Having a LOT of fun with the switch but confused about nicotine levels....(LONG post)

[Terri Macksee]

I am in day 14 of vaping, made the switch immediately when I got my greensmoke kit (which I'm returning because it's over-priced) and haven't had ANY desire to pick up an analog. I had a 30+ year PAD habit of Marlboro Lights. I smoked MANY of the greensmoke carts until my order with an eGo T and clearo arrived with a free sample of blueberry e liquid at 18mg. OMG it was SO much better than the carts and HELLA better than the analogs.

Many times I've tried to quit, successfully for a couple of years at a time, but I always go back to smoking. The patch did help a lot but I would fight with myself mentally to put a new one on each day-actually at night because if I woke up without a fresh patch on you can forget it, at some point in the day I always ran to the gas station to get more analogs because of the interior battle I waged against the addiction. I wanted to quit but I didn't want to go through the side-affects of not smoking. Even on the patch it was still an internal battle. When my greensmoke kit arrived, I had been smoking for about 4 days after no longer putting on a patch after a successful 3 week stretch of using it.

Even with the nasty greensmoke carts I KNEW vaping was close enough to the smoking experience to stand-in for the analogs indefinitely. So after obsessively reading threads on this forum I put in my first order for e liquid to Highbrow Vapors. The sample of 18mg blueberry liquid was keeping me going, but was strong. I would vape it, and because it was SO much yummy I would want to vape it non-stop, but would start to 'feel' it and would have to stop.

The e liquid I ordered was 6mg, and when it arrived OMG I actually DID vape non-stop. I ordered 4 more bottles from BWB at 6mg and since then I've been non-stop vaping. But herein is my dilemma: I do want to quit using nicotine. And while this is definitely a dramatically reduced level of harm, it is neither harmLESS nor healthy. And as an adult I am free to make choices regarding my activities and consumption, and nothing is risk-free, yadda yadda yadda. So here is my plan, and does anyone think this makes sense or am I setting myself up and should stop deluding myself and just shut up and vape

I ordered (of course because it's been almost a whole week since my last e-cig related order) more e liquid but at 18 mg instead of 6mg. My desire is to get my vaping time down to a couple of minutes once an hour or so, like the way I smoked analogs and figure because the 18mg was so strong, I'll only be able to take half a dozen toots or so and I'll have to set it down until the nic level in my blood drops and I need a few more toots......you know, like smoking analogs. This will also make my e liquid go longer, monthly costs less, etc. I hope to get into the habit of vaping like THAT, and once I'm there THEN start dropping the nic level til I get to zero. Once I'm at zero, set it aside and live smoke and vape-free.

I intend to keep my gear operational and keep e liquid on hand so if down the road I think I'm going to crack, I'll reach for the e cigs and never buy another analog cig again in my life. So am I delusional or what?

Sorry this is so long, but does it count as 4 posts so I can post in the general forum now?

 

[recidivus]

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan, you are not delusional. When I started I went straight to 18 (20 year PAD smoker) and was chaining till I felt it (sometimes in a bad bad way), took a break, rinse repeat. 2 months later I'm going through around 1/2-2/3 the liquid that I was at the start, still @18 and not actively trying to reduce, it just kind of happened on its own. While I have no intention of dropping the % at the moment, I think it will eventually come to that.

One thing you could do is get your 18, and order another bottle of 0. This way you can thin it out on your own in ~1mg increments rather than drop from 18 down to 12 in one go. Each week/month, thin it a little more. Once you are at ~12mg buy it at 12, buy the 0, thin it down to the next level. Eventually you'll be down to 0 and you can decide if you want to stop all together, or if you're comfortable doing it as a hobby, that'll be your personal choice to make.

Regardless, congrats on dropping the tobacco! Don't stress out about nicotine too much; while it's definitely not GOOD for you, it is leaps and bounds better than cigarettes. Anything that can help you steer clear of them is a good choice. Well, not ANYTHING, but vaping definitely is.

 

[Terri Macksee]

Thanks recidivus , thinning with a 0mg e liquid is a great idea. I am looking for a couple of favorite flavors and once I've got them I'll order in 0mg and begin the process of lowering the nicotine. I was just getting a bit panicked with the all-day vaping 2 weeks out, because I truly moved to e cigs in order to get off the habit.

There is no way to fully articulate the enormous relief I feel knowing that I never have to go back to analogs.

You are in Canada? I am spending 5 days in Toronto at the end of October, is vaping gaining momentum there?

 

[stevo9]

Just remember, no matter how much you vape, it will always be better than smoking. I'm using 24mg now and plan to step down to 18 in the next couple weeks. Nicotine isn't that bad for you, kind of similar to caffeine. How it is delivered can be the bad part. Keep it up!

 

[Jacques34]

Hi, this is my first post. I am from South Africa and there isn't a lot of gaping going on here, so I am pretty much on my own mission here. As I run into people that also want to start gaping, I often get asked what strength liquid to vape. When you are just starting, take the liquid strength and devide it by 15. That number will give you a rough estimate of the strength you are vaping compared to analog strength. Also remember that on average, every two puffs of vaping is equal to about 1 puff on an analog.

 

[QuickSwitch]

The beautiful thing about vaping is that some users don't need to regimen themselves to reduce their nicotine. For some, the hand to mouth action and awesome array of flavors/devices available make the nicotine addiction just a moot point to the habit- the nicotine reduction just naturally occurs. That said, I have to agree with what's been said above here. Your plan makes perfect sense in terms of money saved and just comfort factor with your vape. I think it's a great idea, all I can recommend is to not sweat it too much, you've already saved yourself a ton of money and your health!

 

[Terri Macksee]

The beautiful thing about vaping is that some users don't need to regimen themselves to reduce their nicotine. For some, the hand to mouth action and awesome array of flavors/devices available make the nicotine addiction just a moot point to the habit- the nicotine reduction just naturally occurs. That said, I have to agree with what's been said above here. Your plan makes perfect sense in terms of money saved and just comfort factor with your vape. I think it's a great idea, all I can recommend is to not sweat it too much, you've already saved yourself a ton of money and your health!

Did I mention I'm a hypochondriac? Yes, a cigarette-addicted hypochondriac. Pity me.

 

[recidivus]

I pity the foo!

I'm west coast, and while there's a few of us (and last meet I saw a few new faces) it's still something that's fairly niche. I don't see too many in the wild (one so far). As to TO, no clue. I'd expect a higher population will have more vapers out n about.

 

[Babs14]

I have been vaping for about one and a half years and now it makes no difference if I vape 6mg or 18mg. Sometimes I will go for hours without noticing I have not vaped. The problem is I tend to get addicted to a great flavor and will chain vape at times. Don't go back, once I began to vape I have not touched a analog and plan to keep it that way.

 

[Buggs5347]

That's a great idea. I know for me, I switch nic levels occassionally. There are times that the lowest nic just isn't doing it.

To the OP, I think it's normal to chain vape at least at first, regardless of nic. It's tasy and it's new. I do the same thing when I buy a new car or get anything new, for that matter. Just want to get out there and drive it, a lot. Eventually, I get back to "normal" with an occassional day that I get out and drive around more because I just love driving. Congrats on your success, so far!

 

[Buggs5347]

I have been vaping for about one and a half years and now it makes no difference if I vape 6mg or 18mg. Sometimes I will go for hours without noticing I have not vaped. The problem is I tend to get addicted to a great flavor and will chain vape at times. Don't go back, once I began to vape I have not touched a analog and plan to keep it that way.

Cool! Good for you, Babs!

 

[mgb_]

I was a heavy smoker (1 1/2 pack a day) and figured I'd start at 24mg. Turns out I'm also a heavy vaper and the nicotine was burning my mouth. I dropped to the lowest i could find 6mg or 12mg depending on vendor within my first week of vaping and my sore throat went away and i didn't notice any signs of increased cravings/withdrawl. I've even spent all day vaping a no nicotine sample i got from Rawr Vapor (didn't realize it was no nic at the time) and had no withdrawl symptoms. For me its more the habbit i guess. I plan to rotate no nic juices into the mix with my next order and continue vaping!