28 days and still trying to buy cigarettes

[AllCoExPat]

xdunlapx, I have a similar problem and have been looking for other sources of MAOi that are present in cigarette smoke but absent in vapor. I tried kava and passionflower and other sources; they help some, but not quite, if you know what I mean. I have been thinking about snus, but I'm worried about getting hooked on it. My friends in Sweden have used snus forever, but they have just switched from smoking to snusing; the addiction is just as strong--snus provides the same insanely addictive combination of nicotine and MAOi. Are you still using snus or have you been able to transition to vaping only? And also, what flavor snus do you like? I remember the Swedish snus from my years spent in Sweden; even the smell of the stuff made me sick...

For me, snus has really done the trick in terms of getting the MAOI we don't get from vaping. Of course no tobacco product is safe, but from the reading I've done it's the difference in processing (pasturized versus smoke cured) that makes snus a "safer" tobacco alternative than cigarettes. I've been vaping constantly since January, but it took finding snus to get me over the hump and give me the chance to lay them down.

As for flavor, I started off with the Camel "snus" that is available at the local gas station. It tends to be very sweet to my taste, but not as awful as some make it out to be. There are also alot of "mini" portions on the market that don't give you the overwhelming salty flavor/smell you mentioned. My first Swedish variety was the General Mini Mint and I'd recommend that over the "traditional" tobacco flavors if you're interested in trying it out.

There's alot of good info over at our very own ECF smokeless sub-forum. If you have time talk a quick read through some of the threads over there. It's a good bunch of folks, just like the crew here in the V4L sub-forum.

 

[krazie_Kid]

In my case - you'd lose that bet...

same here lol. I never caughed with my 1st smoke of the day

 

[fair dinkum]

Jbarb, I think what this thread shows is that quitting smoking has different effects on different people. I wouldn't be too discouraged but just look at the quitting process from day to day.
I was fortunate and quit the same day. I don't even look at smokes in shops because they don't interest me anymore. I walked past a smoker outside a shop the other day and thought to myself, "I used to do that." I have gone from 24mg to 14mg in under three months and will continue to go lower. Others have done it faster but everyone is different.
I must admit I cheated a bit because after about a month I started doing some sprints and then I started running up a hill twice a week. Now I'm just doing weight training, aerobic activity and lots of walking. It seriously reinforced why I gave up smoking and I'm 54.
I just believe that if someone has a problem quitting the smokes altogether, it's probably a good thing to find something to reinforce why you gave up. In my case, I've helped that by pushing myself physically. I look at vaping as a tool to use to achieve the goal of quitting smokes, which I now have achieved. Sometime this year I will give up vaping.

Good luck and I hope it works for you.

 

[jeffree]

Jbarb, I think what this thread shows is that quitting smoking has different effects on different people. I wouldn't be too discouraged but just look at the quitting process from day to day.
I was fortunate and quit the same day. I don't even look at smokes in shops because they don't interest me anymore. I walked past a smoker outside a shop the other day and thought to myself, "I used to do that." I have gone from 24mg to 14mg in under three months and will continue to go lower. Others have done it faster but everyone is different.
I must admit I cheated a bit because after about a month I started doing some sprints and then I started running up a hill twice a week. Now I'm just doing weight training, aerobic activity and lots of walking. It seriously reinforced why I gave up smoking and I'm 54.
I just believe that if someone has a problem quitting the smokes altogether, it's probably a good thing to find something to reinforce why you gave up. In my case, I've helped that by pushing myself physically. I look at vaping as a tool to use to achieve the goal of quitting smokes, which I now have achieved. Sometime this year I will give up vaping.

Good luck and I hope it works for you.

Good thoughts, Fair. And they closely mirror my own experience except that I'm in no hurry to stop vaping.

I do find it amazing, though, that I've had so little urge to smoke cigs after my first day or two of vaping, nine weeks ago. Wanting to quit, finding support (hello V4L forum), and rewarding myself in other ways has made the process virtually painless for me. I feel darned lucky. And grateful.

 

[Stoked!]

Good thoughts, Fair. And they closely mirror my own experience except that I'm in no hurry to stop vaping.

I do find it amazing, though, that I've had so little urge to smoke cigs after my first day or two of vaping, nine weeks ago. Wanting to quit, finding support (hello V4L forum), and rewarding myself in other ways has made the process virtually painless for me. I feel darned lucky. And grateful.

Yeah....I've been lowering my nic intake. I have 11 at work and 0, 4 or 8 at home which is because I vape more and the higher nic keeps me up at night. I started at 18.

Not really planning my vape quitting. I am planning on continuing to lower my nicotine intake as much as possible. Even if I get down to 0mg all the time I think I would want to treat myself at least a few times per day on a nice 0mg vape. I AM KEEPING MY EYE ON THE RESEARCH. If it starts to look like its bad for you I may change my mind. I'm in no rush to quit vaping. The reduction of nicotine happened on its own....I just started to vape less and want a lower nic level. 18 started to make me feel JACKED. LOL.

My husband has analogs around all the time and I am SO uninterested in them. When I'm at a counter at a store I used to buy from I do have the instinct/habit of looking at the cigs in the area that my brand "live"...and honestly I just smile and remember that old habits die hard. I hate the taste of every analog I've taken a drag off of since the day I got my kit. It took a week for me to really LOVE vaping though. Thats pretty fast though!!!

When I walk by smokers I feel bad for them not knowing about ecigs and want to give the cards out to strangers. But I don't because that would be WACKO (at least in Philly City it would NOT BE TAKEN WELL)!!! I wish I knew what E-cigs/PVs were years ago!!! But I'm thankful I have finally found them

 

[Katya]

For me, snus has really done the trick in terms of getting the MAOI we don't get from vaping. Of course no tobacco product is safe, but from the reading I've done it's the difference in processing (pasturized versus smoke cured) that makes snus a "safer" tobacco alternative than cigarettes. I've been vaping constantly since January, but it took finding snus to get me over the hump and give me the chance to lay them down.

As for flavor, I started off with the Camel "snus" that is available at the local gas station. It tends to be very sweet to my taste, but not as awful as some make it out to be. There are also alot of "mini" portions on the market that don't give you the overwhelming salty flavor/smell you mentioned. My first Swedish variety was the General Mini Mint and I'd recommend that over the "traditional" tobacco flavors if you're interested in trying it out.

There's alot of good info over at our very own ECF smokeless sub-forum. If you have time talk a quick read through some of the threads over there. It's a good bunch of folks, just like the crew here in the V4L sub-forum.

Thanks for the info. I know that snus is considered very safe compared to smoking, my question is, how hard is it to quit snus? Are you still using it? I'm looking for something that will temporarily help me with transition to full-time vaping. And yes, I found the smokeless subforum very helpful.

 

[SurfsideVapor]

For me there were quite a few psychological blocks I had to overcome. I was a smoker for 47 years, but the idea of giving up analogs didn't bother me, it was things like:
not feeling "satisfied" after vaping;
not seeing enough vapor on exhale;
not tasting the tobacco enough.

Now that I have addressed these blocks one at a time, I am finally very satisfied with vaping and no longer have to avoid the cigarette counter in stores.

 

[rver]

I've been vaping for three months now and never looked back. What a great feeling.

 

[Stealthy77]

I started vaping just over 2 weeks ago and I am happy to report I have only had 5 analogs since I started. I don't really miss the analogs, but I do have trouble with the huge throat hit especially in the morning. Does the V4L 0 or 4 MG's have less of a throat hit? I smoked a pack of newport shorts a day prior to vaping and have 18 and 11MG cartos as well as a sore throat. I also own a cpap machine for sleeping at night with a built in humidifier that I will increase the humidity on to help with drying out after reading this. Is it the different cartos from different companies that vary in throat hit or the nic level?

 

[jeffree]

Just realized that I've never been back to the 7-11 where I'd bought carts of MLs for many years. Maybe I'll stop by to see if they're still in biz now that I'm gone.

And Stoked, I feel the same way when I see smokers on the street. No judgment, no high horse, no intervention... just the thought that they don't know what they're missing.

 

[AllCoExPat]

Thanks for the info. I know that snus is considered very safe compared to smoking, my question is, how hard is it to quit snus? Are you still using it? I'm looking for something that will temporarily help me with transition to full-time vaping. And yes, I found the smokeless subforum very helpful.

I wouldn't know much about giving up the snus. It's sort of been the opposite direction for me. I'm snus-ing to maintain and vaping more "recreationally" and during those high stress moments when I would have been reaching for a pack of smokes. Although there's still not much better than a Smilin' Special Menthol and a cold beer.