How long before cutting back on nicotine?

[harleydiva]

I'm 3 weeks today with no analogs! Got my KGO kit 3 weeks ago today....took a couple of hits...and haven't had a "real cig" since. I'm currently using 18 mg nicotine. I smoked for 40 years, the last several years being at least 1 PAD Marlboro Ultra Lights, sometimes more. In the last 3-4 months, I did the RYO roll your own machine at the tobacco store, which I think were a little stronger. I currently have about 200ml of juice on hand, and wondering if I should drop the nicotine the next time I order. Would ideally like to eventually get down to around 6mg, but don't want to blow the quitting smoking thing by pushing it too fast.

I'm having a little difficulty with "heavy throat" the last 3 days. Trying to up my water consumption, probably need to toss some cartos which are a couple weeks old. Wondering if the nicotine level is affecting me also???? I'm also thinking the cartos are a little harsher, and doing better with clearomizers, which I will stock up on when they are in stock at my vendor.

How did you cut back on the nicotine...and how fast??

 

[wv2win]

Everyone is different. I went from 36mg to 24mg in about 2 -3 weeks. Stayed at 24mg for about a year. Then went down to 18mg and now vape 16mg regularly. Once you go lower than 16mg, the throat hit really starts to diminish, IMO. If throat hit is not important to you, you could go down in nic much quicker.

 

[erictho]

on your next order you could get 6mg as well as 18 mg, and start using the lower nic at different times of the day (maybe when you feel like your restoring your nic levels isn't exactly urgent). or you could just work your way down that way with 12 mg (or something) so you're not decreasing your dose by half right away.
my first order of juice was this awful 18 mg stuff, and i've been vaping 16 mg since mid october. i vape a lot and think i could benefit from a lower nic content. ideally i'd like to try 10-12 mg juices, but my regular supplier only offers 16 mg and 8 mg. so i'm just gonna deal with a half dose right away. that being said though i've been vaping for a little while now and don't think i could ever really enjoy tobacco again so i don't feel i'm at risk of falling off the vapetrain.

 

[grandmato5]

There is no set rule for how and when as we're all different. When I decided to start cutting back about 6 weeks after I started vaping I did it by lowering the level part of the day and using what I'd been using part of the day for a few days and gradually switched to the lower level all day. Even after switching all day to the lower level IF I felt the urge that I NEEDED the higher level I allowed myself a few minutes of that higher level. After being on the lower level all the time for about 2 weeks I did the same thing to lower the level I was using again. It was both an easy and painless way for me to reduce my nic level and within a few months rid myself of an addition to nic.

 

[MickeyRat]

If 18's been working for you for 3 weeks, I'd say it's working for you. If it's a goal of yours to lower the nic, that's one thing. If you just want something that works, it sounds like you have it. What I would do is order a small quantity of lower nic and give it a shot for a few days. I wouldn't go out and buy 200ml without trying it. You might be stuck with something that has you vaping like a fiend!!!

 

[Iffy]

I'm with wv2win. I started with 24mg, shortly dropped to 18 for many months and now at 15. I doubt I'll drop any lower any time soon.

Just take some of the above advice and 'listen' to your body. Everyone is different...

 

[ColKurtz]

As everyone has said, it differs for each individual and vaping habit. I work out of my home office, and am a chain-vaper inside the house. Even a a pack-a-day+ smoker, I could not handle 24mg very long. It was way more nicotine that I had been getting with cigs, given the frequency I vape. I could feel the increased heart-rate and other "nic overdose" symptoms. I went down to 12, then 8 pretty quickly. Been sitting on 8mg for about 5 months.

If I worked in an office, and only went out occasionally for vape breaks, I'd probably have higher nic juice.

 

[tj99959]

Sticking with 24, thanks just the same.

When I lower the nic I find that my PV gets really hot ......... as I try to suck the bottom out of the battery.

 

[tinajfreeman]

I keep 18, 12, 6 and 0 mg liquids on hand, and generally only use the 18 first thing in the morning or if I haven't been vaping for a long time and want a quick hit.

I like the idea of buying 6 mg and just start working it in. I have found I not only don't need 18 mg nic all day, I don't want it. I feel better when I drop to something lower.

 

[Iffy]

If ya have a fav flav @ 24mg, buy some more @ 6mg. Then mix 50/50 for an intermediate 15mg.

ETA: Whoops, I see you're vaping 18mg. The 50/50 mix with 6mg would then be 12mg.

 

[JoltinJoe]

Personally, I started at 18mg (which made it kind of rough for the first week) and have since moved down to 11mg as my goto liquid. I keep 0mg, 8mg, 11mg, and 18mg on hand at all times, however I only buy 30 ml bottles. If you are going to be buying 200 ml bottles, I would recommend trying out a smaller bottle of the lower nicotine liquids before making the commitment. There is a definite difference in TH as you move down in nicotine, but that never really concerned me. I only really wanted the proper vapor output, which was more important to me in mimicking the act of smoking.

 

[sumoman25]

I wasn't able to switch to vaping until I discovered 36 mg liquid, I've since dropped it to 32 and I'm very happy where I'm at. If it's working for you, keep using it. If you start getting nicotine sickness (you'll notice if you do, IT'S HORRID) then vape less frequently or lower your nicotine. Otherwise, you're at a good spot.

 

[Keekers]

I started with 18mg of nicotine. I decided to cut it down because I wanted to lower the nicotine level. This was after about 10 months of vaping. I ordered 12mg and was really upset because I felt like I was inhaling nothing. Eventually I got used to them after about a week and a half and am getting ready to drop down to 10mg. I can't imagine going back to 18mg. I would laugh at my friends who smoke cigarettes when they tried it and coughed. Now I understand

 

[dlsw]

I vaped 24 for a week or so, went down to 18, then down to 10-12 at night. I am not setting goals as I do not want to have strong cravings that would push me back to the analogs. Nicotine reduction is personalized based on your own needs. I buy 1 bottle of 18, one of 10 and an empty bottle so I can mix the two together for 15.

 

[MickeyRat]

Okay time for my nic level finding story. I started at 24mg and it worked for a week or two. Then it started making me sick. So, I went to 12. That made me vape like a fiend. So, I went to 18. That worked for a week or two. Then it started making me sick. So, I went to 12 again. I didn't vape like a fiend but, I did get cravings. So, I carried some 24 with me and a means to drip. When I got cravings I'd drip 3 or 4 drops of the 24. I still do it a couple times a month. When I started, I was doing 4 or 5 times a day.

 

[tippyclubb]

I started vaping at 12mg and did that for 3 months then switched to 6mg. I did notice a small change with the switch and vaped alot more than ususal and felt a little edgy. I stuck with the 6mg and was okay within a few days. With my next order of juice I will go to 4mg, then 2 and finally 0. It is my goal to be nicotine free by mid summer.