Hi Everyone!

[Hopeful64]

This site was given to me by the vape store close to my home. I was asking her if there was a support group in our area for people like me who can't seem to make the switch over to vaping. I have four different vapes, always ready to go and the most I make it is 30 minutes before wanting a real cigarette. Been smoking since I was 9 years old and I am now 63 with 'hopes' of being a 100% vapor by my 64th birthday....hence my board name.

I am a non-stop complete chain smoker (except when I'm sleeping!) and literally cannot afford to smoke cigarettes anymore. I am also in the beginning stages of Copd. I probably admit deep down to all of you that I wish I never had to give them up. My husband is now almost three years and does not nag me but tries so hard to encourage me.

Is there anyone else on this board that wanted to make the switchover to a different way of smoking but had a hard time? I am really looking for help. I honestly want to do this. I would be so proud. Any encouragement would be soooo appreciated. So glad to find all you ex-smokers who have conquered this horrible addiction. Congratulations to every one of you! And thank you for any hints on how to get started.
(hugs) to all of you

Sincerely, Hopeful64

 

[Hopeful64]

I also wanted to let you know that I love my juice and I also love the 'hit's' that I get from my vapor. 3 years ago, I had myself down to 5 cigarettes a day and then a death in the family stressed me to go back to my chain smoking. I had gained 8 pounds also and I think that scared me terrible because I have had to fight with my weight my whole life also. The doctor explained to me that it was the carcinogens in the cigarettes that sped up the metabolism and that I would have to find ways (exercise) to reve up my metabolism. I know these could be excuses that I am using......

 

[Letitia]

Hello hopeful. Your story is not uncommon here. What mg level is your juice and what equipment are you using?

 

[Hopeful64]

Hello hopeful. Your story is not uncommon here. What mg level is your juice and what equipment are you using?

Thank you Letitia. Right now, (when I do try to vape) I am using medium juice (12) and I am using the 'Pen style) vapes which I love. I cannot vape the bigs ones because I find them way too strong. My cigs are the 100 'long style' so most people think I smoke a very weak cigarette. I am always happy with the hit and the vape that comes from using the equipment I own. Somehow, I just can't seem to get in the right mindset but I want to sooo bad. But maybe not bad enough?

 

[Letitia]

Thank you Letitia. Right now, (when I do try to vape) I am using medium juice (12) and I am using the 'Pen style) vapes which I love. I cannot vape the bigs ones because I find them way too strong. My cigs are the 100 'long style' so most people think I smoke a very weak cigarette. I am always happy with the hit and the vape that comes from using the equipment I own. Somehow, I just can't seem to get in the right mindset but I want to sooo bad. But maybe not bad enough?

12mg is mot high enough for a pen device. I would recommend you try nic salts juices or go up to 24mg with the juices you already use. You will not get enough nic satisfaction imo with the 12mg. Might at least get you back down to a few a day again so the hope of quitting is back within site.

 

[stols001]

Welcome to ECF. I dabbled in dual using a LONG time before finally getting to be a 3 ppd smoker and had pneumonia for 18 months, and a laryngeal cancer scare. It beat me into a state of reasonableness.

I know you say your ego style devices are satisfying you, but I don't believe they are, honestly, or you would have transitioned. I would try a nicotine salt device, the Juul perhaps, it's cigalike ish and a weak delivery system but it has 50 mg/ml of nic salts inside and with the way you smoke, you may need something that high.

You could also try a more powerful MTL delivery system (I would suggest something like an Aspire Zelos kit, you will get plenty of throat hit still, and I would consider raising your (freebase, not nic salts) higher. Maybe somewhere between 18--24 mg/ml. I'd say keep an eye out for nic overload, but I use 18 mg/ml with NO difficulty whatsoever, and I probably could have gone higher if I wished.

I also used WTA (whole tobacco alkaloid juice) to transition. Aroma Eliquid is the "gold standard" for WTA, and you will pay accordingly. I also like Umbavapes WTA, although not everyone does but it is far less pricy. WTA extracts some of the alkaloids found in tobacco responsible for satiation, anti depression and anti anxiety effects. You will still have to detox off everything else in cigarettes, but for me WTA made it bearable. I still keep a tank handy for stressful situations. I would recommend it in your case. Some folks use it ongoing and I sometimes do ,but through detox, it really saved my bacon and made things bearable.

Best of luck, welcome, and I hope you meet with some success. You may also need to make some decisions about how you want to handle smoking. Some folks dual using vape right before and after a cigarette (sometimes even during one) to reinforce vaping. I cut out my hardest cigarette of the day first (my first one) as I knew if I didn't I would smoke all day long. Start examining and paying attention to when you smoke to gain clues about what might be a good place to begin decreasing, instead of beating yourself up for smoking them. If you decrease by ONE cigarette a day, you are engaged in harm reduction and the speed of your transition doesn't really matter. It's more about persistence and continuing to vape, and learning about your smoking habits.

My hardest cigs to stamp out were stress smoking. I had no idea at bottom, I was a stress smoker! To get rid of those I had to really take note of what I was doing, and why, how I was feeling, talk myself back from the cliff etc.

You want to become a vaper. Befriend your smoking and learn from your failures, and you are doing a great thing by seeking support and more information.

You can become a vaper, you are already vaping! Now, it's time to learn to be a non-smoker too.

Good luck, and any and all questions you have, keep asking. Everyone is rooting for you.

Anna

 

[Gratch]

Hello and welcome. I think you have got part of this battle done already. You want to change, you enjoy veping. It is just hard to fully commit i think we all here get that. This is my second time trying to give up, but it is deffo easier this time. I had 10 roll ups last week in total. Would have had a few less but for beers last night. For me that is an amazing reduction. Try not to think about the big picture and focus on the small victories. You can do this, just go easy on yourself

 

[AngeNZ]

Welcome aboard

I quit using a pen type device - innokin t18, and I found it brilliant size wise. Only suggestion is to up your nicotine levels as others have said. I was using 18mg at first.

I'm not sure if it will help - but I also found drip tips played a part in the first few weeks. I needed a tiny width one to mimic better a cigarette.

Good luck

 

[Baditude]

I agree with Letitia's suggestion to increase your nic level. If you are/were a heavy smoker, 12mg won't cut it.

For e-liquid, the typical nicotine recommendations are generally determined by how much you smoked, and are as follows:

1/2 pack per day or less = 6 mg nicotine
1 ppd = 12 mg
1 1/2 ppd = 18 mg
2 ppd = 24 mg​

Should you choose to use a sub-ohm juice attachment (coil less than 1.0 ohm); drop the above recommendations by half.
​

I was a pack per day smoker for 30+ years. I tried to quit with the gum, patches, prescriptions, and hypnosis. Nothing helped.

When I got my first vaping setup, I knew I'd have cravings for the cigarettes. I set aside a week to make my transition. When I got a craving, I vaped more. If that didn't work, I allowed myself HALF of a cigarette and saved the second half for the next bad craving. I probably smoked the equivalent of four whole cigarettes a day earlier in that week.

Those half smoked cigarettes tasted terrible, but that probably helped me to quit. By the end of the week, I began to prefer the vape over the cigs. I just didn't buy more cigarettes (you can't smoke them if you don't have them).

 

[classwife]

Welcome to ECF Hopeful64 !
One cigarette not smoked at a time.
Try to think of it as you just decided to switch brands and are getting used to it
And yes, I would increase the nic % for first starting out - I started at 18 as a 40+ year chain smoker.
I am a bit different tho in that I didn't buy an e-cig to quit smoking, I like gadgets.
I had no intention to stop smoking - I just decided vaping tasted way better !
Haven't had a cigarette in over 8 years.
You got this !

 

[MJCSD]

Hello and welcome to ecf

 

[Hopeful64]

Thank you all so much! I really thought you guys were going to come down hard on me and say the usual, ''If you really wanted to do it, you would''....and none of you did that to me. Thank you. Non-smokers have no idea how hard it is to give up something you've been doing all your life.

I will go tomorrow morn and get the stronger juice. As soon as the vape shop opens I'll be there. I will vape tomorrow morning for 10 minutes instead of lighting up first thing in the morning. I will keep thinking about what you all just told me. I will pretend that I am switching brands (cause I always did hate that!!!lol) One cigarette less a day and I'm actually on my way! Wow! I never thought of it like that before!

Would it be OK to keep this thread going for the next week or so, so I could show myself and you guys how I am actually doing? Or is there another part of the site to do that? Again, Thanks soooooo much for the encouragement! I'm going to read what you all wrote again. I actually feel a bit excited right now!

 

[AngeNZ]

Keep this thread going til you're five years smoke free

Good luck with your morning vape

 

[Hopeful64]

I would try a nicotine salt device, the Juul perhaps, it's cigalike ish and a weak delivery system but it has 50 mg/ml of nic salts inside and with the way you smoke, you may need something that high.

I'm going to look into this, Thank you. I don't know the first thing about nicotine salts.

 

[Hopeful64]

Did you all gain weight when you switched over to vaping or did some of you have ways of controlling the weight gain that can come from giving up 'real' tobacco with all its carcinogens that keep the system revved up?

 

[Hopeful64]

I know you say your ego style devices are satisfying you, but I don't believe they are, honestly, or you would have transitioned.

stols, Is my device an 'ego' style? Does this device have something to do with my ego? Or are pen styles called ego styles? Lol Just wondering.

 

[Gratch]

I think i m actually losing weight but i am also drinking a far lot less than i was previously. I also am trying to get out and have a daily walk. It is hard to change old habbits but i will keep trying.

 

[Hopeful64]

WTA extracts some of the alkaloids found in tobacco responsible for satiation, anti depression and anti anxiety effects. You will still have to detox off everything else in cigarettes, but for me WTA made it bearable. I still keep a tank handy for stressful situations. I would recommend it in your case.[/Q

stols, would you have a link where I could find something like this? This sounds so interesting. Thanks!

 

[Hopeful64]

I set aside a week to make my transition. When I got a craving, I vaped more. If that didn't work, I allowed myself HALF of a cigarette and saved the second half for the next bad craving. I probably smoked the equivalent of four whole cigarettes a day earlier in that week.

Those half-smoked cigarettes tasted terrible, but that probably helped me to quit. By the end of the week, I began to prefer the vape over the cigs.

Baditude, as soon as I get my stronger juice tomorrow, I am going to set a deadline (I'll think about that tonight) and practice what you have said here! Thank you!

 

[tgs3]

Welcome Hopeful! You have received some really good advice, but I will chip in my two cents. I began vaping and joined ecf last August. I was 64 and had smoked 25+ cigarettes a day for 45+ years. I was able to cut my smoking in half immediately. Getting under 10 and then under 5 has been slow. Last September I bought a pocket notebook and began to write down the time of every cigarette before I lite up. In my case, that really helped. The other thing was building up a strong vaping habit - which can take time, getting the right devices and finding the right liquids. I am not one of those miracle vapers who has been able to quit completely. But I am down to less than a pack of cigarettes a month, and most days I don't smoke at all. If I do smoke, I don't worry about it as long as I am seeing progress - and I am seeing it. My first cigarette free day since I was a teenager was January 13, 2018. That was a miracle. Hang in there and keep showing up here. This community is extremely knowledgeable and supportive.