Dual user

[CCVapes23]

So I have been smoking anywhere from 5-8 cigarettes a day and vaping... I only really smoke at work. Do you guys think i’m doing more damage to myself? I’m trying to cut out the cigarettes completely and i’m cutting down every day, and i’m Almost there but I was just wondering if anyone else dual uses. Thanks!


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[Baditude]

We have a saying here on ECF: "It's not how many cigarettes you smoked today that is important. It's how many you DIDN'T smoke that is."

With every cigarette that you don't smoke, you're not being adversely affected by the tars and other dangerous chemicals that comes with burning tobacco leaves. Using nicotine alone is not without some adverse health effects, but it is certainly safer than smoking. Some studies are even showing some positive effects by using nicotine not coming from smoking: Alzheimers, Crohn's Disease, Inflamatory Bowel Disease, ADHD, depression.

You're doing fine. You are making a determined effort to stop smoking. Many current vapers were dual users for days, weeks, or even months before they were totally off of the smokes. Even if you fall off the wagon, don't feel too bad. Just pick up where you left off.

 

[ScottP]

So I have been smoking anywhere from 5-8 cigarettes a day and vaping... I only really smoke at work. Do you guys think i’m doing more damage to myself? I’m trying to cut out the cigarettes completely and i’m cutting down every day, and i’m Almost there but I was just wondering if anyone else dual uses. Thanks!

The only way you could be "doing more damage" to yourself is if you were already only smoking 5-8 cigs a day and added vaping on top. Even then the "extra damage" would be significantly less than smoking just 1 more cig than normal.

 

[Bonskibon]

I duel used for months before quitting cigarettes. It's all in what works for you.

 

[stols001]

If you have cut back everywhere except work, it sounds like major progress. You won't be doing more damage to yourself dual using, it will be slightly less. Some of the more spectacular improvements come after a full cigarette detox (and keep building) but most vapers (not all) dual used a bit at first.

I first encountered vaping many years ago and it was only recently that I made a complete switch, when I was finally ....-hurt enough by cigarettes to really have little alternative. I still dual used for a few weeks.

You are doing great, and as far as I know, there is no evidence that dual using is somehow magically worse than smoking alone, and some that shows mild improvement and/or remaining at baseline.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself but keep moving in that right direction and you will get there.

Anna

 

[Vapemesilly]

Smoking 5-8 a day? Geez, why even bother? Toss those nasty things and vape full time.

Seriously, if you are using a high enough nicotine vape to curb the cravings...any cravings you get are purely mental. It takes the brain a while to catch on that the body is getting all the nicotine it needs via other delivery systems.

 

[Canadian_Vaper]

Sounds like you need a higher level of nic for work.

 

[SteveS45]

Dual use for me was just me kidding myself I was cutting down. I had to quit cold turkey and have only vaping to satisfy my cravings. Worked for me though and it will be four years this summer! Good Luck on your journey to becoming a former smoker!

 

[QcVaper]

@Baditude is right on the ecf saying and i second his comment.

I didn't dual use for long (one week during vacation which made it easier imo) but i still couldn't give up my first morning cig until about a week later when i was sure vaping worked. Since then i cut completely but i do have a LOT of willpower so not everyone can do this and it's totally normal.

 

[JCinFLA]

@CCVapes23 - There IS no "1 way" to switch from smoking to vaping. What works for someone else, may not be what works for you. It sounds to me that what you're doing is working for you. So keep at it, going at your own pace that's comfortable for you, and you'll get there. Many of us dual used for varying lengths of time and have been completely off the smokes for years now. In addition to the comment above that Baditude posted, which is true... IMO it's also "It's not how long it takes you to switch that's important. It's eventually reaching the goal at the end that is."

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

I dual used for years. Sometimes quitting vaping, sometimes quitting smoking, most often doing both.

I didn't quit completely until I did three things:

1. Switched to direct lung vaping with sub Ohm atomizer
2. Stopped chasing juice that tasted like a cigarette and...
3. Stopped buying cigarettes

You can do It! I was two packs a day of the cheapest smokes I could find, bought by the carton.

 

[the wind]

maybe try my dual use, direct lung and resistive lung. resistive at work.

 

[tgs3]

I began vaping in August and was smoking 9-12 for the first month. A bit later I was at 5-8 per day for a month or so. Getting to 4-5 was really a turning point for me. Since mid-December I have not smoked more than 2 a day. After 40+ years of 20-30 per day, I feel really good about my progress. If I stay at 1 or 2 for the next month, I am cool with that. It's not a competition. I am pretty sure that I will have a smoke free day before this month is over, but I am approaching the six month mark of vaping.

Make sure you are getting enough nicotine in your juice. I vaped at 24mg until just recently when I began buying juice at 18mg. Finding the right liquid(s) is really important.

Everyone has their own path to take. It seems to me that you are doing fine. Just keep vaping no matter how many analogs you smoke.

 

[Letitia]

I dual used for 5 months before I decided to not buy another pack of cigs. I needed dtl to be satisfied as well. You are doing fine and have made great progress. Maybe take your vape to work with you. When I finally took mine to work I'd smoke half a cig then vape.

 

[FlamingoTutu]

Agree with counting the "ones you don't smoke" , upping your nic and doing what works for you.

I smoked for over 40 years and started as a kid because I wanted to learn how to blow smoke rings, not smoke. Some months later I learned about the smoking/cancer connection and wanted to quit ever since. I also had an undiagnosed medical condition that benefited from nicotine. Fighting BT's chemical soup plus unknowingly self medicating, nothing known to human kind to quit smoking worked, especially the BP voodoo crap, made a dent until I became aware of vaping.

Tried it in 2009 and it was promising but didn't work. Tried again in 2012 with better equipment and single-minded determination, as always. I got stuck at 5-10 cigarettes a day for months but was down from 45 a day. In 2009 they said I'd need 4mg to quit since I smoke ultra light. Ummm, yeah, nope. In 2012 I bumped all the way up to 18mg. I finally landed on an ECF post due to a google search and saw a post saying if you couldn't get over the "hump." and that's where you're at, the hump, up your nic to 24mg. I did. Soon after, on 14 March 2013 at 5 pm, I realized I hadn't had a cig all day and gutted it out for the rest of the day. I finally had one day without a cig under my belt. Then 2, then 3... It was tough and the nic was a bit much, but I needed it to get over those last few stinking cigarettes, but my five year vaperversary is rapidly approaching.

I humbly suggest you get some stronger nic and take it to work with you to use there. Vaping does not give you that nic rush like smoking does plus it takes a little longer to get in your system without all those carefully BT manipulated chemicals.

You are on the cusp of kicking cigarettes to the curb for good, you can do it and there will always be people here on ECF to help should you hit any speed bumps. Not all of us were lucky enough to have a cakewalk from smoking to vaping, some of us really had to work at it. You're doing great, keep fighting.

 

[rob33]

I dual used for years. Sometimes quitting vaping, sometimes quitting smoking, most often doing both.

I didn't quit completely until I did three things:

1. Switched to direct lung vaping with sub Ohm atomizer
2. Stopped chasing juice that tasted like a cigarette and...
3. Stopped buying cigarettes

You can do It! I was two packs a day of the cheapest smokes I could find, bought by the carton.

Same for me but like Cowboy that was several years ago. With the right equipment and the correct nicotine level available today, anyone should be able to make a break in a few days, the rest is in their mind.

 

[stols001]

Well most everything we do also affects our "minds". Detoxing is a process and one's brain's homeostasis changes. For some folks that is easier to plough through than others. I felt pretty wrecked mentally during detox and I'm fairly certain it was due to going through a lot of physiological changes that did affect my mind...

Just my thoughts as always...

Anna

 

[gpjoe]

I am a confessed dual user for over four years now.

Still smoke a few (3) butts per day, down from a pack-a-day for over 40 years.

Definitely have an addictive personality, and alcoholism runs deep in our family (thankfully I never went down that road, and never drink).

I would never encourage anyone to keep smoking, and my goal will always be to give up smoking entirely but people that know me would never have believed that I could nearly give up cigarettes. I am thrilled to NOT have smoked over 25,000 cigarettes over the last 4+ years.

That's a huge win for me.

 

[stols001]

Yep. I'm not sure that I EVER expect my husband to quit smoking completely, but down to 3 or 4 a day is HUGE progress as far as I'm concerned. And he already is noting vaping improvements and starting to experience "Why am I smoking this?" syndrome, so I guess I will have to wait and see. I'd love it if tobacco were finally out of the house, but eh, I can live with EITHER outcome.

Anna

 

[tgs3]

And he already is ... starting to experience "Why am I smoking this?" syndrome

I began to experience that syndrome as soon as I started writing down every cigarette I smoked before lighting up. Now, I am experiencing the 'Why am I buying these cigarettes?' syndrome. I bought a pack of cigs on Christmas day. I smoked the last one at 8am yesterday. The hours past and gradually I began to feel nervous, not because I wanted to smoke a cigarette, but because I didn't have any. So, I went out an bought a pack. Didn't smoke one until this morning. Probably my last for the day.

Cigarette addiction, at least in my case, is weird.