How difficult was it for you to quit smoking after switching to vaping?

[HighlanderNorth]

I used to meet people who would try and quit smoking like once a year, and fail repeatedly. I decided to not even try unless I was serious, because the more times you fail, the easier it is to justify failure the next time, since you've become accustomed to it, or at least that was my excuse for not trying to quit more often..... Some people just never try to quit.

I smoked regularly since I was about 15 back in 1983! I'm pretty sure I was addicted by then, although I had tried cigs when I was 13. I tried to quit the first of 3 times back in 1986, and it lasted about a month, but while at a party with a friend, I walked out onto the patio with him for a smoke, and I bummed one, and thats all it took! The next time was in 2001, when I got a prescription for Nicotrol inhalers, and I actually quit for a year, but started up again after just 1 or 2 cigs.

This is my 3rd try, and so far its been the easiest of all! I am not Jonesing for cigs all the time, and the Ego-T has been great as a cessation device.... But there occasionally are still these temporary incidents where I will eat something, or do something that would normally encourage me to smoke, and I will suddenly think about smoking, but within about 1 second I will remember I cant smoke, and I will get this sudden feeling of depression and frustration, but it goes away in just seconds, and then that strong feeling becomes reduced to a slight frustration, but again, within seconds it goes away, and I'm back to normal. But these feelings only come over me about 2-3 times per day, which isnt too bad.

So overall, its been pretty much a breeze! I had serious feeling of frustration, anger and depression over not being able to smoke the first time I quit way back in 1986 when I went cold turkey, and even when I quit using the Nicotrol inhaler in 2001-2002, I still had difficulty, and I was sucking on that thing all the time! Each kit came with a new inhaler, and I would sometimes have 2-3 of them in my mouth at the same time!

But the Nicotrol deposits ALL of its nicotine into your mouth and throat, which is a slow method of nicotine absorption because it has to be absorbed through your mouth, through your blood, and its effect is greatly diminished that way, so it takes about 10 minutes to even take effect and reduce cravings. But e-cigs seem to put nicotine into my system almost immediately, so some of it must be getting down into our lungs as a result of being vaporized. I'm sure a lot is also absorbed through the mouth and throat too, but some must be getting into the lungs, because it reduces craving MUCH quicker than those Nicotrol inhalers did!

How has your quitting experience been, and what type of feelings do you get from going without smoking?

 

[thinkingaboutit]

Backups, backups, backups. Keep reminding yourself to be prepared.

For me it was really easy...easier than I expected for sure. Spending a fortune on toys and juice helped...I'm stubborn and want my money's worth.

 

[gthompson]

It was much easier than I expected.

 

[alffalvo]

Once I found me a "good" PV it was EASY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKS TOO ECF & MEMBERS

 

[tj99959]

Had my last smoke two day after I got my first PV.

 

[mostapha]

I never intended to completely quit smoking.

It kind of just happened. Vaping is just better.

 

[shan57]

It took me about 2 weeks to make a complete switch from analogs to vaping. Took husband a little longer because he kept buying analogs and didn't want to "waste" them. Finding the right juice/setup and all the info from forums has kept us off analogs - it's now a hobby.

 

[HighlanderNorth]

Had my last smoke two day after I got my first PV.

Its amazing how the human mind works when it comes to making excuses to justify continiung an addiction. I talked to a guy at Totally Wicked the day after making my order for my kit, and asked him if he had quit, and he said yes and that e-cigs made it possible, but that he had smoked 2 cigs over the first 2 days of trying to quit.

So when I got my kit last Tuesday, I smoked 1 cig that night, then the next day at 3pm while driving, I found a 1/2 pack of smokes under some paperwork in my truck, and I actually used the excuse that TW employee had unwittingly provided me with, and I smoked a cig, telling myself "well, its expected that I will smoke one or 2".

But since then I have not smoked any cigs, so its been almost 5 full days.

 

[exodus454]

It was much easier than I thought it would be too! I had tried quitting smoking 4-5 times already and had failed miserably. The easiest thing I found was when you have that craving, vape, vape, vape! And keep vaping some more.

 

[Cuando]

Each time I've made the switch, it's been a mixed bag. At first, I tend to smoke around 5 a day, but vape primarily. Within a week I'm usually just vaping, unless I'm at work. Even out at the bar, and on days off, I only vape, but for whatever reason, at work I 4/5 times will bum a smoke from someone. Then, somewhere around the two month mark, I find myself craving cigarettes more and more. This is often usually the time I'm starting to have equipment malfunctions, juices are running low or losing flavor, any number of problems. This has, in the past, led me right back to analogs, unfortunately.

This time around, I have made the commitment to stick with it. I am not expecting it to be easy, and I know I need to stay ahead of the game as far as gear and juice goes, so I have been allotting my old 'analog allowance' to vape stuff. So far, I'm having a lot more success, but I do think a lot of that has to do with better equipment. The vaping world has changed a LOT since I started in '08, and pricing, availability, and reliability of the products and juices has made vaping far more enjoyable and less frustrating.

 

[pfaber11]

i tried to quit loads of times and the only thing to keep me off cigarettes was my e cig. still feel like one sometimes but no really strong cravings .

 

[Rhapsodies Fire]

It depends on what side of the transition you're looking at this from. For me...it took me 6 months and I was nearly convinced it was just a silly fad and was never going to happen. Now that I've made the transition, it was surprisingly easy...much easier than anything else I had tried. For me, it wasn't just about replacing the nic....it was about being as easy or easier than smoking....and having great support. If either of those needs weren't met for me, I'm sure I'd still be smoking.

 

[yzer]

Some people make the switch from smoking to vaping easily, others have a more difficult time. I smoked 1.5 packs per day for 35 years. I quit smoking cold turkey several times during those 35 years but was smoking again within a month or so.

I had an excellent APV (the E-Power 14650 I'm still using) to start with and still had a hard time. I started vaping in November of 2011 but didn't quit smoking at the same time. I vaped almost every day and reduced the number of cigarettes by the amount of vaping I did each day. By the beginning of 2012 I preferred vapor over cigarette smoke but still smoked about a half pack per day.

In April 2012 I realized I was having a very hard time giving up those last several cigarettes per day. I decided to quit smoking entirely and rely on the APV for nicotine. I felt under the weather for about a week from the withdrawal symptoms. Now I'm over four months since I last smoked a cigarette. I'm doing great and don't intend to relapse into smoking again.

 

[synthros]

In my mind I vape now instead of smoking. I know myself, I was never going to "quit smoking", no matter how much I thought I should, or thought I needed to, or knew I needed to. The problem was I didn't want to, and to me if I didnt really want to, any efforts to quit were never going to be successful. In my mind I haven't quit anything I just do this instead. Was no problem putting the smokes down and walking away, don't feel as if Ive given up anything, maybe gained a hobby I'm sure it's different for everyone, but it's working for me.
I would also +1 thinkingaboutit on backups. I bought what I consider to be a high quality and dependable pv(if somewhat overpriced. I still make sure I have backups, I have no problem vaping and not smoking. However if I could not vape for some reason, after 25 years of smoking I know I could access cigarettes in about 7 minutes, so I try to stay fully prepared, backup device(s), batteries, cartos/atty's etc. I make sure I don't put myself in a position where Im testing my "resolve", I'll flunk that test

 

[MickeyRat]

The actual transition for me was far from effortless. I did have some strange reactions. I did have a heck of a time with nic levels but, I'll tell you what is really different. I quit cold turkey for 10 years. Not a week went by in that 10 years that I didn't want a cigarette at some point. I've been vaping close to a year and a half and I can't say it never happens but, it's really rare. When it does, a couple drops of higher nic juice gets rid of it.

 

[chris in va]

My GF tried vaping but she much prefers smoking. I don't know if the juice isn't strong enough or what, she won't tell me.

 

[erictho]

it wasn't difficult for me at all! it was actually freakishly easy. i would have my two obligation smokes a day when i got my first kit, and while smoking them i would long for my pv. this is despite the fact i would never recommend the ego-t to anyone. it blew.
the first few days i didn't really feel too edgy, but my head felt cloudy and i felt kind of...slow. that was only for a few days, though.
a couple people i've introduced to vaping have really taken to it. one lady keeps experiencing hardware issues and is really determined. another lady kind of gave up altogether. oh well.

 

[dizzy8578]

In 47 years of 2+ PAD smoking I never quit for more than a few hours or as long as it took to scrounge up enough for a pack. I told anyone who asked me when I was going to stop smoking that I was pretty sure it would be a few days before my funeral.

But in May of 2012 I bought a crappy njoy 7-11 ecig and only smoked 1.5 pad that day
It was nasty and the marketing was a total lie but it planted the seed. I ordered a starter set of 808 from Smoov and a sample pack from Johnson Creek, and the day I got it I was the last analog I smoked.

The half pack from that day is still in the cabinet and has to be pretty stale by now. But that pack in the cabinet may have helped me stick with it. The subconscious psychological panic factor associated with my addiction had to be lulled with the availability of an emergency backup while the forms were observed (puffing and exhaling) and the physical nicotine addiction was tamed by using 24 to 36mg/ml juice. (on 24 now)

I have a PV hardware, DIY and gadget addiction now (primarily kept in check by Eric at DV) but since I have been repairing computer and electronics for 25 years it slides right in with the rest of my geekdom.

I did not intend to quit but after surviving one cancer and abusing my lungs for almost 5 decades I don't see myself going back as long as the stuff is available, Which is why I am archiving how-to info and learning to build coils and re-purpose non ecig hardware to make sure I never have an incentive to go back no matter the changes in regulatory framework.

I think I will put that half pack in a bag in the freezer. I know I am an addict and I am still using nicotine. But at my age harm reduction will work where cessation would not.

 

[AttyPops]

I "paralleled" for a while. I made sure I had all the hardware working OK... had backups, had juice, got it all working. Took a few weeks. Finished up the carton of cigs and vaped. Vaped for a day exclusively and was OK. THEN.....I finished up the cigs and quit smoking on 06/30/2010 about 3:30 or 4:30 p.m.

Went through about 2 weeks of minor withdrawals from all the "other stuff" in cigs that I didn't get from e-cigs. Some of that is actually your body healing and detoxing too. Pushed through it. It helped that I didn't have any cigs around. I kept telling myself "I'm not paying them an extra dime (taxes and BT profits)."

My sense of taste came back. And I used the time to focus on DIY juice and washing stuff that had smoke smell in it and putting away ashtrays and just adopting a positive attitude about it all. The focus on DIY juice mixing (almost OCD level) and experimenting really helped a lot. Also, reading ECF and all the great stories here.

It's been over two years now. No smoking!

 

[cbbrbbc]

I have made this transition easily, I have a great support system at home as well as online now. But I had my mind made up to stop, and I refuse to give up, my wife and children hate it, so its not just for me but its for my family. You can do it!!!