Are you physically addicted to vaping?

[Mr.Mann]

I have been thinking about this topic for a while and would like to know what you all think.

-Are you physically addicted to vaping?
-Are you psychologically addicted to vaping?
-If you answered yes to both physiological and psychological addiction to vaping, how does it play out in comparison with your (previous) addiction to cigarettes? Any similarities? Not even close?
-Is it possible that some of us are infatuated with vaping as opposed to being straight-up addicted?

Thoughts?​

 

[wokkerk]

you have a good point and it will be interesting to see where this one goes. As for me I think that based on where most of us came from being (previous) smokers that we have addictive personalities where we have to fill that new or now long term hole that not using analogs has created with something so I really wouldn't be surprised if the answer to both was yes.

 

[zipthehuh]

I am going o say yes to both parts. I smoked over a pack a day for 15 years. I did not want to quit but knew I should. I started vaping for that reason. There are times when I really feel like I need a vape, especially after meals, when I would always have an analog


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[Yves]

I would say yes to both. After smoking for 43 years 1 pad a day. I gave up by accident when I bought an e cig to use when I was some where that smoking was not allowed.

Within a month I had dropped my nicotine from 18mg to 12mg and now half the day at 6mg so it's not the nicotine that I am addicted to, but the hand to mouth action and the sensation of blowing clouds of vaper

Am I even thinking of stopping vaping.......no I enjoy it too much. Is that addiction?

 

[Fiamma]

I think perhaps both, but the heaviest weight would go to the psychological addiction, the hand to mouth motion, the oral satisfaction and the distance you create with it between yourself and something you might not want to answer/do/see/hear right now.

I used to light up at work when someone came in with that omg look and I knew that I was going to be handed a hot potato and before going onto a phone conversation that promised to be difficult. A bit of time to sort of mentally sigh and get fortified prior to entering the fray as it were.

Physically I have not minded giving up the nicotine all that much. I am vaping at 4mg now and probably will stay there, not from need, but from reading the research they are doing on nicotine and what they see in us older folk with memory retention, alzheimer's prevention etc. I've also been ADD all my life and it definitely helps keep me focused. Vaping also gives me something to do with my hands now that they are no longer holding a stinkie.

Forgot to say, I'm 72, smoked for 55 years, the last 20 of them at 2 cartons a week on a regular basis. I had tried many times to quit, this time it got down to the money I was spending. I got mad, decided to do some research and a month later I was vaping. I've never looked back, it was a very easy transition for me. The day my gear came was the day of my last stinkie.

 

[nightroman]

Yes to both. 30 years PAD. But I vape only 6 weeks so far (no analog, I simply do not want it anymore, vaping is much better), perhaps it's too early to say anything.

 

[Bob92985]

I smoked analogs off and on since i was 12 (26 now) I smoked hard in the USMC ( 1 carton per week during deployment to Iraq) and I really liked smoking. When I got out and start raising my family my wife really wanted me to quit for her and the kids so I did. That was almost 2 years ago and I still have never lost the urge. I missed smoking and Vaping gives me everything that I loved about smoking right back.

 

[singu]

Yes to both..i smoked for 17 years. As Bob92985 said..vaping gives me everything that i loved but without the bad things ...i have no intention to quit. I consider it as a hobby as well as an addiction.

 

[Turnip]

you have a good point and it will be interesting to see where this one goes. As for me I think that based on where most of us came from being (previous) smokers that we have addictive personalities where we have to fill that new or now long term hole that not using analogs has created with something so I really wouldn't be surprised if the answer to both was yes.

What Wokkerk said.
Im guilty on all counts....

 

[RossMc]

I would say yes in a way but not as bad as I was with cigarettes, I can go an hour without vaping and not be in desperate need to get to my device whereas when I was smoking I couldn't go an hour without having a cigarette.

 

[YKruss]

Yes and Yes.

 

[DaveP]

I used to get a craving at least once an hour for a cigarette when I was stuck in a computer room or office working on equipment. I had the liberty to go outside to the vehicle and smoke. Whether I needed a part or not, I'd go have a smoke and make a phone call or two.

With vaping, I don't feel that irresistible urge. If I have to, I can go for 2 or 3 hours and not get it. Nicotine is addictive, but it's far from the clutch we experienced from other substances in tobacco. MAOI components were one of the strong ingredients. Tobacco chemists learned early on what was addictive and how to create the components without actively adding discrete controlled substances to the mix.

This is your brain on nicotine

 

[tj99959]

Actually NO, it isn't vaping that I'm addicted to, it's the nicotine, same as before I started vaping that I'm addicted to.
It's simply that inhalation is a more efficient delivery system than a patch or gum.

 

[Bob92985]

Yes to both..i smoked for 17 years. As Bob92985 said..vaping gives me everything that i loved but without the bad things ...i have no intention to quit. I consider it as a hobby as well as an addiction.

There ya go. I think Hobby is the best way to describe my use too.

 

[mostapha]

-Are you physically addicted to vaping?

Yes. Well, to nicotine.

-Are you psychologically addicted to vaping?

Yes. Well, to the habit of playing with something in my hands.

-If you answered yes to both physiological and psychological addiction to vaping, how does it play out in comparison with your (previous) addiction to cigarettes? Any similarities? Not even close?

Possibly a bit more, but I'm a geek……and there are toys to tinker with. That aspect of it may be a bit greater with vaping, because instead of just holding something and drawing on it every now and then…I have buttons. And now a voltage knob. And atomizers/cartos to switch around. And dripping. And modifying my toots/habits/voltage to keep the atomizer at the right temperature. If anything, it's a more-fulfilling experience than smoking in that regard……much closer to pipe smoking than cigarettes, which was always fun but not worth the cost of a good pipe or the hassle of dealing with loose leaf tobacco that could kill my pets.

The tobacco from my Luckies got everywhere anyway. I kept my laptop bag and jeans on a high shelf that the cat couldn't get to because of it. Now, I just have to keep her away from liquid spills (since propylene glycol is toxic to cats) and my supplies…which is easy in a drawer.

Still can't vape inside at home, but I've made my peace with that. Plus, "having" to leave occasionally and walk around gives me time to reset my brain and take a break from whatever was going on……which was always one of the biggest draws of smoking and something that can be lost with vaping.

And, seriously, good high-end pipes make Provaris and Darwins look down-right affordable when you consider that you need at least 2 if you like aromatic and regular tobacco. Having a whole new bowl for every flavor (instead of just dedicated atomizers) gets expensive when you realize that good pipes are a couple hundred bucks.

-Is it possible that some of us are infatuated with vaping as opposed to being straight-up addicted?

Oh yeah. There's a definite infatuation. This stuff looks like an awesome drug-delivery system from a sci-fi movie, and I don't have to be as concerned about who sees me doing it……partially because I haven't found a single person IRL who even pretends to tout that BS about antifreeze or that it's–in some ways–more of an unknown than a poison that will kill you. And even if they did……there are perfectly valid responses that people can't argue with anyway.

Plus…watching the smokers squirm when I vape in a bar and they have to go out to the patio. Lots of fun.

And, again, these toys are awesome.

 

[Katatonik]

I know I'm not full on addicted. I lost my PV once for about a week, and although frustrated and had cravings, something about the fact that I just couldn't find it wasn't horribly heart breaking. When I found it (under my bed but in clean sight if you just looked at the bed from the right angle), I vaped and was glad.

I find the very mechanics of vaping fun. Inhaling and exhaling, seeing how much I can blow out, the taste, etc. is just plain fun.
For the most part, when I get a craving I just need to chain vape for about 10 seconds to nullify it. Of course, sometimes I chain vape for half an hour or more--long after my nicotine fix. I should really get some no nic juice and some super high nic juice and have two cartos at all time so that if I want nicotine I'll put one carto on and vape for 10 seconds, and then when I vape I can switch the carto and vape to my heart's content.

The only time I actually get the NEED need for vaping is when I'm stressed or ...... off or having a panic attack (I have anxiety issues). For the most part though, I only "need" nicotine maybe 3/4 occasions a day. I actually wasn't that heavy of a smoker--I smoked a pack a week. I don't know how you guys were 1+ PAD.

 

[sidetrack]

The two most surprising things for me about vapeing where, in order........
1. It worked
2. I was/am more addicted to the oral fixation/visual aspect of my old/new habit.

By month six I was at 0 mg., that was almost a year ago and I'm still vapeing (although not as much) and not in any big hurry to give it up.

 

[nansc]

Yes to both but with vaping I can go without for a long time whereas with cigs you just go crazy if you can't have one.I have a lot of fun with vaping too.Spending money etc.

 

[recidivus]

Nope, I am addicted to tobacco and the chemicals in it. Vaping is my solution to end that addiction. Vaping is my new hobby, and I've always had a tendency to get carried away if something really catches my fancy. Is it an addiction? As much as enjoying a walk in the park, or building chairs from driftwood, or playing with a model train set.

I also don't consider habits to be addictions, so once you hit nic- it's a habit, something you enjoy doing more than "IneedapufforI'llriptheirfaceoffsohelpme"

Just my point of view though, some folks will disagree with the habit/addiction separation.

As to how it's different?
I don't vape for 5-10 minutes straight every 45 minutes like I did with cigs. It's much more "causal" (I guess that's a good descriptor), less of an intense NEED for nicotine. When I finish a vape, I don't feel like crap after. Emotionally I mean, I hated myself after every smoke for the past 6 months, I knew it was killing me and I couldn't stop, and I just can't fool myself into believing it's a hobby. The physical feeling after a vape compared to a cig are also incomparable, I don't get lung pain or coughing fits anymore.

Man, it's amazing what we put up with just to keep smoking.

 

[Mr.Mann]

Yes to both but with vaping I can go without for a long time whereas with cigs you just go crazy if you can't have one.I have a lot of fun with vaping too.Spending money etc.

This is where I was trying to go with these questions. I remember going to crazy lengths to get a cigarette, and also getting quite nasty if I couldn't have one when I wanted one. I wonder how many of us vape out of habit, as opposed to real physical need? I went over ten hours yesterday without vaping (I usually vape 24mg WTA) and I never once even had the thought. When I got home I watched some TV before I decided, "Oh, I would like to taste that one juice." I know everyone is different, but I really wonder how much of a real hold vaping nicotine has on some of us as opposed to smoking it. Has anyone snapped because they couldn't vape? That almost sounds silly.