Hello all,
i finally smoked my last analog 5 days ago. I'm still finding the cravings difficult, but vaping has been the best alternative. My question to all is, how long did your worst cravings last and when did you know you would never pick up an analog again. Thank you for any support you can give during this difficult time.
Kevin
Only you can decide what's the best approach for you but I'm against the "cessation" mindset. I wasn't trying to "quit". I bought a disposable with my regular carton because I was curious about this "new thing" I'd been hearing so much about. Then forgot to light up a cig pretty much the rest of the day. Shocked me let me tell you. I was a two pack a day smoker with a thirty year (plus I dunno how much) history.
But I didn't try to stop dead. If I just had to have a "real one" (as I kept thinking of them for a while), I would. And long as I was cutting back and slowing down on the cigarettes, I was happy. I had so many failed "quit" attempts in my history, I had given up on the very idea. This "e-cig" thing looked like it would work to cut back. And cut back quite a bit. In time (about six weeks) it turned out it was "cut back" to zero. Well, with sporadic "bum one" incidents here and there until I just lost interest. Couple of days ago, walked through a cloud of somebody else's smoke as I was coming out of the store and found I still
like the smell of tobacco. But I just kept going. It was just... running into a nice smell. Like... I dunno... passing a flower that smells nice (and which I can smell now... flowers... they have scents... I had forgotten about that!).
I've come to think that trying to "white knuckle" it is a very bad idea for some of us. Some just walk away from cigs the first day they vape. Others take time.
Myself, I took the approach of "swapping out" things. You know how us smokers have ashtrays and lighters and packs stashed in convenient places? I started making the vaping convenient. The cigs? That was one pack (and only one) in a cabinet. With the ashtray and lighter. I just kept making it less convenient every week. The vaping, any time, anywhere, kept in nearby (like now, the PV sits where the ashtray used to here at the computer, I did that early on, a lot of my smoking took place right where I'm sitting now).
Just little changes all the time. Like taking one cig out of the pack at time. No more taking the pack and plopping on the couch. No, just one. Want another, gotta go get just one. Then it was, "okay, but you stand in the kitchen, the ashtray doesn't move anymore, no more sitting down".
Next was going to be no more smoking in the house at all. Maybe that was the threat that scared it outta me? Texas. Summer was coming. The deck gets afternoon sun. You're in Vegas right? You know what I mean.
I think for many of us, there's a "settling in" period with vaping. Finding the right combination of widgets and juices and nic levels and all doesn't happen overnight. I've come to believe in making the vaping a positive thing. The more you enjoy vaping, the less you'll care about smoking. But finding the right stuff to make your vaping better than smoking might take a bit of time and experimenting.
For a good month, I had to have my "first cig of the day" without fail. After that one, I could coast along vaping for hours and hours. Vaping is a slower "delivery system" on the nicotine front. You get the nic but it's absorbed more in the mouth and nasal passages. Which is slower than inhaling smoke into your lungs (which is so rapid, the nic can reach the brain in seconds). Your habits have to adjust to the new thing. They can and will but it might not happen overnight.
As always, your mileage may vary. You're the only person who can judge the best approach for yourself. But many, many of us have succeeded by swapping out vaping for the smoking over time instead of trying to do a "quit" thing. I suspect, for any number of us, the suddenness of a "quit" attempt is too much too soon and causes stress. Causes a risk we'll fall right back into smoking.
One other thought. I found that a single nicotine level doesn't cut it for me. Like mornings. I use a high nic level in the morning after getting up. The time of day I'd be grabbing that "first cig of the day". The time I used to let myself have one or two to "get going" then I could vape along for some hours. Now I use high nic on waking then switch down to my "coast" level. And vary it as needed. Times I know I would usually crave a cig--like, say, after a meal--switch back to a higher nicotine juice for a while.
There just is no "one size fits all" in this.
By the way, something to try just to see what happens is get an NJoy. They're all over the place now. I picked one up at the Walgreens yesterday (they've introduced some new ones, I was curious). They're very high nic. Their new "gold" are 3% (30mg/ml) and their "bold", as they call them now, are 4.5% (45mg/ml). Couple of puffs on one might nuke out the strong cravings. That's a pretty high level of nicotine. Highest disposable I'm aware of (at this point). Blu disposables are around 22 to 24 (2.2% to 2.4%). I can't vape NJoy's regularly at all. I actually get a bit of a "head rush" out of them like cigs sometimes did. But you could try one out for the "strong cravings". Couple of puffs to get a quick "boost" in nicotine in your system.
With vaping, you have to just try things out and find what works for you...
