Do you think us vapers ae 'different'?

[plantlvr]

What I'm wondering is, as former smokers we were addictted to the cigs, and for some of us, me included, got tagged as 'addictive personalities' ( the 70's and 80's were a pharmacutical playground for me)
But why is it that we have some hardcore former smokers here, like me, that have totally embraced vaping, while others just don't have any interest in putting down the cigs?
The only thing in my case is i love to try new things at least once, and that's all it took for me to become a hardcore vaper
Love to hear your thoughts on this!

 

[SnowDragon]

The difference between the open minded and the closed minded. Like so many things it depends on which way the brain door swings.

 

[Mary Kay]

I know I am addictive..that's why I only drink once in a while and only take RX drugs. I can get hooked on collecting things too! All the batt colors..all the flavors ect.!
A lot of people have other problems that they smoked to control. vaping does the same thing (nic). Self medicating.

 

[NoMatches]

I dunno. For me it was really about the expenses of smoking. At $200 a week, I went heavilly into debt. I have CC bills up the wazoo. I had just recently purchased a ton of nicorette and patches. I was desperate, and every attempt failed miserably. If I were a rich man, I would not have tried vaping, but I was beyond desperate. Really, I was at a dead end. I was so addicted I convinced myself I enjoyed smoking, but that was the addiction speaking. I know that now.

Then, I'll say it, God directed me to a thread in the off topic forum of a football site. My sis was trying to get me to visit the old shopping mall kiosk vaping outlet. I resisted. Then came that thread. There were just too many people having far too much success quitting, I started to read... and learn. I realized it wasn't a gimmick.

I think that is what many smokers believe too. It's some whacky gimmick not to be taken seriously.

 

[starsong]

I really had no idea what this was. Vaguely remember seeing something on TV but thought it was just smoke coming out of a stick. Didn't realize there was actually flavor involved. So I guess I thought of it as a novelty/gimmick until I actually tried it. Never in a million years did I expect to replace smoking with vaping, and so quickly. I wish this was more widely advertised and easily available so more smokers would be able to try it. I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon it -- it has quite literally changed my life.

 

[Tracker II]

Naw, I don't think of vapors as different. Plantlvr, you vaped because you like to try new things. NoMatches tried vaping because of the cost of analogs. Personally, I tried vaping due to a health scare due to smoking. We all seem to stumble into vaping for different reasons, not because we are inherently different than smokers who don't (yet) vape.

 

[Morandir835]

Ms. Plantlvr, if this forum is any indication, then yes...

 

[Mmc]

I have an addictive personality. Smoked for 38 years. 21/2 pad. Longest I quit was for 8months. Never lasted a day on patch,pills, gum, ect. I started with a different company, though I didn't like the product, I saw the potential. Found v4l and never looked back. I think one of the biggest factors in helping me along the path is this forum. Information and encouragement. Also interest. (ps, I have a drawer full various boxes of flavors/nic levels that are hanging out in case my taste buds change)
At the same time I bought my first kit, I also bought one for my friend. He doesn't still hasn't quit, but he has made no effort
to find the right nic/flavor combo. I think the difference in success is interest

 

[gowsgirl]

Well I was addicted to food and smoking mainly(Watching my mother work through addictions of all kinds made me never want to try anything else!). I worked on the food aspect and lost over 130lbs in less than 3 years. I REFUSED to change the other thing I truly enjoyed....however, I also did not like being labelled a 'smoker'. I went to great lengths to avoid that. I love that now I may have another addiction, but it is healthier and so much more enjoyable than smoking was for me

Snowdragon does have a point too. I am extremely open to trying new things.( i.e. my skydiving addiction) so once I stumbled onto ECF and V4L ,it was not even a choice to smoke anymore!

 

[Clover~]

Im only 23 and was a smoker from 18-22. I have such an addictive and anxiety that I knew I wouldnt be able to quit cigs by myself. I was getting close to being a 5 year smoker and I heard that after five years its near impossible to quit I was thinking of using chantix. I was scared Id never sing again. I was scared Id get wrinkles and get ugly. I knew I loved blowing smoke out of my lungs. So when I saw a friend at a festival with a Blu I was intrigued. It was about 5 months later that I remembered about those things and started researching. now Im happily addicted to vaping. I feel awesome!

 

[Wingnutter]

Of course when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is...hence my hesitation to try vaping when I first heard about it about a year ago. Then I start hearing radio ads....seeing TV commercials...and then I see a famous actress (Katherine Heigl) on Letterman rocking an e-cig...then I see the same thread that NoMatches saw on the off-topic forum we both frequent. Ok, time to do some reading. After reading up and seeing that these things *could* be for real, I figured it couldnt hurt to try it and see for myself. Thats all it took.

At first, I felt a little strange vaping in front of people...I didnt want to see the weird looks and answer all the questions...but after about a week of vaping, I started to WELCOME when people are curious and have questions. I now LOVE demonstrating how my VP works and giving them the info they need to look into it for themselves. Most have heard of e-cigs, but pretty much all are amazed when I tell them my story and how well it has worked for me and others I have converted.

Knowledge is power, and in this case, it can also mean better health.

 

[jeffree]

Great question, Plant. I think one's openness to new things is the primary factor. Here's another one for me: living slightly outside the box. I've often bucked the norms... even choosing to live life in more than one country... and I think the same principle made vaping so appealing. My alien personality gets great satisfaction from seeing strangers staring at me while I vape.

 

[TJVapes]

Technology curious + addictive personality + sick of stinking = Major vaper freak.

 

[keyzygirl]

I think its addictive personality that hooked me on a few things.Now vaping and this forum are addictions,but its good healthy fun and Im not killing myself smoking.I dont mind that people think vaping is wierd and ask me questions,I know they really are interested but feel funny asking.If I need an addiction,vaping is a good one.Im happy with it.

 

[beachpuff]

Technology curious + addictive personality + sick of stinking = Major vaper freak.

+ determination

After the PACT ACT kicked in, and I ran out of my "stockpile", I ended up finding a smoke shop & alternated between rolling my own & Nat Shermans. I loved this little shop, but the last time I bought cigs, I had a weird experience. My first e-cig starter kit was on its way, but I needed a few packs to get me through until it arrived. I asked the store if they would be willing to start selling e-cigs, and they looked at me like I was an alien, and said no, because they didn't want me to stop smoking. I took that as a challenge, and decided that e-cigs were going to work for me, no matter what. Haven't been back there since

 

[plantlvr]

+ determination

After the PACT ACT kicked in, and I ran out of my "stockpile", I ended up finding a smoke shop & alternated between rolling my own & Nat Shermans. I loved this little shop, but the last time I bought cigs, I had a weird experience. My first e-cig starter kit was on its way, but I needed a few packs to get me through until it arrived. I asked the store if they would be willing to start selling e-cigs, and they looked at me like I was an alien, and said no, because they didn't want me to stop smoking. I took that as a challenge, and decided that e-cigs were going to work for me, no matter what. Haven't been back there since

That's great beach, good for you! As jeffree says i think most of us are slightly off kilter, or in other words open to other ways. All i know is vaping works for me as I sit typing this and a friend is going outside in the cold and rain to have a cig, ah well if all of us were the same it would be a boring world

 

[Mary Kay]

With all the smoking bans..inside and outside coming down, I think E-cigs will explode. I get asked what I am smoking a lot..so now I just pass out cards and also send them to ECF. I have found you can't get people to vape..they have to do the research and be willing to live thru the learning curve. In others words they have to want it, not just as a novelty.
My hubby thought we would use these for a few months and be ready to quit everything. he still hasn't quit and I want to but..oh heck not really! LOL

 

[jamvector]

People who have addictive tendencies often become smokers or drug addicts (alcohol inclusive) - they can reverse and control their behavior, but it is much more difficult to do than people who are chemically addicted but may not have addictive personality traits. Those individuals can become chemically addicted primarily through peer pressure or low self esteem. It is of course a very complicated scenario, and interesting question, but with many possible answers.

My personal opinion on the OP question is that smokers consist of 3 primary groups:

1. Militant addicts: I am a smoker, and I will not stop until you pry it from my cold dead hands. This group is unlikely to replace smoking with vaping, as they really have no interest or motivation to quit.
2. Passive addicts: who want to quit but may be a: Too scared to try something new, b: ignorant or close minded as to the alternatives or trying something new (as others have said), or c: have tried something else, have failed, and won't try something new for fear of failure. We can convert some of these to vaping, but not all, and it is harder to get them to try or to stay with it.
3. Conscience addicts: Those who know they want to quit, and have the determination to keep trying for any number of reasons. This is the group that I believe most vapers originate from, and also the group we will hear from frequently on forums such as this.

Just my $0.02

 

[Griffin]

Interesting Jam! That seems to meld with my experience working at a store where tobacco was a big part of our business. Once we started selling e-cigs (decent ones even), customers seemed to fall into one of three groups, almost exactly as you have described:

1. Ignore the e-cigs completely or scoff at them.
2. Take a look, maybe asked some questions, sometimes over multiple visits, but seem unlikely to actually purchase one.
3. Spent a minute or two looking/asking questions and bought a starter kit immediately.

 

[NoMatches]

People who have addictive tendencies often become smokers or drug addicts (alcohol inclusive) - they can reverse and control their behavior, but it is much more difficult to do than people who are chemically addicted but may not have addictive personality traits. Those individuals can become chemically addicted primarily through peer pressure or low self esteem. It is of course a very complicated scenario, and interesting question, but with many possible answers.

My personal opinion on the OP question is that smokers consist of 3 primary groups:

1. Militant addicts: I am a smoker, and I will not stop until you pry it from my cold dead hands. This group is unlikely to replace smoking with vaping, as they really have no interest or motivation to quit.
2. Passive addicts: who want to quit but may be a: Too scared to try something new, b: ignorant or close minded as to the alternatives or trying something new (as others have said), or c: have tried something else, have failed, and won't try something new for fear of failure. We can convert some of these to vaping, but not all, and it is harder to get them to try or to stay with it.
3. Conscience addicts: Those who know they want to quit, and have the determination to keep trying for any number of reasons. This is the group that I believe most vapers originate from, and also the group we will hear from frequently on forums such as this.

Just my $0.02

Actually, I am more like #1 than anything else, with a liitle bit of #2 thrown in. If smokes were $3 a pack, I would never ever had gone to vaping. Smoking was costing me almost $200 a week, and I am not a rich man by any means. That is a lease payment on a Mercedes! I went heavilly into credit card debt. I had tried patches and gum, they didn't even come close to working. I would leave my cigs in my truck so I'd have to go out there to get one in attempt to cut back. I ended up almost moving into my truck!

So, financial need was my trump card, no doubt about that. $96 a carton in NY, smoking 2 1/1 to 3 PAD... maybe there should be a 1a.