First experiences vaping, and my plan!

[roblinb]

Hi guys/gals!

So last Sunday (a week ago today) I made the decision to purchase an electronic cigarette (e-Vic VTC Mini along with some 12mg juice) and quit smoking. I've been smoking (close to a pack a day) since I was 17 or so, and am currently 42 years old. At around the age of 21 my cigarette of choice became Marlboro Red(s), previously was Marlboro Light(s). On Monday I was able to complete the purchase, and also on that day began to reduce my normal cigarette intake.

Here are the first major differences that I noticed right away, with my vaping experience:

- The juice had a pretty harsh throat hit that makes me cough a lot, especially in the morning. While drinking water helps, I also realize that I'm just not used to it. My old tore up throat ain't used to it lol
- vaping does not, at least with the 12 mg strength liquid that I'm using, get rid of nicotine cravings. It takes the edge off, but on Monday and Tuesday I had 2 "real" cigs each day. The hardest one for me to stop was, and has always been, the first one in the morning.
- The temperature and power level really affect the amount of vapor that you get, and was really confusing at first.

But regardless of my personal issues, I am taking responsibility for weening myself off of smoking completely, and breaking the addiction to nicotine as well. I have a decent amount of willpower so this is my plan (which I've already started):

- I have not smoked a cigarette since the last one on Tuesday (4.5 days ago) and after church today I tossed my remaining ones into the trash, along with my lighters. I refuse to smoke again, because I am very serious about quitting.
- I have just over half of my first 12mg bottles left, and then one more. My next two bottles will be a 6mg followed by one with no nicotine in it. My goal is to be completely nicotine-free in six or so weeks from now. I do not want to simply trade my cigarette habit for a vaping one.
- I was chewing some mint gum yesterday and noticed that it also helped curb my desire to smoke. I am considering trying some Nicorette gum to go along with vaping.

One thing that's cool is that my sense of smell is returning. I was at the grocery store a couple of days ago, and really noticed the nice smells in the produce section, and I could smell bread from the bakery from far away. Non-smokers take that stuff for granted heh

As many others have stated in different threads, this sure is a cool site. Do you guys think I'm crazy for coming up with such an aggressive plan? I just believe in taking personal responsibility for my life, and I really want to stop and not be addicted to anything... except maybe my wife's cooking haha

Thanks for listening (reading).

 

[SupplyDaddy]

If that is what you think you need in order to stop smoking, go for it.
I would stretch it out a bit longer personally. Your "Quits" are going to hit soon and you may relapse.
The "Quits", all those nasty things you hear about from quitting smoking. You could get all of them, or none of them. Withdraw symptoms can be a PITA!

 

[IMFire3605]

Hi guys/gals!

So last Sunday (a week ago today) I made the decision to purchase an electronic cigarette (e-Vic VTC Mini along with some 12mg juice) and quit smoking. I've been smoking (close to a pack a day) since I was 17 or so, and am currently 42 years old. At around the age of 21 my cigarette of choice became Marlboro Red(s), previously was Marlboro Light(s). On Monday I was able to complete the purchase, and also on that day began to reduce my normal cigarette intake.

Here are the first major differences that I noticed right away, with my vaping experience:

- The juice had a pretty harsh throat hit that makes me cough a lot, especially in the morning. While drinking water helps, I also realize that I'm just not used to it. My old tore up throat ain't used to it lol
- Vaping does not, at least with the 12 mg strength liquid that I'm using, get rid of nicotine cravings. It takes the edge off, but on Monday and Tuesday I had 2 "real" cigs each day. The hardest one for me to stop was, and has always been, the first one in the morning.
- The temperature and power level really affect the amount of vapor that you get, and was really confusing at first.

But regardless of my personal issues, I am taking responsibility for weening myself off of smoking completely, and breaking the addiction to nicotine as well. I have a decent amount of willpower so this is my plan (which I've already started):

- I have not smoked a cigarette since the last one on Tuesday (4.5 days ago) and after church today I tossed my remaining ones into the trash, along with my lighters. I refuse to smoke again, because I am very serious about quitting.
- I have just over half of my first 12mg bottles left, and then one more. My next two bottles will be a 6mg followed by one with no nicotine in it. My goal is to be completely nicotine-free in six or so weeks from now. I do not want to simply trade my cigarette habit for a vaping one.
- I was chewing some mint gum yesterday and noticed that it also helped curb my desire to smoke. I am considering trying some Nicorette gum to go along with vaping.

One thing that's cool is that my sense of smell is returning. I was at the grocery store a couple of days ago, and really noticed the nice smells in the produce section, and I could smell bread from the bakery from far away. Non-smokers take that stuff for granted heh

As many others have stated in different threads, this sure is a cool site. Do you guys think I'm crazy for coming up with such an aggressive plan? I just believe in taking personal responsibility for my life, and I really want to stop and not be addicted to anything... except maybe my wife's cooking haha

Thanks for listening (reading).

Evic VTC-Mini /w an Ego Mega One kit with default TC coil head, 0.5Titanium TC coil, or 0.5ohm Basic Kanthal Coil and 12mg Nic juice is what I am reading?? *Cringes* Choke the airflow down to about 1/2 or 1/4 and dial the mod power setting (wattage) down to about 10 to 15watts max, 12mg works. If you bought this at my shop I'd have set you upon a 6 to 9mg Nic juice max, 12 is a little rough at 20plus watts, getting worse the higher you go up in power setting. I only sell 12 and 18mg nic juice to someone on a Nautilus, Aerotank, or lower end tank, sub-ohm atomizers (coil reads below 1 full ohm) are pretty efficient devices vaporizing from 2x to 8x the liquid a Nautilus or lower can do, thus why you are getting such a punch in the throat, technically right now sounds like you are getting a 20 to 24mg nic exposure so be very, very careful and not over vape to give yourself nic poisoning.

 

[DebiK]

Welcome to ECF! Will your plan work? I don't know. What is important is you have taken that first step. Be proud! Even if it takes you longer that your plan dictates, be proud! Just don't be hard on yourself no matter what happens. Keep going!

 

[Netop]

Welcome
It sounds like you're off to a great start.
I had a similar smoking history when I started vaping. The throat hit that first week was pretty brutal for me, but it got better pretty quickly. I also learned to take slower, longer drags, which helped.
As far as the cravings went, the vapin could keep me okay if I wasn't jonesing, but it was hard to catch up with the craving if I fell behind. If the cravings tempt you to pick up a stinky, keep in mind that as a nicotine delivery system, a cigarette is fast acting and vaping takes longer to get into your system. So, if you wait until you are craving nicotine, it may be hard to get that feeling of relief from vaping because of the slower uptake.
12 to 6 can be a pretty big jump for folks. You sound committed, but if you don't have a brick and mortar store nearby "just in case", you may want to keep some 12 on hand to mix up a 9 or something if you need to. Worse thing that happens is that you pitch/ give away a bottle of unused juice. Which is peanuts compared to all the money most if us have spent on cigarettes.

 

[rice721]

Welcome! Stick with your plan! Mind over matter with these nasty habits.

 

[spalife]

Have a sip of water before and after Vaping,
most of us do wake up with a dry throat.

12 mg and 6 mg both are fine starters to help you move
off Cigs.

You mentioned the Mod vtc mini... good choice but
did not mention much about the juice nor the Atomizer.
They do play a crucial part in Nic delivery.

For your journey to be away from Smoke's

I would recommend
1. Lookup threads in this forum for VG and PG ratio's which help people get over Smoking and avoid common pitfalls like sore throat, dry mouth etc.,.

2. Atomizer choices, reviews (Tanks/RDA's/Genny's)

3. Juice aka eLiquid reviews, mixing ratio's, Flavor Choices & Companies

Initially the abundance of information can be a bit overwhelming,
once you start, it will be a fun and informative journey.

If your final goal is to be completely off Nicotine,
it would be a good idea to have a RDA/RTA with no Nic
only VG & PG and another with 6 or 12 mg Flavored Nic.

You can vape alternately between the RDA/RTA to clear up your
lungs.

 

[suprtrkr]

Hi and welcome. I'd stretch it out longer than you plan, but if it works for you, it works. Good luck.

 

[LittleBird]

Welcome to ecf, and congrats on 4.5 days (prolly 5, by now!)! Plans are a wonderful thing, as are backup plans . You've been given some great advice. Here's my two cents:
1. Have a backup plan. The goal is not smoking, and while vaping makes that easier for many people, it's still a challenge. Don't get discouraged if your time table stretches out. Just be gentle with yourself.
2. Perhaps let "no nicotine" fall to the wayside for awhile. See 1., above
3. Get another mod and topper if you can. Stuff breaks.

Best of luck to you. You can do this!

 

[HDMontana]

Welcome and congrats. Sounds like you are on the right track.

HD

 

[daviedog]

Congrats on your big decision to quit.
Now you have to protect your 4 day investment.
You smoked for 25 years. 6 weeks & it's over? Cigarettes don't let go that easy.
One day at a time, steady, committed, & resolute..

 

[djsvapour]

6 weeks to quit nicotine?
12mg to 6mg is the worst jump.

Maybe you are made of the right stuff? I'm not; every time I drop to 6 I have to go back up or increase power.

 

[RoseJ]

Wow, for me that would be a very aggressive plan, but if you feel good about it, go for it.

I quit over 2 months ago, but I started with 6 mg nic. I don't plan on reducing that until I've been quit for 6 months. To me, nicotine isn't the enemy - well, not the worst one by far. I plan on reducing to 3 mg for awhile, then 0 nic. If that takes me a year or two, that's fine.

With the coughing, I had that problem too. I cut back the PG ratio to 65/35 VG/PG, and it fixed the problem.

Good luck, and welcome to ECF!

 

[David Wolf]

Evic VTC-Mini /w an Ego Mega One kit with default TC coil head, 0.5Titanium TC coil, or 0.5ohm Basic Kanthal Coil and 12mg Nic juice is what I am reading?? *Cringes* Choke the airflow down to about 1/2 or 1/4 and dial the mod power setting (wattage) down to about 10 to 15watts max, 12mg works. If you bought this at my shop I'd have set you upon a 6 to 9mg Nic juice max, 12 is a little rough at 20plus watts, getting worse the higher you go up in power setting. I only sell 12 and 18mg nic juice to someone on a Nautilus, Aerotank, or lower end tank, sub-ohm atomizers (coil reads below 1 full ohm) are pretty efficient devices vaporizing from 2x to 8x the liquid a Nautilus or lower can do, thus why you are getting such a punch in the throat, technically right now sounds like you are getting a 20 to 24mg nic exposure so be very, very careful and not over vape to give yourself nic poisoning.

If you are only selling 12 to 18 mg Nic to someone using a nautilus at low power just coming off cigs that's likely not enough unless they smoked ultralights or vape a lot (which they will have to if you're only giving them 12). I vape 18 to 24 even now, and used 36mg when I first started on C4 Clearomizers. About 3 ml a day, I get a total daily Nic dose comperable to many cloud chasers vaping 6 mg at 10 to 20 ml a day. Your body tells you when you're getting too much Nic same as it did smoking cigs. NJOY Daily's have 48 mg Nic yet that's fine for those low vapor disposables.

 

[David Wolf]

Unless y

Have a sip of water before and after Vaping,
most of us do wake up with a dry throat.

12 mg and 6 mg both are fine starters to help you move
off Cigs.

You mentioned the Mod vtc mini... good choice but
did not mention much about the juice nor the Atomizer.
They do play a crucial part in Nic delivery.

For your journey to be away from Smoke's

I would recommend
1. Lookup threads in this forum for VG and PG ratio's which help people get over Smoking and avoid common pitfalls like sore throat, dry mouth etc.,.

2. Atomizer choices, reviews (Tanks/RDA's/Genny's)

3. Juice aka eLiquid reviews, mixing ratio's, Flavor Choices & Companies

Initially the abundance of information can be a bit overwhelming,
once you start, it will be a fun and informative journey.

If your final goal is to be completely off Nicotine,
it would be a good idea to have a RDA/RTA with no Nic
only VG & PG and another with 6 or 12 mg Flavored Nic.

You can vape alternately between the RDA/RTA to clear up your
lungs.

Unless they are subohming at high power, 6 mg to 12 mg is a sure way to fail at vaping and start smoking again. For those using low power 1.2 ohm or higher coils, you'll need higher Nic to get the equivalent of smoking.

 

[Hitmetwice]

Welcome and congrats on your choice to quit smoking.
We all need to find our "own way"
to a degree in the beginning especially, and along the way as well.
Minor adjustments of liquid along with learning and properly adjusting our devices to make the experience "better" is important. We can be guided but at the end of the day only you can decide what you prefer. With the equipment we have(and you have)
nowadays none of us should have too much trouble in finding an experience that is at least "good enough" and with a little trial and error something "outstanding"
compared to the journey's/trials/tribulations that many veterans needed to overcome in the recent past.

Doing it on YOUR terms is why this technology (in my view)
is so popular and effective.

Again, Welcome, enjoy your journey, wherever it takes you.
'Cause you're not smoking. cheers.

EDIT, You mention towards the end of your post that you do not want to be "addicted" to anything. Fair enough. But if you are at all like me, or many others that like a morning coffee and perhaps even an after dinner cup 'o joe, likewise with a puff of nic juice. Why deprive yourself of something you enjoy?
It isn't like either one is going to cause any great harm.(in moderation)

I'm not trying to corrupt you or cause harm just offering my perspective here but...
Once tobacco is out of the equation the amount of nic I use isn't a big deal.
I can use as much or as little as I need. ymmv.