Do you still vapor after you reached zero nicotine?

[Smoking joe]

I was wondering for the one's who reached the zero nicotine intake mark. Do you think you can deal without your e cig or have you got so use to It ti's now a habit on It's own?

I'm still waiting for my order to go through. an eGo so I'm very wet behind the ears about all this. But I find myself looking at the youtube vids on the units and e juice flavors out there and feel like "I'm I going to get hook on this? I know its way better then tobacco and Nicotine by Itself is not a big deal. Just would like some feed back on how If any of the habit of holding and putting something In your mouth Is going. Do you find yourself reaching?

 

[7thCabal]

I remember needing to have my cigs on me where ever I went-- not so much w/ the PV... sometimes hours will pass before I see/hit the PV again.

I'm kinda glad I'm hooked on this... not smoking thing.

 

[Smoking joe]

So Cabal, I guess my question Is do you find yourself reaching? Can you go on about your day without having your e cig on you? If you forget it will turn back for It?

 

[jmaul99]

Just dropped to no nic and still keep my PV with me at all times. I was a 1 1/2 PAD smoker and was more addicted to the hand to mouth action than the nicotine. I don't know if I will ever quit using my PV.

 

[Smoking joe]

Jmaul99,

How Is it w/o the Nicotine in it? Do you still feel the throat hit? Is it like smoking but w/o the Nic rush?

 

[Garrell6888]

I would like to know as well. I've been thinking about lowering.

 

[CtryBoy]

Think it comes back to a question if habits in general are bad, answer depends on how they affect your life.

Having once quit cold turkey for over a year before stress took me by the hand and reintroduced me to my old friend the analog, personally believe in the mind over matter. If you dont mind, it doent matter. Basic answer is as long as you are still vaping you are in fact a vaper. To equate it to being a smoker, think that Smoking Joe's question said it best. If you'll turn around to go back home and get it you are definitely a vaper in the same sense that we all were/are smokers. Up to you if that is a good or a bad thing. If you were going to the beach and forgot sunscreen you'd find a way to get some otherwise you might not enjoy your day at the beach. If having the ability to vape makes a simple quiet moment more relaxing, enjoyable, etc who should complain or care.

Nice thing is this one isnt insidiously trying to kill you or choke off the oxygen to your brain and organs.

Again think this will vary person to person. Might depend on whether they have friends or are around others that smoke. Not saying they should vape to join in or anything, but if vaping even zero nic helps you avoid the temptation to bum a smoke from your buddies then it's still doing it's job, keeping you from smoking and that's a good thing in my book.

 

[Smoking joe]

Hey Ctryboy,

Thanks for joining the conversation. I have also quit before and remember sometimes reaching for a pack I did not carry anymore. I would also rather vape then smoke.

Maybe I'm asking two question. Would you feel comfortable without It? In your hand or your mouth. the whole oral fixation thing. And w/o the Nic do you still get a good throat hit? How Is it different?

 

[Automaton]

Hey Joe,

I am not a zero-nic vaper, but I thought I'd address this from how I look at things.

I do have the eventual goal to get down to zero nic. And given that I'm not killing myself with my addiction anymore, I have the luxury of taking my time with it, and doing it at a comfortable rate.

The question is, once I've done so, will I still have my e-cig around?

And the answer to that, in my mind, is simple.

Yes. I will always have an e-cig around. And I will always have a bottle of zero-nic, and a bottle with nicotine. Here's why.

The compulsive habit is HUGE to me. I am probably as addicted to the smoking habit as I am to nicotine itself. I have a compulsive personality, as well as a chemically addictive personality.

I would like to get to the point where if I forget it at home, I'm ok with that. And I think someday I will.

But in moments of stress, as we all know, the reality of addiction makes itself known. I will ALWAYS be an addict.

And in moments of weakness, I would rather have an e-cig I can grab, than get desperate and wind up buying a pack of cigarettes. Lots of people quit for years... and then get hit with major stress, and wind up smoking again. I don't want to be one of them. And I will take measures to prevent that from ever happening, by always having an e-cig.

I would rather make peace with being an addict, and always have that option open to me in a non-harmful way, than try to pretend I can stop being an addict and put myself in a situation where I have no safety net.

When I am stressed, I will always go back to my compulsive habit. And when I am VERY stressed, I will go back to nicotine. The question is simply whether I satisfy that in a way that is harmful, or a way that is not harmful.

I hope to someday get to the point where I'm not hittin' my e-cig all day long, like I do now. If I don't, I'm ok with that. But if I do, I will always have a box somewhere with an e-cig and some juice in it.

As far as nic vs. zero-nic in terms of throat hit... well, the nicotine is what gives you most of the throat hit. So most of the flavors you vape now, in zero-nic, would have no throat hit.

Zero-nic vapers remedy this to some extent by using different flavors - such as cinnamon - which have a punch of their own, even without nicotine. Or, some mix a small amount of pure grain alcohol (PGA) into their juices. Or, they go up to a 5v e-cig.

 

[taxicat]

Smokin' Joe,

This is a great question. I really like everyone's opinion.

The way I look at it....I think it depends on the individual. When I started vaping, I started with 24 mg. which I discovered very quickly was too much for me.

Went down to 16 mg., it was great! A fellow vaper passed on some juice she did not like, 6-8 mg. Like the 16 mg, it worked without any craving except for first thing in the am and when I was stressed.
Did not plan ahead and ran out of the 16 mg juice.

Now I am vaping 6-8 mg and also no nic juice. It's working for me just fine. The 0 nic is giving me a really nice throat hit.

I did not plan on decreasing my level of nic. I just left things happen.

I honestly don't know at this time whether I will eventually quit vaping. I really enjoy it and it satisfies my hand to mouth habit.

My feeling is why should I put a timetable and restrictions on myself? Did this so many times trying to quit analogs always going back.

If it works, why fix it?

taxicat

 

[JustKryssi]

I have never vaped anything but 0 nic and, after coming from a pack a day habit, did find myself reaching for my cigarettes in the beginning. When the phone rang, while in the car and right after a big meal. It was habit. But I never did light another cig.

I trained myself to reach for my PV. No, it didn't give me the full satisfaction but at least the hand to mouth urge was covered; the physical urge I just dealt with. Eventually that need for nic went away but with less anguish than going cold turkey or using NRT.

Now, I don't seem to need to vape like I needed to smoke. I never use it while on the phone and only in the car for long trips. I still like it after the occasional big meal as it promotes deep breathing which aids in digestion anyway. Some days, I don't need it at all. It's not as much of a habit anymore.

BUT, I will never go somewhere far from home without my PV. It's going to be 4 months for me soon, but I still feel that it could go either way if I experience some stress. There's no reason not to have my PV and my fave DIY juice on me. And therefore, no reason to ever smoke again.

 

[Smoking joe]

WoW, Really Interesting responds! First I would like to say I started smoking cigs when I was about 13yrs old at around 17yrs old i stopped cold turkey. One day late night at work I started to jones, this was some years after. then I was on it again. Some years after that I pick up some Nic patches and when that way. It was so hard to quit that way! I was edgy, aggressive, anyway you get the point. Stopped for so many years. I'm 36yrs Now about 4yrs ago I started again out of the blue! Don't know If it was stress or what just know I went out walk by a store, went In and asked for a "lucy" by the end of the week i was on a pack again.

Just some back round Info on me. But yeah even when I do make it to 0Nic intake I will keep my e cig and juice just In case.

I was surprised to hear from Kryssi about never using Nic Intake and how well she was doing! I was told to start high like 24mg which I order and take my time going down. But thats great good for her.

I really appreciate people participating on this discussion. I think this forum Is great for support and Info.

Thank you all so much.

 

[justboringsarah]

This is me too. I dropped to zero nic fairly quickly,but I can't give up the ritual of "smoking"

 

[Peeps]

I vape 0 nic for the most part but will never stop vaping because it's something that I enjoy. It relaxes me and I enjoy the ritual of it. There is very little, if any, throat hit on the juices that I've tried...

 

[Automaton]

Smoking Joe - Cigarette addiction is a very complex one, and not everyone is addicted to all aspects of it to the same degree. There's...

- Habitual addiction (hand-to-mouth, the act of smoking)
- Nicotine addiction
- MAOI addiction
... and probably more.

Every smoker has their own make-up of what comprises their personal addiction. For me? I'm very addicted to the habitual addiction, and the nicotine. Not as much to the MAOI's. This is why I had no problem quitting cigs the day my e-cig arrived, but I'm having a hard time lowering my nicotine, and I'm having to do it *very* slowly.

The people who are addicted to the MAOI's are the people who take weeks or months to taper down with e-cigs (because there are no MAOI's in nic juice), or use snus and snuff to supplement their e-cigs.

The people who are more habitually addicted than anything else are the types who can give up the nicotine, but still like to vape zero-nic.

This is why some people quit cigs the first day, some take weeks, and some can go right to zero-nic. It truly is a complex addiction. Perhaps more than any other.

 

[Smoking joe]

Interesting Mistress,

Don't know which one I am. Maybe a bit of all. I don't know what MAOI is can you explain it? Only thing I been addict to was cigs.

 

[Automaton]

Interesting Mistress,

Don't know which one I am. Maybe a bit of all. I don't know what MAOI is can you explain it? Only thing I been addict to was cigs.

MAOI's are a natural component of tobacco. They are fantastic anti-depressants. Big Pharma even has their own brand of prescription anti-depressants, which are MAOI's. And they are highly addictive, just like the MAOI's in tobacco.

MAOI's basically slow down your neuronal re-absorption of seratonin and dopamine - the "happy chemicals," so to speak.

And nicotine makes your neurons produce MORE dopamine. So basically, when you smoke a cig, you brain has a crap load of dopamine "happy chemicals," which are floating around and not being absorbed.

When you use e-juice, which has nicotine but no MAOI's, your dopamine level drops. It's still higher than normal, because of the nicotine, but your neurons have resumed re-absorbing the excess dopamine at a normal rate.

For some people, who are more addicted to nicotine (sudden burst) than they are to MAOI's (extended dopamine elevation), this produces only mild withdrawal, which is easily resolved by just vaping more.

For others, who are also addicted to the MAOI's, this can result in them feeling like "something is missing," and needing to use a tobacco product with their e-cigs to taper off cigarettes.

You can basically pin down whether you're addicted to MAOI's or not by how easily you switched to e-cigs. If it took a long time, or was quite difficult, you may be addicted to MAOI's as well.

 

[Smoking joe]

Thank you for the explanation, very educational. Just to get off topic a minute but If I find the 24mg too strong can I cut it with some water till I got a lower dose?

 

[Java_Az]

I wouldnt recommend cutting it with water , but if you do use distilled water since it is non conductive.

 

[kylewinther]

I think it is definitely useful for the hand to mouth satisfaction of smoking