Having a very hard time quitting smoking and adjusting

[Daisey Moonshine]

I really need some support and encouragement. I like eCigs and I'm invested in this, but I'm not used to it yet. I am having a hard time with my addiction to smoking and went out and bought a carton of cigarettes last night when I originally planned to visit a Cignot store for more juice.

 

[Bunnykiller]

dont feel bad about this, its all part of switching over. Not everyone can simply drop the ciggies for vaping. I started vaping in june-ish 2013 and went from 2 pack a day to 1 ciggie a day. Altho it took 6 months to get to that point. I still have my morning ciggie with my coffie, just cant seem to give it up ( basically not ready to give it up yet) BUT I am elated that I am not smoking 39 ciggies a day as like before. Now a pack of ciggies lasts me 3 weeks instead of 6 hours.

Hang in there it will happen at Your pace you will know when you are ready to buy that last pack...

 

[Bunnykiller]

BTW what nicotine level are you using?? Since I was at 2PAD I use 24-30nic in my juices

 

[BulletStopper]

I feel your pain and went through the same roller coaster a year ago. I also fell off the wagon and bought a few packs of cigarettes. As I've told people it isn't the same, but it can meet your needs. I started at 24 mg and am slowly moving down and currently using 18 mg.

Keep going this will work. Just need to keep telling yourself that vaping is meeting your nicotine cravings and keeping pushing forward.

Best of luck, you can do this.

 

[NanW]

Hello and welcome to ECF Daisey Moonshine!! And congrats on making it this far!! You can do this!!
There are some very popular phrases around here that seem to help many, hope they don't sound to corny!! I spent many months chanting in my head, and I suspect even out loud on occasion!!
Vape your face off!
Vape when you can and smoke when you have to!
And last but most certainly not least; count the cigs you don't smoke, not the ones you do! Ever cigarette you don't smoke is success!!!

I know you just bought a carton but one other last bit on giving up the stinkies, try buying a brand that you never smoked before, break the cycle!

Oh yeah and drink lots and lots of water!!

Good luck! You can do this!!

 

[Daisey Moonshine]

I have every intention of quitting although my actions do not show it by buying cigarettes. Every time I light one up I really consider it with each one. It's the comfort I get from smoking I'm not getting with eCigs. I've only been at this a short time (a week) and I'm in the process of finding the right juice to use. I'm awaiting for a package in the mail from Halo.

The high nic is too much for me though I am a chain smoker. I can handle a puff or two, but it makes me dizzy and ill if I continue vaping high mg juice through the day I get sick at night time.

 

[Mark Anthony]

It takes time for some people to give up their addiction to the analogs. I was lucky and never touched another cigarette once I started vaping. One key aspect is to make sure you are using the correct nicotine level in your juice to start. How much did/do you smoke? Have you cut down any since you started vaping? A little more info and we can begin to help you along your journey into healthiness. Just whatever you do, don't give up trying.... the results once you get off of the analogs is amazing.... your sense of smell and taste will return, you'll be able to do things you once could not do without becoming winded.... you'll just overall start feeling good again. Look at that as your long range goal... to do this for yourself, loved ones and family. But do it for yourself first. Good luck to you.

 

[Conchord George]

The most encouraging thing I have read here was "It's not about how many cigarettes you smoke, it's about how many you didn't". Having a reliable set up is important. Nothing is more discouraging than those days when none of your vape gear seems to work right. We all have those days. Hang in there!

 

[MikeZ28]

Try vaping for ten minutes first, before you smoke. But don't allow yourself to get stressed over it. The increased anxiety will make it harder to quit. Let it happen of its own accord. It's not an all or nothing proposition. You can do this at whatever pace you are comfortable with. It's the destination that counts, not how fast you get there.

This will be repeated frequently and it's great advice:

And last but most certainly not least; count the cigs you don't smoke, not the ones you do! Ever cigarette you don't smoke is success!!!

 

[Rickajho]

I have every intention of quitting although my actions do not show it by buying cigarettes. Every time I light one up I really consider it with each one. It's the comfort I get from smoking I'm not getting with eCigs. I've only been at this a short time (a week) and I'm in the process of finding the right juice to use. I'm awaiting for a package in the mail from Halo.

The high nic is too much for me though I am a chain smoker. I can handle a puff or two, but it makes me dizzy and ill if I continue vaping high mg juice through the day I get sick at night time.

Hiya!

Whatcha vaping? What hardware are you starting out with?

You are early in so don't sweat the smoking. There is a certain amount of sorting things out that people have to do when starting. One is the right nic level - and it sounds like you are getting a grip on that.

The other thing is Vaping 101: vaping isn't smoking. The nicotine from vaping gets into your system much more slowly from vaping - the same way it does from Nic-O-Gum. Because of that you can have two things to sort out when starting: Expecting a nicotine buzz from vaping. You can vape yourself sick chasing that. (Chasing it or not, you already figured out what that feels like.) So too high a nic level in short bursts of vaping doesn't work well.

You actually have to work out the pacing of vaping so you get a consistent level of nic in your system - and that takes practice. It's not the auto pilot we were used to with cigarettes. You have to pick up your PV and push a button each and every time you want it to do something for you. A lot of people new to vaping actually worry that they might be vaping too much. The truth is most people when they start actually have to work up to vaping enough, on a consistent basis throughout the day.

The beauty of quitting with e-cigs is the flexibility. Some times it takes tweaking of your nic level, finding flavors you really like, even a hardware change to make the differences you need. Some people can quit the second they start vaping. I took three months to completely lose a 30 year smoking habit. You are in the middle of your own personal quit smoking experiment. There are no failures here as long as you have a genuine desire to quit.

 

[rurwin]

Everybody's addiction is different, and it needs to be treated differently. My bugbear is worrying about the security of my supply. I used to go on holidays with twice as much smoking gear as I needed just to be certain I wouldn't run out. I had a complete extra set in the car in case I forgot my main set when I went out. Now I have backups to my backups to my backups to my backups.

Because I knew this was going to be my sticking point, I didn't throw away my tobacco, or even get rid of the ashtray, when I gave up. The tobacco was there if I needed it, so I didn't worry about it. I didn't even start to count the days. It was some time in September, but I don't know the date.

But... it still needs willpower. Lots of people have found that e-cigarettes are a better tool than gum or patches, but all the tools in the world won't do the work for you. You will still get the craving from time to time. If your e-cigarette is doing the right job, then a few puffs on that will make the craving go away, but you need the willpower to not pick up a cigarette instead.

If you do have a cigarette then it is probably counter-productive too worry much about it because most of us smoke more when we're anxious. Analyse why you had that cigarette instead of an e-cig and find a way to avoid the same situation happening again.

 

[The Ministry]

I struggled too in the early days/weeks until I found "my" juice that I could vape pretty much constantly and not feel ill.

I literally picked up as many 5ml/10ml bottles as I could afford until I found the right taste/nicotine level that allowed me to "vape my face off". I find I vape more than I'd have smoked, but this is helping me not pick up a stinky so I'm cool with that.

It's trial and error, and don't beat yourself up for having the odd smoke. It's part of the process. You *will* do it once you find the right combination for you. Let's face it, there's probably a lot more choice of equipment, juice, at your disposal than brands of cigarettes available at the corner store, so it's bound to take a little while to find that perfect setup for you that allows you to move away from cigarettes.

One day at a time, and you know we're all rooting for you

 

[xyanide]

I smoked a cig or 2 a day in my first week of vaping. I came off 1 large pack of heavy smokes a day.
Try to keep it up for a week, cigs do contain other addictive stuff besides nicotine that makes it hard to quit. I get much less irritated to put my e-cig down for a while than I had with old stinky cigs.
What really helped me pull through was keeping this in mind "I don't have to smoke, because I can vape". The cig needs were itching for a few weeks for me, and then a weird relapse 2 months later but I didn't give in. If I'd try a cig now it tastes absolutely horrible.

Try lowering your nic level and make your vape more complex, this helped me a lot too. Try putting fruit and tobacco flavors together as they're very nice and provide a lot of satisfaction for me.

 

[jdrewry]

Curious---what e-cig, or kit, are you using? And what level nic are you at with your e-liquids?

 

[Daisey Moonshine]

I am using a Kanger Mini PTII and at the moment. Works great. I have no problems with it whatsoever. I'm happy with it. Easy to use, take a part and clean and put back together.

I have another one on hand for variety.

I'm considering a eGo I saw at the liquor store just for kicks.

Currently I am vaping a 18mg strawberry. I have an order from Halo on the way in the mail that my empty Kanger is readied for. Really excited and looking forward to that to arrive. I am going to get some more quality juice online that I am intrigued by after reading reviews here on the forum.

The issue for me is that I enjoy smoking. It relaxes me. And although it's short lived, it's rewarding to me. Therefore I smoke all the time to keep the reward coming. I think it's even harder sometimes to give up something you really like... if that makes any sense.

I am a chain smoker and have been smoking for many years. I do have a conscious desire and a absolute will to quit, but it's hard just the same. A lot harder than I thought it would be.

 

[Ahoy]

Most of us have gone through exactly what you are going through. I rolled my own cigarettes due to prices of store bought and when I started vaping, I still rolled some. I would recommend you keep a pack or so of cigarettes on you, or at least in your car, and just up your MG/nic% in your eliquid to help aid with getting over the cravings. A mistake a lot of people make is that they will purchase eliquid that has to low MG for them, buy a 2/3 different mg's(just 2/3 seperate bottles of small eliquid) and try them all throughout the day and see which one will help you the best. It's all about trial and error until you find that right fit for you, just like buying a car, you go and test drive a few until you find the car that you can see yourself driving and are comfortable with.

 

[VapieDan]

Perhaps I tricked myself into vaping. I was looking for a way to cut down on analogues and not have to go outside in bad weather. It was over a period of about three months that I finally picked up a tobacco cigarette and the taste was terrible. At that point I stopped buying them and stayed with vaping. I envy those here that picked up their first E-cig and just dropped the old habit immediately. I also think I made an early mistake. This was nearly three years ago and little information was around. I was perplexed by the nicotine levels. So to be cautious I started on 6mg. I then progressed to 8mg when finally reaching a point of quitting. I am convinced if I started at 18mg or 24mg I could have left analogues sooner.

 

[xyanide]

The issue for me is that I enjoy smoking. It relaxes me. And although it's short lived, it's rewarding to me. Therefore I smoke all the time to keep the reward coming. I think it's even harder sometimes to give up something you really like... if that makes any sense.

Makes perfect sense because me and many others have been there. I thoroughly enjoyed smoking. The thing is you won't realize just exactly what kind of nastiness you've been enjoying only after you've not been enjoying it for a while. People grow into loving cigs.

 

[FearTX]

It took me quite some time to find the gear and juice that I felt would work for me. I was almost 2 years in on that journey before I made the realization I was there. Once I knew that I made a conscious effort to just have the "important" smokes, morning, after meals, and at night. I also realized somewhere along the way that I did not care at all for tobacco flavored juice and bought a ton of fun flavors. Shortly after that I did not want the important smoke, I just wanted a different flavor at that time.
What works for any one of us individually may not work for the next person, we are all unique in our preferences. Hopefully you can put some things together from all of us and find something that works, or find it on your own journey.

Congratulations on making the first steps! As said before "It's not how many you smoke, it's how many you do not."

 

[FigNewton]

The issue for me is that I enjoy smoking. It relaxes me. And although it's short lived, it's rewarding to me. Therefore I smoke all the time to keep the reward coming. I think it's even harder sometimes to give up something you really like... if that makes any sense.

For me, I have found that vaping is rewarding too. I feel that I am not doing as much harm to my body, it doesn't stink, it's cheaper (so they say), the hobby aspect of vaping is keeping very intrigued, and I generally feel better about myself. I'm just shy of one month in and although I don't get cravings for analogs, I do find myself thinking about them every now and then. Those thoughts diminsh a little bit more each day. Keep your chin up and your eye on the prize!