Gradual Decreasing Smoke (I'm Sorry For Asking These Again!)

[riddlesmyth]

Okay guys, hi, its me again...On the previous thread of mine (https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/posts/20796989/) discussed a lot with you guys bout 12mg nic and mixing stuff.

Now my query...as here 100's of you quit smoking with vaping? Not all of you stopped smoking all in a sudden? (It's hell you know?)

Question : Is decreasing the smoking gradually a thing? I mean I smoke 1+ pack a day with a lot of milked tea...and i'm a victim of panic disorder, shortness of breath, acidity, gastric, constipation, cough, and a lot of thing...i have to take panic pill every 4 hours, no matter i die or live and I'm constantly regretting. So my previous 12mg juice problem is solved, someone wise there told me to play with the nic levels and see what i need, and everyone also mentioned "Its the smokes chemicals thats killing you not nicotine" so nicotine level doesn't matter that much...so after mixing that 12mg, i realized i don't need more than 3mg tbh if I really want to vape and 6mg if "it get worse"

So todays topic is "I'm dying for smoke" someone on the other thread also told me to decrease gradually, now is this a real thing? I mean i can control myself for 1 hour if i'm a smoker....like vape for 1 hour (10mins usually) and i can pass 1 hour then smoke 1....so in that manner i'm smoking less than my previous (tried a thousand types of cigarette filters, its hell, don't buy those) So In that way I don't even feel that I'm trying to quit or anything...what quitting all in a sudden did and always happening is...I feel like i'm no more...so its more like I'm dying in both ways.

So my good friends and "life experts" i'll tell you guys, if I try now to decrease my smoking gradually with vape...means i'm doing anything...? I mean i'm still a smoker...Actually one idiot blog washed my head, they says... "1 or 40 you're still a smoker and you'll die in a same way, theres no safe way to smoke even if you smoke from 2 packs to just 2"

I'm sorry for sharing my life that much with you but all I'm trying to say "I have no one, no place, nothing that can help except you guys"

Should I fresh start gradually decreasing? And please forgive me for my typos, for my boring life, for my poverty that i cant afford nicotine gums or any fancy pod with nic salts etc, I'm poor and i cant help it...but you can help me if you can figure me out that gradual decreasing make sense or not...I'm smoking nearly 30 a day now with 8 mugs of milked poison tea.

And again "Thank you everyone in here, you are my family, more than that, I wasn't even known how to take a direct lung drag when I first came here with my kanger sub box mini kit, 2 years ago" Still trying lol...Help Me and Thanks again

 

[Baditude]

We have a saying on ECF, "It's not important how many cigarettes you smoke in a days time that is important. It's how many you DIDN'T smoke that's important." Make sense?

Any reduction in smoking is a plus for you. Vaping instead of smoking is a plus for you.

I think you are over reacting to your progress, or your perceived lack of progress. Take each day a day at a time. Do "try" to cut down your smoking by vaping instead. You may take two steps forward, and then one step backwards...that's ok.

When you do smoke, only smoke HALF of a cigarette, and then put it out. Next time you smoke, smoke the rest of that cigarette. It's going to taste BAD, but that will help you to quit.

If you're still smoking your favorite brand of cigarettes, get a brand that you don't enjoy as much. I smoked a menthol cigarette for 35 years, I hated plain tobacco cigarettes. The last pack I bought was a plain tobacco cigarette, that helped me to quit.

The less cigarettes that you smoke, the less you will desire them, over time. You'll learn to prefer the vaping over smoking, and eventually be able to stop smoking entirely. Once you have quit smoking, THEN you can consider to drop the nic concentration of your e-liquid. Small steps, not leaps.

 

[Vicman]

I think mindset has something to do with quitting. I know that was my case as I didn't start vaping to quit smoking. Instead, I was curious if these new ecig thingys could save me some money as Crook County is expensive and I was smoking 2+ PAD.

That said, I started with a cig-a-like and that didn't save me any money as I was going through cartridges like crazy. Then a vape shop opened near me and they got me to try a ego and C4 cleromizers and 5 different flavors of eliquid. Those C4's were a PITA but they did help me do what I intended to; start saving money. As frustrating as they (C4's) were, they got me to start to enjoy vaping as the flavors were making me want to vape. I was still smoking at this time but within the first couple weeks I went from buying 2 cartons a week to buying 1 carton in a week and a half. Never was my mindset that I was going to quit smoking. I was just happy I was saving money on smokes.

Then I went back to the vape shop and after talking to one of the workers, I bought a MVP and a couple evods and a Davide tank and wow, the flavors just tasted better and I could adjust my wattage to get a vape I enjoyed. Within a week my cigarette usage dropped to where I no longer bought a carton of smokes and would buy a pack every 3-4 days. That was due to me enjoying vaping more. That is when the thought of actually quitting started to cross my mind as well. At that time I smoked one smoke at Christmas 2013 and had 3 left in a pack. I smoked half a cig on 01/03/2014 and never had another one and tossed the remaining 2 out. I just enjoyed vaping more. It took a little while but the end result is what counts.

The most important thing to me was finding a vape which I enjoyed. Once I did that, I started to enjoy vaping more than smoking. My advice, find a flavor or 10 that you enjoy and a set up which satisfies you and go from there. Don't put it in your head that you are quitting smoking, just learn to enjoy vaping. The quit will come when you're good and ready. Well, that is what worked for me.

 

[riddlesmyth]

Willpower is needed. Cutting down by 1 cigarette a day worked for me but also had me thinking about smoking constantly (how many have i smoked today ?) it's a two edged sword... Eventually i just stopped smoking and switched to full time vaping - along with at least 8-9 cups of tea a day !

For you, just keep going with what you are doing and try not to make it into too big of a deal. That can just provoke anxiety. Reward yourelf mentally for every cigarette you havn't smoked and eventually you may find the pleasure of not smoking outweighs the craving for the weed...

We have a saying on ECF, "It's not important how many cigarettes you smoke in a days time that is important. It's how many you DIDN'T smoke that's important." Make sense?

Any reduction in smoking is a plus for you. Vaping instead of smoking is a plus for you.

I think you are over reacting to your progress, or your perceived lack of progress. Take each day a day at a time. Do "try" to cut down your smoking by vaping instead. You may take two steps forward, and then one step backwards...that's ok.

When you do smoke, only smoke HALF of a cigarette, and then put it out. Next time you smoke, smoke the rest of that cigarette. It's going to taste BAD, but that will help you to quit.

If you're still smoking your favorite brand of cigarettes, get a brand that you don't enjoy as much. I smoked a menthol cigarette for 35 years, I hated plain tobacco cigarettes. The last pack I bought was a plain tobacco cigarette, that helped me to quit.

The less cigarettes that you smoke, the less you will desire them, over time. You'll learn to prefer the vaping over smoking, and eventually be able to stop smoking entirely. Once you have quit smoking, THEN you can consider to drop the nic concentration of your e-liquid. Small steps, not leaps.

Thanks for your precious time, your words does make sense "It's how many you DIDN'T smoke" Thank you

 

[JCinFLA]

@riddlesmyth - I found that dual using (smoking and vaping for awhile) was for me...what finally worked to get me off the smokes. I'd tried many other ways for years and was never able to quit smoking.

When I decided to give vaping a try, I'd already gotten down to 1/2 pack a day from my usual 1 - 1.5 packs a day for 42+ years. In my quit plan...each week, I allowed myself 1 less cigarette per day. So, my first week, I could have 9 during each day...while vaping at other times when I had a craving. The next week, I allowed myself 8 per day, and the next week 7 per day, etc....until I had my last smoke a little less than 2 months after I first started vaping. By the time I was down to 2 per day, then finally 1 per day...I really didn't even miss the others I wasn't smoking, and I really liked vaping more than smoking!

For me, my own plan worked like a charm, as I had no cravings, no withdrawl, and I've never even craved a cigarette since I quit. I never would've believed that anything could help me quit smoking after so many years, so I was totally amazed when vaping worked.

Whatever plan or method you use to switch to vaping, just don't be hard on yourself mentally as you go along. Allow yourself to recognize that it's a personal, little, victory...every time you choose to vape instead of having a smoke. Pretty soon you'll be surprised at how many times you're doing that!

Above all, remember that what works for each person will not be the same, and it doesn't have to be, in order to quit! We each have to find our own method, plan, etc. that helps us do it.

 

[tgs3]

I am late to the festivities here, but I will tell you this. I have gone from a pack and a half per day for 45+ years (August, 2017) to less than a pack per month - now. Here is how I did it:
1. I joined ecf and listened to what people here had to say. I followed (or at least listened to) advice about mods etc.,
2. In September, 2017, I bought a pocket notebook and wrote down the time of every cigarette I smoked BEFORE I lit up. From that time on, I stopped smoking 'mindless' cigarettes. Every cig became a conscious choice.
3. I stopped worrying about quitting smoking and started concentrating on vaping.
4. I began to experiment with not smoking in certain situations - morning coffee, waiting for a bus.
5. January 13, my first cigarette free day since I was a teenager.

I have had many cigarette free days since.

You are doing the right thing - asking for input in order to find your own way. I wish you good luck.

 

[Kickingthesticks]

It just takes time. I been tobacco free for almost 3 years now. I still crave a dip or smoke once in a while. Just hit the vape harder when I do.

 

[ppeeble]

Willpower is needed. Cutting down by 1 cigarette a day worked for me but also had me thinking about smoking constantly (how many have i smoked today ?) it's a two edged sword... Eventually i just stopped smoking and switched to full time vaping - along with at least 8-9 cups of tea a day !

For you, just keep going with what you are doing and try not to make it into too big of a deal. That can just provoke anxiety. Reward yourelf mentally for every cigarette you havn't smoked and eventually you may find the pleasure of not smoking outweighs the craving for the weed...

 

[Beamslider]

Desire to quit smoking and making the decision to do so is the hard part. No matter what route you go there will very likely be a period of 2 weeks to a month that you will have to just stick it out. Cigarettes are very addictive with all the chemicals in them. The nicotine in vaping can make it easier but you still have to just do it.

 

[Baditude]

You just need to "chill". We all need encouragement and positive reinforcement sometimes. ECF is here to help you.

 

[DeloresRose]

I started vaping with three other people. We all did it differently.

My mother in law had to vape, because she was in the hospital with no way to smoke. Fortunately, the staff was fine with looking the other way on the vaping. She was a chain smoker, 5-6 packs a day and more.

My sister in law is a tightwad. If she was going to spend money on vaping, no way would she spend it on smokes too, lol. She went cold turkey, 100% vaping from day 1.

My husband and I were only looking to cut down our smoking, and have an alternative to cigarettes in places we could not smoke.

He was a 2 pad smoker, cut down quickly to under half a pack. I was 1.5 - 2 pad, dropped down to 4 cigarettes my first vaping day. I quit fully and easily with a couple weeks.

I did not stress or suffer, I just chain vaped when I got a craving and waited 15 minutes or so to see if it passed. If not, no grief. I smoked without guilt.

My sister in law stressed so bad, I wanted to slap her lol. She’d text me constantly about how hard it was, wanted reassurance and help but refused to listen to my advice. I finally had to tell her to stop... I was quitting too, and did not need her anxiety interfering with my quitting successfully.

That was fall, 2013. Meanwhile, I lost my mother in law, my husband, and my brother. I stayed quit through all of that, only to fall off the wagon with a separate family tragedy.

I smoked up to a half pack a day for a few months. Bought new gear, tried my old quit methods and some new ones, and soon got back off the smokes. No stress, no guilt. For me, that’s important.

Bottom line, try whatever tricks you find until one works for you.

Don’t obsess or stress about it.

Put it in perspective, there are far bigger things that happen than minutes on a stopwatch.

 

[bobwho77]

I tell people that I quit smoking by accident.
My first vape was an eGo kit.
That was replaced pretty quickly (after about a couple of weeks) by a slightly bigger Gravity spinner, and a ProTank 2.
About a month after that, I got an Innokin VV 3.0, and I threw away the last pack of cigarettes I had bought when I got the Gravity spinner still half unsmoked.
I've upgraded a couple of times since then, going through a couple of Innokin MVPs (one 2.0, and one 20w.) with Nautilus tanks, an XCube II, with a Triton, and finally my current rig, a Sigelei 213, with an Aspire Cleito.
Once I had a mod that would last through the day, I was pretty well set.
I had already discovered that I enjoyed vaping better than smoking.
For me it was simply a matter of picking up a vape instead of a cigarette when the cravings hit.

 

[Cloudy2767]

Okay guys, hi, its me again...On the previous thread of mine (https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/posts/20796989/) discussed a lot with you guys bout 12mg nic and mixing stuff.

Now my query...as here 100's of you quit smoking with vaping? Not all of you stopped smoking all in a sudden? (It's hell you know?)

Question : Is decreasing the smoking gradually a thing? I mean I smoke 1+ pack a day with a lot of milked tea...and i'm a victim of panic disorder, shortness of breath, acidity, gastric, constipation, cough, and a lot of thing...i have to take panic pill every 4 hours, no matter i die or live and I'm constantly regretting. So my previous 12mg juice problem is solved, someone wise there told me to play with the nic levels and see what i need, and everyone also mentioned "Its the smokes chemicals thats killing you not nicotine" so nicotine level doesn't matter that much...so after mixing that 12mg, i realized i don't need more than 3mg tbh if I really want to vape and 6mg if "it get worse"

So todays topic is "I'm dying for smoke" someone on the other thread also told me to decrease gradually, now is this a real thing? I mean i can control myself for 1 hour if i'm a smoker....like vape for 1 hour (10mins usually) and i can pass 1 hour then smoke 1....so in that manner i'm smoking less than my previous (tried a thousand types of cigarette filters, its hell, don't buy those) So In that way I don't even feel that I'm trying to quit or anything...what quitting all in a sudden did and always happening is...I feel like i'm no more...so its more like I'm dying in both ways.

So my good friends and "life experts" i'll tell you guys, if I try now to decrease my smoking gradually with vape...means i'm doing anything...? I mean i'm still a smoker...Actually one idiot blog washed my head, they says... "1 or 40 you're still a smoker and you'll die in a same way, theres no safe way to smoke even if you smoke from 2 packs to just 2"

I'm sorry for sharing my life that much with you but all I'm trying to say "I have no one, no place, nothing that can help except you guys"

Should I fresh start gradually decreasing? And please forgive me for my typos, for my boring life, for my poverty that i cant afford nicotine gums or any fancy pod with nic salts etc, I'm poor and i cant help it...but you can help me if you can figure me out that gradual decreasing make sense or not...I'm smoking nearly 30 a day now with 8 mugs of milked poison tea.

And again "Thank you everyone in here, you are my family, more than that, I wasn't even known how to take a direct lung drag when I first came here with my kanger sub box mini kit, 2 years ago" Still trying lol...Help Me and Thanks again

What I found the most helpful to completely putting down the ciggs and just straight vape, you need to find a flavor that once you try it you love it!!! Love it so much that the mere thought of ever smoking again isn't a thought at all, that's how i stopped the ciggs completely and i pop back and forth between a 3 nic and a 6nic, so far over a month w/out a cigg and not even a thought....i found my magic potion!! I hope you find your's soon, much luck and success!!

 

[riddlesmyth]

and man its always like that, i'm a master to make things worse, i'm sorry for that...

 

[Baditude]

You can read and consider the different ways other people have quit smoking. No harm in that at all. But everyone is different. What works for another person may or may not work for you.

What seems to be a trend with you is you go back to smoking every time a new calamity happens to you. That's not uncommon. Many folks go back to smoking after a major emotional event like a divorce, death, major financial setback, etc.

For times like that, it might be prudent to have a vape that has more nicotine in it than your usual vape. Anything that keeps you from buying another pack.

 

[JCinFLA]

Thank You , For all the answers

You're welcome.
I forgot this though - You might also want to try just setting your stopwatch (for now), then walk away from it so you ignore the stopwatch. Do something that is interesting to you, and vape as much as you need to while you're doing it. I'd be willing to bet that many times you'll end up actually going past the time limit and surprising yourself that you did!

 

[bobwho77]

Okay...I have few question to you, one is...what i'm doing right now, |I dont Know| funny I know...I'm starting a stopwatch, vaping till my cigg craving, then smoking...am i in a line of decreasing or i'm on 2 addiction...vaping and smoking?

A stopwatch?
This is going to be easier said than done, but STOP STRESSING OUT ABOUT IT!
You mention that you take medicine for panic attacks.
I'm guessing that you're trying to deal with an anxiety disorder?
Are your medications properly balanced and are you being monitored by a professional?
That might go a long way toward helping you succeed with giving up cigarettes.
On the vaping/smoking front, what nicotine strength are you using?
My suggestion would be to use the highest level you have available.
When you have the urge to smoke, pick up your vape, and vape until the urge goes away.
The next time you get the urge to smoke, pick up your vape, and vape until the urge goes away.
The next time you get the urge to smoke...
Get the drift?
Good luck!

 

[Opinionated]

Thank you very much for your time, I want to share some with you here too...I'm monitoring my smoke, I can see I'm smoking whenever something wrong is happening, stressing and smoking with tea...just like your sister as you mentioned, I really want to go cold turkey with vape, I really want to, the situation here is not okay at all, my dad is dying, I'm using a good phone even after 2 months, poverty and addiction all together killing me, I don't know how to survive...all I know...I have to live...

Sent from my HUAWEI CUN-U29 using Tapatalk

Has anyone directed you to this thread yet?

Still smoking support and chat thread

You might find it helpful. It's a support group thread for people who are dual using and have yet to make the full switch to vaping.

 

[DLMerlin]

I found an alert for this thread in my junk mail, so I'm late to the party, but will reply as I'm one who switched "cold turkey".

I have to agree soooo much with this:

But the point is, try some different strategies to manage, and also do NOT beat yourself up for REDUCING your cigarettes during a time period that has to be insanely stressful.

Don't beat yourself up. At all. Ever.

Never, never, never think to yourself "aw, dammit, you failed again" about anything. Never. The rest of the world is critical enough; you need to always be your own best supporter, all the time.

Change your thinking. It's just one switch:

"I screwed up" becomes "I'll try again"
"I only made it timeframe" becomes "Well, I made it timeframe. That's great; now I just need to make it that far again"

You don't want to become blind to your errors, but you do want to make certain you always acknowledge -and reward- your successes.

"I made it 15 minutes between cigarettes 4 times today. Tomorrow, I'm treating myself to a whatever makes you happy. When I've consistently done that every day for a whole week, I'm going to another thing that makes you happy.

You've got this!

 

[Darrgoe]

Tired of seeing my health getting worse, mainly shortness of breath. I made up my mind to quit and only vape. I set no limits on how much or long I would vape. Sometimes I would vape for 3 hours straight, as long as I didn't smoke. I wasted money on juices, tanks and mods that didn't work for me but it was still cheaper than smoking. I smoked for over 40 years and after vaping for 19 months, my health is a lot better. When ever I tried to limit my smoking, I would obsess over it and end up smoking. Totally quitting worked for me as I had nothing to keep track of. Watching YouTube channels on vaping like Indoorsmokers helped a lot.