A Bit about Myself & a Cry for Help (of Course...)

[Frankie]

Hello.

(This post might be skipped - just introducing/explaining myself. Read at your own risk.)

xxxxxPrattle/startxxxxx
I am new to this forum as well as to the whole possibility of inhaling nicotine without the smoke. A friendly doctor told me to consider trying this option (unfortunately, he is an urologist , so his advice might not be really medically relevant...), so I just went and ordered some cheap nicotine replacement. The delivery should take weeks, I got unpatient and only then I found yout there is a community of afficionados for this product. Never thought it would be so, I considered the stuff to be just consumer goods like anything else. Seems I was wrong and seems I just threw some money down the toilet, of what I read here was true. Never mind, it was not that much and it´s spent already, nothing to do with it.

Anyway, I am still thrilled by the idea of being able to "smoke" at home and even stop the nasty cough which seems to have me in its dirty grips. At home: I work at home (a small flat actually), with 3 kids and a nonsmoking wife - I never smoke inside. And the balcony temperate is falling below zero (32F) again . So I read and read and compare and read until I find I have not worked for three days, just being obssessed with this bright new future of mine and the only thing I learn is the fact that
a) I just lost money on the things I ordered (DX Health 17 USD minicig, e-cig.com USB cig+cartridges), maybe not so much on the DX Health cigar I addded after reading this forum,
b) most of the products anywhere /with the exception of Janty which seems to be beloved here for some reason or another (good personal relations with the supplier? Owner of the brand posting himself? I dont know. I came across hints that Jantys can be as faulty as the rest, so it seemed a bit suspicious to me, that´s all./ will not last, which means I will have to return to tobacco, and
c) I have no idea how to start this. Even less actually than at the time when I knew nothing. Because now I know those things just don´t work .

I smoke 10 a day gritting my teeth, because I am really a 30-a-day addict. But I cannot spend my life on the balcony*, and I have been forced by Fate or what´s the .......´s name to move my office/workplace home - have to be there to assist my better half (as we post-Commie muzhiks say) which got quite badly ill - so I got down to 10 a day, greatly improving my blood pressure, but not my quality of life - or the cough, actually. I´ve been doing this for a couple of years now and I think I´ve got enough.

I think that might already be much more than you ever wanted to know - maybe apart from the fact how 1-dollar Ukrainian cigarettes smuggled under the skirt of Han Solo´s grandmother** taste - so...
xxxxxPrattle/endxxxxx

This was the place reserved for crying for help. But... I think I will go and have a cig instead, maybe do some work, and post that part of my initial post later. It´s rude to start one´s life in a forum asking the others for advice in obtaining the thing the forum is about, but, well, it might be just pure hypocrisy to pretend I have no such intention. On the other hand, you now have a perfect opportunity to tell me to bugger off before I post the questions themselves, so grab it - or suffer


-------------------
*Actually I can and do in summer. You know those tall kid´s chairs w/table? We have a 1-y-o daughter and her chair fits my notebook w/external keyboard perfectly, so at summer I just sit outside, sip coffe and enjoy life. Yeah, and work

**Han Solo is fictious. The smuggler Ukrainian grannies are not. Really.

 

[BettyRedondo]

Welcome Frankie, go and have your cig (outside in the freezing cold) then come back and ask your question, everyone asks questions here, even those that have been here a while

 

[Frankie]

Thank you. The patrons can throw me away later, anyway, if I get too tiresome. So:

I am looking for... I did read quite a lot of the forum and the big advice seems to be: Buy a good device to be able to stop smoking. (It´s not just the balcony, I do have health problems that might be helped by laying off smoke/tar etc...) So The Big Question is what is The Good Device. What it comprises of. I think I would need something either reliable or inexpensive enough to buy several pieces at once and replace them as needed, and I would like to find a long-term solution this way or that. I live in an obscure post-Commie country; shipping costs are an issue here, too. For example, Jantyshop charges 24 Euro just for shipping, which is almost exactly the price of DX semi-auto cigar+8 refills with shipping.

Can you recommend device(s) and accessories for serious change to e-smoking, not just for fun, that would be available in Europe and would not be prohibitively expensive? I understand it would not be a 25-dollar DX cig, OK. I have to invest into something much more expensive. But what? And I am looking for a long-term solution, so the refills/liquids are a problem, too. Shall I buy lots of refills to avoid doubling their price by shipping cost, or is it too risky, because the device will break before I smoke them?

To be more specific: I am looking for a starter´s "kit" (does not have to be the thing they sell as "kit") - a device, spare parts, refills, whatever is necessary - and the place where to buy it. From what I browsed so far, the prices and shipping costs (taking in consideration that ecig.com and DX are said to be sending faulty products) are affordable to me in E-Cigs.co.uk, also (if the device works) from the point of view of all the refills I will need in future. But it´s just what I found, I am absolutely not sure if it does not sell the same stuff as DX or ecig.com for tripled price... I secretely hope somebody has first-hand experience with their goods. Especially their functioning. You know, I had smoked han Solo´s grandmother´s cigs for 15 years, before their time it was not much better anyway, filter cigs used to be a luxury item, so I can deal with lots of tastes and stuff... But if it does not work, if it does not provide the nicotine to saturate my addiction, than it is a problem.

Can you help me by pointing out what exactly I should buy, and where is the best place (shipping... ) to get it? I read lots of references to this or that name which sold you the Good Device or accessories or liquids etc., but I have problems finding out what/where their shops are...

In other words: If you suddenly lost all your devices and accessories, what would you buy, if you do not want to smoke tobacco at all, if possible? What device(s), what (and how many) spare parts, refills, liquid, etc.?

Please take into consideration "your" new location (Central Europe) and somehow restricted budget. Restricted mainly by conscience - "you" would not want to overspend uselessly just to have a Lamborghini to drive to local Tesco or K-Mart where a small but reliable Toyota would suffice nicely. I just do not want to take *much* more from my family budget than smoking tobacco would take. By this I mean long-term cost. I discount great part of the cost of the device itself as health cost, which might be rather an investment than a sheer cost. Like "when I am healthy, I work more. As a self-employed free-lancer I earn exactly as much as I work". Also, please, disregard the option of brewing liquids at home. I do not think I am ready or able to try that. Somebody would get poisoned sooner or later.

You can argue that by buying 7 cheap things you provide yourself longer smoking time than by 1 luxury item of the same price - or vice versa. I do not know, but I am really curious to find out from the people who actually use the devices. If you can, please be specific. I am bothering you so that in the end I would go and buy, not just for the sake of conversation.

/I might have created the impression I hate the Jantys, because I mention them often. That is not true - I just do not remember too many brands (I think many of the products do not even have a "brand" name and might be as good as the branded ones) and this one particularily shocked me by the prices and additional costs (4 euro charged just for accepting payment from a customer, for God´s sake!), that´s all. NJoys are allegedly way too expensive for the cartridges, as an another example./

It was too long again. I probably spent too much time thinking about these things to be nice and brief.
Thank you for your attention

 

[Mommyshann]

Hi Frankie and welcome to the forum! As an American I'm afraid I won't be of much help to you for the best supplier but I can provide answers to some of your questions. First off the forum's list of suppliers may be helpful to you (just click on the word suppliers there). From that list I can say that the ones I've read about who have some of the best reviews would be Totally Wicked (Pillbox38) and e-cigs (Smokester).

All this being said...now on to actual questions I think I can help with. First off you have to understand that there aren't really any e-cigs that work forever. Basically you have to look at these as disposable items. The atomizers and batteries tend to last anywhere from 2 weeks to a couple of months. Purchasing a few extras of each of these in the beginning will help with the shipping and you won't be stuck without a device if one part dies. That being said, some devices are considered to be worse than others or at least more expensive for the same quality. As for Janty, I hear that it is a very good device but a bit touchy and you should have some e-smoking experience before going with those. Another good option for you would be Trog's Screwdriver (you'd have to post or send him a private message regarding it as I don't have a link to his ebay sales handy). Again, this is a more expensive e-cig but from the reviews so far, it seems to be worth the expense.

I would suggest, as I believe most of those on this forum would, to start with a dse-901 mini. Purchase a starter kit for it as well as a couple of extra atomizers and an extra battery (the kit comes with 2). Also order a few different liquids for some flavor options. I'm not sure what the costs of these will be for you where you are but I'm sure some other members can help with that. I hope I've been able to help you a bit. Good luck!

 

[Kate]

Hi Frankie, welcome to the forum.

Have a look at the DSE901 mini here - eBay Store - mini e-cigarette: Mini Electronic cigarette: mini electronic cigarette cartridge, ruyan

That's a good ecig from a good seller. Prices are good but you have to wait for shipping from Asia.

Don't buy loads of cartridges, they don't taste great, it's cheaper to buy eliquid and refill the cartridges that come with the kit.

You might find this post interesting but don't forget to adjust costs with regard to postage - http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/electronic-cigarette-reviews/2452-value-money-6.html

 

[Marvelbeast]

Hi Frankie, welcome.

I wish I had found this forum ages ago. There is a lot here to read but it is really worth reading the reviews.

I can understand some of your concerns because I thought the same before I got my first e-.... I saw an item on the BBC news about e-cigs and decided to try them because I was spending too much money on real fags.

I've been e-smoking a few weeks now and very rarely smoke a real cig. I used to smoke a little more then you. I find that i need the 36 mg liquid to refill my carts.

I'd really recommend that you try refilling the cartridges yourself because it gives you a much wider choice plus it works out as the cheapest option. I also enjoy trying new flavours.

The people on the forums who are sellers or suppliers are not allowed to try and push there products on the main forums and most of them are really good at sticking to that rule.

This is the best place I've found for advice and also the reviews are really good here.

The only thing I'd say about what to buy is that although some devices seem a lot more expensive it isn't just because some people are jumping on the bandwagon and making some fast cash. Some of them are more expensive because they offer longer guarantees and will replace atomisers and batteries during that guarantee. That can mean that for a heavy smoker like me that it works out cheaper because I'm using the atomisers more. I don't use the batteries more because I use the USB cable from Janty a lot instead.

I know that no matter what anyone says here it won't make any difference until you try it for yourself. I was very wary because I liked smoking and although I had to quit, I didn't think I would be able. Now I don't have to quit and am starting to enjoy e-smoking more then real fags.

Good luck and I hope you find that like the rest of us here that you like e-smoking too. (I think I can speak for the others and say that they all enjoy e-smoking)

 

[RikkusRide]

Welcome Frankie,

I would have to agree with Mommyshann and Kate, the DSE901 is a wonderful starter. I personally love my DSE901. My husband and I stumbled onto the 901 looking around on YouTube mid Oct. I kicked the idea around of trying one. Would this work for me? I was a pack a day outside smoker. I loved to smoke, just not the health problems that came with my habbet.

After a week of thought I said what the heck, I ordered my 901 Oct 24th. I recived my package the 29th, still smoking tobacco. I am extreamly happy to say I smoked my last ciggarette Oct 31st, and have been amazed by how much better I feel.

I apologise for going off about myself. I only wanted to let you know was in a much smaller, simular boat.

As for shipping I too live in the US. I wish you luck, let us know how things go for you.

 

[Pangoo]

Frankie:

If you're a heavy smoker I would recommend Trog's screwdriver.
I smoked for 20 years, about a 2/3 pack a day, but since I started e-smoking three weeks ago I have not touched a real cigarette.

I started out with 901s, which are pretty good, but the screwdriver delivers
so much more vapour (a lot closer to a real cigarette) and the battery lasts at least a whole day (I am taking puffs on it every 15-30 minutes or so. With the 901s, you need to constantly be swapping batteries, which in my experience last maybe three hours. So you'll need to get spare batteries.
I haven't used any other units besides the 901 and screwdriver so I can't say anything about them.

Trog is located in the UK. I ordered mine from eBay (search for "screwdriver electronic cigarette"). I don't know if he's still selling them
on eBay, but in any case you can search for him here on this forum and
send him a message.

Initial investment for me was about US$178, but I am so completely happy
with the device (you'll see everyone else who's gotten the screwdriver
on this forum is as well) that it was well worth it.

I don't know where would be a good place for you to get juice for whichever e-cig you get, as I'm in the U.S...

Good luck in your search!!!

 

[Frankie]

Thank you all. It seems this issue is closed as of now, because there is a general concensus towards 901 mini-e-cig. I have to say that it was very useful for me, also because of what you have not mentioned: the pen-style which I rather fancied for its snobby look and greater size. But it´s nobody´s first choice for advising, and there must be a reason to that, so it will be mini size for me .

Kate: When I went to the very first post of the "money" thread you linked, it was really fascinating reading. I missed it when browsing the forum totally, for which I am ashamed.

Mommyshann: telling me that Smokester is e-cigs.co.uk also helped a lot, because the name is mentioned here quite often and I thought it was a poster ops again, but no emoticon, too many spoil every text:
And actually that was a site I thought I might buy from, but I was afraid to because of horror stories about other sites with similar prices. They are pricing exactly at the limits of what is comfortable for me.

Pangoo: It´s difficult to say whether I am heavy smoker. I started somewhere around 1982-84 and never stopped apart from one month in a health spa. I went gradually to more-than-20-I-don´t-count-them before middle age kicked in with full strength all its health wonders and other horrors. Then I forced myself down to 10 and fought to keep it that way or less just because of the sheer fear of death. It was not nice, easy or pleasant - actually, the only pleasant thing about that all was getting the next high after several hours delay, because it really kicked. So I am sort-of potencially heavy smoker.

ScrewdriverThat thing keeps making my day every time I see the name as a smoking device. First, it reminds me of a Monty Python´s sketch in a small rural boarding house with an American tourist ("Screwdriver. Yes. And what will you drink? Screwdriver. Yes, sir. Of course sir. Do you also wish a drink?") and secondly the image of Ian Steward smoking that tool in afterlife creeps to my mind... But seriously: I will keep it in mind together with that per-year-cost table for later, when and if I am a complete nonsmoker and want to buy additional, lifestyle things. It is very expensive from my point of view, but if his product is not made in China, it might be of much superior quality.

If any of you would like to feel offended by that MPFC joke, please don´t. It was not aimed at your nationality, but at the funny thing language can do to us.

20 years ago I made a deal with my better half - I will make the money, but she will be the one spending it. It works beautifully, but, if there is a purchase that she just cannot make or arrange, I have absolutely no idea how to choose between all those options available today. I always hated shopping and when I stopped it was still at the time when people in my country often had just 2 choices: take it or leave it. So I need help in these rare cases. And you helped me a lot. THANK YOU.

 

[Dale]

Be grateful your advice didn't come from a proctologist. He might have recommended nicotine suppositories...

 

[doggsie]

Frankie welcome to the forum..
looks like i got here a bit to late as you have already been offered the best advice..good luck in your choice.
I mainly wanted to congratulate you on your command of English as it is excellent......i am married to a Slovak from Presov so i can understand your concern over choice and value for money......when you do get your ecig put a drop of Slivovic in the cartridge is my advice he he he should get quite a nice hit!!!!
I think you will be happy to change to ecigs, but be prepared to give it a little time to adjust to.
Happy Vaping

 

[Kimmiegrif]

welcome to the best ecig forum ever!

 

[Frankie]

It´s a small world. I grew up in Presov and I believe it´s one of the nicest places to live. Yes, and I am marrioed to a Slovak, too. They make perfect wives those Slovak girls

So it IS possible to add alcohol in the cartridge? I thought about that, but was afraid of the cig catching fire.

Kimmiegrif: I agree this forum is perfect. So much so that you need ages just to sift through all the information, not to mention reading it all.

Dale: I would prefer the advice to come from a doctor that deals with smoking-related diseases, but those I know of this profession are complete .......s without a drop of empathy. They tell you to stop, stressing that the chewing gum and stickers are just a way of getting more money from you and advicing you to go cold turkey, "har-har-har, your problem, you should have never started in the first place, so don´t complain and suffer". So one of my motivations is the option of blowing PG mist in their faces telling them where exactly they can shove their patronizing attitude.

 

[efaglil]

Frankie? I found this post a little too late for offering advice as well. I also would have said choose the screwdriver or the 901.

Anyways, I think you have great character! Hope you let us know what you decide.

Best of Luck!

 

[Frankie]

Well, frankly, the screwdriver is too expensive for me as a device to start with. If I develop allergy to nuts, breathing problems or whatever, the loss would be too high. That is why I decided to go with the first choice of most people who came to help me with this. Due to shipping costs/times and also due to the fact that "smokester" seems to have a good name among you veterans, I went to buy there (e-cigs.co.uk). They have just replied to a last question I had considering their products, which means now I am planning to buy:

£26.00 White Mini ECO eCig Starter Pack (green LED) DSE901
£ 12.98 2xWhite Mini eCigarette Atomiser DSE901
£7.99 White Mini eCigarette Battery BLUE LED DSE901
£17.95 eCigs eJuice: "Marlboro" 36 MG - XX HIGH - 30ml (to be diluted with glycerine at home to make weaker kick for longer use).

With shipping it´s about £70, or, in other words, 42 packets of my current brand. I have no idea how long it will last, but then, I will probably only know when I have been using it for some time. I would like to keep my smoking at a moderate level (getting a fix when I really need it), which is... well, probably not 10 a day, because that *is* a bit cruel, but how much exactly, that will depend on my daily blood pressure levels and my slightly higher pulse rate (80-90 as a rule, up to 111 immediately after tobacco cig). I am yet to see how much pure nicotine without all the bad stuff affects it.

(By the way, I suffered from allergic asthma as a kid and it went away when as a teenager - a very stupid one - I started smoking. I read nicotine might be fully responsible for the cure, so maybe ceasing nic in all forms could be worse than switching to e-cig. I don´t know, never really tried in decades...)

Would you approve of this particular purchase for somebody who has no first-hand experience at all? Did I miss something? I hope 3 batteries and 3 atomizers will be enough to start with and will last as long as the liquid. Then I will have to order anyway, so I can buy more spares as needed.

One other thing I haven´t yet seen mentioned anywhere: Sometimes I do not feel like having a full cigarette. I seem to be quite happy in two thirds or so, and the rest is just waste. E-cig can be put away anytime, so that might be another incentive for some people.

 

[efaglil]

I can't think of anything additional to add to that. Marlboro wasn't my flavour of choice when I first began eSmoking but I've grown to quite like it now.

Be sure to dilute it well if you're only on 10 cigs per day or your heart rate may hit the roof.

Best of luck. I hope it goes well for you.

 

[Grumpysanta]

Frankie, if you get the chance to read through this forum then you will notice that many members rewire their dead batteries to run off USB or external batteries. I have seen ready made USB connectors for 901 atomisers but they are rather expensive for what they are and from one supplier whose reputation is very poor on this forum. The point I'm making is that you can reduce the cost further by using an external power source and while you are using your computer there is a ready made power source for you. batteries are one of the major burdons to overcome.

 

[PeteMcArthur]

Hi Frankie, that sounds like a good choice, as Grumpysanta says the USB option is a good one if/when one of your batteries dies.

Spare a thought for UK smokers, your 42 packs would barely buy 13 packs here !!

Good Luck


** Edit ** don't ask me why that appeared as s comment to doggsie, it was meant as a comment to the original post !!

 

[Frankie]

Actually, I have already ordered usb cig from that bad supplier before I realised this it not like buying a new usb stick or any other consumer electronics. Only after that I found this forum and a bit later decided to seek expert advice. I disregard the first purchase as just a loss - stupid mistakes sometimes happen to people who don´t have to be really stupid -, but when the parcel arrives, I will definitely experiment with the power option, because most of my smoking is at the computer. I feed my family doing my hobby - translating books I would read anyway, because I like them - so I spend almost all of my waking hours in front of the screen or at least in a vicinity of a running notebook. (Beware of your dreams: they might come true . And don´t try that at home - it´s a definite health hazard.) And I learned to go for hours without a fix, with kids in car, freezing air outside on the balcony, and so on, which is a habit I would like to keep. The e-cig idea is to improve health, or at least that is what drew me here. I also secretly hope that the e-cig.com usb (because that is probably what we are both talking about), if and when it arrives, will not be a total mess, because a completely identical picture is used for the same titled product in a reputable "smokester" shop. With any luck not just the .jpg is identical, but the product itself as well. And they might even ship it eventually. One never knows...

One thing occured to me before in connection with batteries. I hesitated to raise it, but hopefully no-one will get angry. It´s this: I live in a place where we sort of "go easy" on products, trying to prolong their usefullness as much as possible. My notebook does not have a battery; it´s only inserted when I don´t have access to ac-socket. I recharge my phone every weekend. If it still has the juice, I just let it play music until the battery drains completetly. And the batteries live for a long time. So I ask myself if the e-cigarette batteries could not live much longer if charged only when completely drained and the charging time was really the required 8 hours. All the rechargeable AAAs in our household (well, those that were not mysteriously lost, accidentally washed in a washing machine...) still live after quite a few years. I also recall reading about the cheapest, worst health brand cigar lasting... 6 months? without the need to change anything. I actuallly ordered one of those when I read it. It was cheap and might make a nice backup device.

Do your batteries die very quickly even under the best practice use?

I probably talk to much about irrelevant things, but I took quite a lot from various posts in this forum, loved reading them, liked the posters, so I am probably inadvertently trying to be entertaining, fit into the community or what. Or...
"The man just liked to talk," he would later tell the
police. "Man,I could have walked away to the toilet for ten
minutes and he would've told it all to the till. If I'd been
fifteen minutes the till would have walked away too. Yeah, I'm
sure that's him," he would add when shown a picture of Gordon
Way. "I only wasn't sure at first because in the picture he's
got his mouth closed."

P.S. PeteMcArthur: "lol", and that is the price of legal taxed fags over here. If the Ukrainian Han Solo grannies have not been forced out of business by new EU Shongen Treaty border controls, they would cost half the price. And if we were not in a strictly non-tobacco smoking forum, I would suggest people in high tax EU member states considering the EU stipulation of free movement of goods which means you can fly Sky Europe or Ryanair to one of the cheapo post-Commie countries, have a nice tourist weekend, load your luggage with high tax items and find on Monday back home that you actually saved money. But that would be completely off-topic, so I will not suggest anything of the sort