How did you start vaping and why ?
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When I was smoking, I didn't really notice the smell on me, but if another person was a smoker and just had one, they positively reeked.
I started vaping fully nearly two and a half years ago but had been aware of ecigs after seeing a program in 1998 but it was very expensive and very unreliable so I kept an eye out for progress. In 2005 they came up again but still didn't convince me it was viable alternative. In 2012 I got an email from a company and after checking the company out and being thoroughly sick and tired of coughing my guts up for ten minutes every morning I ordered two kits for me and the wife cost us £102 for two cigalikes and two spare batterys each they generously threw in two bottles of eliquid lol. The day they arrived was the day we stopped smoking I managed on them just but we both knew we needed more and quickly moved onto ego batts and ce5's my wife was happy and satisfied and has stayed with them ever since. For me I still needed more so bought my first vw mod sigelei zmax v5 that was a big step up but just a bit short so late last year i bought my sigelei 50w and lemo tanks and am now in my happy place 
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.I tried to quit at least once a year for the past 10 years. In October 2013 me and my gf decided to get married and I decided to use that as an opportunity to finally stop cigs. I got myself a cheapo ecig but within a couple of weeks it messed up and I was back on the cigs for a month, and then managed to stop cigs using Allen Carrs Easy Way to Stop Smoking (December).
That lasted until the wedding (April 2014) but after that my wife turned batsh!!t crazy and I ended up smoking again for a bit of release. Never really stopped since then. In October I got divorced, started smoking a lot more. Got an ecig to help though admittly it didn't help at all. I was smoking just as much and additionally having the ecig indoors at every opportunity - until they were banned in the office because it was killing a girl with crohns.
Few months later, I'm now on an iStick, I'm enjoying my flavours a lot more. The smoke is satisfactory enough to keep me off cigs for the most part of the day, though I am still on 2-3. I know that when I do finally stop cigs altogether I'll get to enjoy my life a lot more, I remember from previous attempts that it's amazing when you start smelling smoke on other people, when you try a cig and actually splutter and throw it away, and how good it feels to be at the gym and eating right and generally just feeling so much better by not living in a constant state of self-loathing.
To be honest my ultimate goal is to be off smoking and vaping altogether and just get back to a "normal" life, but for now vaping definitely seems like a decent stepping stone between smoking and quitting
That lasted until the wedding (April 2014) but after that my wife turned batsh!!t crazy and I ended up smoking again for a bit of release. Never really stopped since then. In October I got divorced, started smoking a lot more. Got an ecig to help though admittly it didn't help at all. I was smoking just as much and additionally having the ecig indoors at every opportunity - until they were banned in the office because it was killing a girl with crohns.
Few months later, I'm now on an iStick, I'm enjoying my flavours a lot more. The smoke is satisfactory enough to keep me off cigs for the most part of the day, though I am still on 2-3. I know that when I do finally stop cigs altogether I'll get to enjoy my life a lot more, I remember from previous attempts that it's amazing when you start smelling smoke on other people, when you try a cig and actually splutter and throw it away, and how good it feels to be at the gym and eating right and generally just feeling so much better by not living in a constant state of self-loathing.
To be honest my ultimate goal is to be off smoking and vaping altogether and just get back to a "normal" life, but for now vaping definitely seems like a decent stepping stone between smoking and quitting
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Some time after I was diagnosed with COPD, I was watching the movie "The Tourist" with Jolie and Depp and saw Depp vaping. My wife had told me that she had seen a cast member of TV's "The Real Housewives..." vaping as well. So I made a mental note to get educated on this new nicotine delivery system. I read up on it and read many of the posts here before deciding to give it a shot. I decided early on that this was not going to be a hobby and that if I was going to do it, my wife should too. She agreed.
I started looking at web sites and settled on Smokestik (no special reason). We bought a starter kit and began the adventure. It took me about two weeks to quit analogs altogether even though I had been smoking them for about 50 years. If memory serves me, my wife took a little longer; about six weeks. That was late 2011.
Today, we still order pre-fills from Smokestik and still use the same cig-a-like RN-4081 batteries. I have stopped using the pre-filled cartomizers even though that's all my wife will vape. Although I order them for her, this gave me an idea. If I could find an economical e-liquid, I could refill the cartomizers my wife emptied and vape them for a fraction of the cost of pre-fills.
I experimented with a few brands and settled on "e-health" liquid (16-18mg nicotine) costing almost $7 (USD) for a 100ml bottle, or 6 cents per ml. I go through roughly three cartomizers a day, so if each cartomizer holds 1ml, my liquid cost is about 18 cents a day.
Battery costs have to be amortized from their original cost of roughly $6 (USD). I get them in multi-packs of 5 to keep the cost down. A typical battery will last me a year and cost me roughly 2 cents a day. I'll usually go through 4 batteries a day, bringing the total battery cost to 8 cents/day.
My total vaping cost is conservatively estimated at 24-or-so cents a day.
Of course, these economies are mine and mine alone. Having to purchase pre-fills for my wife adds considerable cost, but since I repeatedly recycle her spent cartomizers, the total costs will drop considerably over time. BTW, I now have well over 1,000 used cartomizers at my disposal - more than I'll ever use in my lifetime.
Almost three-and-a-half years later, we are both still vaping and tobacco-free ... and THAT was the point of it all.
I started looking at web sites and settled on Smokestik (no special reason). We bought a starter kit and began the adventure. It took me about two weeks to quit analogs altogether even though I had been smoking them for about 50 years. If memory serves me, my wife took a little longer; about six weeks. That was late 2011.
Today, we still order pre-fills from Smokestik and still use the same cig-a-like RN-4081 batteries. I have stopped using the pre-filled cartomizers even though that's all my wife will vape. Although I order them for her, this gave me an idea. If I could find an economical e-liquid, I could refill the cartomizers my wife emptied and vape them for a fraction of the cost of pre-fills.
I experimented with a few brands and settled on "e-health" liquid (16-18mg nicotine) costing almost $7 (USD) for a 100ml bottle, or 6 cents per ml. I go through roughly three cartomizers a day, so if each cartomizer holds 1ml, my liquid cost is about 18 cents a day.
Battery costs have to be amortized from their original cost of roughly $6 (USD). I get them in multi-packs of 5 to keep the cost down. A typical battery will last me a year and cost me roughly 2 cents a day. I'll usually go through 4 batteries a day, bringing the total battery cost to 8 cents/day.
My total vaping cost is conservatively estimated at 24-or-so cents a day.
Of course, these economies are mine and mine alone. Having to purchase pre-fills for my wife adds considerable cost, but since I repeatedly recycle her spent cartomizers, the total costs will drop considerably over time. BTW, I now have well over 1,000 used cartomizers at my disposal - more than I'll ever use in my lifetime.
Almost three-and-a-half years later, we are both still vaping and tobacco-free ... and THAT was the point of it all.
2+ packs per day for 40 years.
I began vaping because the drier at the local laundromat was broken. When the cycle was finished, the clothing was still only tumble-dried. After putting the clothes into a drier which had working heat, I now with an unanticipated hour to kill.
I went across the street to a 7-11 for an orange juice. While waiting on the line, I saw a Blu display, and bought one -- without any conviction that I'd find it at all rewarding. Mostly it tasted like molasses-infused twigs, but eight hours later I still hadn't smoked a cigarette, felt nothing lacking in my life, and thought "this might actually work".
A bit of research on the net, next day I ordered a Bloog starter kit; by the time it arrived I'd done more research and had already ordered two Ego Twists and some Evods.
I have not smoked a cigarette since that first Blu. That was 90 weeks ago today.
I began vaping because the drier at the local laundromat was broken. When the cycle was finished, the clothing was still only tumble-dried. After putting the clothes into a drier which had working heat, I now with an unanticipated hour to kill.
I went across the street to a 7-11 for an orange juice. While waiting on the line, I saw a Blu display, and bought one -- without any conviction that I'd find it at all rewarding. Mostly it tasted like molasses-infused twigs, but eight hours later I still hadn't smoked a cigarette, felt nothing lacking in my life, and thought "this might actually work".
A bit of research on the net, next day I ordered a Bloog starter kit; by the time it arrived I'd done more research and had already ordered two Ego Twists and some Evods.
I have not smoked a cigarette since that first Blu. That was 90 weeks ago today.
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I smoked heavily for six years, and one day I started to feel the negative effects of smoking: incessant coughing, not being able to run at all, disgusting mucus day and night, and all my clothes smelled like cigarette butts. Working as a full-time server in a restaurant and dealing with the serving job''s emotional stresses (constant clashes with kitchen staffs, sweat-drenched peak times, self-esteem slowly eating away, and ah, those 5% of customers who are just downright .....y) it wasn't really an option to quit smoking during the last couple of years. However, since I came back to college where most of the kids seemed to have a healthy habit of jogging instead of smoking, I felt a bit of positive peer pressure and decided to quit smoking. I used to rely on e cigarettes during the work hours to keep the smell off from the customers, so I decided to permanently switch to vaping. The 808rd-1 threaded cig-a-like I used didn't really give me the satisfaction enough to keep me off the analogues so I did some research and bought innokin itaste MVP 20w, few protanks and couple rdas - which was a great idea. Now it's been two months without a single analogue and I am very, very happy. My skins are brighter, I don't smell like ashtray, no coughing and no disgusting spitting, and I can run again. And I don't have to interrupt my concentration during studying to walk out and smoke. I just sit on my desk with my PV and coffee (we all know nicotine and caffeine boosts concentration) freely chain-vaping and whipping through the textbooks.
Saw Kevin Spacey using one on House Of Cards, started researching, went with the Halo Triton as my first kit, stopped smoking and started vaping the day it arrived. The rest is 7 months of happy vaping.
Money was one of the main motivators for me but obviously also health, smoking 30-40 a day was getting expensive as price here had nearly hit 10 euro a pack.
I had first baught one of the ciggalikes in the petrol station and that lasted 20 minutes and it was in the bin, got a cheap starter kit on a group on deal but that was ....e too, got an ego and it kinda worked but wouldn't last the day so bought an extra one and this worked during working hours but after work I would smoke, at least I had cut down but really wanted to quit completely which I managed until one evening in the pub both ego batteries dead so back on the ciggies I was, going on holidays a couple of days later I decided to just wait until back before giving it another go at quitting, 3 1/2 months went on where I was getting increasingly ...... off with myself for still smoking so did a bit more research and discovered MODs and read peoples stories using those so decided to get one for my next attempt, bough a Tesla VW and a couple of tanks and viola I had my last ciggie in the evening and started vaping and haven't had a smoke since, like many others I was very surprised how easy it was compared to all other stuff like patches, gum etc.. it's over 15 months now and even though I have 4 different MODs bought and gone through an array of different tanks and money spent on juice I have still saved well over five grand.
Happy Vaping
I had first baught one of the ciggalikes in the petrol station and that lasted 20 minutes and it was in the bin, got a cheap starter kit on a group on deal but that was ....e too, got an ego and it kinda worked but wouldn't last the day so bought an extra one and this worked during working hours but after work I would smoke, at least I had cut down but really wanted to quit completely which I managed until one evening in the pub both ego batteries dead so back on the ciggies I was, going on holidays a couple of days later I decided to just wait until back before giving it another go at quitting, 3 1/2 months went on where I was getting increasingly ...... off with myself for still smoking so did a bit more research and discovered MODs and read peoples stories using those so decided to get one for my next attempt, bough a Tesla VW and a couple of tanks and viola I had my last ciggie in the evening and started vaping and haven't had a smoke since, like many others I was very surprised how easy it was compared to all other stuff like patches, gum etc.. it's over 15 months now and even though I have 4 different MODs bought and gone through an array of different tanks and money spent on juice I have still saved well over five grand.
Happy Vaping
I started vaping in 2007 because my co-worker had a Crown Seven cigalike, at the time I was smoking 2 packs a day. I got a crown seven like his (which IMO wasn't that good) and slowly started to get off cigarettes eventually upgrading to a Volcano lavatube with a vivi nova tank or protank (depending on my mood). My first mech mod was a Nemisis Vape-Wall edition with a nimbus atty and that's when the hobby started. Thinking back is kinda funny....I remember thinking 0.8 dual coil was a super hot build lol. I actually almost stopped vaping when I found out I have a PG allergy but companies like AVE juice and velvet cloud kept me going. It's amazing to see how the technology has grown since 2007 which keeps me excited for the future.
Darned C-gars just got too flipping expensive.
It was a rough 2-3 months to start out. Bad Kangers, money wasted on starter set ups, depression and anxiety. It took commitment and the ability to learn at a fast pace, it took perseverance and a certain ability to putt aside prejudices that I never really knew existed.
Now its 10+ months later and its a life style that`s enjoyable, rewarding, and it wont kill me. What could be better?
PS: And if I keep the shinyitist and GAS at bay, I vape for less then a dollar a day. IN fact, both me and my wife vape for less than a buck a day combined!
It was a rough 2-3 months to start out. Bad Kangers, money wasted on starter set ups, depression and anxiety. It took commitment and the ability to learn at a fast pace, it took perseverance and a certain ability to putt aside prejudices that I never really knew existed.
Now its 10+ months later and its a life style that`s enjoyable, rewarding, and it wont kill me. What could be better?
PS: And if I keep the shinyitist and GAS at bay, I vape for less then a dollar a day. IN fact, both me and my wife vape for less than a buck a day combined!
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Woke up last Sept 3, and was blind in my right eye.
Went to ER and was diagnosed with AION.
Basically had a small stroke in the night, that choked off blood supply to the optic nerve, causing permanent blindness.
They told me there is a 40% chance it could happen again, to the left eye, within the next 4 years.
Drs recommended quitting smoking, after 45yrs 1-1/2 PAD.
Hmmm OK. Got a Halo system, used it for about a month.
Now have a VS rDNA, wrapping nickle with one eye, and a REO on the way.
Have a lifetime (about 15yrs for me) of nic in the freezer....
Vape On!....
Went to ER and was diagnosed with AION.
Basically had a small stroke in the night, that choked off blood supply to the optic nerve, causing permanent blindness.
They told me there is a 40% chance it could happen again, to the left eye, within the next 4 years.
Drs recommended quitting smoking, after 45yrs 1-1/2 PAD.
Hmmm OK. Got a Halo system, used it for about a month.
Now have a VS rDNA, wrapping nickle with one eye, and a REO on the way.
Have a lifetime (about 15yrs for me) of nic in the freezer....
Vape On!....
I smoked for 40 plus years and burned a couple of packs a day.
Then about three years ago I got skin cancer on my ear and had to have the cancer along with part of my ear removed by surgery. They then told me the skin grafts to repair my ear would not work if I continued to smoke.
So I had no choice but to stop smoking, but how to do it was the question. I had tried the patches, gum, etc before and none of them worked for me.
I purchased the "Blu" ecigs and while they were not great, they at least kept me of the smokes for the year that I used them. I them moved along to an Ego style battery with a Kanger T2 top wick refillable tank. Then came the Protanks, Evic, SVD, SID, VTR, Kayfuns, mechanicals, Rda's and finally way to many authentics.
I have turned vaping into a hobby now and I enjoy it so much more than the smokes.
And by the way, my ear turned out looking perfect after the plastic surgery and skin grafts.
Then about three years ago I got skin cancer on my ear and had to have the cancer along with part of my ear removed by surgery. They then told me the skin grafts to repair my ear would not work if I continued to smoke.
So I had no choice but to stop smoking, but how to do it was the question. I had tried the patches, gum, etc before and none of them worked for me.
I purchased the "Blu" ecigs and while they were not great, they at least kept me of the smokes for the year that I used them. I them moved along to an Ego style battery with a Kanger T2 top wick refillable tank. Then came the Protanks, Evic, SVD, SID, VTR, Kayfuns, mechanicals, Rda's and finally way to many authentics.
I have turned vaping into a hobby now and I enjoy it so much more than the smokes.
And by the way, my ear turned out looking perfect after the plastic surgery and skin grafts.
was smoking pack a day for 14yrs plus i have asthma so not a good combo, only downside to vaping i find is i did gain a bit of weight
Woke up one day and said enough was enough. I was a smoker for 28 years. I went with a friend to a local vape shop and I bought a starter kit and a bottle of juice. I went home, smoked my last cigarette and never looked back. 11 months have since passed. I have taken the money I saved by not smoking and invested in better Vaping gear and DIY supplies. Life is good!
Forty six years of cigarettes. Averaged pack and a half a day. Quit dozens of times, never longer than three months. Tried patches, tried gum, nothing worked for me. I found the NJoy disposables in a convenience store. They let me cut down on my smoking, but they were expensive. Then they started selling the BLUs. Blah tasting, hassle to recharge, menthol didn't taste like menthol. Still smoking. I finally wandered into a vape shop and tried an eGo/CE4 setup with some cherry mint juice. Ah! This works! I was off cigs in a week. I relapsed for a couple of months while I was undergoing radiation treatment but I'm analog free again for about three months. Mixing my own juice really helps. I switched from the CE4s to mini pro tanks, mmm better! Tried vv/vw setups, even better. Then I bought some 1.8ohm coils by accident and found they hit that "sweet spot" with a regular old eGo battery. Better yet! It took a while, but I've found what works for me.
Thanksgiving, 2013. I'm standing there frying the turkey. My wife's uncle walks up and he's vaping on this weird green thing. He smoked a lot, way more than me and now I'm standing there smoking a cig and he's using this weird thing. We start talking about it. He bought it at some local vape shop (lizard juice or something) and completely went from smoking to vaping. I was intrigued.
Fast forward a few months - I figured if he could do it I definitely could. I came here and started researching it. I ended up buying an MVP2 and a Protank 2. That Protank was the biggest leaky disaster ever. I ended up buying some cheap evods and they worked great. I had pretty much quit the stinkies at that point. Then I found out I was losing my job after working for the company for 11 years (due to money constraints, downsizing, etc). I had a wife and two kids to feed.
The stress was ridiculous and I went back to smoking. Not only did I go back, I went from maybe 3/4 pack a day to close to 2 PAD. Thankfully for us I found a new job and we had to move. I lived in our RV for a few months during the transition and I couldn't smoke in that. I went back to vaping instead.
After getting frustrated with buying the Kanger coils I did more research here. I decided to buy an RTA and started building my own coils and it's been great.
In our new house and no longer in the RV but I still smoke one the first thing in the morning. I've had a hard time kicking that one. Other than that I figure 1-2 a day is way better than the close-to 2 PAD I was at this time last year.
Fast forward a few months - I figured if he could do it I definitely could. I came here and started researching it. I ended up buying an MVP2 and a Protank 2. That Protank was the biggest leaky disaster ever. I ended up buying some cheap evods and they worked great. I had pretty much quit the stinkies at that point. Then I found out I was losing my job after working for the company for 11 years (due to money constraints, downsizing, etc). I had a wife and two kids to feed.
The stress was ridiculous and I went back to smoking. Not only did I go back, I went from maybe 3/4 pack a day to close to 2 PAD. Thankfully for us I found a new job and we had to move. I lived in our RV for a few months during the transition and I couldn't smoke in that. I went back to vaping instead.
After getting frustrated with buying the Kanger coils I did more research here. I decided to buy an RTA and started building my own coils and it's been great.
In our new house and no longer in the RV but I still smoke one the first thing in the morning. I've had a hard time kicking that one. Other than that I figure 1-2 a day is way better than the close-to 2 PAD I was at this time last year.
How I started -
My bff from work gave me his set up eGo twist w/Kanger pro tank. I had watched him a smoker of 20+yrs quit using this, my son quit smoking by vaping, and my now bf stopped smoking by vaping, and thought if they vaped and they quit I might be able to do the same.
Why -
I didn't want to feel addicted any more, wanted to be able to run a mile with out feeling like my lungs were going to explode, and tired of the Smoker;s Cough.
Vaping has changed my life for the better. It may not be for everyone, but it IS for me.
My bff from work gave me his set up eGo twist w/Kanger pro tank. I had watched him a smoker of 20+yrs quit using this, my son quit smoking by vaping, and my now bf stopped smoking by vaping, and thought if they vaped and they quit I might be able to do the same.
Why -
I didn't want to feel addicted any more, wanted to be able to run a mile with out feeling like my lungs were going to explode, and tired of the Smoker;s Cough.
Vaping has changed my life for the better. It may not be for everyone, but it IS for me.
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