Amazed at the Reluctance...

[EddieAdams]

Of smoker friends,family in giving vaping a try in an attempt to quit smoking. They all rationalize not trying to quit. I quit without really even trying to. Actually initially set out only to at least get rid of the useless habitual cigarettes and only have the good ones.(coffee,after a meal,se....)
They show interest initially then say" it's too confusing", "seems like a lot of effort"," heard there was antifreeze in those"...
Have explained, linked,and debunked all of those to no avail. Click on the link,order,pay and you're good to go. Effort? Getting dressed and driving to the store just get cigarettes first thing in the morning isn't? Or go outside of your own house in the freezing cold isn't? Antifreeze? I just tell them" yes it's depleted uranium but, you can trust big tobacco not to put anything extra in those cigarettes".
Just really frustrated by it. Had to vent...
Thanks

 

[JudeD]

I think it's important to not overwhelm potential vapers with a lot of choices and terminology right off the bat. Just let them try your most basic setup or a disposable. I'm pretty much comfortable with technology, but even I was overwhelmed with all the abbreviations and terms and choices. If they think they have to start out adjusting their voltage and rebuilding their atty, they might run for the hills. I know I would have.

When I first heard about e-cigs, I heard it was water vapor and I imagined sucking in the steam from my shower and how unsatisfying that would be to help me quit. I think some of the phrases we use to explain how much better vaping is for you than smoking also makes it appear like it wouldn't satisfy enough to help quit. It's a delicate balance. I send people to youtube and tell them to watch Katherine Heigl on Letterman using an e-cig. That was what made me curious enough to try them and I figure, "Hey, it worked for me, so why not?"

 

[Boiler]

Yeah, I have tried to convert my dad.

"It's too confusing." He says.
"Just screw this bit onto the battery." I says.
"Hmm, maybe I'll get one." He says.
"Take this one." I say.
"I have to think about it." He says.

 

[Racehorse]

heh, sounds like my experience. I've offered "loaner" vaping sets to friends and acquaintances and they will not even try it.

Again, self-improvement is something that has to originate in the person, nobody can provide that inspiration or motivation for another.

When and if they are ready, they will try vaping.

 

[Rachy_B]

I find it frustrating that my family wont even give them a try. I can constantly reporting on how well i'm doing and they're pleased for me but they wont try it themselves. I understand that vaping isn't the same thing as smoking and that the sensations are both similar and different but why not give it just a little try...? I wont force it on them, but I wish I could! Lol!x

 

[fourthrok]

I would have been delighted if someone had offered me a "loaner" or starter kit. I went into vaping cold, with absolutely NO knowledge and armed only with hope. However, that aside, and assuming many people won't have the option of a generous friend or family member, the cost was what was a bit daunting to me. Yes, I was spending money on cigarettes, but the ones I was smoking at the time in 2011 were the budget version and I could get a carton of them for about $15. I was pretty much smoking 2 cartons a week +/-. Still...looking at $30 out of a weekly paycheck vs. a $150+/- investment on an unknown quantity out of the same single paycheck was a bit scary for me. Not really knowing what I'd be needing and how long it'd last added to my apprehension. If it didn't take...there went my cigarette ration for nearly the whole month!

The terminology was a turn off, too. "Vaping" sounded so ..well...STUPID to me back then. Lame. And some of the other stuff...it was all so complicated sounding and hard to remember what thingy was called what, and why. A subculture...and I wasn't even sure I wanted to be part of a "Vaping Subculture". I didn't know ANY one who had gone to vaping, or knew anything about it except one FB friend who knew about convenience store types, and scoffed at me. But I did want to quit smoking. So I gritted my teeth, crossed my fingers...and got a kit.

Glad I did!

 

[hvac999]

I agree that things must be kept simple for new vapors. I tried to get my sister to start vaping and she is too confused. The first time I tried vaping I stopped because of the confusing terminology and equipment. I think it must be a natural progression. I will continue to try to get my family members to stop in the most simple ways I know. As many people will disagree, start with a cig-a-like and go from there. Tanks and wicks and batteries are VERY confusing to beginners.

 

[EddardinWinter]

heh, sounds like my experience. I've offered "loaner" vaping sets to friends and acquaintances and they will not even try it.

Again, self-improvement is something that has to originate in the person, nobody can provide that inspiration or motivation for another.

When and if they are ready, they will try vaping.

True words. They have to want to try. I do carry an extra back up with a twist and an extra T2 for someone to try out. I only offer it once, if they come up with some excuse I tell them, "let me know if you change your mind". I make it a point to only offer once.

If they choose to take me up on it great, if not, I feel like it does more harm than good to badger them. They will try when they are ready. This method has been successful for me in making several converts. Most come back around and ask if I still have "that thing you had the other day".

 

[Baditude]

I went months before converting my first smoker.

For most smokers in my experience, they are either reluctant to buy something online, sight unseen. Or the cost of a decent setup seems too expensive to them.

On the first point, I can understand. After giving a couple of disposable NJoys a trial, I went searching for a brick-and-mortar that sold them so that I could see them "in the flesh" before making my decision on what kit to purchase. There were none within a couple hours drive; not counting the over-priced, underwhelming kits sold by tobacco shops, Walgreens, and Walmart. I had already found ECF at that point and knew to stay away from those kits.

I believe you need to spend about $100 to get a quality setup that will be satisfactory for the first 2-3 months of vaping. Many smokers balk at spending that much. They don't realize that they likely spend 1.5 - 2 X that much on their analogs each month. But they rationalize that the cost for smokes can be spread out over a month's time, while the e-cig kit has to be purchased in one lump sum, which many say that they can't afford, living paycheck to paycheck.

I've converted a few people in the last 3-4 months. I believe the timing has to be "right" for each individual. If they aren't ready to put the smokes away, they aren't going to be willing to put forth the effort to learn how to vape and give up the cigarettes. Vaping involves work. It's not as easy as buying a pack of smokes at the convenience store down on the corner, and then just lighting up and go.

One has to drive a fair distance if they are lucky enough to have a local vape shop to get supplies. If not, they have to order online and wait for delivery. Setting up an e-cig requires some minimal education to know how it works and set it up with juices, some diligence in assuring that enough charged batteries are going to be available, and that enough juice is available. No charged batteries + no juice = no vape. This requires planning ahead.

 

[Crimzen Eyez]

I can relate to this post,i have tried to get a few of my friends to try ecigs i have even given them leftover business cards from sites that i have done business with to give them some info as to where they can get something good because when i first started close to two years ago i ended up with something that honestly didn't work for me and i would rather have them not go through the experience..However they continue to smoke analogs so i can understand your frustration.

 

[Vapor Vinny]

They're reluctant for good reason. It's pretty damn confusing with all the different hardware out there and frankly, I've yet to find a vendor who is able to make it understandable to the novice vaper in their product descriptions. No one out there is writing with the beginner in mind. I've been around ecigs for 5 years and I'm still often confused.

 

[EddieAdams]

Thanks for the replies. I should have clarified that I avoid lingo terms when describing vaping, including vaping. I'm aware of how it might shy some away. Just simply say that it's a better version of an ecig. I even make it a point to show them only my 650 twist with a kanger EVOD so they're not so put off by the size.
Guess most of you are right in that people have to want to and decide to do so for themselves. I just know how excited I was with this option the second I saw it. Pack a day camel light smoker with an addictive personality who loved smoking and it worked for me.
Still experienced withdrawal despite nicotine in plenty because of all the other things your body craves that cigarettes contain. Even 3-4 days of what felt like depression in the first 2 weeks. It worked though. I actually like it more than I ever did smoking now.
Maybe I'll have enough gear to loan out a battery and filled clearomizer to someone soon enough. Seems like a good approach.

 

[JudeD]

Another tactic you can use is not recommending it as a stop smoking tool, but as something they can use when they can't have a smoke. I would have bristled if anyone had handed me one to try to get me to quit, but since I picked one up just to use at a conference where I wouldn't be able to have a cig, I didn't feel pressured. By Day Two, I liked it better than smoking and just never picked up another smoke. That was ten months ago.

Just a thought.

 

[cocacola31173]

Im kinda getting my mother on board. After I have been trying it for a couple months she finally asked me. I ordered everything she needed and I got her a few Kanger T3's and keep them filled for her. When they are empty I clean them and refill them for her. She does manage to keep her batteries charged.

Right now I have been playing around with a carto tank and going to have her try those as well. She still smokes at work but I think she uses her Spinner when she is home so its a start.

We have a deal though she buys the supplies like cartos and the Kanger replacement heads and I buy all the juice. So far its working out pretty well.

I never noticed though that both my parents inhale directly in their lungs when they smoke. I have never done that. I had to teach my mother a different way to inhale and she finally got the hang of it. When my father finally asked about it and when I told him specifically not to inhale directly he did it anyway, had a coughing fit and never asked me again. I can't really say on here what he really said! LOL

But I don't bug them about it..they are grown people...I do though keep commenting on how much better I feel.

 

[John Alexander]

They're reluctant for good reason. It's pretty damn confusing with all the different hardware out there and frankly, I've yet to find a vendor who is able to make it understandable to the novice vaper in their product descriptions. No one out there is writing with the beginner in mind. I've been around ecigs for 5 years and I'm still often confused.

I agree that beyond the basic starter kits, etc., the equipment quickly starts looking like technology salvaged from a crashed alien spaceship. I looked at mods and I couldn't have been more confused with all the parts (tips, replacement rings, metal cores that had to have holes punched in them) and just give up for now. Volts are just two pieces that screw together and so far that's good enough.

Vendors should assume the buyers know nothing. Just look at how many new posts there are every few hours in the beginners forum. Vaping is a foreign concept to a large percentage of the population.

 

[EddieAdams]

Im kinda getting my mother on board. After I have been trying it for a couple months she finally asked me. I ordered everything she needed and I got her a few Kanger T3's and keep them filled for her. When they are empty I clean them and refill them for her. She does manage to keep her batteries charged.

Right now I have been playing around with a carto tank and going to have her try those as well. She still smokes at work but I think she uses her Spinner when she is home so its a start.

We have a deal though she buys the supplies like cartos and the Kanger replacement heads and I buy all the juice. So far its working out pretty well.

I never noticed though that both my parents inhale directly in their lungs when they smoke. I have never done that. I had to teach my mother a different way to inhale and she finally got the hang of it. When my father finally asked about it and when I told him specifically not to inhale directly he did it anyway, had a coughing fit and never asked me again. I can't really say on here what he really said! LOL

But I don't bug them about it..they are grown people...I do though keep commenting on how much better I feel.

Nice arrangement. Guess you got good T3's.
Mine leaked too often for me to recommend to someone new to vaping but,you're there to remedy it if it does happen. I sound like a broken record; the EVOD seems vastly improved over the t3. Only ever leak when they're low low on liquid. Replacement heads are cheap. Just saying if you experience issues with the t3s. If it's not broke don't fix it though...

 

[mostlyclassics]

Eddie, this sounds cynical but I swear it's true.

Probably 90% of the smoking population is incapable of mastering the mystery of pushing a button to get vapor.

Many, many vapers I know still buy automatic disposable cigalikes at the gas station, mall or WallyWorld. This is even after I let them use the hardware I have with me and I explain how dirt-cheap it is for me using superior hardware and e-liquids. They just plain can't master that trick.

 

[MorpheusPA]

It does depend on the person. My cousins and my mother took to it like ducks to water.

Pretty much literally. Mom picked up her first vape and that was the last cigarette she ever smoked. She refills her own cartomizers and cleartomizers with DIY liquid now as well (I do make the DIY for her). All of my cousins have quit smoking except for two.

One still occasionally has a cigarette. The other one uses the vape when he can't smoke a cigarette but otherwise smokes. Still, both get some harm reduction so that's good.

I found simply using it in front of them set them off. For smokers who aren't ready to quit, this may not work.

However, they have to be ready to quit or at least ready to make some partial change to their lives. You can't force that, nor should you bother trying. Like little mules, they'll dig in their heels and you'll get nothing but moderately annoyed.

To simplify, I usually tell them that it's two things--a battery to provide power and something to hold and deliver the liquid (entirely leaving attys and the fact that you can separate the latter bit out of it at first).

Then tell 'em that although there are MANY choices, you feel that this solution (whatever it is) is the best place to start. In my case, I recommend a simple Volt X2 and cartomizers. And I point out that they may very well move on from there as I did, but that simplicity is best to begin with.

 

[bazmonkey]

I've only had a bit under two months to evangelize smokers to the vaping cause, but in my experience so far, the hesitation is the same hesitation they (and I) had to a smoking cessation product. Without trying to actually use it when you're craving an analog, I think most smokers have tried a patch/gum, hated it and found it a poor substitute, and simply can't imagine this being better.

I never would have guessed before I tried one that it would be anywhere near this... good, you know? I think when people hear testimonials about getting off analogs as quickly as many of us have, and as happily as many of us have, in their minds they picture the woman on the Chantix commercial and think "Yeah... right."

E-cigs aren't the first silver bullets in the smoking cessation world, so I completely understand the wariness.

 

[OR-DMBFAN]

I gave my mom and sister some Lotus rechargables and several packs of refill cartos for Christmas and my mom hasn't smoked since. Sister still smokes but mom is happy...reluctant to get a vv device. "Looks like some kind of drug paraphernalia!"