the nautilus X tank, but quickly switched to the nautilus 2 tank so I could vape high vg - found that even 50/50 pg/vg really irritated my throat, and I was just conscious of the taste of it in the back of my mouth all the time. As I switched tanks I went down from 12 mg to 6 mg of nicotine, but basically I feel like it's not cutting it, and I still want a cigarette after vaping for quite a while. I am currently using a 0.7 coil, and I have on order some 12 mg high vg vanilla liquid (all the current 12 mg I have is tobacco flavours, which I have worked out I can't stand!) I'm going to try this one in the current tank, but also have a 1.8 (I think) coil for it - what I don't know is whether it's the tank or the coil that makes a difference to being able to smoke high vg. I'm going to try it in the sub ohm coil to start off with and then if it's too much try the other coil - I know everyone says to drop down, and that more than 6mg will blow your head off, but I kind of want to vape like I smoked - e.g. vape for 5-10 mins every couple of hours - rather than chain-vape or do it all day. I'm still really chasing that kind of 'aaaah' instant satisfaction you get from the first cigarette during the day, and I think tbh I need to accept that that's not how vaping works and I'll get used to it, but that's pretty hard. I'm vaping quite a bit at 6mg, and I reckon that if I try 12 mg and it's too much the worst that'll happen is I'll feel sick for a bit and have to stop, and then at least I'll know.
I just basically still have a bunch of cravings, and I dunno if 12 mg on the 1.8 coil (if possible) will get me more than 6mg on the 0.7 coil, but it's frustrating trying things out because every time I have to wash out the tank and switch, etc, etc, and I know it's trial and error but I just want it to feel right, right now! I know that's unrealistic, which is part of the reason I decided to post here, thought it would be good to basically hear people saying 'keep going, you'll work it out, it gets better!' I had a couple of drags on a mate's cigarette a few days ago and immediately felt more satisfied (which made me think yeah, upping nicotine is prob the way to go) but on the bonus side it did taste disgusting!

Sorry for the wall of text, think I've been bottling that up, lol... Also I don't know which bits of info are important for you to know for advice, haha.

Orphiel

 

[Eskie]

Hi and welcome! A few things.

First, "quitters flu" is not uncommon. As your lungs and respiratory system is no longer being irritated by cigarette smoke, they start kicking out some of the crap you inhaled for x number of years. It will pass, and will improve, but you might have a cough for a few weeks as your airways keep pushing the stuff out (no, it won't get rid of all the stuff you've inhaled, but some).

Second, the Nauti 2 is a nice tank. Aspire coils have long been the "standard" for smokers to transition to. Don't worry too much about the 0.7 ohm coil being "subohm". It may take a bit higher wattage than the 1.8 ohm coils to perform well, but you will still not be breathing in and blowing big clouds of vapor.

As to the nic, you use whatever concentration you need to suppress the cravings. I started out at 24 mg, and it was some time before I dialed it down. Personally, I'd just use the 12 mg stuff, even with that 0.7 ohm coil. My bet is it won't blow your head off or anything. The lower nic level with subohm cloud making setups is you inhale more volume, so can absorb more nic. That tank and coil is really unlikely to give anywhere near the airflow needed for that to be an issue.

 

[gandymarsh]

Welcome to ECF!

It's very common to have strong cravings at first. Remember that vaping only provides nicotine, not the thousands of other chemical compounds and additives in cigarettes.

I started vaping over three years ago and had very strong cravings at first. I just vaped until I got a little nic sick. I even get occasional cravings now but not as severe.

Finding the right flavors might take some trial and error. It was the hardest part for me.

Don't give up!

 

[Orphiel]

Cheers, that's really reassuring, especially with the tank and coil info, it's hard as a newbie I think to grasp the difference between technically sub ohm on a small set up and the whole giant clouds super powered ones, heh, so when I see people talking about it I don't really know which thing they're talking about!
I considered getting wta liquid at one point because of the whole other amount of stuff in cigarettes but thought much better to just try to work through it (helps that I'm in the UK so anything would take ages to get here anyway). Good to know also finding flavours was hard for other people, I feel like I'm doing something wrong every time I don't like something, and have to keep telling myself that actually it's just a preference thing and doesn't mean there's, like, a problem with the set up, etc.

 

[sofarsogood]

Hi everyone.

New vaper here, stopped smoking analogs just over 2 weeks ago and then started vaping a couple of days later when the withdrawal and cravings got appalling. So far it's ok, but I do find myself really craving a cigarette sometimes (yesterday was pretty awful, and I felt like I needed one all day). I have had some issues with my set up and juice which I *think* I've worked out, but I've been reading loads of this forum and you're all so supportive that I thought actually joining and posting about it might be useful

So I have a few questions, I think they're mostly the normal newbie ones, sorry, but basically I think I need the support, experience and reassurance more than actual information!

1. I am feeling pretty ....ty and flu-ey, which I know is a really common thing after quitting cigs, but I'm confused about it because I thought it would happen straight after giving up, if I was going to get it, and it's only been the last couple of days. Anyone else had 'quitter's flu' this late on? Also my throat is starting to get sore, again I'm thinking just body getting rid of stuff and unrelated to actual vaping, as it's some way in, and I'm drinking loads of water (always did drink almost a litre of squash whilst smoking a cig, so didn't have to step up much tbh).
2. Getting nicotine levels right and feeling like I'm smoking a cigarette - I started off on the Aspire N30 with the nautilus X tank, but quickly switched to the nautilus 2 tank so I could vape high vg - found that even 50/50 pg/vg really irritated my throat, and I was just conscious of the taste of it in the back of my mouth all the time. As I switched tanks I went down from 12 mg to 6 mg of nicotine, but basically I feel like it's not cutting it, and I still want a cigarette after vaping for quite a while. I am currently using a 0.7 coil, and I have on order some 12 mg high vg vanilla liquid (all the current 12 mg I have is tobacco flavours, which I have worked out I can't stand!) I'm going to try this one in the current tank, but also have a 1.8 (I think) coil for it - what I don't know is whether it's the tank or the coil that makes a difference to being able to smoke high vg. I'm going to try it in the sub ohm coil to start off with and then if it's too much try the other coil - I know everyone says to drop down, and that more than 6mg will blow your head off, but I kind of want to vape like I smoked - e.g. vape for 5-10 mins every couple of hours - rather than chain-vape or do it all day. I'm still really chasing that kind of 'aaaah' instant satisfaction you get from the first cigarette during the day, and I think tbh I need to accept that that's not how vaping works and I'll get used to it, but that's pretty hard. I'm vaping quite a bit at 6mg, and I reckon that if I try 12 mg and it's too much the worst that'll happen is I'll feel sick for a bit and have to stop, and then at least I'll know.
I just basically still have a bunch of cravings, and I dunno if 12 mg on the 1.8 coil (if possible) will get me more than 6mg on the 0.7 coil, but it's frustrating trying things out because every time I have to wash out the tank and switch, etc, etc, and I know it's trial and error but I just want it to feel right, right now! I know that's unrealistic, which is part of the reason I decided to post here, thought it would be good to basically hear people saying 'keep going, you'll work it out, it gets better!' I had a couple of drags on a mate's cigarette a few days ago and immediately felt more satisfied (which made me think yeah, upping nicotine is prob the way to go) but on the bonus side it did taste disgusting!

Sorry for the wall of text, think I've been bottling that up, lol... Also I don't know which bits of info are important for you to know for advice, haha.

Orphiel

I can mostly concur with comments above. Also, I find vaping does not seem to irritate my lungs but there is some throat irritation. I was a dual user intentionally for 6 weeks to give myself a chance to learn how too vape, figure out hardware, liquid, etc. If you haven't smoked for a couple of weeks you are in a good place.

I found all the pre mix liquids not satisfying because the flavoring is TOO STRONG!. Today I mix with 1% flavoring and 10-12mg nic, at 50-50 pg/vg. There is a learning curve with vaping. Be patiient. Over time you'll adjust to vaping and cigarettes will smell and taste terrible. When you get to that point you probably won't go back to smoking even if you smoked one. One of my relapses back to smoking came after 10 years. There's zero chance of that happening today as long as I can vape and may be even if I don't vape, not sure about that second part.

Vaping didn't simply help me quit, it cures me of any desire to smoke but it took a few months to get to that point.

 

[gandymarsh]

Yeah, it might be worth trying unflavored juice.

 

[VictorC]

Welcome to ECF and keep it up!

I am smoke free for over 2 years now and still keeping couple of pens with 50mg for emergency situations, gives me immediate satisfaction.

Check this sub forum:
Vape Pod Systems

 

[Orphiel]

Yeah I think part of the issue is that I really want vaping to be as good as smoking like *right away* and I get discouraged really easily when it's not, even though logically I know it's going to take a while and there's a learning curve. I have ADHD also so I'm not good at being patient, haha. I might get some unflavored juice and try that, or thinning out the flavours I have, that's an idea.
It's good to see people saying that it took them a while, and the same with cravings, because otherwise I think it's something I'm doing wrong

 

[Orphiel]

Welcome to ECF and keep it up!

I am smoke free for over 2 years now and still keeping couple of pens with 50mg for emergency situations, gives me immediate satisfaction.

Check this sub forum:
Vape Pod Systems

I'm intrigued by those because I did think actually I could maybe do one strength in the morning for that first big hit and then different during the rest of the day, and having a separate system seems easier than changing liquids, but I think mostly they run on a lot of pg and so might be really harsh, tbh.

 

[Eskie]

Remember, vaping will never fully recreate the smoking experience. If you keep chasing that you'll get frustrated. The whole thing is first, know how much nic you need to not feel like you have to have a cig right there, and second one or more flavors you like. That is pure preference and what I like you may not. The fun part is lining up all the bottles as you figure it out. The new UK regs will be a bit helpful for you at the beginning as it won't be hard to find 10 ml bottles to test with before buying up a bunch. Then again, once you figure it out you'll just be buying lots of little bottles instead of one larger.

After a bit, especially when you have a juice you like, you'll find yourself vaping as much for that as the need for nic.

 

[Orphiel]

Yeah, I think I need to give up chasing that, but it's been a while realising it! I kind of thought I could just swap over and it would feel the same, which obvs isn't the case. Also re: quitter's flu - finally put two and two together and actually took some cold and flu pills for the symptoms and feel much better, lol!
I am finding the regs a bit annoying at the moment, because the local shops are actually selling off all their bigger bottles before moving on to the TPD compliant ones, haha, should have done it a week later really! Also my local vape shop is pretty useful for advice, they have been great at troubleshooting and encouragement, but don't stock anything other than about 2 flavours in 6 mg high vg, let alone 12 mg. I think that might change when they get new stock in, hopefully.

 

[BlueMoods]

Cigarettes have hundreds of chemicals in them. In reality nicotine alone is about as addictive as caffeine so, chances are there is something else in cigarettes ramping up the addiction, or causing one that we don't even know about.

Vaping won't replace that unknown factor but, it does replace the nicotine and, the desire to go through the motions similar to smoking. It also tastes great once you get your favorite flavors figured out - hey nicotine, something to do and, tasty snack all in one small device - cool beanz.

 

[OlderNDirt]

Welcome aboard, @Orphiel, both to the board and your quitting the smokes adventure!

Each of us deals with the smoking demon with what works for us....and there are many different ways. But I think for all of us, not letting that little mess with our minds was most important. It is a struggle not letting it convince you a smoke is the only means of "getting your fix." With that said, a couple tips that helped me with the transition:

I, too, wanted something to duplicate smoking. For me, that was 20 years of stepping outside for a smoke. That would be 15 to 18 drags in about 5 minutes, then do that every hour or so. I soon found that didn't work for me vaping, that it was much better taking those drags throughout that hour or so period. Before I knew it, I only needed 8 or 10 hits and sometimes just a few. Yes, a lot depends on one's daily schedule. But if you can only vape once every hour or two, don't let that demon convince you to get in all the hits you can on that break.

Find at least a couple flavors that you won't give up for a smoke. That demon will try to convince you they don't exist, but they are there....you just need to find them. Open up to every option of flavors. I restricted myself way too much when I started.....had to be tobacco flavor since that would duplicate smoking. Now I have found that something the label indicated I wouldn't like turn out to be some of my favorites. It is a bit of a long process, even never ending, but I still run across a new flavor that takes the place of a prior favorite. But that is what I like about vaping, the variety!

I'm getting a bit winded here, so will end with:

Get yourself a back-up (or two ), be it a duplicate of what you have or try something a little different. Load the two tanks up with different flavors, nic %, or both. Use whatever you need to get you through your current situation. Before you know it, it may just be for changing flavors since you have found your good nic level.

And ignore that demon and vape on! Good luck!

 

[Stewart Jarvis-Grove]

That's a good point Eskie makes. Vaping will never fully recreate the smoking experience. I was one of the lucky few who preferred vaping over smoking immediately so I've not craved a cigarette since my first vape. I had discovered something better!

I started on a juice that was way too strong for me looking back on it now but the main thing is that it worked and i liked it it.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[Carl2]

I use to smoke a pipe while drinking my morning coffee, then I developed a cough when I smoked in the morning and decided it was time to go to vaping. I started at 18 mg as a friend suggested, I didn't feel like I needed tobacco after vaping. Since I had many more problems smoking tobacco it was relativity easy to replace it with vaping.

 

[Orphiel]

Cheers all for the advice and encouragement I am definitely looking forward to my 12 mg liquid coming tomorrow, as I think that will work better, also when I hopefully go down a nic level I can mix it with my current 6 mg ones as vanilla should work with all or most of them, so at least I won't waste them
OlderNDirt, really appreciated your story, sounds a lot like me! I was at the start doing the exact same thing, trying to replicate those 5 minute breaks every hour, and going slowly crazy and getting more and more hacked off, haha. I am lucky because I work from home and can vape in the office, because yay, doesn't make the house smell of stale smoke! So I can pretty much do it whenever, but I found also that whether I was vaping or not, it was important to take the breaks outside (now it's sunny) or at least somewhere else, because the break ritual was important to me too.
I definitely did the ex-smoker thing of sticking to tobacco at first, despite the fact it tastes awful to me, because I wanted as much like smoking as possible, but then I got a liquid accidentally that was a RY4, and realised that I liked the creamy caramel-ness of it but it was slightly ruined by the tobacco aftertaste, which was a bit of a revelation! Also got to chat with some experienced vapers at the shop (was a really good one I found randomly near a work meeting) who insisted I try their flavours, and gave me advice, and told me I was doing really well, community is basically really nice, which I like!
It took me a good week or so before I accepted that I had to stop chasing that smoking experience, and tbh I'm still a bit gutted about that, but still, it's a lot more like it than the nicorette inhalator I tried before picking up the vape stuff! (I tried cold turkey for about 2 days, then cracked and got the inhalator - horrible, horrible stuff! and by the end of the next day I was ready to go back on the cigs before I remembered I had a mate who got into vaping and messaged her in desperation for help)

 

[David Wolf]

Hi everyone.

New vaper here, stopped smoking analogs just over 2 weeks ago and then started vaping a couple of days later when the withdrawal and cravings got appalling. So far it's ok, but I do find myself really craving a cigarette sometimes (yesterday was pretty awful, and I felt like I needed one all day). I have had some issues with my set up and juice which I *think* I've worked out, but I've been reading loads of this forum and you're all so supportive that I thought actually joining and posting about it might be useful

So I have a few questions, I think they're mostly the normal newbie ones, sorry, but basically I think I need the support, experience and reassurance more than actual information!

1. I am feeling pretty ....ty and flu-ey, which I know is a really common thing after quitting cigs, but I'm confused about it because I thought it would happen straight after giving up, if I was going to get it, and it's only been the last couple of days. Anyone else had 'quitter's flu' this late on? Also my throat is starting to get sore, again I'm thinking just body getting rid of stuff and unrelated to actual vaping, as it's some way in, and I'm drinking loads of water (always did drink almost a litre of squash whilst smoking a cig, so didn't have to step up much tbh).
2. Getting nicotine levels right and feeling like I'm smoking a cigarette - I started off on the Aspire N30 with the nautilus X tank, but quickly switched to the nautilus 2 tank so I could vape high vg - found that even 50/50 pg/vg really irritated my throat, and I was just conscious of the taste of it in the back of my mouth all the time. As I switched tanks I went down from 12 mg to 6 mg of nicotine, but basically I feel like it's not cutting it, and I still want a cigarette after vaping for quite a while. I am currently using a 0.7 coil, and I have on order some 12 mg high vg vanilla liquid (all the current 12 mg I have is tobacco flavours, which I have worked out I can't stand!) I'm going to try this one in the current tank, but also have a 1.8 (I think) coil for it - what I don't know is whether it's the tank or the coil that makes a difference to being able to smoke high vg. I'm going to try it in the sub ohm coil to start off with and then if it's too much try the other coil - I know everyone says to drop down, and that more than 6mg will blow your head off, but I kind of want to vape like I smoked - e.g. vape for 5-10 mins every couple of hours - rather than chain-vape or do it all day. I'm still really chasing that kind of 'aaaah' instant satisfaction you get from the first cigarette during the day, and I think tbh I need to accept that that's not how vaping works and I'll get used to it, but that's pretty hard. I'm vaping quite a bit at 6mg, and I reckon that if I try 12 mg and it's too much the worst that'll happen is I'll feel sick for a bit and have to stop, and then at least I'll know.
I just basically still have a bunch of cravings, and I dunno if 12 mg on the 1.8 coil (if possible) will get me more than 6mg on the 0.7 coil, but it's frustrating trying things out because every time I have to wash out the tank and switch, etc, etc, and I know it's trial and error but I just want it to feel right, right now! I know that's unrealistic, which is part of the reason I decided to post here, thought it would be good to basically hear people saying 'keep going, you'll work it out, it gets better!' I had a couple of drags on a mate's cigarette a few days ago and immediately felt more satisfied (which made me think yeah, upping nicotine is prob the way to go) but on the bonus side it did taste disgusting!

Sorry for the wall of text, think I've been bottling that up, lol... Also I don't know which bits of info are important for you to know for advice, haha.

Orphiel

I'm glad I started vaping over 3 years ago, otherwise I would be getting bad advice like you are (drop nic levels! subohm!) and never have quit smoking. If you vape Mouth to Lung at lower power on devices like the Nautilus 2, I could never have quit at 6mg or 12 mg. I vaped 24 and 36mg to finally quit and not have to chain vape. These days pod mods like the Juul, Myjet, Von Erl and others with high nic nicotine salts like Mr Salt-E will help smokers quit far better than subohming low nic and the like. You can even vape Mr.Salt-E in your Nautilus 2- in the US, you can get it at 25 mg nic and 45 mg nic, the 25 will do well in the Nautius 2 (or I believe it comes in up to 20mg in the UK.). I would also recommend purchasing some pure PG and pure VG so you can dilute the nicotine and PG/VG ratio it if you wish (yes, it will dilute the flavor, but its already over-flavored to me). Mr Salt-E is 60VG/40PG, and I dilute it with PG since I prefer high PG (I DIY my own nic salt juices these days, I like mine better but mr Salt-E was a great start at nicotine salt juices). Low nicotine high VG juices are made for high power vaping and the vapers chain vape the s**t out of them to get their nic when starting out and some never stop chain vaping lol.
You can't find a vape as fast as a cigarette at satisfying the nic urge, but you CAN come real close using high nicotine nic salts. When I vape nic salt juices, 7 or 8 hits like a cigarette and I'm satisfied, no desire or need to chain vape at all. Nicotine salt juices are smoother than regular nic juices at the same nic level. Here's a chart of the Juul showing how nic salts are superior to regular nicotine liquids at increasing blood nicotine levels:

 

[djsvapour]

As I switched tanks I went down from 12 mg to 6 mg of nicotine, but basically I feel like it's not cutting it, and I still want a cigarette after vaping for quite a while. I am currently using a 0.7 coil, and I have on order some 12 mg high vg vanilla liquid (all the current 12 mg I have is tobacco flavours, which I have worked out I can't stand!) I'm going to try this one in the current tank, but also have a 1.8 (I think) coil for it - what I don't know is whether it's the tank or the coil that makes a difference to being able to smoke high vg. I'm going to try it in the sub ohm coil to start off with and then if it's too much try the other coil - I know everyone says to drop down, and that more than 6mg ..

Welcome. Not wishing to seem argumentative, but all this talk of resistance (ohms) and nicotine strength is kind of not the full picture.
What counts is the power, the watts.
For example, I am vaping a tank right now with a 1.1ohm coil. I could vape that at 20 or even 30 watts.
If I put a 0.8ohm coil in it, then technically I am sub-ohming, but if I vape it at 15 watts, then I'm getting less vapor.
I started vaping successfully (after some failures with cig-a-like junk) with 18mg liquid at about 8-10 watts with a 1.6 or 1.8ohm coil.
If I go and get a Joyetech AIO out of my cupboard of boxed items (0.6ohm), and put 4.5mg liquid in it and vape away, I'm getting less nicotine than I was back then.

I've subohm'd 18mg and not subohm'd 6mg. There is lots to take into account.

 

[OlderNDirt]

Cheers all for the advice and encouragement I am definitely looking forward to my 12 mg liquid coming tomorrow, as I think that will work better, also when I hopefully go down a nic level I can mix it with my current 6 mg ones as vanilla should work with all or most of them, so at least I won't waste them
OlderNDirt, really appreciated your story, sounds a lot like me! I was at the start doing the exact same thing, trying to replicate those 5 minute breaks every hour, and going slowly crazy and getting more and more hacked off, haha. I am lucky because I work from home and can vape in the office, because yay, doesn't make the house smell of stale smoke! So I can pretty much do it whenever, but I found also that whether I was vaping or not, it was important to take the breaks outside (now it's sunny) or at least somewhere else, because the break ritual was important to me too.
I definitely did the ex-smoker thing of sticking to tobacco at first, despite the fact it tastes awful to me, because I wanted as much like smoking as possible, but then I got a liquid accidentally that was a RY4, and realised that I liked the creamy caramel-ness of it but it was slightly ruined by the tobacco aftertaste, which was a bit of a revelation! Also got to chat with some experienced vapers at the shop (was a really good one I found randomly near a work meeting) who insisted I try their flavours, and gave me advice, and told me I was doing really well, community is basically really nice, which I like!
It took me a good week or so before I accepted that I had to stop chasing that smoking experience, and tbh I'm still a bit gutted about that, but still, it's a lot more like it than the nicorette inhalator I tried before picking up the vape stuff! (I tried cold turkey for about 2 days, then cracked and got the inhalator - horrible, horrible stuff! and by the end of the next day I was ready to go back on the cigs before I remembered I had a mate who got into vaping and messaged her in desperation for help)

I sensed a lot of similarities reading your op. Still it is hard to make suggestions since what works well for one may not work well for another. When I started, I got two complete set-ups, not only for backups, but for easily changing flavors. I was afraid just having one flavor for days might kill my interest. Kinda like eating steak every day takes that extra pleasure away. Now I have enough tanks, I will go through at least 5 and maybe 8 different juices each day. And it is nice to go back to one I haven't used in a couple weeks.

So, good luck and keep us posted on your adventure. You are bound to have some bumps along the way, but when you connect with your next, best great vape it is all worth it!

 

[90VG]

For the "ahhh" morning feeling, put a drop (or two) of the 12/24/36 juice on your tongue, then vape. I did that, but used a bit stronger. Then you will feel it.

I just did one drop of 100mg/ml, ah yeah! I don't do it often, maybe 1-2x a month. But, YEAH.