E-Cigs are really looked down upon by recent quitters.

[PTJD]

Good post Lithium!

"Hi all!

New member here, I consider myself a SMOKER for 13 years now, I'm from Mexico, I don't have any commercial interest in e-cigarette market, but I have a few words to say about this matter, of course this is my first post but you know, there is ALWAYS a first post, if you think that due to this I'm a spammer so be it, I can't change your way of thinking; However, I have been involved in the e-cigarette world since january 2008, a lot of reading and investigation about this device, I have read a lot of lies, scams, myths, but also.. A lot of ANECDOTAL information of thousands of people quiting SMOKING and sometime nicotine use using a personal vaporizer.

I'm an active member of some e-cigarette forums I know about spammers due to the fact that I have set up a site dedicated to organize people to defend their right to vape, this forum has no commercial links with e-cigarette market and is driven only by user, no suppliers are allowed to join the Admin Board of the site.

Having say that, I want to add to this conversation that e-cigarettes are not cigarettes, they may look like a cigarette but they could look like an onion too, what their will be in that case? e-onions? the important part of this devices are the concept of vaporization instead of combustion, every organic material when burned produce a lot of carcinogenic chemicals not only tobacco, in the other hand, when you apply heat to a substance (a chemical compound or organic material) only to vaporize, the active ingredients of the compound are carried by the vapor without changes, so no byproducts are produced.

Vaporization is a good harm reduction approach to people who enjoy nicotine as much as other people enjoy caffeine, nicotine and caffeine are very similar drugs, the difference is that nicotine is more poisoning than caffeine and that traditionally the must popular way to ingest nicotine is to burn herbal material, but what would happened if nicotine have had been used like caffeine and caffeine would be used by burning plants? we would have a lot of soft drinks with nicotine and caffeine would be the evil to beat.

So, why is that some of you are so against of this devices? just because they keep the addiction to nicotine? but nicotine is not the problem, the real problem is the way we get it, I'm not here to try to change your mind, but I just want to encourage every of you to think in the CONCEPT rather than the device or the way some companies are marketing it.

I'm right now using a Personal Vaporizer to vaporize tobacco (it is not an e-cigarette), I know this is not as clean as vaporize a pure nicotine extract mixed with USP grade PG but in my country it is difficult to get a better device, the irony is that cigarettes are sold in every little store all over the country, I don't want to quit nicotine, I enjoy nicotine as much as I enjoy caffeine, but I want to reduce the harm that smoke does to me, I eventually have a cigarette, due to the fact that the device I'm using is sometimes difficult to set up to vaporize tobacco and it is easier to just light up a cigarette.

I'm saying all this because I believe that vaporization is way more better than smoking, I'm not defending e-cigarettes or any companies, I'm defending the concept, and I wish that in my country we could get as many options as we can to quit smoking, that is why I want to share my point of view with all of you, please do not turn your back to the concept, at least if you think that this approach is not for you, support it for others that have quit with this method.

e-cigarette users are as defending as you are, I can see why, quitting tobacco use is very difficult and right now the FDA is trying to ban e-cigarettes in the USA, e-cigarette users don't want to go back to cigarettes, that is why they are preaching the benefits of this devices.

The concept of vaporization of nicotine is here to stay, all we want is to have good quality materials and devices, but not a right out ban on those devices, public perception is very important too, but vaping is not smoking.

So please, before bashing the whole concept, make your own investigation, maybe not for your personal use, but for people like you that don't want to smoke never again.

I'm not providing any kind of links to forums because looks like some people here is hypersensitive to links, but I want to say that there are forums and user organizations without commercial interest on e-cigarette market who try to keep this concept legal and safe for the consumer, not everybody is a spammer."

Hope they are starting to understand we are not all spammers.

QuitSmokingMessageBoard.com • View topic - E-Cigarettes

 

[Scott EE]

I discovered e-ciggs by reading the FDA report on a news site. I thought "if they are talking a ban, there must be something to it". Discovered 1 carcinogen and 1 possible trace poison. Thought "Hell that's way better!!". Made my first order. On the half day I got my order I smoked 8 ana's. Day 2 smoked 2 1/2. Day 3 I became a full time vaper. I kinda feel like a crack head. i.e. "Don't touch my 901". I have full plans on reducing my nic intake and quitting all together. No time frame set. Not gonna set one. I smoked 38 years, most of those at 2 packs a day. Actually tasting and smelling things I've never experienced! Course that could be a bad thing . Been a "Non-Smoker" for 42 days. I don't even want one of those nasty things!

I found e-cigs the very same way. I was doing my daily read on google news and caught the story about the judge who ruled that the FDA were not allowed to seize e-cig products from entering the US. Some google searches later I found this site. Spent two days reading all kinds of stuff from here and elsewhere then made my first order.

So far 49 hours off my analogs. And I was a pack a day guy for 16 years.

 

[7thCabal]

Very informative thread, kinda dizzy from reading the whole thing. For me the pv made it the easiest transition from being a solid 2+ pack a day smoker to a non-smoker ever, tried the patch, the pill, the gum-- just never stuck.

Though I got rooked on my 1st purchase of a pv I knew immediately that this was a golden ticket off the analog train & since Oct. 09 so far so good-- unbelievably so. My hats off to all the good folks on this forum for the support & honest opinions. Good things everyone, Aloha!

 

[chichigrk]

i sencirely understand there position and wish them the best in quitting this demon nicotine/smoking. I tried cold turkey a few times most i ever lasted was a week before i caved.
truth is i enjoy smoking too much not the hazard obviously, and since my 510 came in im thankfull and feel blessed that i discovered pv's.
I am addicted to nicotine, i can quit, but that everlasting craving will stay with me, now at least i have a relatively harmless and in my opinion and experience more enjoyable alternative to turn to rather than filling my lungs with tar, carbon monoxide, and carcinogens at the expense to my nicotine craving.
And the flavors

 

[Moriah]

I tried everything to quit smoking....the problem was I didnt WANT to quit smoking, I enjoyed it- like many people enjoy having a drink to relax. But when I started vaping I quit smoking cigarettes completely. I can enjoy the act of smoking and I feel that I am doing less damage to my body than had I continued cigarettes. I think a many people new to quitting arent quitting because they WANT to and it makes them mad. Many quit because of pressure from society, family etc. there are many things that we do that are not healthy. Eating too much or not the right things, not working out, too much salt, drinking alcohol, driving too fast the list goes on. Maybe some new quitters are mad that they had to quit. Of course I will always admire and encourage people to do healtheir things....but for me, life is pretty boring doing everything that is good for you!

The phenomenon is not limited to just people who have quit nicotine cold turkey.... I've known quite a few friends of Bill W. who truly feel that no addict to alcohol can ever have one glass of wine, and any who do and are successful at that one glass not turning into two, or three, or the whole bottle are just lying when they say it didn't or lying to themselves. Or getting upset at people like me who have never been addicted to alcohol and can drink one glass two or three times a year without problems. (I credit that to another program similar to AA, Alateen -- a support group for children of alcoholics whether their parents are in active addiction or recovery. One of the big things we were taught was that drinking even one drink to ESCAPE was drinking like an alcoholic. I refused to allow myself even one drink after my father passed away this summer because I knew I was under a tremendous amount of stress and I might enjoy the escape, the first glass of wine I had was on NYE this year.)

While I do not doubt at all that is true for some recovering alcoholics, and I would NEVER encourage a recovering alcoholic to drink that one glass, my mother became a friend of Bill W. herself when I was a child. 25 years later she is able to have just one glass. I'm very proud of her, as proud of her as I was 25 years ago when she quit drinking.

If many on that forum have quit nicotine cold turkey, mentioning electronic cigarettes might be considered waving that one glass under an alcoholic's nose. They've beat the physical addiction and are just working on the psychological. But for those who are still struggling to quit... it would be the right thing to mention IMHO.

Electronic nicotine inhalers are a harm reduction strategy. And that has been my view about how society should deal with substance abuse (and yes, I consider nicotine a substance that is abused) for a long, long time, since my father's diagnosis with HIV. Seeing his death that was caused by a dirty needle just reinforced that view.

 

[gixer]

I actually experienced this last night. A couple of my friends who have quit smoking recently asked me how I was doing with the quitting smoking thing. I told them I've been smoke free for a week now, and I showed them my 510 and explained what it was. I got a pretty bad response. Stuff like, that's stupid, you have to want to quit smoking to quit, Why don't you just used chantix, it works way better, you're still smoking, you'll probably be addicted to this now, but with chantix, it's only for two months. I would have expected ex-smokers to be more supportive of the e-cig. I guess not.

 

[AlexTM]

Tell them you neither wanted to quit nicotine nor commit suicide. Or become an anti-smoker, ever!

(I myself was and am pretty serious about the last part. Should I ever find myself there, I'll buy myself a pack of cigarettes. That way, I may loose my lungs, but I won't loose my self-respect.)

 

[DerekPGH]

i myself have kicked the tar habit for over a week now. i'm 24, and have smoked 2 pakcs a day since i was 18, but have been smoking since 13. My father smoked from 11-25, and then again from 35-40. my mom threatned to give him the boot, thats why he quit the last time. I work with him, so every day i was hearing the you really shouldn't smoke thing. He wasn't like most non-smokers, just the typical dad telling u whats bad. He is very proud that i quit lighting marlboro menthols on fire and inhaling them. he wishes they had e-cigs when he was quitting. I think they're a great alternative. Even if some studies come up showing that theres carcinogens in them, what doesn't cause cancer? And all i know is, my chest doesn't feel nearly as tight as it did a week ago, and i can truly take deeper breathes. I watched my grandfather die from emphazyma. I wish they had PVs in his time.

 

[PTJD]

Looks like they are coming around a bit.
QuitSmokingMessageBoard.com • View topic - Does this count as a quit?

 

[VaporTrailz]

I actually experienced this last night. A couple of my friends who have quit smoking recently asked me how I was doing with the quitting smoking thing. I told them I've been smoke free for a week now, and I showed them my 510 and explained what it was. I got a pretty bad response. Stuff like, that's stupid, you have to want to quit smoking to quit, Why don't you just used chantix, it works way better, you're still smoking, you'll probably be addicted to this now, but with chantix, it's only for two months. I would have expected ex-smokers to be more supportive of the e-cig. I guess not.

I tried the Chantix a few years ago...made it 3 months on that and was suffering mild to moderate depression for months 2 and 3....that was a new experience for me so I had no idea what it was. I also had cravings DAILY and all day for my beloved cigs on the Chantix. Finally one day I got a bit more stressed than usual and said screw it....I'm buying a pack. Lit the first one, and it tasted great, and I instantly felt great.
After that, I had no intentions of quitting again and dealing with being depressed mixed with cravings until I discovered the e-cig.

I bought a 510 last October, and after a few days of e-cig mixed with .... logs, I went fully on the e-cig. Now it has been almost 6 months....double the longest I have made it quitting before and no desire to go back to .... logs.

Screw the Chantix...if your friends arent supportive of your choice to quit with the e-cig, they arent true friends. Good luck!

Oh and the best part....no depression with the e-cig!

 

[PTJD]

Yep Chantix is not good. Patches hardly ever work.

 

[justsomeguy]

As someone who spends a lot of time on message boards, I can't say I'm a big fan of going over to another site and trying to convince them their approach may be wrong. Looking over that site it seems clear they're aware of e-cigs, but overall their goals seem different that what I see from the majority here.

They seem intent on quitting everything having to do with smoking and nicotine.
We, for the most part, seem interested in quitting the unhealthy aspects of smoking while continuing our nicotine addiction.

Personally I wouldn't appreciate their members coming over here and posting repeatedly about how we shouldn't be using e-cigs to quit.... and if I was in the midst of a cold turkey quit after deciding that was the right way to go for me... I surely wouldn't want someone telling me it was okay to puff on some nicotine liquid.

I don't know - just my 2 cents.

 

[sanfordf]

As someone else that has been trolling the boards at this excellent site, I think that there will always be people that want the method that they use (to quit smoking or whatever) to be reinforced and validated. So,..anything contrary is in conflict with them.

 

[PTJD]

As someone who spends a lot of time on message boards, I can't say I'm a big fan of going over to another site and trying to convince them their approach may be wrong. Looking over that site it seems clear they're aware of e-cigs, but overall their goals seem different that what I see from the majority here.

They seem intent on quitting everything having to do with smoking and nicotine.
We, for the most part, seem interested in quitting the unhealthy aspects of smoking while continuing our nicotine addiction.

Personally I wouldn't appreciate their members coming over here and posting repeatedly about how we shouldn't be using e-cigs to quit.... and if I was in the midst of a cold turkey quit after deciding that was the right way to go for me... I surely wouldn't want someone telling me it was okay to puff on some nicotine liquid.

I don't know - just my 2 cents.

Problem is legit users of E-cigs are constantly called spammers over there. I understand they did have their share of spammers but we have had more than a few respected posters from here accused of selling there.
Now if any of them wants to come over here to tout "chantix" or "nicorette" we may argue the benefits but would not accuse them of being spammers from Pfizer. Oh, never read how anyone critisized their way of quitting on their forum.

 

[Xenu]

I've read this thread, and I'd be interested to know the results of any study comparing other quit methods with PV's...although I don't think that the rates of PV's will be any better than other forms of NRT. I think they'll show similar numbers to NRT for going back to analogs, and similar numbers of people who aren't smoking but addicted to the NRT.

For our quit smoking home, we don't see the choice to change the nicotine delivery method to be any different from still smoking. Yes, its healthier than an analog (or at least probably is), but it doesn't fit into our beliefs of freedom from nicotine.

Thats the fundamental difference: Many people here have no desire to be free from nicotine, myself included. We're only interested in a delivery system much less likely to cause health problems. We mostly do not value abstinence from nicotine for its own sake.

 

[lilbootz]

yea i remember when i went to the nurse because i was having the coughs and the sniffles. she said i had a must've had a bad immune system...then we got to the smoking question and i said i quit two weeks ago. she congratulated me but then frowned down upon the help i got from e-cigs. she said that I really needed to quit the nicotine dependency in my brain. BUT I DONT MIND

 

[CaptainChet]

Quickly looking over the thread titles in the main forum, I'm quite amused. Plenty of relapse threads, and the one the really gets me is the "Relapse is not acceptable" one.

Just reading that title, I can tell much more about these people and their education as to addictions!

 

[AlexTM]

We have learned to live with our addiction. They would rather not. Now, I have my own opinion as to what has more chances of success, but I don't think that us looking down on them is all that appropriate, either.
In fact, a mutually respectful "agree to disagree" is usually much better than any "us" vs. "them".

 

[Wildraw]

I wish them the best of luck. If they believe they can quit that way, they should try, without interference.
I know I can't. I have done it twice. For 2 years once, 4 months another. If I get off of these, I will always keep one, charged and ready. I have fallen off that wagon before. I can always fall onto my e-cig.

i wqanna keep one in a drawer just in case once i wean off the ecigs
i'm planning to wean down the nic to 6 mg then wean off entirely in 6 mos or so,
but if miss up and vape. it's still way better than a relapse back to tobacco

 

[~Wendy]

Problem is legit users of E-cigs are constantly called spammers over there.

It's ashame that's what they're thinking. I think that people are so excited that ecigs are working for them and they want to share the news/solution with others and hopefully help them. It's very disappointing when you receive a negative response to something you believe is so wonderful.