Advice from those who quit analogs gradually

[Hulamoon]

Looking for advice from those who've managed to go down to zero analogs over a period of time, specifically if a change of hardware or a different nicotine level for example equalled the game changer for you, from which point you preferred to vape over lighting up a stinkie? Or did the deisre for smokes just dwindle given time? Thanks so much. If there's a thread already addressing this please let me know where I can find it. I'm on a 510 mega with attie and cart, 24 mg nic, and am trying the WTA from Aroma - too early to say how effective it is for me yet. Immediately cut down from a pad to 7 per day (and I was just looking for a stopgap for a travel itinerary, not really believing I would ever think myself up to quitting, and yet! Here I am already at 13-14 less coffin nails per day. So I'm inspired to say the least! Thanks so much.

 

[priorities]

Welcome and congrats to you!! Fantastic! and hang in there...some fantastic people will come and give you advice...i'm new and don't have many answers..but they do ...wonderful people here..you'll see...............I started gradually too...when I woke up one morning and tried the e cig instead....and it worked...that was the start of it for me....I kept up analogs here and there and then each day ....replaced that 'moment' of lighting up with the e cig and that nicotine did it ...and have not gone back..but everyone is different...don't feel badly ...you 'll get there...!! Lots of support here..LOTS!! good luck to you..take good care..*

 

[kookycole]

I'm one of the lucky ones that was able to quit right away, but my brother is someone who is doing it gradually. He noticed that it helped to use a higher nicotine level at certain times of the day, when he craved a cigarette most (in the morning, after meals, etc). He also said that when he was switching back and forth he began to really notice how nasty cigarettes tasted, and that helped him cut down. I hope you figure out what works for you, and congrats on cutting down on your cigarette use.

 

[DeviantDe]

I was a gradual quitter. I did end up changing equipment fairly quickly from the skinny joye 510 to a silver bullet, but that was due to wanting longer battery life and better juice delivery options(large tanks). I've stuck with the 24mg nicotine throughout and don't see myself lowering it any time soon. Basically I started out trying to cut back, when I wanted to smoke I vaped a few puffs instead, if that wasn't enough then I would go ahead and smoke, I also banned smoking in my car, which I think was a big thing for me. Slowly it got to where I was vaping a lot more than smoking, many times I would vape after smoking just to get some flavor lol. When I finally did quit totally, it had been 3 days since I had a cigarette & for that 3 days I had thought I still had one in a pack, I was really wanting one and when I went to get the last one from the pack, it wasn't there. I decided I would tough it out, I mean I had made it that far right? so I didn't go buy more. I still craved a real cigarette for about a month, but as time went on, the craving got less. I still crave one on really stressful occasions, but have just kept vaping and so far so good On those occasions of cravings, I switch to a different flavor, I go with something with a strong flavor and throat hit, for me that is the atomic cinnacyde from tasty vapor, still only 24mg nic, but that strong cinnamon gives that throat burn.

I also have a friend that is switching as well, she has cut back a lot and is very close to quitting, and to help her she quit buying her regular cigarette brand and instead buys something she doesn't like very much, it seems to make her cutting back go much quicker than mine did.

 

[ravenlily]

It does take time. Its a very hard habit to break. Youre on a great path. I bought my first pv april first. I bought my last pack of cigs april 13. I sought out cigs from friends at clubs. A few here and there. I now can go a week or 2 without an analog. They started tasting so nasty. Had one tonight. A menthol camel crush. All i could think was i am trained to enjoy this but i wish i had a carto of halo menthol ice more. Dont feed bad for not quitting in one day. I know soon i wont even think of them but its still part of my ingrained persona.

 

[B2L]

It took me about a week to fully give up the cigs, I started at 24 mg nic and still had some pretty bad cravings but went from about a pack a day to 4-5 per day, it wasnt until I upped the nic to 36 mg that I was able to give them up completely. That was almost 2 years ago now and I couldnt imagine smoking again, cant even stand the smell now if someone smoking walks by. Enjoy the journey!

 

[ravenlily]

Oh and to add i started with a popular starter kit. Then a joye 510 then an ego t. Now im using cartos aand clearos on ego batts. Im really enjoying the boge cartos. Excellent throat hit like an analog just hate the constant refilling. May have to go tank soon.

 

[yzer]

Well, I started with an E-Power 14650 (regulated 3.7V) in November of 2011 using Smoktech 510 LR XL cartomizers. I gradually decreased the number of cigarettes I smoked from 30 Camel Blue 99s per day down to about three per day by April of 2012. I replaced those cigarettes by vaping 24mg juice on the E-Power 14650.

In April 2012 I quit smoking cigarettes entirely. Not a one after that. Now I'm using 2-3ml per day of 24mg juice with the E-Power 14650 w/Smoktech single coil 2.0 ohm LR XL cartos and feel no need to use anything further. I plan on cutting the juice down to 18mg within a couple of months and further after that. Variable voltage PV? Nah, I don't need one.

 

[JENerationX]

I'm finally off them. Flavors and having backups for my backups. I finally trust the equipment will work, I'll have the right flavors with me (I get bored and want to change), and I make sure everything is packed up and ready to go.

 

[NGIB]

I'm finally off them. Flavors and having backups for my backups. I finally trust the equipment will work, I'll have the right flavors with me (I get bored and want to change), and I make sure everything is packed up and ready to go.

Words to live by here. I carry 4 eGo batteries to work with me along with a half-dozen cartos and clearos. At home I use either an EPower or a Vtube and I have 2 of each of them and 8 batteries for each. I will not go back to smoking because of a hardware failure or running out of supplies. While I switched immediately, my son still has 2-3 smokes a day - but he's getting there. Just stick with it - it will work...

 

[JENerationX]

Oh... with the flavor thing. I loaded up 3 cartos with my favorite juice, had my 4 batteries on me and went to work one day.... vaped my face off all morning. Then for some reason after lunch the juice flavor seemed too harsh, had an aftertaste and became unvapeable... I bought a pack on my way home to get my nic fix. Lesson learned. Always, always, always, have an alternate juice with you in case your juice goes off for some reason. I usually have some fruit, or something like arnie palmer or peach sweet tea... and then a latte, or bakery flavor.. something heavier. When the fruit whatever starts getting acidic late in the day, I switch to something sweet. When sweet starts to taste saccharine-ish, I go back to the fruit and it's magically fine again.

 

[NGIB]

Absolutely true. I generally have 3-4 flavors with me as it's not uncommon for one of them to go "dead" quite suddenly. I was a menthol smoker for 35 years but I rarely vape it at all. I do carry 1 menthol carto with me always though as it will get me over the rough spots when ALL my flavors taste crappy...

 

[yzer]

I have six 14650 batteries that I use in rotation for a single cell APV (E-Power 14650). I have two complete E-Power 14650s (in parts, never used) as back-ups for the primary if I should need them. I also keep 3 months of my favorite juices in reserve just in case. Guess you could say that I'm prepared. I order supplies three months in advance of actual demand. That way I have enough time to quit vaping entirely if the rubber actually meets the road.

If I need to hunt rabbits for food with my 1911 I won't be worrying about finding vaping stuff.

 

[NGIB]

If I need to hunt rabbits for food with my 1911 I won't be worrying about finding vaping stuff.

We're both .... about having backups for backups and both have 1911s, imagine that...

 

[Hulamoon]

Thank you for the warm welcome Priorities. When I was looking for something/anything to help my trip go better, I googled, and "ECF" came up. I was curious so I came to visit and I read..and read...and read... Since then, my success to date is wholly due to the advice and suggestions of this forum. And needless to say I'm most happy!

 

[Hulamoon]

I'm one of the lucky ones that was able to quit right away, but my brother is someone who is doing it gradually. He noticed that it helped to use a higher nicotine level at certain times of the day, when he craved a cigarette most (in the morning, after meals, etc). He also said that when he was switching back and forth he began to really notice how nasty cigarettes tasted, and that helped him cut down. I hope you figure out what works for you, and congrats on cutting down on your cigarette use.

That's good info kookycole. I used to smoke USA Gold gold (originally called "lights" but then they dropped the "light" on that flavor). So in getting e-juice, I went one step up in nic level from 12 (lights) to 18 (regular), given that the delivery system might not be as direct as an analog. But it didnt cut the mustard. So went to 24. And as you've read, this is nearly successful for me. I am thinking about 36, though I am hesitant only because a "light" analog is "meant' to be @ a 12 on the nic scale, and 36 seems waaay up there! Did you or has anyone reading this post find that your e-cig nic level requirement was wildly different from what your original stinkie nic scale is meant to equate to? I'm wondering if a different PV gives a bigger bolt of nic vs 510 titan when the same level of nicotine juice is used?

 

[Hulamoon]

I also have a friend that is switching as well, she has cut back a lot and is very close to quitting, and to help her she quit buying her regular cigarette brand and instead buys something she doesn't like very much, it seems to make her cutting back go much quicker than mine did.

I'm off to UK shortly...hmmmmm...wonder if they still sell the unfiltered Woodbines there...LOL Thanks Devi-De

 

[Hoosier]

I didn't quit smoking cigarettes. Discovered that I had forgotten to smoke at some point and haven't had the desire to smoke again since. I basically vaped when I could and smoked when I had to.

There were not as many options when I did it. I got what is now generally referred to as a standard Joye 510 starter kit. I enjoyed my American Spirit non-filters, but was looking for a way to have more, ummm... quality (yeah let's use that word in a PG forum) quality time with girlfriend. The battery charge life, quite frankly, sucked. If I was lucky a battery would go for half and hour before it needed charging and it took at least 1.5 hours to recharge. I ended up getting many batteries, chargers, and a PCC. I still vaped when I could and smoked when I had to. Believe it or not, it was not the issues with batteries that stopped me from switching over to vaping quicker, it was the juice.

In the beginning none of the juices I tried tasted good and even the ones that were OK never satisfied me like a cigarette could. I kept trying different nicotine levels. I noticed when I vaped over 36mg that my desire to smoke was a bit reduced, but I wasn't satisfied. I kept trying different flavors, but I vaped when I could and smoked when I had to. One day I ordered the stupidest sounding flavor I had ever encountered. It was mostly a joke, to myself, because none of the flavors (tobacco flavors) tasted anything close to good to me. When that juice came I announced the joke to the household and dripped it into a BF modded cart. (kids, ask your parents about BF and modding carts as those were the old days) I popped that cart on and vaped and that stupid/horrible sounding juice actually tasted good. Second vape gave me something I thought vaping would never give me, satisfaction. I felt as if I had just smoked a cigarette, but it tasted like German chocolate cake, and for reasons that boggled my mind, that was great when I thought it would be horrible.

Since that first satisfying flavor, there were others that I found, but I still vaped when I could and smoked when I had to. One morning, while getting ready for work, I noticed there was one cig missing from the pack I put in my pocket. That was the same number missing as the morning before. I realized I had forgotten to smoke. I carried that pack, with one missing cigarette, around for months afterward, for just-in-case. I never smoked another cig from that pack or any other pack. One day I gave them, and a lighter, to a homeless guy who wanted to bum a light.

I'm pretty well convinced that the flavor that "works" for a vaper is never what they first thought it would be. In fact I'm betting it is probably a flavor that they never would think would "work". I'm also convinced that if you want no stress, then vaping when you can and smoking when you have to while looking for those perfect flavors, is a great way to leave burning tobacco to go its own way while you go yours.

 

[ndnshift]

chewing tons of gum also helps keep your brain off it alternate between chewing gum and vaping all day, think of yourself as a vaper rather than a smoker, and you'll get there

took me a year and a half after starting vaping to stop. never in my life would i think that i wouldn't want a cig. finally stopped for good jan 1 of this year and i truly have no desire for a cigarette. i did have a really expensive cigar a few weeks ago (first smoking at all since jan) and it was great. afterwards i did not crave another cigar or cigarettes at all... absolutely amazed how much i don't fancy smoking anymore save for the very very occasional cigar. i think i may have one next new years to celebrate i'm not going to consider once every 6 months falling off the wagon if it truly stays that way.

in my head, im done. i finally understand when people say you will never really quit until you have completely made up your mind to do so. any addiction is always in our heads, so it can be overcome with will...

 

[donnah]

I gradually quit over 3 months. First I had to get a decent setup.. one that I knew would support me when I finally quit cigarettes altogether. I had to scope it out, get the lay of land so to speak. While I did go into this as a means of getting away from cigarettes, I didn't put any pressure on myself. I was able to quit cigarettes by using a standard 510 batt and dripping in standard resistance (around 2.5ohm) attys. But I quickly ordered an eGo kit and that was even better. Back to the quitting... I had to have some juices that I liked also. I was able to immediately cut down on smoking more and more as time went by and I learned the ropes of vaping. I researched and studied. I would vape then smoke. It wasn't long before I genuinely preferred vaping to smoking and finally let go of that last "once a day" cigarette. I haven't looked back since and don't miss smoking at all!

In the early days I would have good vaping days and not so good vaping days. As my experience and level of devices progressed, I experienced fewer and fewer not so good vaping days. I remember back when it was generally a fact that not every "hit" would be perfect and not to expect it. That's no so anymore. Now every day is a great vaping day. Every hit is perfect.. and if it's not, I know exactly why it's not and can quickly adjust something to make it perfect. variable voltage and tanks really changed my vaping. I can now go all day on one battery and one tank of juice. I can make my own juice and know I will love it. Vaping is now much easier and more convenient than cigarettes. I know what to buy to satisfy me and where to get it. Sometimes now I do branch out and buy something new just to try.. last week I bought some of the ego mega dual coil cartos just to try and found that I still I prefer carto tanks. I have some attys and everyonce in a while drip, but for me, attys are too much maintenance so I doubt I'll buy anymore.

I'm at a really good place in my vaping evolution now and very happy I read that some people go into this determined to stop smoking right away and beat themselves up when they can't. Some of us need some extra time to get used to vaping, to find the right device and feeding system and that's OK. I remember when I was around a month or so into vaping and still smoking and my husband make a comment like "I thought you started this to quit smoking" and I told him that I was working on it and I was. It took time for me to do it. Some can do it immediately, some "accidentally" quit and for others (like me) it takes a bit of time.

My daily vaping setups are as follows.. I take a vv madvapes box to work with a tank of my diy caramel cappuccino to work. I like the coffee flavor and the madvapes box is small and easy to turn on and off. I vape at around 5v with 3ohm xl cartos in a DCtank. At home I still use the madvapes box along with my provari, my vv Reo and my VV Sgt Army Tank (which I decided to fix rather than sell) All I use anymore are 3ohm xl cartos in tanks and bottom feed. I do take the bigger devices out but not usually to work. I diy my own juice and have finally settled with a few good, simple recipes that are easy to make, cheap and last a good long while with no flavor changes or gunking. I recharge batts every day when I get home from work and it only takes a couple minutes to refill my tanks every night. In the mornings, I grab my madvapes box and go. Once a month or so I mix a big batch of unflavored juice and once a week or so, take a minute to parcel some of it out into a smaller bottle and add some flavor. It only takes a couple minutes to condom fill and swap out a fresh carto (I usually hot swap) for a tank. My cartos last from a couple weeks for one mix to a month for another.

I didn't mean to write my life story but got started and just kept on LOL.

edit.. I just read Hoosier's story above.. my search for a good juice was also a big chapter in my vaping evolution. To condense it, I'll just say that finding a good juice wasn't that hard. I love several juices from a couple vendors, but hated that I could only got 1 good day out of a carto when using them. I then did an experiment where I bought the ingredients and only vaped unflavored juice for awile. It was actually very good and that carto lasted forever! Then I experimented with adding a bit of flavor and was very happy with the results, taste wise and carto-life wise. I still vape unflavored juice on occasion. It helps to Kinda.. clear my palette and after that my flavored juices taste a whole lot better