Ive been here for over a month now, so I thought Id introduce myself and tell my story.
Even at an early age, I was enamored with cigarettes. One of my fondest childhood memories is of watching Paper Moon with Tatum ONeil puffing away on a cigarette and listing to her radio. As a sassy eight-year old myself at the time, I loved her character. My favorite uncle smoked cherry pipe tobacco and the smell of a pipe still brings back cherished memories of him. My favorite aunt was a smoker and she was just as sassy as Tatum. At fourteen years old, I smoked my first cigarette and instantly fell in love with everything about them. I didnt have the nausea you normally get the first time, just a quick dopamine rush that wasnt like anything Id ever felt before.
I was instantly hooked on cigarettes.
In high school, I was shy. This was a time when every hotel had a cigarette machine and cigarettes were only $0.40 per pack, so they werent difficult for even a kid to acquire. Having a cigarette in the parking lot with the rest of the smokers helped to break the ice and make friends. The same was true when I went to college -- a time when we could still smoke in the school hallways and lounges. It was a way to introduce yourself to other people and a way to pass the time while waiting for the bus. As someone who was self-conscious, I was grateful that I had something to do with my hands.
As I grew older, I knew I couldnt continue to smoke anymore. Although I had no health problems, I feared my luck wouldnt last and I needed to quit. I tried quitting smoking using the patch, using Wellbutrin, using the gum I made a quit plan, got into support groups, tried cold turkey and then I tried the patch again . and again and again. Each time, Id never even make it a week before I would cheat.
Cigarettes were available just by walking across the street to the gas station. I would get irritable and then, in a flash, I would decide to just go get a pack. The moment I decided in my head to just smoke one my spirits would instantly lift I bargained with myself: Id only have that one and throw the rest of them away.
But of course, I never threw the rest away. Each time I failed, I would feel awful about myself. I saw other people quitting, so why couldnt I?
This time, its different. I didnt try to quit. It happened by accident.
In November of last year, I started hearing more about electronic cigarettes. I knew I was going to have to be in a car for hours at Christmas time because my mother was insisting my brother and I make the trip. I was dreading not being able to smoke, so I decided Id just try electronic cigarettes to take the edge off during the car ride. I didnt do very much research, but ordered a kit from V2 Cigs.
The day before my kit arrived, I was running low on cigarettes and stopped at the gas station on the way home and bought four packs of cigarettes like I normally do, never expecting that they would be the last. The following afternoon when the mail came, there was the package from V2. They looked interesting. I tried a puff. The taste was sweet and not at all what I was expecting. That evening after work, I started puffing on them more. When I looked in my ashtray the next morning, I realized that instead of my usual 15 after-work cigarettes, Id only smoked two.
The next day, for the whole day, I only smoked five. The following day, it was only four then two then two for the whole weekend. This was downright weird! How could this be so easy? I decided I might as well go all the way and just quit smoking altogether.
Since then, Ive only had a cigarette and a half. That was over a month ago. There are still three packs of cigarettes in the refrigerator, and Im not tempted in the least. In the meantime, I found this place and all the wonderful people here. Ive committed all of my spare time to learning as much as I could about these devices and to get something that would be even more satisfying and wouldnt require constant recharging. I ended up with backups for my backups and backups for those. Im quite happy with my setup now, and although Im still not perfect at punching my own cartos (the caps on my Elegance tanks are a little too thick for the pre-punched ones I was using) or keeping cartomizers from getting flooded, but Im getting better at using tanks and not wasting nearly as much juice.
Ive got all the love for vaping that I once had for cigarettes, and Im feeling great. My fingers and toes have blood circulation and Im not freezing when I get to work. I can climb the stairs without needing the elevator. I can smell food better and everything is starting to taste wonderful. And last weekend, I shared what Ive learned here with someone else who was thinking about trying electronic cigarettes.
I just want to thank the good people here who, when helping someone else out with a problem, unknowingly helped me out, too. Its not just the electronic cigarette that got me off analogs, its you fine people and the knowledge youve given to others.
Thanks.
Even at an early age, I was enamored with cigarettes. One of my fondest childhood memories is of watching Paper Moon with Tatum ONeil puffing away on a cigarette and listing to her radio. As a sassy eight-year old myself at the time, I loved her character. My favorite uncle smoked cherry pipe tobacco and the smell of a pipe still brings back cherished memories of him. My favorite aunt was a smoker and she was just as sassy as Tatum. At fourteen years old, I smoked my first cigarette and instantly fell in love with everything about them. I didnt have the nausea you normally get the first time, just a quick dopamine rush that wasnt like anything Id ever felt before.
I was instantly hooked on cigarettes.
In high school, I was shy. This was a time when every hotel had a cigarette machine and cigarettes were only $0.40 per pack, so they werent difficult for even a kid to acquire. Having a cigarette in the parking lot with the rest of the smokers helped to break the ice and make friends. The same was true when I went to college -- a time when we could still smoke in the school hallways and lounges. It was a way to introduce yourself to other people and a way to pass the time while waiting for the bus. As someone who was self-conscious, I was grateful that I had something to do with my hands.
As I grew older, I knew I couldnt continue to smoke anymore. Although I had no health problems, I feared my luck wouldnt last and I needed to quit. I tried quitting smoking using the patch, using Wellbutrin, using the gum I made a quit plan, got into support groups, tried cold turkey and then I tried the patch again . and again and again. Each time, Id never even make it a week before I would cheat.
Cigarettes were available just by walking across the street to the gas station. I would get irritable and then, in a flash, I would decide to just go get a pack. The moment I decided in my head to just smoke one my spirits would instantly lift I bargained with myself: Id only have that one and throw the rest of them away.
But of course, I never threw the rest away. Each time I failed, I would feel awful about myself. I saw other people quitting, so why couldnt I?
This time, its different. I didnt try to quit. It happened by accident.
In November of last year, I started hearing more about electronic cigarettes. I knew I was going to have to be in a car for hours at Christmas time because my mother was insisting my brother and I make the trip. I was dreading not being able to smoke, so I decided Id just try electronic cigarettes to take the edge off during the car ride. I didnt do very much research, but ordered a kit from V2 Cigs.
The day before my kit arrived, I was running low on cigarettes and stopped at the gas station on the way home and bought four packs of cigarettes like I normally do, never expecting that they would be the last. The following afternoon when the mail came, there was the package from V2. They looked interesting. I tried a puff. The taste was sweet and not at all what I was expecting. That evening after work, I started puffing on them more. When I looked in my ashtray the next morning, I realized that instead of my usual 15 after-work cigarettes, Id only smoked two.
The next day, for the whole day, I only smoked five. The following day, it was only four then two then two for the whole weekend. This was downright weird! How could this be so easy? I decided I might as well go all the way and just quit smoking altogether.
Since then, Ive only had a cigarette and a half. That was over a month ago. There are still three packs of cigarettes in the refrigerator, and Im not tempted in the least. In the meantime, I found this place and all the wonderful people here. Ive committed all of my spare time to learning as much as I could about these devices and to get something that would be even more satisfying and wouldnt require constant recharging. I ended up with backups for my backups and backups for those. Im quite happy with my setup now, and although Im still not perfect at punching my own cartos (the caps on my Elegance tanks are a little too thick for the pre-punched ones I was using) or keeping cartomizers from getting flooded, but Im getting better at using tanks and not wasting nearly as much juice.
Ive got all the love for vaping that I once had for cigarettes, and Im feeling great. My fingers and toes have blood circulation and Im not freezing when I get to work. I can climb the stairs without needing the elevator. I can smell food better and everything is starting to taste wonderful. And last weekend, I shared what Ive learned here with someone else who was thinking about trying electronic cigarettes.
I just want to thank the good people here who, when helping someone else out with a problem, unknowingly helped me out, too. Its not just the electronic cigarette that got me off analogs, its you fine people and the knowledge youve given to others.
Thanks.
