Addiction risks and safety to a casual smoker

[rectifier]

Hi guys,

Let me start off that I am a very casual smoker. I occasionally smoke pipes, cigars, and hookah and I have never bought an "analog" cigarette in my life, always shrugging them off as nasty tasting and dangerous.

However little i smoke, I do very much enjoy smoking pipes and cigars. I was wondering if e-cigs would allow me some of that enjoyment in my daily life without the risk of cancer.

Anyways I am NOT a morning person and rely heavily on caffeine to make it through the first half of my day... perhaps a small amount of nicotine could replace the coffee which I am sick of and the diet coke which is bad for my teeth, in a more convenient and enjoyable form factor, and help me keep alert through the morning? It sounds to me like the physiological effects of caffeine are roughly equivalant to the nicotine in terms of danger to the body. I am not addicted to the caffeine, I can stop any time seriously though, I am just very tired on a day I drink no caffeine.

I'm not worried about my lungs, as a cigar/pipe smoker I never got in the habit of inhaling (gag) so I know nicotine is absorbed through the mouth and nose and that's how I would smoke an e-cig too.

I am mainly concerned with addiction. I have never felt a "need" to smoke a cigar and am unfamilar with the addictive capability of nicotine personally. All I know is that cigarettes inevitably lead to more cigarettes for everyone I know that smokes them.

So, does vaping tend to lead to more vaping? I know a lot of people here are successfully quitting smoking with e-cigs, but are you now addicted to e-cig vapor?

There are some posts on here from people who seem like real vapour fiends and that's not what I want to be. Though it seems all were previously heavy smokers. Should I just stay away for safety's sake?

Bit of an essay for my first post, so thanks for the input! Might be my last post too if y'all reccomend against smoking these things!

 

[calbff]

Good question, I'd be interested in some opinions on that as well. I wonder if vaping fosters a greater addiction.

 

[GrungBuk]

to be honest I recently hit two and a half weeks from my last cigarette and I notice I vape more than I smoked which was heavily almost two packs a day.
But I also noticed that I am only vaping at the same times that I would want a cigarette I just have more opportunities to do so and I feel better about it.

 

[Chris77]

Should I just stay away for safety's sake?

Yes.

Nicotine is far more addictive than caffeine as you are probably very aware. If e-cigarettes are able to satisfy the cravings of so many heavy smokers, you can bet the nicotine is doing its job: making you want more of it by temporarily relieving the anguish it causes.

I would suggest to you that it would just be a matter of time before you became a full-on nicotine addict by adding e-cigarettes to your morning routine.

No one knows the long term effects of regular e-cigarette use; most of us here are just betting that it's far less dangerous than traditional smokes. While that's probably a good bet, I'd much rather see you stick to something (caffeine, sugar) whose effects are well known and have been studied over the long term. No need to join this "experiment".

We're all about harm reduction here and I'm not sure you'd benefit from that by replacing a morning cup or two of coffee with nicotine. It's probably a question better asked of an MD.

I'd also add that nicotine ingested with an e-cigarette doesn't provide nearly the same "rush" that is provided by a traditional cigarette ("analog") or cigar. Most smokers here I think would agree that you won't get the typical morning buzz and instant feeling of craving satisfaction provided by an analog. It certainly doesn't get my heart pumping like a strong cup of coffee. When I first started vaping, I required a good ten puffs before the craving went away. The effects, however, may be different for a casual smoker.

That said, if you can try replacing your casual use of cigars and pipes with equivalent electronic cigarettes, you just might benefit. I'm only suggesting to you that you do not add more nicotine to your current casual intake.

 

[rlh445]

I would say that as a short time vaper and 10 year smoker, you wouldn't want to start up a nicotine regimen if your body weren't already up to the task. There are plenty of healthier caffeine alternatives for you if you are done with coffee and/or soda. Tea is one of those things. Tea is very awesome in many ways and still carries a *natural* amount of caffeine that would probably be suitable for your needs. Don't get started on nicotine or those cigarettes you find nasty may soon become those cigarettes you find irresistible.

 

[rectifier]

Wow, high traffic forum!

Ok, thanks for the advice. I will stick to my occasional enjoyment of tobacco and keep myself from becoming a nicotine addict.

I agree that having nicotine available whenever I feel the need (instead of when i want to sit down and commit to packing and smoking a pipe, usually along with a pint of something black) would foster a greater addiction potential. I like enjoying my smokes and don't want to become a slave to them.

Thanks for steering me away from what could have been a life-changing bad decision.

 

[redbucket]

I don't think there's a danger of chemical addiction in vaping, at least no more so than drinking tea. But just like drinking tea, it is very easy to turn it into ritualistic and psychological routine. I smoked, I always liked smoking, I was never a pack a day smoker because I didn't want to deal with the stink. But I always enjoyed it and would occasionally (once a week at least) have a cigar. And if I had a car ride ahead of me, I always bought a few cigarillos so I could pull over and enjoy a break every hour or two. Since I've picked up vaping, I vape almost every day and usually for more than half an hour a day total. I love it. If atomizers suddenly no longer existed, I would miss it. But I wouldn't feel withdrawal pains or anything. I know because I've gone on week long family trips and decided to leave the e-cig behind and while I missed it, I simply missed it in the way I missed watching House on Mondays or waking up in my own bed. It didn't hurt.

Don't know if that was helpful.

Edit: I drink at least 16 ounces of coffee per day. This is not optional. Family trips include at least 16 ounces of coffee per day. I'm not aware of a place on earth where I can not get 16 ounces of coffee per day, but if these places exist I am not interested in visiting them.

 

[Dana A]

I think this has been well said. Don't cross over to the dark side with us LOL. I love vaping WAY more than I ever loved smoking and I was a 2+ pack a day smoker. Nicotine will dig it's claws in to you at any chance it gets and you will be forever hooked. Run... don't walk the other way.

 

[Eternityroad]

You might try a very low mg. nicotine juice, like 5 or 6. Also there are some great pipe/cigar flavors out there. Look about at the juice sites.

 

[Warren D. Lockaby]

Welcome to ECF & thanks for posting such an interesting question. I generally agree with most all the responses. However I must note, everyone's situation is different. I believe *if* you could transition from pipes & cigars to vaping without appreciably increasing your nicotine intake this would benefit your health. Whether or not you'd be able to do that I cannot say - and I doubt if you can either, else you wouldn't have posed the question. There are many things to consider and for the non-addicted, the possibility of addiction must certainly be foremost among them. As a long-time nic addict myself though, addiction to nicotine is the least of my concerns. I'm far more concerned about the carcinogens in burning tobacco.

So bottom line (to me anyway) is this: if you're an adult (as I presume you to be) you need to evaluate all the data you can get your hands on & make as informed a decision as possible. You might want to make a list - pros on one side, cons on the other - because in fact this *is* an important life decision. You *might* try vaping & find it more enjoyable then smoking, so much so that you'll be able to taper the nic level down to zero in a fairly short time... or not.

As an adult in a more perfect World you should be able to make such decisions free from outside influence, simply by paying attention to your own body & your consciousness of it. There's not much I can do to alter the imperfections of this World but now & then I'm able to control my proximity to them.

Best wishes, & whatever you decided, have a Blessed life!

 

[elfstone]

That ^^

And, therefore, a suggestion that seems appropriate to the OP's case would be trying 0 nicotine. I'm not sure what is meant by 'occasional', but any smoking is more risky by orders of magnitude than no smoking...

As an aside, even without the nicotine, vaping is bound to be addictive - the flavor, the gesture, the ritual of fiddling with equipment and all the shiny toys out there - every bit as addicting as nicotine. But we live a life of addictions, all of us, anyway, most of which are not chemical.