Do you plan to quit someday?

[AvaOrchid]

Hello fellow vapers.
Here is a topic I was thinking of lately and I wanted to ask your opinion/plans.

Generally speaking, e-cigs were invented in order to help smokers switch from smoking regular cigs to something much less harmful and eventually help people quit this (one of the worst) habit of smoking / adding nicotine to your system.

Ideal plan was to give a smoker something similar (as a process) with enough nicotine to satisfy his needs but without all that sh@t that cigs contain.
After some time this ex-smoker was suppose to start lowering amounts of nicotine in his e-juice up until he is OK with 0 mg. nic vaping.
And eventually quit vaping as well, eliminating the habit.

In reality, I'd say about 80% of ex-smokers who became vapers don't even plan to quit vaping, they have their preferred nic. level and they keep on vaping it year after year being happy about it.

So what's your opinion on that? Do you also plan to keep on vaping or you might quit it in the future?

I did not start vaping to quit nicotine. I started it mostly in consideration of other people and I failed at first mainly because of that and trying a cigarette flavored item and yeah it was a cigarette flavored product not a tobacco flavored product because I swear to God it tasted like burnt filter... but anyway that was not my goal second time around I had a lot more Health stuff in mind even if it wasn't my health But my cats and that one took that was grape flavor E-liquid that worked out well. Started out at about 18 mg I think would be the equivalent and now I'm on 3.. and I don't think I'd have any problem going down to 1.5 either.. heck I honestly believe that it's the physical action more than the nicotine and that's why nothing else could have worked I also couldn't even try the Pharmaceuticals because I have a really bad reaction to most drugs that work in those areas of the brain. I might one day just decide I no longer interested but it's not really a goal of mine at present because it never was

 

[bombastinator]

I definitely disagree with this. An addict that ceases to use the substance they are addicted to is no longer an addict. They are a recovering addict, with emphasis on recovering. They may slip back into usage and become an addict, but when not using, they are not an addict.

But I do fully recognize this as one of those topics where there are two schools of thought on the matter. I know which one makes most sense to me.

definition of terms seems to be a repetitive issue in so many things these days.

 

[DaveP]

We smoked because we were hooked on the chemical cocktail that was cigarettes. Vaping supplied the nicotine and that was the chief factor in preventing us from quitting the smokes.

i once tried to work my way down to 0 nic. I got there over time, but when I hit zero nic the vape was boring. I could still detect the nic at 3mg, but at zero there was definitely something missing. I've been at 50/50 PG/VG with 3mg nic strength for years and been fine with it. Funny how that works. It took 24mg to get me off the cigs, but 3mg keeps me off.

 

[AvaOrchid]

When this scare of the ban happened and I started stockpiling my son said why don’t you just quit? Such a simple statement with so much common sense for a 19 year old. But he didn’t see my struggles with prior quits. I’ve quit smoking countless times but it never stuck. My longest quit was seven months. Vaping is the only thing that worked. I quit vaping for two weeks recently and once I got past that first week of hell I was fine. But the hand to mouth gets me every time. But alas, I am in the mindset the past few years of improving myself. I quit drinking all forms of alcohol almost four years ago. I quit drinking coffee about a year ago. I was on a health kick for a while and ran half marathons and lifted weights and lived in the gym. I even dabbled in veganism recently but settled on loosey goosey vegetarianism. I try to get my eight hours a night. I’m trying. But I enjoy vaping. It will be even harder to think about quitting now with my vaping hoard. I will always be a work in progress though.

In these situations especially with this looming ban I think it's very prudent for people to ensure that they have a stockpile even if they do intend on quitting because one thing I know as a former cigarette smoker is if I find myself in a situation where I suddenly have to stop vaping because I've ran out of things that are acceptable to me I'm at a very high risk of buying a pack of cigarettes if I'm not able to prepare and step down and make small changes leading to cessation. I can absolutely see myself if I had allowed myself to not have any supplies and tomorrow I ban was in place taking up smoking again. I have a issue which most addicts have if not all where I am not going to be able to quit doing something because of outside influences if I don't want to do it that's why so much forced therapy and detox and stuff fails for drug addicts Because unless they really want to do it they're not going to do it doesn't matter how long you lock them up and keep them away from their drug of choice the minute they get out they're going to be back on it if they didn't decide to quit. Nobody can make a person quit who does not want to quit it is not possible unless you literally lock them up for the rest of their lives. Therefore it's very prudent to not allow the government to be the people who try to force something upon you and to make certain that you have your own alternative so that you can do things your way

 

[DaveP]

Now that I've spent years being satisfied at 3mg strength it won't be hard to continue at that level. Two liters of 100mg nic base will take me out 18 years at present mix and daily juice use levels.

At the 24mg strength I started at back in 2010 to get off the smokes I'd need eight times that much 100mg nic and that's just more storage space in the freezer.

It seems, for me at least, that my brain just needs to know there's nic in the vape to be satisfied.

 

[dreamvaper]

will take me out 18 years at present

in 18 years from now your Tesla model TXLB will be providing you with a daily nic. dosage the first time you sit in a driving seat that day. Not sure it will be in a form of vaping tho

 

[Eskie]

in 18 years from now your Tesla model TXLB will be providing you with a daily nic. dosage the first time you sit in a driving seat that day. Not sure it will be in a form of vaping tho

And if you don't like the car, you can always pull out the batteries for your mods.

 

[GOMuniEsq]

"I don't like the word 'addict' because it has terrible connotations," Root says one day, as they are sunning themselves on the afterdeck. "Instead of slapping a label on you, the Germans would describe you as 'Morphiumsüchtig.' The verb suchen means to seek. So that might be translated, loosely, as 'morphine seeky' or even more loosely as 'morphine-seeking.' I prefer 'seeky' because it means that you have an inclination to seek morphine."

"What the .... are you talking about?" Shaftoe says.

"Well, suppose you have a roof with a hole in it. That means it is a leaky roof. It's leaky all the time—even if it's not raining at the moment. But it's only leaking when it happens to be raining. In the same way, morphine-seeky means that you always have this tendency to look for morphine, even if you are not looking for it at the moment. But I prefer both of them to 'addict,' because they are adjectives modifying Bobby Shaftoe instead of a noun that obliterates Bobby Shaftoe."

---Cryptonomicon, Chapter 43: Shinola; Neal Stephenson

 

[ian91]

Today is the 6 year anniversary of my last cigarette. It is also the third day that I have been vaping 0mg juice. At this point, I do not plan to stop vaping but I can now say that I am nicotine-free!!! I started with 18mg and have slowly reduced my nicotine intake over the years. If you reduce your intake slowly enough, you won't notice the difference.

 

[vapdivrr]

What would happen if you were to stop vaping? I once stopped smoking for 5 years. Thought I was well past it. I was out with some friends having a drink and thought "well, one cigarette wouldn't hurt after all this time". I was back to a pack and a half the same week.

If an opiate addict is on methadone long term, does that mean they're not "clean"? Medication assisted therapy is a well regarded treatment for opiate addiction. Some need to stay on it indefinitely to reduce the likelihood of relapse. It's better to stay on than to slip back into abuse. For me vaping is essentially the same. I have no doubt based on my past experience if I stopped vaping I'd eventually relapse back to cigarettes, whether in a month or in a few years. We're all different. That's how I am.

I can tell you whole harded that I would never smoke again. If I stopped vaping that's it, I wouldn't even think about smoking , that's how much I absolutely hate it. The smell literally makes my stomach turn to where I can actually chuck....I know there are things you dont know until it happens, but smoking is one thing I can say for certain I would never ever go back to. The 2 times that I tried to stop vaping, once actually forgot vaping gear on a long weekend trip and another just to see out of curiosity, it really didnt bother me tbh, I could of quit easily, but I just enjoy it and decided it's not really hurting me and it would of bothered me to see all my vape gear not being used. So with all that and the fact that I honestly hate smoking, there wouldn't even be a need to smoke....

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[wetclay]

Hello fellow vapers.
Here is a topic I was thinking of lately and I wanted to ask your opinion/plans.

Generally speaking, e-cigs were invented in order to help smokers switch from smoking regular cigs to something much less harmful and eventually help people quit this (one of the worst) habit of smoking / adding nicotine to your system.

Ideal plan was to give a smoker something similar (as a process) with enough nicotine to satisfy his needs but without all that sh@t that cigs contain.
After some time this ex-smoker was suppose to start lowering amounts of nicotine in his e-juice up until he is OK with 0 mg. nic vaping.
And eventually quit vaping as well, eliminating the habit.

In reality, I'd say about 80% of ex-smokers who became vapers don't even plan to quit vaping, they have their preferred nic. level and they keep on vaping it year after year being happy about it.

So what's your opinion on that? Do you also plan to keep on vaping or you might quit it in the future?

I personally will not quit vaping, even if I lose interest in it. I actively resist lowering nicotine, reducing ejuice consumption ...etc.
I feel that if I quit, I'll be at risk of going back to smoking again. I've seen many who quit for many years and then went back to smoking with vengeance. I guess I'm one who needs a habit (addiction if you will) in their life. Vaping fills the void. ECF is bonus lol.

 

[Rossum]

"I don't like the word 'addict' because it has terrible connotations," Root says one day, as they are sunning themselves on the afterdeck. "Instead of slapping a label on you, the Germans would describe you as 'Morphiumsüchtig.' The verb suchen means to seek. So that might be translated, loosely, as 'morphine seeky' or even more loosely as 'morphine-seeking.' I prefer 'seeky' because it means that you have an inclination to seek morphine."

The root of the word notwithstanding, "Süchtig" is just as much a label in German as "addicted" is in English.

 

[stols001]

I did not even read a SINGLE RESPONSE OR BARELY THE POST ITSELF MY THOUGHT IS

I want my vape LEFT in my cold, dead hand and buried WITH me. Along with a few other favorites.

I'm sorry Vaping is magic to me, I'm sure (maybe) someday I may lower my nic but like, you don't QUIT the thing that saved you from an OXGEN tank and like COPD that thing is a GOOD, perhaps THE good in the world.

I had good reasons for giving up opiates and ETOH, and I did so, not always happily but yeah. They don't need a substitute or rather that substitute is Diet Pepsi and Advil (things I also consider great goods.)

I was a COMMITTED smoker and I had wanted to quit for DECADES. I can't even count the number of people who were like, "You are a smoker? You don't seem like a smoker, really." And, I didn't! I was a granola eating mommy who like attended sober music festivals and did yoga on the lawn with the kid to the music.... In between cigarettes.

LOL NOPE.

I am gonna eat now, STARVING.

Anna

 

[Jman8]

I can tell you whole harded that I would never smoke again. If I stopped vaping that's it, I wouldn't even think about smoking , that's how much I absolutely hate it. The smell literally makes my stomach turn to where I can actually chuck....
<Jman8 cut some for brevity>
So with all that and the fact that I honestly hate smoking, there wouldn't even be a need to smoke....

Replying to this with a few things to say.

First, your expressed feelings on not having another smoke again is one reason I think there will for sure be a black market with regards to vaping, if banning comes about. The idea that ex-smoking vapers would just gravitate towards smoking and continue with that habit I think is (possibly way) overhyped. I think many ex-smokers think that first smoke will be tasty and a wonderful experience. I strongly believe it would likely be so nasty they'd swear of smokes for good. And take whatever (teeny tiny) risks there are to get eLiquid on the underground market.

Second, I do think most ex-smokers are recovering addicts, but there would definitely be exceptions. Your post (aka your now hatred for smoking) tells me you have fully kicked the addiction. I'm sure you realize some may be skeptical of just how certain you are you'll never smoke again, but the only person's opinion that matters, about whether you are ever going to return to smoking, is yours.

Third, I profoundly disagree with those who think once an addict, always an addict. I obviously stated this earlier in the thread, but feel like elaborating. Again, vapdivrr is prime example of person that addict is not an applicable term. Recovering addict neither makes sense, truly. Recovery, I would say, allows for the possibility that one day in the future a cigarette may be smoked again. And perhaps more importantly, allows for the possibility that just one may be enjoyable enough that another after that is perhaps likely. Hence, a return to habitual use is seen as possible and then addiction sets in.

Yet, with recovery comes a sense of commitment. And I'd say the overwhelming majority (IMO) of vapers who were ex-smokers, or even are dual users, are committed to no longer being dependent on smoking. That's huge. We all know this. Non-smokers show up clueless to just how committed we are to longer being dependent on smoking.

Following up with that last point, my fourth and final item, is my speaking from dual use perspective. I'm a proud dual user. I've only said that about 50 times on the forums. Prior to making a commitment to no longer being dependent on smoking, I was, as a dual user, working through which product (vaping or smoking) did I truly enjoy more. I was surely vaping way more than smoking, but was mentally wavering between the idea that smoking for sure has things that I still enjoyed (then) daily, and that vaping just wasn't doing for me. Even, then I would call myself recovering addict. Because I think once a smoker commits even a little bit to vaping, they'll cut their smoking habit way back. Maybe not in the first month, but for sure by year 2, they are very likely nowhere near a PAD smoker. Which again, is huge.

There are a few reasons why I still choose to smoke, but the one I feel is pertinent to this topic is my ongoing desire to be a moderate smoker. Prior to vaping, I thought that not possible for smoking cigs. For the last 3 years or so, that is exactly how I'd describe myself. And currently moderation means, for me, one smoke every 3+ weeks, and up to as much as one smoke every 2.5 months. I would say that of the last 10 smokes I've had, which likely equals the amount I've had in 2019, maybe 3 of them were 'wonderful experience' type smokes. The rest were, meh, whatever. But still something I enjoy at the level of using moderately.

I think if vaping was banned, even from the black market, and somehow (magically) I couldn't ever vape again, I would plausibly return to habitual use of smoking. Then again, as someone who's gone cold turkey from smoking, three times (never less than a year), I do strongly believe I could stop.

But like most on this thread, and on this forum, I do so enjoy my nicotine intake. More please.

 

[Jman8]

definition of terms seems to be a repetitive issue in so many things these days.

Depends on what you mean by repetitive
And issue
And things
And even "these" days.

(I crack me up)

 

[bombastinator]

Depends on what you mean by repetitive
And issue
And things
And even "these" days.

(I crack me up)

“repetitive” : something that happens repeatedly. it’s a thing I see happen again and again in different places and in different ways.

“issue” what is being talked about. In this case definitions of terms. Where both people are using the same word to describe different things. Sometimes it seems to be a mere communication failure, sometimes it’s deliberate twisting of an older word that has resonance to support something that would otherwise have little support if the word normally used to actually describe it was used.

“these days” the most vague term. This present time period, recently. Both of which to some degree are vaugaries. Do you want me to randomly specify a time period?

 

[Jman8]

“repetitive” : something that happens repeatedly. it’s a thing I see happen again and again in different places and in different ways.

“issue” what is being talked about. In this case definitions of terms. Where both people are using the same word to describe different things. Sometimes it seems to be a mere communication failure, sometimes it’s deliberate twisting of an older word that has resonance to support something that would otherwise have little support if the word normally used to actually describe it was used.

“these days” the most vague term. This present time period, recently. Both of which to some degree are vaugaries. Do you want me to randomly specify a time period?

Uh, yeah, I'll have a Sprite and a bag of chips with that word salad. Thank you.

 

[chellie]

The short answer, "No"

The long answer - I never intended to quit smoking analogs because I never thought I could do it since I smoked since I was a young kid. When I learned about vaping - thanks ecig forum - I knew I could quit. I knew it was a substitute and I believed and still believe that it is less harmful. Amazingly, I quit a lifelong multipacks a day habit instantly from the moment I started vaping.

Now it is many years later (November will be 8 years) and I have said this before --I feel much less addicted. I am on very low nic and I go for long periods --hours and even overnight --without even thinking about it so I think that I could more easily quit but I have not actively pursued it. I mean you never know but it is not on my radar to quit.

 

[bombastinator]

Uh, yeah, I'll have a Sprite and a bag of chips with that word salad. Thank you.

I was brief the first time. You didn’t understand and complained that it wasn’t specific enough. So I was more specific and you complain that there were too many words and you didn’t understand.

the only commonality I’m seeing is your claimed failure to understand.

 

[GOMuniEsq]

“repetitive” : something that happens repeatedly. it’s a thing I see happen again and again in different places and in different ways.

“issue” what is being talked about. In this case definitions of terms. Where both people are using the same word to describe different things. Sometimes it seems to be a mere communication failure, sometimes it’s deliberate twisting of an older word that has resonance to support something that would otherwise have little support if the word normally used to actually describe it was used.

“these days” the most vague term. This present time period, recently. Both of which to some degree are vaugaries. Do you want me to randomly specify a time period?

Count on Bomb to swallow any bait.
Mods @classwife : Can we please add a reaction?