helping a long time heavy smoker to start vaping

[twgbonehead]

I also recommend starting with a high nic concentration. 6mg is likely to be way too low for her.

Would you consider buying her a decent setup, with the thought that if she really didn't take to it she would send it back to you for a spare? (Thinking something like istick/nautilus or something similar).

How tech-savvy/aware is she? If she's intimidated by tech stuff, stick with something really simple (perhaps a spinner and EVOD combo). If she's into gadgets, get her something with buttons and a display that she can play around with.

Before you go to the store, let her try your stuff. See if she likes the liquid, the taste, the sensation. And remember that for lots of folks their first vape tends to seem really harsh and make them cough.

Most of all, though, make sure it's an interactive process. Listen to what she says (and try to figure out what she means, which is often not the same thing at all). She could have all kinds of reservations, from "I don't really want to quit", or "I've heard horror stories on TV" or even a reluctance to try one more quitting method (when all the others she's tried in the past have been painful and unsuccessful). Don't put pressure on her to switch to vaping; try to get her to try vaping, and keep trying it even if she still winds up smoking as well.

That's all I got. Good luck!

 

[nemesis8733]

So my general most important take a ways are these.

1. Don't push it
2. Smoking and vaping is ok. It's not a matter of switching it's a matter of trying
3. Keep it simple. Vaping is very technical and all the information that seems simple and common knowledge to me and my vaping buddies will not be to a beginner
4. Try to replicate a cigarette for starters. seems like mouth to lung hit as opposed to lung hit is the key here

I know there's more but those points seem most important off the top of my head

 

[twgbonehead]

So my general most important take a ways are these.

1. Don't push it
2. Smoking and vaping is ok. It's not a matter of switching it's a matter of trying
3. Keep it simple. Vaping is very technical and all the information that seems simple and common knowledge to me and my vaping buddies will not be to a beginner
4. Try to replicate a cigarette for starters. seems like mouth to lung hit as opposed to lung hit is the key here

I know there's more but those points seem most important off the top of my head

I think you're in great shape. However, re: #4, it's important that she realize that vaping will NOT replicate a cigarette. It won't taste like one, and it won't feel like one. It can be a satisfactory replacement (and even a much more enjoyable replacement) but it's not going to be the same thing! Don't set her expectations too high, or in the wrong direction!

I am also tempted to add: Realize that it's not all on you. You can encourage her and help her, but ultimately she's the one who needs to make the choice. If she decides it's not for her, that's not your fault.

 

[jseah]

So my general most important take a ways are these.

1. Don't push it
2. Smoking and vaping is ok. It's not a matter of switching it's a matter of trying
3. Keep it simple. Vaping is very technical and all the information that seems simple and common knowledge to me and my vaping buddies will not be to a beginner
4. Try to replicate a cigarette for starters. seems like mouth to lung hit as opposed to lung hit is the key here

I know there's more but those points seem most important off the top of my head

That sounds about right. I think the biggest obstacle in getting a smoker to vape is in getting them to accept change. The cig-alikes are popular simply because the form factor makes them look like a cigarette, although they are also the least effective nicotine delivery system. It is a huge jump in perception from holding a cigarette in between ones fingers to holding a box mod with a 5ml tank. I started with the cigalikes because they were readily available and unobtrusive. And when I started I said to myself that I could never see myself vaping with those huge machines that everyone else uses. It was nearly a month and a half before I began to accept going up in size....and that was going to the eGo style batteries with 24 mg juice. And then I said that I could never see myself using a box mod. Just a few weeks after that, I went and got an iStick. I still think a full size box mod like a Sigelei is still a bit too large for me though. One benefit of going to more powerful and efficient gear (i.e. lower ohm coils) has been that I have been able to drop my nicotine level pretty quickly. Going with 24 mg juice in the Halo Triton, I am now using 6 mg juice in a Subtank on an iStick in about a month's time.

 

[GaryInTexas]

I will also add that you should give her just a few links to the studies showing the benefits of vaping over smoking. Don't want her to be overwhelmed when her friends see her vaping and start sending her all the propaganda that the news media show.

 

[edyle]

So my general most important take a ways are these.

1. Don't push it
2. Smoking and vaping is ok. It's not a matter of switching it's a matter of trying
3. Keep it simple. Vaping is very technical and all the information that seems simple and common knowledge to me and my vaping buddies will not be to a beginner
4. Try to replicate a cigarette for starters. seems like mouth to lung hit as opposed to lung hit is the key here

I know there's more but those points seem most important off the top of my head

Since she's already past the cigalike stage, maybe you could set her up with an rda with a 1.5 ohm 28 gauge 3mm ID coil which is going to last months, and show here how to rewick it?
That's if cost is a big factor.
Otherwise something like a nautilus, atlantis, or subtank on an istick might be more appropriate.

 

[OldBatty]

Lots of good advice in this thread already... Recently helped my 78 year old father in law quit after 65 years of smoking. Yes, he started at age 13!

Bought him a small mid sized rig at Christmas and after only two month of vaping was able to quit with relative ease. Just be sure every one else offering her advice knows the difference between nagging to practice vaping (good!) and nagging to quit smoking (bad!).

 

[leanns480]

I got my mother started vaping after over 40 years smoking coffin nails. She has now been smoke free since New years of this year she started on egos and ce4s and on 24 mg. She now has a mvp 2.0 with a mini protank style tank and she is down to 12 mg. She's doing better than I am at it, I still can't get off the analogs even with 24 mg juice...

 

[TX Foilhead]

First of all Leander isn't an hour from Austin, maybe a half hour from downtown if it's not rush hour or a busy weekend. All About Vapor's Round Rock location isn't that far and they have most anything you could want, there may be some closer stores, I'm much farther west so don't know that area extremely well.

Getting things to work is going to be different for everyone, first you need a setup that works for you without a bunch of hassle, that took me a few years to find trying on and off. Once I got a setup that worked for me the next step was to find an ADV that I wanted to vape more than I wanted a smoke. The nic level was pretty easy to figure out, 24mg/ml worked, but I would end up with a headache about halfway through the day, 18mg/ml no headache so that was fine. Once I got my Sub Tanks I went down to 6mg/ml, I don't feel like I cut my nic intake any, the gear just works better and any higher and I began to get the feeling it was too strong.

Good luck, I think someone has to be willing to give it a shot and put a little effort into it, but if they are it's not that hard to make the switch. Cutting back on cigs is a good thing as well so I would start there, once you get comfortable with the setup, it's not that hard to the cigs in half. You'll be a big help just explaining how things work and what's going on, that should greatly speed the process.

 

[nemesis8733]

Hello everyone update time!

First off the bit about realizing its not smoking but an alternative and possibly a better one at that is good advice. Something I think I wouldn't forget to point out but its good to be concious of it all the same.

I'll be sure to direct her to some vaping and health research. And of course I'll be with her every step of the way. thank you everyone who's posted since the last update I took the time to read all of your posts and I've taken all of your greatly helpful info to heart

I just got back from my trusted b&m and I decided to pick up a starter kit for her. I did some research on nearby shops in Texas and couldn't really get totally confident that they'd have absolutely everything she would need. I'm sure they would but I feel better knowing I already have what she needs from a shop that I trust.

I got her two small ego-ts, two disposable clearomizers, and a protank mini 3 along with a charger and a carrying case. I could have gotten her an evod but I decided to spend the extra few bucks and get her something a bit nicer. I also got a pack of coils and a 30ml 18mg bottle of their straight tobacco blend. hopefully 18 will satisfy her nic needs. I'm bringing along my old ego with adjustable voltage as well that I'd be more than happy to give her if she needed the extra heat kick at high watts.

I don't plan on telling her that I bought any of this until we've talked a bit and she knows that there's no pressure. I want to make sure she knows that just because I bought her stuff it doesn't mean that she HAS to do this. she's already expressed interest so I'm confident it won't be a wasted purchase.

I leave early tomorrow, wish her and I both luck guys! I appreciate all of this preparation info so SO much!

 

[Bob Chill]

^ Sounds like a good start. The mini PT3 should deliver a nice full and flavorful vape. My wife absolutely loves those. She could vape with them forever and be happy.

Keeping it simple stupid at the beginning is paramount. Charge batteries, fill tanks, and pop in new heads when they turn should be the only 3 tasks for a new vaper. Fiddling, flooding, dry hits, and "techy" batteries should be avoided at the beginning. What seems so simple to all of us now is still pretty complicated compared to sliding a stick out of a pack and flicking a bic. Honestly, I could probably get by with a PT3 and a spinner indefinitely. Flavor and clouds are fun but as long as I get a nice full vape with a little throat hit I can be satisfied enough to never smoke another cig as long as I live. I only use higher end stuff because I have it and it's easy to work with after some practice. But it's not a necessity.

Good luck!

 

[GaryInTexas]

Sounds like your right on track nemesis. All you can do is lay out the hardware and juice, show how it's done and give a positive review on vaping. After that it's on her to pick it and use it or not. You've done what you could. Congrats!

 

[TX Foilhead]

If you get a chance, check out a shop or 2. I've found Yelp and other review sites as well as some of the individual stores sites are very unreliable guides for B&M's. The phone book is better than a lot of them. AAV has most anything you can find online and and has been in Round Rock for quite a while, I'm pretty sure they were the first Vape shop in the area. I like their Round Rock store, the one in Austin is bigger, but gives me more of a sleezy/hipster vibe so I stay away unless it's a last resort. My favorite B&M is Ciggy Shack, but it's in far South Austin and would be a very long drive from Leander.

 

[nemesis8733]

If you get a chance, check out a shop or 2. I've found Yelp and other review sites as well as some of the individual stores sites are very unreliable guides for B&M's. The phone book is better than a lot of them. AAV has most anything you can find online and and has been in Round Rock for quite a while, I'm pretty sure they were the first Vape shop in the area. I like their Round Rock store, the one in Austin is bigger, but gives me more of a sleezy/hipster vibe so I stay away unless it's a last resort. My favorite B&M is Ciggy Shack, but it's in far South Austin and would be a very long drive from Leander.

Oh yah I still plan to head to a shop with her. It's just my nature to want to be overly prepared Lol. I'm sure the shops out there do a great job and carry quality products just like the shops here do.

Even though I'm bringing her all she needs at first she'll need to make a trip to a b&m eventually. I know something like that, for someone who's been smoking for so long and has had no significant results with stopping thus far, can be a difficult one. Maybe even one that they don't end up making because well what's the point? I'm hoping by going with her I can alleviate some of the initial stress and she'll see most vape shop employees are good people just trying to help!

I also bought a few of my favorite juices for myself while I'm gone, so I plan to have her try them to see if any of them particularly appeal to her. then we can head to a shop and find her some juice. I'll definitely look into that round rock shop. Thanks

 

[nemesis8733]

So to put it briefly things are going great!

I've been here in Texas since Sunday afternoon. My aunt's still been smoking regular cigarettes but on a daily basis I've been showing her a little more about vaping and how her device works. Just now she said this might work! And that's a huge step because there's never been anything up to now that she's even thought might be good enough to kick analogues!

We went to vaperz in cedar park which is a very quick trip for her and all the people there seemed great! I made sure that they have everything she will need and they definitely do. I showed her the replacement coils she'll need to buy, some of the more advanced tanks for when she's ready, and I asked if they did coil building for rdas which they do. This shop even offers a thorough tutorial to coil building which I thought was cooL, even though that's a ways down the road for my aunt if she ever goes as far as rdas.

I thought it was interesting that at this shop the juices are 100% made to order. They don't carry any of the designer juice lines and instead they make their own juice. Is this a common thing in Texas and possibly elsewhere? It's such a different way of doing things than shops in so cal. Not that the juice isn't quality, we both got a few bottles and were enjoying the hell out of them, I just didn't know there were places where juice from juice vendors isnt the norm.

 

[GaryInTexas]

That is an excellent update nemesis. Sounds very promising. I don't know what the norm is for juice in the B&Ms as I've only been in 1 small shop before.

 

[DC2]

Everyone is different. Everyone smoked for different reasons. There is a viable solution to EVERY problem.
That pretty much sums up my philosophy on switching from smoking to vaping.

Then you have to account for fiddle-factor, and how amenable or averse they might be.

The rest is just filling in the blanks.


Take a look at this poll to see how different we really are...
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ou-put-down-those-last-couple-cigarettes.html


As for those that say you have to want to quit, there are many here who would disagree.
Find what makes you happy and you don't even need to want to quit to make this whole thing work.

But you have to believe it can work.
That's probably the most important thing there is.

 

[DC2]

Just now she said this might work!

And this is how it all starts.