Coping with the residuals of "Smoker's Programming"

[whispers76]

I know I am just weird, but has nothing to do with my vaping. Society has pushed so hard on smokers that likely you still have some of that guilt that they have tried to instill in you, especially if you are younger. I do not have that issue, but I was the type of person that if someone nagged me about smoking, I went out and lit up just to annoy them. I had no guilt, I started vaping because of the smell of analogs.

 

[fourthrok]

I know I am just weird, but has nothing to do with my vaping. Society has pushed so hard on smokers that likely you still have some of that guilt that they have tried to instill in you, especially if you are younger. I do not have that issue, but I was the type of person that if someone nagged me about smoking, I went out and lit up just to annoy them. I had no guilt, I started vaping because of the smell of analogs.

I am pretty much on the same page with you whispers. The "guilt" I mentioned isn't "crippling"...it doesn't eat at me. I just feel like if 1ml. equals about a half pack a day...then over 7ml. (which is my average daily) would be pushing into the 4 pack-a-day thing. I smoked between 2 and 3 packs a day..so 3 and half packs doesn't horrify me. Over that kind of does. BUT...if I'm more realistic then 1ml. actually equates much closer to six cigarettes for most people...so 7ml. puts me at 42 cigarettes...which is more in line with just over 2 packs. Dead on my average smoking habit! TA DA! lol!!

I guess some people thought I was being really serious with my OP. I wasn't really...I was just making an ironic musing. I was just wondering if anyone had any left over "programming" of feelings like one ought to be "accountable" for their vaping habit in some way...no matter how small. Like you, whispers....if someone said I OUGHT to do something or SHOULD do something, I was personally honor bound to do the exact opposite! Despite the propaganda...I smoked like a chimney for 43 years and was defiant about it. I didn't think I wanted to quit smoking because I liked it. But what I liked about it the vaping provides. It wasn't really the nicotine that had me in it's grips as much as the hand to mouth habit and the feel of the smoke (now vapor). Gums, patches, pills, etc. don't address what I loved most about smoking. Vaping does everything for me that smoking did...AND I get to feel smug about it! lol!

I haven't increased (or decreased) my vaping habit for the past year. This old lady is pretty set in her ways. I think what upsets me is coming from my thrifty side (watching those pennies). I do sometimes vape more, however...when I'm stressed in particular. Perhaps I mispoke with my OP. But I thought it might be an interesting discussion. I assure you all...I don't require any reassurances, and I'm not eaten up with guilt...and I'm perfectly happy! ROFL!!!

 

[RosaJ]

I think the 1 ml the same as a pack a day refers to the amount of nicotine whoever is making the statement is talking about. Certain 1 ml @ 26 or 36mg nic would be the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigs. You really can't compare that to 1 ml @ 5mg or 0mg of nic.

 

[fourthrok]

Okay..it's just a "psychological reasoning"....not based on fact.

I just worked up my next recipe for my next e-juice. I still have about 160 ml. of my current 5mg. level...am going to 4mg. next. What I have will likely see me to the first week or so of Novebmer. I thought about dropping to 3ml., but figured "what's the hurry?" November can be my 4mg. month and then December can be my 3mg. month! haha!

Even when I get to 0 mg. (and I will)....I plan to continue vaping. Partly because I really enjoy it and it makes me happy, and partly because I've invested so MUCH into this hobby (hardware especially) that I see no reason to stop. When I do give up the nic completely it's going to REALLY rack up some savings...no more nic base (most expensive e-juice component) to buy!

 

[JENerationX]

Have you tried 0mg yet? I have juice in 12mg and 6mg, but a few 0mg and I feel no different on 0mg. Less throat hit obviously, but I don't have cravings on it.

 

[junkman]

Wow, I am amazed to see people say they vape 7ml or 10ml a day. I feel like I am constantly vaping and i think I am about 2ml. I don't even think there would be time in the day to get to 10ml.

Are you truly vaping that much or is much of it wasted in filled and discarded cartos or something?

Just curious, based on my seeming continuous vaping.

Thanks

 

[fourthrok]

There was a time, when I was in my 30's when I could not figure out how my (then) husband could manage to smoke 3 packs in a day. I was smoking around 1 1/2 packs then..the 120 size More brand...and I just couldn't imagine how one could possibly fit in any more cigs in one day than I was doing!

But by the time I hit my mid 40's....I understood.

My actual average per day is about 6ml. Sometimes a trifle less...sometimes up to 7 or a little more (thus triggering my OP). I am at home all day...usually on the laptop. I chain vape. No...juice isn't getting thrown out or wasted. If I overfill ...I blow the excess out into what I call my "spit bottle". It isn't really a "spit" bottle...it's for excess juice which I recycle back into my needle bottle for later vaping. I just vape a lot, that's all! lol! But at a low nic level (5mg) that will be getting even lower soon. (I started out at 18mg a year ago..jumped to 24mg and got sick..dropped to 12mg and have been dropping ever since...)

 

[jimrug1]

I think the 1 ml the same as a pack a day refers to the amount of nicotine whoever is making the statement is talking about. Certain 1 ml @ 26 or 36mg nic would be the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigs. You really can't compare that to 1 ml @ 5mg or 0mg of nic.

You are pretty close Rosa. Actually most full flavored filtered cigs contains an average of 18 mg of nic. but only 1 mg is absorbed when you smoke it. So if you smoke a pack of Full Flavor cigarettes, you would getting approx. 18mg nic per pack. Theoretically, if your juice is 18 mg/ml, then vaping 1 ml of juice would be the equivalent of 1 pack of full flavored cigs. If you are vaping 5mg juice, 1 ml would be the equivalent of 5 full flavor cigs. This is all theoretical of course because to date, no one has any idea how much nic is contained in e-cig vapor or what the absorption rate is.

 

[WickedSick]

I think that the only reason you ( and me for that matter ) feel any guilt when we are vaping is because of the pressure from society, so I gues you are right about that

 

[AttyPops]

I think about it. After all... the more juice I vape, the more PG/VG/nic/flavors I have to metabolize (or whatever...cough up/ingest/run-through-kidneys). So I guess I'm kinda aware of it. But I don't sweat it.

Keep in mind....the device config matters in juice usage. And usage is not necessarily the same as consumption. IDK how much actually runs through my system vs gets exhaled or otherwise vaporized. Since I've switched to a tank, I've used a bit more juice per day. Not sweating it. Keeps me off cigs.

 

[AttyPops]

If you want to have some real fun....

Assume 10 puffs per cig (or maybe with 120's you have a diff #) and # cigs per day X # 365.25 x # of years smoking. Think of all the "hand to mouth" programming you did to yourself. This is one of the reasons vaping helps where other nic products fail, IMO.

Example: 1 PAD for 30 years = 10 puffs x 20 cigs x 365.25 x 30 = 2,191,500 puffs. If you had saved a penny for each puff you'd have 21,915 dollars! And that's for 1 PAD.

 

[Susaz]

So...a year after putting down the cigarettes for good...WHY do I still feel like I need to be concerned about how much e-juice I'm consuming? As if it was like when I was so aware of how many packs I was smoking a day (and feeling guilty about it)? I make my own e-juice now. Expense isn't really an issue as I only pay a couple of pennies per ml. Way less than a cigarette. I only vape 5mg....very negligible nicotine level, and I am on my way all the way down to 0 nicotine. So WHY AM I UPSET WITH MYSELF IF I VAPE MORE THAN 7ml. IN A DAY??????? Who cares? I'm not hurting anything or anyone...not even my wallet.

Is the "anti-smoking-programming" that deep? Will guilt always be a part of my psyche now? Anyone else find they are little "issues" similar to mine. Some little thing that keeps telling you that you ought to feel bad about some aspect of your new hobby of vaping? Or am I just weird? (Okay..don't answer that last one...)

You should be concerned with the amount of nicotine you're getting, not the volume. If you want to vape more, lower your nic content. Remember that nicotine, caffeine or other stimulants make you cranky and upset. THAT you should be taking into account.

 

[Susaz]

I think the 1 ml the same as a pack a day refers to the amount of nicotine whoever is making the statement is talking about. Certain 1 ml @ 26 or 36mg nic would be the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigs. You really can't compare that to 1 ml @ 5mg or 0mg of nic.

It's closer than 1 mg of nic=1 cigarrette (slightly less but never mind). If you vape 2 ml of 24 mg juice, you're getting 48 mg of nicotine, about 30 cigarrettes...

 

[Boden]

I just feel like if 1ml. equals about a half pack a day...then over 7ml. (which is my average daily) would be pushing into the 4 pack-a-day thing. I smoked between 2 and 3 packs a day..so 3 and half packs doesn't horrify me. Over that kind of does. BUT...if I'm more realistic then 1ml. actually equates much closer to six cigarettes for most people...so 7ml. puts me at 42 cigarettes...which is more in line with just over 2 packs. Dead on my average smoking habit! TA DA! lol!!

I can help you with this. Using the standard 1 cig = 1mg of nic absorbed - .1mg eliminated = .9mg per cig

1mL of 24mg/mL = ~5 cigs at 18% absorption (blowing out lots of vapor)
1mL of 24mg/mL = ~10 cigs at 36% high end absorption (really holding it in)
1mL of 5mg/mL = ~.9 cigs at 18%
1mL of 5mg/mL = ~1.8 cigs at 36%

If you're using 7ml of 5mg/mL your getting about 6.3-12.6 cigs worth of nic.

The details are here on how I came to this. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-what-percentage-nicotine-absorbed-lungs.html
The math on that thread was for average inhalation.

I've refined my math to include deep inhalation for this scenerio. (36% absorption)

Edit: I should point out this is a continuum. The amount eliminated in urine goes from 10% to 30% depending on the amount of water a person drinks (30% elimination for someone who drinks a lot of water). Also the amount absorbed depends on technique, delivery system, length of inhalation, and many other factors. The above are ball-park calculations to give an idea about the range.

 

[zuzette]

to the original OP - im in a non-nonsense frame of mind so I will just cut to the chase - nothing bad will happen to you and the world will still go round if you continue to vape. you can vape all you want. Just relax about it all. If you do that - you might find you actually want to do it less!

 

[Orobas]

I vape 3-4ml a day at 24mg.

But I can't help but wonder if the same way a smoker trying to cut back will switch to lights and smoke twice as much... low nic vapers will suck down much more juice as well.

 

[DC2]

It's closer than 1 mg of nic=1 cigarrette (slightly less but never mind). If you vape 2 ml of 24 mg juice, you're getting 48 mg of nicotine, about 30 cigarrettes...

Only if you absorb it all, which it seems widely accepted that we do not.

 

[DC2]

The details are here on how I came to this. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-what-percentage-nicotine-absorbed-lungs.html

I would also recommend this thread...
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...312547-nicotine-absorption-contradiction.html

 

[Fiamma]

You should be concerned with the amount of nicotine you're getting, not the volume. If you want to vape more, lower your nic content. Remember that nicotine, caffeine or other stimulants make you cranky and upset. THAT you should be taking into account.

For me it's just the opposite. Without nicotine and caffeine I get cranky and upset

 

[jcwest]

I went from 3 packs of PailMale Green (misspelled on purpose) straigt to about 5mls a day of 24mg and never turned back.. Never felt better so for me its a non issue. Never crosses my mind that i may be vaping too much.. When i started i was on 24mg liquid and i felt that i couldnt vape as much as i wanted to satisfy my cravings so i cut my nic in half and vape twice as often and that worked well for me.. its just a head thing.. 10mls of 12mg for me is a normal day with no regret my body tells me when i have had too much not my mind