Damn analogs!! Why so addictive?

[sonnyinbc]

Oh boy, got my ecigs and juice ranging in strength from 11 to 36. Can vape all day long. No lack of nicotine. Now down to 5 analogs a day from 40-50. This is after 2 months.

I just can`t seem to shake that urge for the hot chocolate or coffe first thing in the morning without that damn analog. Or after meals. Since vaping, no longer smoke in the house, or my truck. only outside.

Either there is something else besides nicotine in the analogs? Or it is an association auto-reaction thing? By the latter, I mean-that now I seem to associate going outside means an auto analog smoke break. Just can`t seem to shrug off those last remnants of the evils..

Or am I expecting too much after 50 years of tar and chemicals??

 

[Kate]

There are other things about smoke that we can crave, lack of oxygen to the brain causing a buzzy feeling is one of them. I guess you are right about habit too, if you've done something for long enough it's just second nature.

With time you'll probably be able to break the habit, maybe you just aren't ready yet. One step at a time, cutting down is a great achievement.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-not-complete-substitute-tobacco-smoking.html

 

[Houdini]

I know what you mean. You do certain things and smoked analogs at the same time. Like driving. I used to light up as soon as I got in the car. Going to work I even had certain spots on the road where I had timed it to where I'd be finished smoking by the time I got to work or home and I'd even throw them out the window at the same spot every day. The way I overcame all this was to run out of analogs and didn't buy any more.

 

[NewcastleB]

Going to work I even had certain spots on the road where I had timed it to where I'd be finished smoking by the time I got to work or home and I'd even throw them out the window at the same spot every day.

You too?

When I switched to the ecig, I did everything like I had for years. I'd go outside to "smoke", stand in the same place, etc. Keeping my smoking routine helped with the transition. The big thing is that it really didn't go with coffee very well. That was a kicker and I ended up cutting way back on the coffee.

 

[vape4life]

Yeah, not having them around is essential if you really want to stop. I've bought many packs, smoked one, came to my senses, and thrown the rest away.

But personally, it's the taste and smell of analogs. I really like them.

 

[K-Sound Krew]

There are some fakes on this forum
They make it seem like you get the ecig and just stop analogs
I think it’s a lot harder then people make it out to be, you have to be very serious and strong willed to quit, but that desire needs to be present; it just doesn’t happen on its own.
There is also the hassle factor, some people try it and can’t deal others try but you get to the point (even if you have multiple devices) where things begin to fall apart
Also the ecig is flawed, it delivers nicotine and mimics the act of smoking but it lacks a few key components of actual smoke, such as the harsh bitterness of smoke, the heavy feeling of the tar in your lungs from actual smoke, not to mention the unavoidable sweetness of PG

I have gotten nic poisoning many a time with an ecig, because I was seeking some intangible property only found in actual smoke, I don’t think it’s the additives either
It’s the fact that one is smoke and the other is vapor, they are different animals

The biggest thing which is missing, I call the cut factor. I drink my coffee black and take my scotch neat, not only does the sweetness of the pg pair horribly but the ecig fails to cut through something which is so overpowering, it’s like a snake bite, venom is cured with an anti-venom, fight poison with poison.

The human mind is an amazing thing though,
Have you ever met an ex-smoker who is bigger anti-smoker then someone who has never smoked?
It’s called a defensive mechanism, if you want to be successful you need to trick your brain into telling you that you hate cigarettes, even if you have quit cigarettes and nicotine for 20 yrs you will always be addicted, this addiction is dependent upon the time you started, how long you have smoked, and how much you have smoked.

The biggest factor out of the 3 is at what age you started,

But bottom line once a junkie always a junkie

 

[Walrus]

I actually have not had a cigarette since I started vaping, not one... No fakery, no false claims. Of course, I vape a lot more than I smoked. Can't seem to put it down.

If you can't resist the urge to light one up with your Cocoa or Coffee, try making your own juice in those flavors. I'm happily puffing away on a Mocha concoction right now. Your mileage will vary.

 

[8-Ball]

I'm having issues with wanting an analog... smoked a pack a day for 30 some years. In the last week I have smoked one pack and today was the last cigarette of that last pack.

My mind is starting to play little rationalizing games with me. I really don't want to buy another pack and give our corrupt government the new tax they recently levied. It helps...

Going out to the garage to vape (where I usually smoked) is helping but its not quite the same... emptier without the analog. Yet, the last few analogs didn't taste as good as the first few.

We'll see how it goes, but vaping is not the same. It may be close enough.

Love my M401...

 

[Chuffer]

There are other things about smoke that we can crave, lack of oxygen to the brain causing a buzzy feeling is one of them.

This is true. One admittedly kind of kooky thing one can do is, to simulate the oxygen deprivation, take a big hit of vape and hold it in for a few seconds. That also might help maximize the nic hit. Of course, you might look like a dope fiend...

 

[CandyGirl]

Yeah, not having them around is essential if you really want to stop. I've bought many packs, smoked one, came to my senses, and thrown the rest away.

But personally, it's the taste and smell of analogs. I really like them.

i haven't touched one since i started vaping and a i have a carton within arms reach of my desk that i smile at every once in awhile.
never again i whisper.

the memory of the experience is still there though.
driving down a country road on a warm summer morning with the window slightly cracked. the smell of a zippo lighter igniting a fresh cigarette. sprinkle in the aroma of freshly cut grass and a hot cup of coffee.

i don't doubt that nicotine has something to with the addiction, but for me it's those memories that made it so hard to quit.

 

[Houdini]

K-Sound, I don't see why anyone would have to lie about quitting here. The question has been asked many times and there are a lot of people who have not totally quit analogs yet and they admit it. There is nothing wrong with that and nothing to lie about. I smoked for 30 years a pack a day. I never seriously tried to quit before but I knew what it would be like because there were times I wanted a smoke so bad but didn't have any and thought I'd go crazy. Especially on a cross country plane trip which I do a lot. I wasn't sure I'd quit when I got the e-cig but I figured I'd give it a try and see what happens. Turns out its working very well for me and I HAVE NOT HAD AN ANALOG for 54 days now. I've also been lucky in the fact that everything I've bought involving e-cigs has worked perfectly. I'm satisfied with the mimic of smoking. To me its a miracle. To my wife too. She never thought I'd ever quit analogs. She hated it and she almost doesn't care how much I spend on this as long as its working. And if you want something that will hit you like a bomb that an analog can't come close to I suggest you try a ScrewDriver. Trust me. I just got mine today and the first drag I took on it made me light headed and dizzy. Something no other ecig I have can do.

 

[Wildsky]

I do both right now, analog and e-cig. I didn't start the e's to quit smoking, so its not an issue for me. I have cut down by half on the analogs (I used to smoke a pack a day) I started "rolling my own" or stuffing the tube about a month ago becuase of the cost of analogs. I purchased an e-cig because I was going on a long trip.

I like the idea of having the differnet flavors, and I've ordered a bunch of juice and just ordered another e-cig. I AM hoping it will take over the analogs, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it.
Any little step forward is a good step. I'm sure it will be a long time before I'm totally analog free (I just bought more tobacco as well to stuff those tubes..)

You've done really well, don't beat yourself over it. Allow yourself one or two (or ?) analogs per day and just go with it for a while...

 

[Obi Wan]

My first week i smoked both,, then stopped winstons completely and thats after smoking 1-1/2 - 2 packs a day for years.
been 2 weeks now without a winston but i still have some withdrawels.
taking it day by day,,
changing rituals seems to help.
i only smoked outside so now i usually smoke e-cigs inside.
or if your used to drinking coffee outside with a cigarette then maybe try drinking it inside.

not sure why you would think anyone is lying about quiting so fast..
ill bet alot of us are still having some withdrawels at times so it definitly takes some will power but im amazed at how easy its been to not have any winstons compared to times i tried to quit cold turkey or with the patch,gum,,etc..

this site also helps,, alot of good information,cool,funny and smart people,,
and its great to read so much from someone else who has smoking in common and knows about e-cigs and how hard it is to quit analog smoking.

 

[strayling]

And if you want something that will hit you like a bomb that an analog can't come close to I suggest you try a ScrewDriver. Trust me. I just got mine today and the first drag I took on it made me light headed and dizzy. Something no other ecig I have can do.

I've been thinking about this whole area and I've decided that what's important to me is having a PV which can give me more vapour than I want in a single drag. I don't want to be trying to persuade the thing to give me enough vapour; I want something that's capable of providing far too much so that I have the control to get exactly how much I want. My Dura can do that, and my Pilot gets close. A screwdriver might be overkill for me.

BTW, I'm not faking when I said that I hadn't planned on giving up analogs and it happened more or less by accident because the PVs are better.

 

[strayling]

As for rituals, I still step out of the bar for a smoke sometimes even when I don't need to. Someone (Kate?) was saying something about going for "spikes" of nicotine intake as opposed to constant vaping and I find that this works for me.

There are also plenty of new rituals to refine and experiment with: keeping batteries fresh; refilling carts; putting together a mix of flavours for the day (I'm a VapeJockey Mixmaster now!); using a different PV depending on the situation (Dura for down the bar, Pilot for dripping while watching a movie at home).

The only thing that hasn't been an improvement over the old dead leaf smokes is vaping while walking. Somehow they don't work quite as well when I'm not sitting/standing in one place, but it's a close call.

 

[K-Sound Krew]

K-Sound, I don't see why anyone would have to lie about quitting here.

That comment wasn't an absolute truth
It was geared more towards myself, I'm smoking an analog right now
I've confided in major memebers of this forum that I have fallen off the wagon, they confide back that they are almost back to 100% analogs
It's shocking the major members who omit this from their posts

I'm not accusing anyone of a lie

Re-read my post, it's in regards to why analogs are so addictive

No one candy coats the limitations of these devices, but youth is about optomism

If you have had good luck so far, good for you
But if you have problems 6 months from now, shouldn't people be just as suportive?
If you get the device for the first time and you don't quit that day, then does that mean there is something wrong with you?

The truth is there is not enough room in a post to better explain the complex nature of addiction (especially this addiction)

And I don't re-tract my statement about fakes, I am one and I can name 20 others, the fact is I'm still here and I will try again, most of the others have left this forum, never to be heard of again

 

[K-Sound Krew]

not sure why you would think anyone is lying about quiting so fast..

Again not accusing anyone of a lie
But it takes at least a year and even then if you have any idea of how nicotine works on the brain you would know that you are addicted for life

I know a few people who quit smoking for 15yrs and are now smoking again

As far as ecigs are concerned you can compare it to a x-mass present

 

[Walrus]

I didn't plan on quitting 'analogs' right away. It was a hope eventually, but my first order was more about the curiosity. It just turned out that I liked it so much, I never went back. I have half a carton of Camel menthols around someplace, forgotten.

I think the big appeal to me about vaping was this: Even though I've been a cigarette smoker for over 20 years, my personal favorite has always been a pipe. I don't smoke a pipe regularly because I find it to be a pain in the ... what with having to pack the perfect bowl, all the tamping and lighting, carrying a pipe tool and tobacco pouch, etc.

The PV (or e-cig) gives me exactly what I liked about the pipe... I can have my various flavors, and with the right device, copious amounts of vapor and a nice slow draw. I like that the pen-style carts even have a pipe-like shape and feel to them. Carrying around a couple of little 3cc bottles of custom liquid and a spare or two of an atomizer and battery is a lot more convenient than the pipe would ever be.

I can't wait to get my mini-pipe Heaven... just heaven.

[edit] Of course, smoking my PV like a pipe has it's drawbacks. I'm going through batteries like water. None are dead yet, but my charges don't seem to last anywhere near what others are getting out of them. My 901 batts last maybe 2 hours if I'm extremely lucky. My pen-style (which every raves about a 6 hour life) gives me about 3 hours because I'm almost constantly drawing on it. I love my USB pass-throughs.

 

[ejfan1977]

There are some fakes on this forum
They make it seem like you get the ecig and just stop analogs
I think it’s a lot harder then people make it out to be, you have to be very serious and strong willed to quit, but that desire needs to be present; it just doesn’t happen on its own.


Hey K-Sound Krew,

I really resent being called a fake as I am sure many others on this forum do as well. I was a pack a day smoker for just under 30 years and god knows how many times I have tried to quit. This last year I was smoking full flavor Indian smokes so I was no "ultra-Light" smoker.

I ordered my Njoy penstyle and thought I would just use it at work or in the house. I had no intention of quitting cigarettes at this time, repeat "No Intention of Quitting!!!". I know this sounds "incredible!. unbelievable, FAKE?" but I started using my penstyle and did not pick up another analog for 5 days. When I lit that puppy up it was truly gross! I took 4 drags off it and snuffed it out. I have not looked back.

I am just as amazed today as I was the day I started using this "alternative to cigarettes". I have not quit smoking, I have only quit using tobacco/cigarette products.

And if you think that is soooo incredible, my 84 year old father, who smoked all his life and has never even tried to quit, is just two days behind me without having smoked an analog.. To beat that he still has over 6 cartons of cicgarettes in his bottom dresser drawer! So we even have full access to analogs, but have no desire to go back.

I hope that's not too fake for anyone... God knows I love to lie about this sh*t, like everyone else on the forum (jk).

 

[strayling]

I've confided in major memebers of this forum that I have fallen off the wagon, they confide back that they are almost back to 100% analogs

That makes sense in that there might be a short-term love affair which wears off for some people, and I can see how they might be reluctant to mention that.