Hi Everyone!

[MiriG07]

Hello to ECF!

I'm new to this forum and extremely glad I found it after having read through the list of discussions etc plus the forum rules. It's got to be a 1st to find ' Forum Rules' interesting to read lol but it really was!
I learned things about vaping just from reading the forum rules so I can't wait to learn a whole load more from the forum itself

FYI, I'm in Australia so if most ppl here are from the US then the timing of my posts will probably be out of synch with a lot of others here, so 'sorry' in advance if I don't reply soon after someone replies to me or whatever
I have just recieved my first Start up Kit from one of my sons as a present as he knows how much of a complete struggle I have had trying to stop smoking.

I have quite bad emphysema but he hadn't realised just how bad it was ( my 'children' are all adults and have left home and moved to other locations), but one day while txting each other I told him just how ill I am. Even though I had told him numerous times before he had just assumed that (because I don't talk about my ilnesses much), I was in early stages and where I'm really at with the disease was a long time down the track:/

Can someone who had been a long time smoker ( I have smoked for approx 40 years, minus a few times where I managed to give up for for two years at the most), please tell me if they stooped immediately after starting to vape or did you mix the two for a bit before you managed to totally give smoking cigs away?
To be honest, I'm struggling to just go 'cold turkey' and I'm not sure if others have been like me or am I a freak lol!?

I keep hearing my son's voice (in my ear in a call after our initial txt re him buying me a vape kit), telling me " Mum, I'll kill you if I find out you're smoking as well as vaping!" Eek! It's my birthday next week and if I don't see him then I will surely see him at Christmas and I'm already worrying about his reaction! Lol

I would hate for him to know because it would just put a damper on our Christmas as one of my daughters and my grandson ( who live in London), are joinng us. Gatherings, parties etc are JUST the type of situation where I normally would ebd up smoking more, so I hope you can understand why this is worrying me so much?

Well, my post has turned out to be HUGE so I'd better be off for now
Thanks for reading, and thanks for what looks lke an awesome forum!

 

[MiriG07]

Sorry for posting again but I couldn't find an 'edit' button. I'm notorious for my typos lol so ecxuse the typos in my previous post please:/ The 'ebd' in the 2nd last post was supposed to read ' end'
Byee!

 

[Katmar]

Hi MiriG and welcome to the forum. I quit smoking 6 days after I started vaping. This, after 45 years of smoking. Lungs improved rather rapidly. Some folks quit the first time they vape. Others take a little longer. You'll find LOTS of support on here, so don't be afraid to ask anything. ENJOY

At the bottom of your post on left side, it says Edit. Just click on that and you will be able to edit your posts...

 

[suprtrkr]

Hi and welcome. Dual using is not uncommon. Around here we prefer to count the ones you don't smoke as a victory rather than the ones you do as a loss. It took me a week or more to stop the cigs, and I've fallen off the wagon twice since I started, gone back to dual using for a couple of packs before getting off again. It may be you need a higher nic content in your juice, or more powerful gear to get away completely. If you'll tell us how much you smoked, and describe the nic content of your juice, and tell us what gear you're using, we can try to help with all that. Well done so far, and good luck.

 

[NightShadow]

Hello and Welcome @MiriG07

This forum has global members, as well as those with odd sleeping habits like myself, it still has its peak hours during the day/evening in the USA.

Both my wife and I were 20+ year 1-2 pack a smokers. back in 2009 we considered e gig's as an alternative. So I started perusing the internet, reading up on it and like you ran across this forum. What a gold mine of information, and helpful friendly people. We bought 2 starter kits of the old 501 type e-cigs that are shaped / similar size to an actual cigarette to try out vaping. After the first day of using mine, I did not smoke a single analog for over a week. Then I lit one up just out of curiosity, YUCK.. it was awful let me tell you. After that one last hit or 2 from an analog I have been smoke free since 09.

My wife on the other hand went through a different journey and that is also perfectly fine. She was both vaping and using analogs for several months. Granted the entire time she was using less and less analogs. The important thing is she was smoking less analogs than she had been before. Even though you might start with the goal of smoking cessation (of analogs at least) everyone's journey can be different, because we are all a little different.

Eventually she reached a point where she was only smoking 1 or 2 analogs a day and reached the point she simply stopped all together. I think the morning and after meals analogs were her sticking point for the most part.

As I was the one mixing our DIY liquid, after she stopped smoking I began lowering the nicotine level of our juice. A few months after I had stopped putting it in altogether my wife saw me mixing a batch one day and thought I had forgotten it and asked me about it. I told her I had been lowering it for a few months, and for the past few we had not been using any. She was very surprised, happily so I can tell you.

The points are everyone can travel a different path to reach the same destination. And I would urge you not to count the analogs you may still smoke, but count the ones you do NOT.

Some things I can tell you from my experience:
In a week to 10 days after quitting analogs, my smell and taste were VASTLY improved.
As a sufferer of chronic sinus infections that lead to bronchitis etc prior to stopping I had frequent colds, lots of congestion, breathing issues etc. ALL of that went away, in fact I almost never even catch a cold anymore, if so its very minor and does not lead to the flu/bronchitis anymore like nearly every cold before did.

As far as telling people you care about, that is up to you. If e-cigs help you reduce the amount of analogs by a certain percentage however, I would tell them if they noticed/asked and place in the light of "Vaping has enabled me to reduce my smoking by (percent/ # of unused cigaretes a day etc) < That much!" The add in how you feel about it after that, like "I never thought I would be able to use less, let alone quit before now" at least if it is true

You may be someone who needs a bigger device to satisfy your cravings, or it may simply be a matter of getting the correct mg level of nicotine on your e liquid. Tell us whats is going on, how often you vape, what mg nicotine you have/use, how often you need/want an analog etc and we could advise you better.

I have heard many stories here where vaping has enabled people to quit where no other method ever worked for them before and I have to say some of them really went through the entire arsenal, cold turkey, pills of many sorts, gum, hypnosis, counselling, you name it. The only times I recall where vaping did not help is if the person had too small a device, too low of a nicotine etc and it did not help them (older stories from when the tiny cig-alikes were about the only thing available). Some of those same people later tried a larger device, got the right mg dose and boom SUCCESS!

I am not a Doctor, but I cannot help but think any reduction you are able to achieve in the use of analogs will have a positive impact on your overall health. Hopefully you may even breathe a little easier.

I hope this helps you if only in some small fashion, and best wishes from across the pond.

PS: The edit button will be down below here in your signature block, next to the time stamp of your post.
If you look at my posts signature block it would be near where the smiley that is on fire is in my post, just a tad lower, and to the left from it, but on that part of your posts

 

[djsvapour]

please tell me if they stopped immediately after starting to vape or did you mix the two for a bit before you managed to totally give smoking cigs away?
To be honest, I'm struggling to just go 'cold turkey' and I'm not sure if others have been like me or am I a freak lol!?

Hi! You are 100% NOT a freak.

I took me months, not days to stop dual using.

As the products get better and we all understand more about 'how vaping works', then stories about instant quitting are more common by the day.

A 'starter kit' could be anything from something close to a placebo to a high power mod (modified e-cig) with an atomizer that makes clouds of vapour to send messages across the mountains to fellow tribes.

A placebo (almost) won't work, not for Nicotine addiction. In some places in this world, the placebo e-cig is also the most expensive... In the UK, a placebo e-cig could easily cost you £3,000 a year ($6,000 AUD) upwards.

In London, we call them 'Vanity sticks' - A product that costs a fortune and looks like you are smoking a plastic cigarette before you go outside the building for a real smoke.

Unless you have a Vanity Stick, you will quit in your own time.

 

[David Wolf]

Hello and Welcome @MiriG07

This forum has global members, as well as those with odd sleeping habits like myself, it still has its peak hours during the day/evening in the USA.

Both my wife and I were 20+ year 1-2 pack a smokers. back in 2009 we considered e gig's as an alternative. So I started perusing the internet, reading up on it and like you ran across this forum. What a gold mine of information, and helpful friendly people. We bought 2 starter kits of the old 501 type e-cigs that are shaped / similar size to an actual cigarette to try out vaping. After the first day of using mine, I did not smoke a single analog for over a week. Then I lit one up just out of curiosity, YUCK.. it was awful let me tell you. After that one last hit or 2 from an analog I have been smoke free since 09.

My wife on the other hand went through a different journey and that is also perfectly fine. She was both vaping and using analogs for several months. Granted the entire time she was using less and less analogs. The important thing is she was smoking less analogs than she had been before. Even though you might start with the goal of smoking cessation (of analogs at least) everyone's journey can be different, because we are all a little different.

Eventually she reached a point where she was only smoking 1 or 2 analogs a day and reached the point she simply stopped all together. I think the morning and after meals analogs were her sticking point for the most part.

As I was the one mixing our DIY liquid, after she stopped smoking I began lowering the nicotine level of our juice. A few months after I had stopped putting it in altogether my wife saw me mixing a batch one day and thought I had forgotten it and asked me about it. I told her I had been lowering it for a few months, and for the past few we had not been using any. She was very surprised, happily so I can tell you.

The points are everyone can travel a different path to reach the same destination. And I would urge you not to count the analogs you may still smoke, but count the ones you do NOT.

Some things I can tell you from my experience:
In a week to 10 days after quitting analogs, my smell and taste were VASTLY improved.
As a sufferer of chronic sinus infections that lead to bronchitis etc prior to stopping I had frequent colds, lots of congestion, breathing issues etc. ALL of that went away, in fact I almost never even catch a cold anymore, if so its very minor and does not lead to the flu/bronchitis anymore like nearly every cold before did.

As far as telling people you care about, that is up to you. If e-cigs help you reduce the amount of analogs by a certain percentage however, I would tell them if they noticed/asked and place in the light of "Vaping has enabled me to reduce my smoking by (percent/ # of unused cigaretes a day etc) < That much!" The add in how you feel about it after that, like "I never thought I would be able to use less, let alone quit before now" at least if it is true

You may be someone who needs a bigger device to satisfy your cravings, or it may simply be a matter of getting the correct mg level of nicotine on your e liquid. Tell us whats is going on, how often you vape, what mg nicotine you have/use, how often you need/want an analog etc and we could advise you better.

I have heard many stories here where vaping has enabled people to quit where no other method ever worked for them before and I have to say some of them really went through the entire arsenal, cold turkey, pills of many sorts, gum, hypnosis, counselling, you name it. The only times I recall where vaping did not help is if the person had too small a device, too low of a nicotine etc and it did not help them (older stories from when the tiny cig-alikes were about the only thing available). Some of those same people later tried a larger device, got the right mg dose and boom SUCCESS!

I am not a Doctor, but I cannot help but think any reduction you are able to achieve in the use of analogs will have a positive impact on your overall health. Hopefully you may even breathe a little easier.

I hope this helps you if only in some small fashion, and best wishes from across the pond.

PS: The edit button will be down below here in your signature block, next to the time stamp of your post.
If you look at my posts signature block it would be near where the smiley that is on fire is in my post, just a tad lower, and to the left from it, but on that part of your posts

Great story! What pg/vg ratio do you use? I have Copd and high VG gives me tightness in my chest so currently using 70pg/30vg.

 

[Chrissie]

Hello & welcome from the UK @MiriG07

I used to be a very heavy smoker & though I cut down drastically, when I bought my first e-cig 7 years ago, it took me a long time to give up the last 2 a day. So blooming glad I eventually did it though

 

[JCinFLA]

I had already gotten down to 1/2 pack a day (from 1-1 1/2 packs a day for 40+ years), when I started vaping in November 2013. I reduced the number of smokes I could have each week, until I had my last one Jan. 14, 2014. Worked for me, and it was such a gradual changeover to vaping that there was no edginess, being cranky or snapping at people, and I definitely was NOT missing those cigarettes I didn't smoke each day. I know I'll never have another one, and switching to vaping was the best thing I could've done for myself and my health.

Different methods work for people. Finding what works for you personally, is what matters. Good Luck!

 

[NightShadow]

Great story! What pg/vg ratio do you use? I have Copd and high VG gives me tightness in my chest so currently using 70pg/30vg.

Thank you!

While I started out with a high pg / low vg mix, I have since flip flopped that to 80vg/20/pg.
My wife still prefers 80pg/20vg.