Helps to know your smoking background

[stevet2]

Hello everyone,
Like most newbies, I'm finding so much helpful information here, and greatly appreciate the community!

I also find that when reading about people's experiences, especially those looking to quit analogs, hearing about a person's smoking background helps a great deal.

For example, reading a long thread earlier today, and thought the advice might work for me, as the person described themsleves as a heavy smoker. Later in other posts, I see the author was only 19 and goes through a pack a week.

I guess it's all relative, but as a 50 year old, 2 pack a day guy for the past 35 years, my definition of "heavy smoker" is a bit different. While I surely understand it may be just as tough for the 19 yr old to quit analogs as it is for me, the difference in background has to be a factor in how I can weigh some advice.

Bottom line- I really want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences, and think it would benefit everyone if folks mentioned a brief history of their tobacco use. Hopefully after I sort through all the info here and start my transition to vaping, I'll be able to share any lessons learned/experiences in the event it may help another. Thanks again to all!

 

[HzG8rGrl]

Welcome to the ECF stevet2! Good luck and if there is anything we can do, just ask.

 

[Curlygirl27]

It does help to know the background. I smoked for 21 years (omg really? gosh, i am starting to feel old) in varying amounts... was going thru almost 1pad at the highest. Last couple years i smoked less and less until a pack would last me 2-5 days (depending on stress levels, how much time spent in the car, etc). let's say 1 pack in 3 days average when i started vaping. I smoked marlboro reds. My first pv was Luci and the first juice i ordered was 0mg nic since I figured i smoked so little I didn't need nic. Just couldn't give up the reds though but then i found ecf and realized I needed something better. Once I got my eGo and my juices with nic i quit completely by accident for about 4 days until both my attys broke and went back to smoking. It tasted nasty but i did it anyway. Now that i have all the hardware i need I am happily back on the wagon at day 10.

I hope this was the kind of post you were looking for- i tried to keep it short. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask any questions you might have!!!

 

[GrannyFrets]

I had been smoking for 40+ years, 2 to 2 1/2 packs a day the last few years. I really didn't have much desire to stop smoking..in fact I loved it. My husband decided to quit smoking..cold turkey..and I just didn't think it was right to smoke around him when he was struggling so much to quit. I knew I wasn't strong or determined enough to quit cold turkey so I searched on the internet and found V4L and ordered a starter kit...then followed a link from their website and found ECF.

Since I was a heavy smoker, I ordered 36 meg cartomizers..Whoa!! What a headrush!! I got dizzy and headaches..apparently I didn't need 36.Then I tried 18 and some 24. I can deal with both of those. Usually use the 24 when I first get up in the morning or the occasional time that I'd really like a cigarette. In the 20 or so days since I got my kit, I've smoked 8 or so cigarettes. That was only because I was depending on my PT and it up and died. I hadn't kept my batteries charged so I smoked the few cigarettes left in a pack in my car. They were awful!!! To be honest, I've been very surprised how easy it has been for me to give up the cigarettes. I am aware that basically I've traded one habit for another habit but hopefully this is a habit that I can live with.

 

[stevet2]

Thanks guys... I know everyone is different, and what works for some won't for others....but I'm hoping. It really does help to hear your stories!!

I still enjoy smoking too.
Maybe more than enjoy it- a great deal of my life revolves around it.

I choose restaurants based on how convenient it is to get outside and smoke. I pick hotels that have balconies in the room, or at least windows that open. I park further away from stores to have enough time to smoke on my through the parking lot. I could go on and on. Smoking rules my life, and is a part of everything I do. I have stopped (mostly) smoking in my house, as my wife hates it. But still have one bathroom that only I use that I choke 'em down in (it has a window right next to the commode). I'll even smoke in the shower when I can get away with it.

I buy 3-6 cartons at a time to ensure I never run out. On the rare occasions that I have, and with no store or any other way to get a smoke, I will scour the street for a .... that I might get a drag out of. Thouroughly disgusting and revolting...but I have done it.

And now, I can no longer deny or ignore that my health is going south. I am coughing for 30 mintues or more each morning and have lengthy fits at random times throughout the day. Short of breath all the time. All the bad stuff.

I know I have to do something, but point blank- I am scared to quit.

Patches and gum don't do anything for me. Aside from being thrown in a locked cell 24/7, I think vaping may be my last and only hope.

I'll be getting my first kit in a few days, and hoping...just hoping....


thanks again to all for sharing your experiences!

 

[rogerdugans]

I know what you mean.

I read lots of stuff before buying my first mini kit and while it has value as a pv, it just does not get the job done as far as helping me get rid of cigarettes.

I smoked for 30+ years, most of that over a pack a day and most of the last 15 over 2 ppd.

Quitting smoking is hard once you are addicted, and for many reasons beyond just the nicotine addiction, though that is severe all by itself.

Someone who chainsmokes for a few years will likely NOT be satisfied by a mini or even a penstyle PV. At least I wasn't.

Someone who smoked for even 10 years and a pack lasted a couple of days, well, their need for a PV will be just as real but they would probably be fine with a... smaller PV.

I read things from folks about how they can drip for 5 minutes on a DSE801, or how a filled carto will last them and hour or more....
I just don't see how. Its not that I don't believe these people- I do. I just don't see how a carto can last that long.

 

[DawnH]

Which kit did you buy? My hubby quit cold turkey, which AMAZED me, after smoking for 50 years 2-5 pack a day. Me, I don't have the willpower, but I think it was due to his health that he quit. Me, I tell people I am NEVER quitting, but decided to try e-cigs and believe it or not, after smoking more than 40 years, I am down to TWO a day! From a pack a day to a pack a week! I am so amazed by that. Stressful days or week, I smoke more and refuse to beat myself up over it OR feel guilty, but I do. Just taking it at my own pace and I've noticed that if I really try, and just vape MORE when I want that cigarette and tell myself I do NOT need it, I am fine. Hang in there! It might take awhile, but only YOU will know what's best for you. Keep us posted. I am amazed when I read of someone picking up their e-cigarette and never touching an analog again. Amazed! Good luck!

 

[Beachlover]

I know what you mean about "cigarettes ruling your life". I have been smoking for 45 years at 2-3 packs a day. I have been seriously vaping for about a month. I use cigarettes as a timer...you know the story...one more cigarette and I'll take a shower, one more cigarette and I'll finish getting ready and leave for work. I vape all the way to work until I am one cigarette away, break time...how does an ecig that never runs out make up for the timer to know when break time is over and of course after eating, when I first get up and morning coffee. I can make a pack of cigarettes last 2 days now and that is a big plus for me at this time. I would love to cut down to zero and I have a couple of ecig kits and a lot of juice. I try to be confident that I will hit the right combination and give them up completely...but I don't punish myself because what I have done is an improvement and I don't have to have a cigarette right before I go to bed anymore.

 

[spirits3250]

2 packs a day for 30+ years

 

[The Fool]

Wow Steve, I am really touched by your honesty. I 'get' everything that you said, from the timing of things like car rides and parking lot walks to smoking somebody else's .... if that was all that was available. Fears that you might run out, etc.

I smoked for 40 years, 2 1/2 PAD. I figure that I smoked 3-4 cigarettes an hour while I was awake. I would smoke when I ate, I would wake-up in the middle of the night and smoke. In the past few years it was starting to cost me more than food, thanks to taxes.

I first heard about e-cigarettes on a radio commercial. Since I had always at least tried every quit smoking thing that came along (patches, gum, lozenges, inhalers) I thought I should give this a try. So, I googled e-cigarettes and got like 10,000 hits and was so overwhelmed that I chose a website by geographical location (I live in Missouri, the site was in Oklahoma). Fortunately, the Oklahoma connection was a reputable dealer and sold me a 901 kit and I also bought 10ml of 18mg juice (a mistake I will explain later).

When the kit arrived and I tried it the first time, I was really blown away. I did not expect it to mimic smoking as well as it does. As a heavy smoker going with a mini e-cigarette, I should have gotten 2 kits, because the batteries only lasted about an hour and a half and they take longer than that to charge. I also should have ordered more juice, since 10ml lasts me less than 4 days. 18mg was a bit low for me, but, I didn't discover this until I accidentally ordered 24mg and used it. I used the 901 for the first 6 months and then treated myself to a Riva. It took a little time to get use to the larger unit, but, by that time I was so tired of charging batteries that I didn't care how big it was.

Like you, I loved smoking. But, I knew in my heart of hearts that I needed to quit. I just didn't know how I was ever going to accomplish that. The only cigarettes that I have smoked since my first kit arrived, were the ones that I smoked waiting on a shipment of juice when I ran out. I still feel like a smoker in my head, but my body is enjoying all the benefits of quitting. I am truly amazed that it has not been a bigger deal. It's been like taking a step side-ways or maybe even just switching brands of cigarettes. There is a learning curve, things break down and there's maintenance involved, but even with the hassles I have found that I enjoy vaping more than smoking. Maybe a big part of it is that most of the guilt is gone.

I lucked out finding a juice that I liked early on (24mg 555 from madvapes), the right juice is important, I wish for you the same luck.

There are a surprising number of us long time heavy smokers here. I didn't find ECF till I had been vaping for about 3 months and my first impression was that it was a group of 30 somethings. My first post, was a tread that I started with the title; Have you smoked for decades? I got like 70 responses, it was truly wonderful.

Steve, this is really a viable, satisfying, alternative to smoking. You will get frustrated, like you maybe did with your first cell phone or computer, but, stick with it and come here with questions. People really want to help. Once your kit arrives and you've tried it, if you think it's going to work for you, do yourself a favor and sit down right then and place your next order.

I wish you the very best. Please come back and let us know how it's going.

 

[dormouse]

Had my first cigarette at age 12, smoked regularly starting at 16, pack/day Marlboro smoker escalating over decades to 1.5 to 2 packs/day. Various illnesses and hospital stays caused me to go to lighter smokes when I got out, first lights, then ultralights, still at 1.5-2 pack/day. Been smoking for decades. I was never a big hot lung-filling dragger of cigarettes - more medium-slow and savoring. My fiance (who hates smoke) told me someone he knows online was having good luck with e-cigarettes. I had heard horrible things about them in the past - that they got disgusting inside and that you had to do laborious cleaning of yucky residue (I was picturing that brownish gunk cigarettes leave on surfaces). But just knowing someone else was having luck with them was enough to get me looking for information and fortunately I ended up here! I read all of the newbie stickies and watched the videos then watched a ton of comparison and review videos on Youtube and decided to start small with a custom M402 manual kit from MyPVShop and I knew to use a discount code. I would have gotten M401 for one battery but they only had the M402/3 PCC. I think for me, taking my own smoking habits and job environment into account helped me make a good choice for myself, even though it is not a powerful PV. At least it's a respected PV for its size.

It may not be my final PV but it works for me. I can screw with the tiny carts at work and at home - anywhere I might need to since there are always bathrooms. I also purposely did not buy a passthru. I am always at a computer. All day at work, all evening at home. I don't want to vape constantly. I didn't smoke constantly and I don't want to up my habit.

 

[stevet2]

I make no bones about it... I am hoping vape helps, but I know it will not be magic.

If I can get a small victory, like not having to smoke right before bed as Beachlover has, I would be thrilled. As of right now though, "right before bed" for me means if I don't get under the covers within 60 seconds after having finished a smoke, I will end up having another. I hope I will not be this hopeless for much longer...

 

[The Fool]

What I did for a long time was vape clove flavored juice right before bed. I joked that it was my e-cigarette version of 'Sleepytime Tea.'
It was a mental thing, but it worked. Also, try to connect with other vapers in your area and meet-up. This really can be an amazing amount of fun. If you had told me a year ago that I would become a member of a forum I would have thought you were crazy, but here I am....

 

[dormouse]

I found it scary in the beginning to know that there was not a ready pack of smokes and lighter in my bathroom in case I woke up and couldn't sleep or needed to pee (because I also want a smoke if I do that). I was actually tempted to install a PV charger in the bathroom haha. But so far I have avoided that.

When I am getting ready for bed, I already have my PCC and spare battery charging. I top off the cart I'm using. I have some nice vapes, then brush my teeth, then vape some more. Then I walk to the PCC, have a couple more vapes, remove the battery from my PV, put it on my second battery charger, stick the cart w/ attached atty in the PCC and go to bed.

When I get up I still go straight to the bathroom then realize my smoke isn't there haha, go right to the charged battery, attach it to my cart/atty and then go to the bathroom.

 

[Beachlover]

Steve that is how I was...Like I said...always the "one more". Like I'll have one more cigarette then I will go to bed and if I didn't immediately go to bed it had to be one more...you know the story...and I still did that after vaping...it has only been the last week that I vape right before bed. I can even watch a TV show and vape and not worry about a cigarette. It helps to have cigarettes a little further out of reach than the ecig...habit makes you grab one. And the lighter thing...don't know why. I also find that when I smoke I will vape at the same time...maybe vaping is sneaking in a habit...don't know the answer to that. Too me the word "never" is scary...like "never have a cigarette again". The other day I ran out of cigarettes and went without them all day from about 10 in the morning until about 7 or 7:30 at night...then after dinner even though I was vaping I couldn't get cigarette out of my mind and went and bought a pack. You know during that time during the day I would have paniced without a cigarette...I may have had that twinge during the day but not bad enough to run to the store...it was just after dinner it got the best of me. I don't keep cartons in the house anymore...only 2 packs at a time max.

 

[sherid]

Thanks guys... I know everyone is different, and what works for some won't for others....but I'm hoping. It really does help to hear your stories!!

I still enjoy smoking too.
Maybe more than enjoy it- a great deal of my life revolves around it.

I choose restaurants based on how convenient it is to get outside and smoke. I pick hotels that have balconies in the room, or at least windows that open. I park further away from stores to have enough time to smoke on my through the parking lot. I could go on and on. Smoking rules my life, and is a part of everything I do. I have stopped (mostly) smoking in my house, as my wife hates it. But still have one bathroom that only I use that I choke 'em down in (it has a window right next to the commode). I'll even smoke in the shower when I can get away with it.

I buy 3-6 cartons at a time to ensure I never run out. On the rare occasions that I have, and with no store or any other way to get a smoke, I will scour the street for a .... that I might get a drag out of. Thouroughly disgusting and revolting...but I have done it.

And now, I can no longer deny or ignore that my health is going south. I am coughing for 30 mintues or more each morning and have lengthy fits at random times throughout the day. Short of breath all the time. All the bad stuff.

I know I have to do something, but point blank- I am scared to quit.

Patches and gum don't do anything for me. Aside from being thrown in a locked cell 24/7, I think vaping may be my last and only hope.

I'll be getting my first kit in a few days, and hoping...just hoping....


thanks again to all for sharing your experiences!

When you get your kit, start using the e cig for all of those cigs you smoke just out of habit and not because you really want one. You can start by still smoking key cigarettes like the one first thing in the morning. Vape at all other times, and you will soon find that you might actually prefer the e cig to the real thing. If you try quitting all at once, you may discover a kind of psychological disconnect since like many, you base your day on smoking. I smoked a pack a day for over 40 years. When I started vaping, I followed the plan I just outlined and found that I actually only wanted 5-6 cigs a day, so those were the ones I still smoked. After a few months, I found that I only really wanted 3 a day, then 1. I still have that one Marlboro with morning coffee, and it is delicious. Otherwise, I use my VaporKing or EGO. I like this way of doing it because for me the thought of never smoking again just freaked me. If I go over 1 per day, I don't worry about it because I simply chose to do it. I have been doing this for over 2 years, and it works for me.

 

[stevet2]

Fool, dormouse, and everyone...... thanks so much for sharing.

I've never been big on group therapy or support groups (as of course, I'm a grown man, can handle anything on my own). But I want to be sure you guys- and everyone else- knows how much you've helped me already....

 

[Dooter]

Hi Stevet2! Welcome!

I've never really been a "heavy" smoker. Always about 1/2 pack - 1 pack a day. I started when I was about 13 - so I've been smoking for about 18 years.

But I LOVED to smoke! LOVED IT! I never tried to quit once, because I just genuinely enjoyed it.

However, it had been becoming more and more unaffordable. Between my husband and I, we were spending roughly $14/day on cigarettes = over $400/month! We simply could not afford it, and after looking at our budget and realizing we had cut everything we could possibly cut EXCEPT our cigarettes - we had to make a painful choice.

We decided to try e-cigs with only the intent to CUT DOWN on our smoking. Amazingly, we both completely QUIT immediately after starting our e-cig kit from V2cigs (it's a rebranded KR8 model). We were both pretty shocked at how easy it was.

The hardest part about the transition from analogs to e-cigs was the - for a lack of a better description - designated "break time" that we got with smoking an analog. It was: "me-time, I'm-going-outside-on-the-porch-to-smoke-leave-me-alone, and-it-lasts-until-this-thing-burns-down-to-the-filter". You don't really get that with an e-cig, because you can pretty much vape it anywhere, and for however long you want.

For some reason, we have an unopened pack of cigarettes that we are keeping "just in case". I think maybe we are just keeping it around as a security blanket? I don't know. LOL

 

[JC Okie]

Stevet2

One more here. I smoked for over 40 years....at LEAST 1 and 1/2 packs a day. I, too, bought my cigs 2 or 3 cartons at a time....and carried 2 or 3 packs WITH me everywhere I went. I didn't even intend to quit smoking when I started vaping. I just wanted to defray some of the cost! It was getting VERY expensive! Anyway, once I started vaping.....I discovered that I absolutely LOVED it. Waaaaay more than smoking. I "accidentally" quit smoking. It just got to the point where I would prefer to vape over smoke. Cigs began tasting nasty....and I just hated them. I still kept a partial pack up in the kitchen cupboard, (not around where I usually sat....at the computer.) but just ignored them.

I still can't believe how effective these things are. If you wrap your head around it and don't look for reasons for it not to work, you will be AMAZED. I've called them miracles more than once...because I really cannot believe that I quit smoking...without even trying. Good luck. It takes a little "want to" to conquer these things....but it's just so darn much fun when you get it down. I'm thinking you wll be absolutely amazed. The secret is to get the right equipment....and find a few juices you love. We can all help. What kit are you getting? Did I miss that?

 

[stevet2]

Dang... so many folks, so fast, willing to share. I'm truly surprised and so appreciative.

I'm still reading all the reviews and library stuff... but leaning towards a 510 as well as an EVG. I know I'll need more than one, and will be concerned about battery life.

Work is really got me swamped, but I hope to have the time to sort it all out and set a plan for myself. Thinking I will order this weekend, and hope to implement a plan right after Turkey Day weekend.