Heavy smokers seem to have an easier time quitting for good?

[Free6413]

I believe that smoking for long periods allows you to associate the habit with part of your persona. Some have trouble with letting that part go. Whether you are a pack a week or 2+ PPD it still requires giving up part of personal perception. Sort of like when you cut your hair very short when you have worn it long for your whole life. This is just an observation of mine. This could also be why other smoking cessation products have small success rates.

 

[VAscooter]

I was a plus or minus PAD smoker for over 40 years. I started vaping 4 years ago and up until a little over 3 months ago was vaping and continuing to smoke. Why? For some reason I wasn't getting the same satisfaction from what I was using and was constantly gettin juice in my mouth from the plastic tanks I was using. I was so involved with my job and personal life that I hadn't looked at all of the new innovations in vaping products and juices. What opened my eyes was the DC VapeFest back in March where I talked to some people and bought a Provari with topper and an MVP2 with a topper and some new juices. I went home and started using those new devices and immediately was much happier with my non analog nicotine delivery. It was that afternoon I had my last cigarette. I found ECF the next day and along with the great information on this forum, getting into rebuildable atties, different devices, and improving my overall vaping experience, don't even think about cigarettes anymore. The first month I had a few weak moments, especially when I first got up and took the dogs out or driving to work, but had my e cig to help me through. Will I go back to cigarettes? I don't think I ever will. Will I quit vaping. Not sure but have cut down nicotine from 18-6 and still enjoy the total experience. I'm just happy now that I can breathe better and my taste buds have come alive as well as my sense of smell.

 

[3mg Meniere]

DIY smokers enjoy the fuss-factor involved in vaping.

The transition of life habits is less traumatic.

Less self-consciousness for the heavy smoker in transition because the nic addiction is more important than social approval.

The sense of smell reinforces the pleasure.

Gradual stepping away from habits established during smoking career (I had a desire to burn something in early weeks-- incense filled that need)

Less need to substitute with food.

 

[RainbowBabz]

I have sort of bounced around with how much I smoked - when I first started, it was a pack or two a week; as a teenager it was a couple packs a day just because I didn't really have any other bills; down to 1/2-2/3 of a pack a day right before I discovered vaping, then about a pack a week for the first several months, then down to sharing a pack with my girlfriend on the weekends... Then that glorious day I couldn't do the taste of analogs anymore. (Big step IMO, and one of the greatest feelings.) Now that we're both completely off cigarettes (although I'm not holding her to it until I get her a good setup) I'm curious to see if she finds the full switch happening easier and earlier than I did.
Sent from my RM-917_nam_usa_100 using Tapatalk

 

[Flt Simulation]

I could never quit cigarettes until I started vaping (24mg Nic).

I am 66 years old and started smoking in Viet Nam in 1968. Smoked about 1 pack a day back then ... Slowly moved up to 2 packs per day.

So, all in all, I have been smoking (and inhaling) full-flavored 'Reds' for 46 years!
____________________

As soon as I started vaping, I threw the cigarettes away ... I haven't had a cigarette for the last 5 months.

And .... I have also gone down from 24mg Nic to 18mg Nic !
____________________

Oh ... I don't wake up in the morning coughing my lungs out anymore either

Why I have not got lung cancer by now is beyond me!

 

[Mig01]

I believe that smoking for long periods allows you to associate the habit with part of your persona. Some have trouble with letting that part go. Whether you are a pack a week or 2+ PPD it still requires giving up part of personal perception. Sort of like when you cut your hair very short when you have worn it long for your whole life. This is just an observation of mine. This could also be why other smoking cessation products have small success rates.

You hit something that really resonates with me there. Before I started vaping, I had given up on even the idea of quitting smoking. One of the reasons is that I saw it as a rebellion against the health cult: "do not smoke, do not drink, eat your vegetables, red meat is bad for you, exercise daily, etc...". Smoking was more than an addiction, it was indeed part of my identity. It was my way to say " *p y**rs" to all the do-gooders whose main pleasure in life is to tell others how they should live their lives.

Since many of those do-gooders are also against vaping, that part of my persona remains intact through vaping instead of smoking

 

[Kropotkin]

What a great thread! So many of these stories are genuinely moving.

You gotta wonder what the ANTZ would say about the real life experiences of all these good people . . . perhaps it would make them stop and think for once in their lives.

 

[3mg Meniere]

.... a rebellion against the health cult: "do not smoke, do not drink, eat your vegetables, red meat is bad for you, exercise daily, etc...". Smoking was more than an addiction, it was indeed part of my identity. It was my way to say " *p y**rs" to all the do-gooders whose main pleasure in life is to tell others how they should live their lives.

Since many of those do-gooders are also against vaping, that part of my persona remains intact through vaping instead of smoking

A lot of them forbid coffee, too. I find the same joy with my coffee and vape.

 

[Recycled Roadkill]

You gotta wonder what the ANTZ would say about the real life experiences of all these good people . . . perhaps it would make them stop and think for once in their lives.

I believe ANTZ would say we're gonna die sooner than if we'd kept smoking.

 

[Kropotkin]

Yeah, I guess you're right.

They're probably reading all those forums where ex-vapers tell how much better they feel now that they're sucking up a whole pack of Pall Malls before breakfast.

 

[Anjaffm]

You gotta wonder what the ANTZ would say about the real life experiences of all these good people . . . perhaps it would make them stop and think for once in their lives.

not at all, dear.
All they say is "the plural of anecdotes is not data".
(Yes, that is what they have to say about the many reports by vapers. If they acknowledge us as human beings at all, and not calling us "astroturfs" = paid industry shills. You see, being paid industry shills themselves, they see those everywhere. Kind of confirmation bias. )

Unless, of course, they mean their OWN anecdotes. Like the one by the DKFZ (German cancer research institute) about the alleged "researcher" allegedly feeling dizzy after being in a room where two e-cigs were smoked (sic!). That crap went all over the media as "research" - until the b... eautiful lady who issued it was pressed into saying it was an "anecdote" - meaning that she made it all up.

 

[Anjaffm]

I believe that smoking for long periods allows you to associate the habit with part of your persona. Some have trouble with letting that part go. Whether you are a pack a week or 2+ PPD it still requires giving up part of personal perception. Sort of like when you cut your hair very short when you have worn it long for your whole life. This is just an observation of mine. This could also be why other smoking cessation products have small success rates.

most definitely. At least in my case.
It used to be "Anja without a cigarette - impossible" Now it is "Anja without her PV - impossible"
What the heck else am I supposed to do? Suck my thumb?

 

[K_Tech]

I don't know what the cutoff is for a "heavy" smoker - I went through anywhere from one to three packs a day - but I'd honestly say that attitude is 99% of the issue.

 

[Anjaffm]

I don't know what the cutoff is for a "heavy" smoker - I went through anywhere from one to three packs a day - but I'd honestly say that attitude is 99% of the issue.

attitude towards what, please?
In my case, I liked smoking. I never ever wanted to stop smoking. Not once. Never.
However, I had been smoking too much in the end of my smoking "career" and I wanted to cut down on smoking too much, because it was not doing me good.

Compare: I like to eat a piece of chocolate once in my while. But if I were to stuff my face with 2 whole packages of chocolate every day, that would not make me feel good. So I would cut down on eating too much chocolate. Although I would never ever "quit chocolate" as in stop eating chocolate entirely, for the rest of my life, and never have another bite of chocolate as long as I live.

I made the transition to vaping immediately, effortlessly and with great pleasure as soon as I started up my 1st PV on 4 Nov 2011.
Because I had found a much better alternative. One that gives me all the benefits of smoking (and yes, there are quite a few) without the hazards of the smoke as such.

In my home forum in Germany, it is generally the most inveterate and long-term smokers like myself who make the transition easily. Often to their own surprise. We do not "quit smoking" on purpose. The transition just happens. You know, like the invention of fire? Why eat your meat raw when you can cook it and avoid all the problems with your digestion? Same thing I am still "eating meat" (consuming nicotine and practising my beloved habit) - but it does not make my stomach hurt any longer.

And it is precisely those people like me, whose transition just happened and who are very happy with vaping, who are the most vocal vaping activists in Europe. Now that we have discovered fire, so to speak, we have no intention of having it banned by greedy, mercenary jerks who are paid by those who treat stomach disorders.
And who say "Fire is dangerous. We will ban it. Eat your meat raw or do not eat meat at all!"

 

[Lurch]

It's amazing how motivated one gets when their back's against the wall and options are running out. As a 1 1/2 pad smoker for 50 yrs. with declining health, that's where I found myself at age 62. So, I decided to try one more time to quit. After a lot of research on the new thing, e-cigs offered hope and a promise of success.

That's the same situation I was in. Sixty years old, starting to have some health issues and just plain tired of smoking and trying to quit smoking! Stopped into a vape shop on a whim after reading about e-cigs and picked up a starter kit! Worked like a champ and I was off smokes by the third day!

 

[Jman8]

attitude towards what, please?
In my case, I liked smoking. I never ever wanted to stop smoking. Not once. Never.
However, I had been smoking too much in the end of my smoking "career" and I wanted to cut down on smoking too much, because it was not doing me good.

I would say attitude of staying quit.

I too smoked too much but now that I smoke in moderation, I have different attitude toward smoking. One that I find challenging to convey to ex-smokers. Not all of them, but many and seemingly most. And as one who's quit cold turkey before, I very much get what liberation from any smoking is like. But feeling confident that most ex-smokers have zero idea what smoking in moderation is like. Claiming (on vaping forums) that just one would lead to full blown addiction for them. Thus showing that moderation is impossible for them. And then touting claims that cessation is the only way to go, to be healthy.

I say all the above, because I think it is attitude of 'staying quit' that makes transition appear easier, or more appealing. And is challenging for me (who has been completely liberated from smoking in my past) to fully understand "no intention of wanting to stop smoking." Even harder when you realize that regardless of your claims that one would lead to full blown addiction, that must be put in proper perspective of, okay transition back to part time vaping (at very least) and you really really ought to be able to cut way back on smoking.

Unless, cutting back/ceasing is not part of your current attitude.

 

[ENAUD]

I started smoking at age 12. We kids would sneak off with a clipped pack and smoke out in the woods, or down by the river fishing. By age 16 I was 6-10 cigs a day. Age 18 I wound up in the Coast Guard, and in boot camp went from maybe 10 smokes a day to a two pack a day habit. 32 Years later, and several failed attempts at quitting I was resigned to my 2.5 PAD habit and actually in my mind I would tell myself, and anyone who would try to talk to me about it, that I enjoy smoking."Gotta die from something" I would snort.
My biggest stroke of luck was meeting the owner of my local B&M, who after getting my smoking history and where I was at in terms of quitting mindset said to me: " I never wanted to quit smoking either, I was just tired of what they were doing to me." This statement really clicked with me, I didn't have to quit anything! The word quit all by itself was an anxiety trigger for me, by not thinking about quitting, the switch to vaping was an easy step.

As a heavy long term smoker, in my mind the transition to vaping was almost effortless, in part I think to the fact that I was used to constantly smoking. Perhaps the mechanics of how the nicotine is absorbed from vaping is better suited to a constant use type scenario vs an occasional hit from time to time. Someone who is more used to grabbing a few quick puffs here and there, vs folks like me who constantly smoked might have a harder time with the switch to vaping. These have been just some anecdotal observations and thoughts on the subject from a lucky, "accidental quitter" .

 

[KODIAK (TM)]

It seemed to me it was older smokers had an easier time, I guess they would be the heavier smokers.

Yeah... what's up with that? After 40 years I was smoking up to 3 packs per day. I quit my very first day using Blu's no less. I think I quit on a Friday and the next Wednesday I fell of the wagon for 3 smokes I found lying around somewhere but other than that it was pretty much instantaneous.

And I agree with the comments about the "light" smokers having a hard time transitioning. Don't know why and during my smoking days I've often asked them why they even need to smoke given the nicotine content in their brands.

Of course some people just won't let go no matter what. I should've been one of those but go figure.

 

[DC2]

I only smoked on average around 6 cigarettes per day, but I did that for 27 years.
Would that have qualified me as a light smoker or a heavy smoker?

 

[Cool_Breeze]

I only smoked on average around 6 cigarettes per day, but I did that for 27 years.
Would that have qualified me as a light smoker or a heavy smoker?

Very light...