Are you weening down? Why not?

[MissKitty47]

I have an honest question...if you don't smoke, and don't use nic, why vape? I've danced with the nicotine devil for around 40 years and vaping for three, so I'd encourage anyone who already doesn't, do not start! I wish I could take back that first cigarette!!!

Sent by my cat through pure magic

 

[WattWick]

Might have been a tad on the extreme side. I just don't think it's right to play the "It's the addiction talking" card when dealing with very much less extreme addictions.Not to sway the discussion too much. Some people claim to be, or really are, addicted to caffeine. I love coffee as much as the next guy. I have simply never understood the addiction part of it. I can go days without coffee with no ill effects. Still, I drink it mostly on a daily basis. It's just something I very much enjoy. I would put vaping in the same category... and not at all in the "hard physical addiction" category.Smoking, on the other hand. That was more of an addiction. Something I felt I needed even if I didn't really wanted it. Still, not in any way comparable to hard drugs.

 

[edyle]

I'm being forced to wean myself off of nicotine (at least temporarily) for a future surgery, so I have managed to cut down from 36 to 18, and I'm doing alright. I still have a tank with some 24 that I hit if I'm really stressed out. If I wasn't being forced, I would have absolutely no desire to reduce my nicotine unless my body requested it.

I've failed past quit attempts eventually because I simply can't function without nicotine. (Yeah, I know I'm disgusting and pathetic.) I have ADHD, and I have found one of the things that helps keep me calm and focused is nicotine. I do take a prescribed medication for this, but when I was not smoking for more than a year, my dosage (already quite high) had to be doubled just so I could manage to maintain. Take a moment and go look up the medications for ADHD, their risks, and their side effects. To me, it makes the known risks of nicotine look like child's play.

When I vape a reasonable amount of nicotine, I get the best of both worlds. I can stay on a reasonable dose of my medication, I can focus, and I don't have to kill myself with 4000 chemicals in my lungs 30x a day. I'm glad you've been able to reduce your nicotine, but not all of us want to or can.

Perhaps the lack of nicotine is causing you to be rather abrasive towards others who are on their own bumpy road.

Methinks you hit the nail on the head!

 

[B1sh0p]

Are we really playing the "It's the addiction talking"-card when it comes to vaping?

... not much experience with addiction, have we? True addiction changes you. It tears you up. It makes you lie, and it makes you think of lies in advance. It makes you SICK when you can't have what you are addicted to. Like, every muscle and bone in your body IS pain. You NEED whatever you are addicted to. Which makes you go to great extremes to obtain it, and to hide the fact that you are addicted; in case anyone would try to stop you from getting/using it.

No. Vaping is nothing at all like that. But I guess it's just my addiction doing the talking for me. My body, mind and mouth is a vessel for evil nicotine. I call BS.

Addiction comes in many degrees. How would you explain the people suffering from emphysema and lung cancer that continue to smoke? How would you explain the people with oral cancer that continue to chew? It's highly common.

Nicotine is addictive. The degree to which that addiction dictates one's actions is highly individual.

 

[RayBans]

Two years to the day, I've "weened" down. 18 12 6 2 0. When I started vapeing I just wanted to stop smoking. This hobby has helped me do just that. Now I really enjoy the flavors and the vapor. Sure I do some 6 sometimes, I don't like the effects of nicotine any longer. Perhaps next year I'll be a 0 guy...

 

[beckdg]

I don't really want to read

1. I didn't learn a damn thing.

2. But I still think.

3. My opinion.

4. Is worth a damn.

Hmmmm... interesting. Very interesting.

Wean

 

[Myk]

Part of the purpose of quitting smoking, is no longer being addicted to a drug. We all had such trouble quitting, because the nicotine was so highly addictive. Just think about how it felt, all those times you tried to quit cold turkey. So you must admit, that part of the reason you quit, and why you kept smoking, was the addiction. The addiction is tied directly to the negative health effects of smoking, because if you weren't addicted, you would have been able to quit much easier, and we wouldn't have nearly as many vapers as we have today. Also vaping may not have ever been needed, as quitting cold turkey would have been a lot easier.

That said, why do so many vapers (probably nearly all of you) continue to just vape at whatever nicotine levels you were smoking at? Its so easy to just ween down now. I started at 18mg, (iirc) and slowly, over time, got down to 0mg. This did take a few years. But I did it. There are plenty of places out there that will let you go in intervals of 2mg, up or down. The place in town where I buy most of my vape juice also does this. I went down to 16, 14, 12, 10, etc etc until I got to zero. If for whatever reason, I can not vape, no big deal. So why don't most people do this? Why would you want to remain addicted, so that if something happens where you just can't vape, you go into freakout mode? Its actually disgusting to watch. There are plenty of situations that could arise that could prevent you from being able to vape, possibly for days at a time. Nicotine has also been linked to stomach cancer so that's another reason.

"Are you weening down? Why not?"

Because it is not good for my health to go off nicotine.

I tried that and I bled. Thought I had cancer, cut more and bled more. I bled until I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and got the OK to go back on nicotine because nicotine helps it.
What you must admit, Bennylava is that you are not everyone and everyone needs to make their own decisions based on their own situation. I actually quit at 11mg and weened myself up to 18mg after trying 0mg/5mg for about 6 months, that was my situation.
While we're telling other people what habits they need to cut, you need to cut out the habit of trying to live everyone else's life for them.

If someone wants to get off nicotine, great. I'll even offer my tips on what worked for me. But if someone wants to stay on nicotine for whatever reason that's their business, not yours.

Actually the nicotine addiction is not strong at all for me without smoke. I'm considering dual use with the patch because I suspect the reason I've been spiraling down since September is the lack of addictiveness has me not vaping enough. Once I figured this out and have made an effort to vape more and more powerful devices I've started spiraling back up.

I also drink some coffee because the caffeine helps avoid migraines. Sure I could cut out nicotine, caffeine and addictive prescription drugs but that would severely lower my quality of life. That seems to be what you insist on ignoring with all your "addiction" hand waving.
Nicotine is the least of my worries.

I haven't finished reading this thread but I wanted to reply so I could find it when I get the laptop going to read it on the crapper which seems fitting given your replies that I've seen.

 

[WattWick]

Addiction comes in many degrees. How would you explain the people suffering from emphysema and lung cancer that continue to smoke? How would you explain the people with oral cancer that continue to chew? It's highly common. Nicotine is addictive. The degree to which that addiction dictates one's actions is highly individual.

How would you explain that nicotine patches and gums don't have the same success rate as vaping? There's more to smoking than physical addiction to nicotine. That being said, you do raise an interesting point.

 

[AegisPrime]

How would you explain that nicotine patches and gums don't have the same success rate as vaping? There's more to smoking than physical addiction to nicotine. That being said, you do raise an interesting point.

Yes, the behaviour is very much part of the addiction to me - on previous quit attempts I've tried patches (useless for me), gum (better, but still not enough to get me off cigarettes) and finally e-cigs which honestly, apart from a few times in my first week where I missed the action of rolling up a cigarette, have been effortless.

 

[OldSeer]

I could quit any darn time I want to... but... I don't want to!
I am really enjoying vaping. It is a great pleasure and brings me peace of mind.
And... I really love the friendships and help shared amongst all in this masterful forum.

 

[Ryedan]

As much as the OP's viewpoint has annoyed me and others here, This thread is awesome and I've enjoyed it thoroughly

I agree jhelliwell. For me, once I get over the

thing (which doesn't take long ), I realize that threads like this really help bring out the truth about vaping with nicotine, smoking and that most people find a huge difference in the addictiveness between them.

That's the serious side. Then there's the comedic value. I mean, what's better than a good laugh with a good vape

 

[B1sh0p]

How would you explain that nicotine patches and gums don't have the same success rate as vaping? There's more to smoking than physical addiction to nicotine. That being said, you do raise an interesting point.

There's no doubt that the ritual of smoking is also highly habit forming.

I went from commercial cigarettes to RYO to vaping. The transition from commercial cigs to RYO was harder than the transition from RYO to vaping. I would never doubt that the other chemicals in commercially produced cigarettes are highly addictive.

 

[Myk]

I knew someone would say something similar, to which I reply you missed the whole point. I never asked why you aren't changing to suit me. I asked why you aren't changing so that you won't suffer. Its kind of a logical question that anyone would ask someone else, who could prevent their own suffering but just naively goes on without giving it a thought. Sooner or later, you're going to be in a situation where you don't get to vape for a good long time. But if you've weened down to zero nic, then you won't really care. If you're still in the higher levels you'll act like a druggie that needs a fix, which is technically what you are. What we all were, back when we smoked. But now there is this opportunity.

I also figured someone would say they do higher ones because otherwise they'd just vape more. People will rationalize anything for their addictions. All you have to do, is instead of vaping 30mg, switch to 28 one day and vape that for a month. And so on. You'd think this would be completely apparent to most people, but I guess not.

Take note of this before you continue your hand waving over the addictiveness of nicotine and the "suffering",
Nicotine treatment for ulcerative colitis
"No withdrawal symptoms suggesting nicotine addiction have been reported either after 4–6 weeks of therapy in short-term studies, or after a period of up to 6 months in the only long-term study available."
That is the alleged patch equivalent of having these non-smokers smoking half a pack a day for 6 months. Do you think they wouldn't be addicted smokers after that long of smoking?

Your next reply isn't worth bothering with. It's you saying you won't listen to anything you don't want to believe. You are the ex-smoker type who would probably discover they were self-medicating if they would bother looking inside themselves.

 

[Ryedan]

Take note of this before you continue your hand waving over the addictiveness of nicotine and the "suffering",
Nicotine treatment for ulcerative colitis
"No withdrawal symptoms suggesting nicotine addiction have been reported either after 4–6 weeks of therapy in short-term studies, or after a period of up to 6 months in the only long-term study available."
That is the alleged patch equivalent of having these non-smokers smoking half a pack a day for 6 months. Do you think they wouldn't be addicted smokers after that long of smoking?

Thanks for posting that link Myk, I had not seen it before. Nice to see scientific data confirming so many vaper's experience with no nicotine addiction when using it without smoking!

 

[Myk]

Thanks for posting that link Myk, I had not seen it before. Nice to see scientific data confirming so many vaper's experience with no nicotine addiction when using it without smoking!

I have to give Kristin the credit. I've read those studies a lot but I've been focused on other things. At some point she pointed that out in CASAA conversations.

 

[Snickerfritz]

No, I am not. I arrived at vaping from a different perspective than most, I think, because I had already quit smoking tobacco the hard way twelve years previously. So, I'm not vaping to "quit smoking," I'm vaping to "get to smoke again" safely. Quite happy at my 24 mg, anything less and I'm like, where is it?!

 

[beckdg]

Your next reply isn't worth bothering with. It's you saying you won't listen to anything you don't want to believe. You are the ex-smoker type who would probably discover they were self-medicating if they would bother looking inside themselves.

first, thanks for the link repost.

next, i'd like to point out his (now defunct) sig banner stated he'd saved something along the lines of $80,000 on cigarettes over the course of decades.

<EDIT>Correction - $80 BILLION - 43 YEARS - CIG FREE

see here... http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-you-weening-down-why-not-5.html#post11708308 </EDIT>

a real sign he's likely never been a smoker. standing on the outside looking in. judging others on a false premise he could never have the chance to so much as fathom. adding to that making the false assumptions (nearly accusations) that we're all ex-smokers looking to kick nicotine.

arrogant and ignorant is the donkey that cannot so much as be led to the water he then will refuse to drink.

 

[Myk]

first, thanks for the link repost.

next, i'd like to point out his (now defunct) sig banner stated he'd saved something along the lines of $80,000 on cigarettes over the course of decades.

a real sign he's likely never been a smoker. standing on the outside looking in. judging others on a false premise he could never have the chance to so much as fathom. adding to that making the false assumptions (nearly accusations) that we're all ex-smokers looking to kick nicotine.

arrogant and ignorant is the donkey that cannot so much as be led to the water he then will refuse to drink.

Although I wanted to jump to the ANTZ in disguise I held off and didn't even look into it. Now that I've looked into it I think it's just an ex-smoker "do as I do" mentality that has bought into the ANTZ lies. This person has learned too much about ecigs to be a complete fraud.

 

[DC2]

Thanks for posting that link Myk, I had not seen it before. Nice to see scientific data confirming so many vaper's experience with no nicotine addiction when using it without smoking!

Here is another link you may not have seen before...
Growing List of Positive Effects of Nicotine Seen in Neurode... : Neurology Today

Dr. Newhouse has previously published studies showing that nicotine improves cognitive defects in young adults with ADHD.

“Nicotinic receptors in the brain appear to work by regulating other receptor systems, like a gain amplifier,” he said. “If you're sleepy, it tends to make you more alert. If you're anxious, it tends to calm you. Obviously the results of small studies often aren't replicated in larger studies, but at least nicotine certainly looks safe. And we've seen absolutely no withdrawal symptoms. There doesn't seem to be any abuse liability whatsoever in taking nicotine by patch in non-smokers. That's reassuring.”

 

[DC2]

Although I wanted to jump to the ANTZ in disguise I held off and didn't even look into it. Now that I've looked into it I think it's just an ex-smoker "do as I do" mentality that has bought into the ANTZ lies. This person has learned too much about ecigs to be a complete fraud.

I did a check of his posting history back when I ran into him on this thread...
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/legislation-news/502927-should-we-allowed-vape-anywhere.html

He seems to check out clean, but...