Ok Boys and Girls. I thought since I've now been around the block and have managed to kick the tobacco habit and make the successful crossover into the wonderful world of the e-cigarette, I'd share my experiences with you. This is just a guide based on my experiences and it is intended for those of you who are currently heavy tobacco users, smoking between 20 and 40 cigarettes per day.
Of course everyone is different, BUT if you smoke between 20-30 filtered or unfiltered strong cigarettes per day and you want to make the successful and painless transition into e-smoking this guide is for YOU.
I've removed the trial and error and share my direct experiences.
1. Bigger e-cig is Better e-cig Actually, buy the biggest e-cigarette starter kit you can afford. Get the penstyle. Do not waste your time and money with anything smaller Forget the small cigarette lookalike e-cigs.
If it's not a penstyle with a flat mouthpiece extension like the DSE 801 or the M201 you are wasting time and money. Here's why: You need a big atomiser (to create lots of vapour and throat hit) and you need a big battery (to power that atomiser which allows it to create big vapour and big throat hit). It's as simple as that. Manual or Automatic? It doesn't matter. An automatic is just that. You draw as you would on a normal cigarette and the vapour is created. With a manual or push button e-cig, the vapour is only created when you push the button. You draw and push the button the same time. If you can afford it, buy two starter kits.
Here's why: You need a back up. It's as simple as that. Atomisers will fail.They have a lifespan of anywhere between 1 week and 2 months. The longest I've had in daily use lasted 3 months. Batteries will fail constantly and need to be recharged on average every 3-4 hours. If you are out and about it's always a good idea to have two chargers going at home and two fresh batteries in your pocket. Therefore the solution is to have a pair of e-cigs should one component fail (which it will sooner or later) and you will be prepared and you will not panic when there's a failure.
But don't stop with a pair of e-cigs. Once you quit smoking regular cigarettes you will need a big gun for a big nicotine fix in a hurry. The biggest gun we have currently available to us in South Africa is the Janty Stick. We cannot get the Prodigy yet. Both of these devices and others like them known as "screwdrivers" do not look like e-cigs at all. Think of them as nicotine Intravenous delivery devices without the needles
I find the best solution is to have the e-cigs like the M201 and or a DSE 801 for mobile use and have the Janty Stick for fixed home use. By fixed I mean have it plugged into a wall socket via usb or into your ipod charger (gives more power than your computer) Have it where ever you spend the most time in the house. It's ok for mobile use though without being plugged in- unplugged, it will be about as effective as the M201 with a filled cartridge- which in my experience is by far the strongest battery powered automatic e-cig. (excluding the e-cigar) The DSE 801 runs a close second place. However if you drip your e-liquid directly onto the atomiser in the DSE 801 you will have have a good clone of the M201 with its filled cartridge. Both then perform the same. But if you drip onto the M201 you will get more throat hit than the DSE 801 and considerably more vapour. The M201 delivers far more throat hit than the DSE 801 but this comes at a price as the batteries suck. So in short if you like to drip then the DSE 801 is the tool and if you like to fill your carts then the M201 is the better tool. The nice thing about the M201 is that the atomiser will fit on the Janty Stick and it's bigger than the atomiser on the Janty so you have interchangable parts right there.
The Janty stick is most useful for getting your nicotine blood levels up in a hurry, like first thing in the morning. Stick in a cart with your morning coffee or tea, plug it in and vape away. It's good when you are really craving cigarettes on the first day or three of quitting tobacco. It kills the cravings dead where the M201 and the DSE 801 just take off the edge. It's good for when you want an intense vaping session like when you're working on your computer or even watching TV and you don't want to worry about batteries. The usb powered Janty delivers unbelievable throat hit and generates vapor second to none. Even the M201 lags far behind. Be warned though, you can get carried away and suddenly realise you've had too much nicotine. So easy does it. You'll know when you've had too much.
Now for the liquid nicotine or e-juice or e-liquid. In my experience only 24mg juice will make the transition from tobacco to electronic cigarettes a painless and craving free one. Get some favours in 24mg and start with these. Then have a few flavours at 18mg and 15mg (Twisp high is 15mg by the way) Try a few suppliers and find some liquids you like. Your best starting point is to find a reputable supplier and we have them on the forums. I've tried vaping101's juices. I highly recommend them. Ask the supplier what is his/hers most popular juice. Some flavours sell and others don't. Get your 24mg and don't waste time with anything under 24mg if you are a 20 or more a day smoker, because you won't get enough nicotine to remove the cravings completely. Once your initial cravings are satisfied you can experiment with lower nicotine content juices.
In the beginning you will have a honeymoon period with e-cigs. You will experiment a lot to try and find what works for you. You will alternate between e-cigs and regular tobacco. What you will find is that you will begin to prefer the taste (but definitely not initially) of e-cigs over tobacco cigarettes. When you are ready to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes it will be easy as long as you are vaping 24mg juice. That has been my experience. 24mg juice (and higher) is very hard to find in this country at the moment. None of the e-cig companies like NPRO and TWISP supply it. You wont find it on the shelves of any pharmacy or store. You will find it via online suppliers and it's but a phone call or a click away.The time will come when you try a tobacco cigarette and you simply will find the taste unbearable. You will inevitably put it out halfway and you will notice at the same time that your brand no longer satisfies the "throat hit" requirement you've now come to expect from vaping.
An easy way to make the crossover for good is to remember just how bad your regular cigarettes tasted and how weak they felt when you've been vaping a bit. Chances are you will not look back. However you must have spare parts-spare batteries, spare atomisers, spare cartridges, and most important of all, you must have the right juice and don't run out. We've got some great liquids out there and we've got some really horrible watered down liquids out there of unknown origin. There are scammers and people out there in it for a quick buck. You need to avoid these and find the reputable suppliers. When done right, with the right tools and right supplies, your e-cig experience will be a positive and very pleasurable one.
Give up those nasty tobacco cigarettes for once and all. I never thought I could until I discovered vaping and I still have all the pleasure without actual cravings for tobacco. I hope you will too.
Of course everyone is different, BUT if you smoke between 20-30 filtered or unfiltered strong cigarettes per day and you want to make the successful and painless transition into e-smoking this guide is for YOU.
I've removed the trial and error and share my direct experiences.
1. Bigger e-cig is Better e-cig Actually, buy the biggest e-cigarette starter kit you can afford. Get the penstyle. Do not waste your time and money with anything smaller Forget the small cigarette lookalike e-cigs.
If it's not a penstyle with a flat mouthpiece extension like the DSE 801 or the M201 you are wasting time and money. Here's why: You need a big atomiser (to create lots of vapour and throat hit) and you need a big battery (to power that atomiser which allows it to create big vapour and big throat hit). It's as simple as that. Manual or Automatic? It doesn't matter. An automatic is just that. You draw as you would on a normal cigarette and the vapour is created. With a manual or push button e-cig, the vapour is only created when you push the button. You draw and push the button the same time. If you can afford it, buy two starter kits.
Here's why: You need a back up. It's as simple as that. Atomisers will fail.They have a lifespan of anywhere between 1 week and 2 months. The longest I've had in daily use lasted 3 months. Batteries will fail constantly and need to be recharged on average every 3-4 hours. If you are out and about it's always a good idea to have two chargers going at home and two fresh batteries in your pocket. Therefore the solution is to have a pair of e-cigs should one component fail (which it will sooner or later) and you will be prepared and you will not panic when there's a failure.
But don't stop with a pair of e-cigs. Once you quit smoking regular cigarettes you will need a big gun for a big nicotine fix in a hurry. The biggest gun we have currently available to us in South Africa is the Janty Stick. We cannot get the Prodigy yet. Both of these devices and others like them known as "screwdrivers" do not look like e-cigs at all. Think of them as nicotine Intravenous delivery devices without the needles
I find the best solution is to have the e-cigs like the M201 and or a DSE 801 for mobile use and have the Janty Stick for fixed home use. By fixed I mean have it plugged into a wall socket via usb or into your ipod charger (gives more power than your computer) Have it where ever you spend the most time in the house. It's ok for mobile use though without being plugged in- unplugged, it will be about as effective as the M201 with a filled cartridge- which in my experience is by far the strongest battery powered automatic e-cig. (excluding the e-cigar) The DSE 801 runs a close second place. However if you drip your e-liquid directly onto the atomiser in the DSE 801 you will have have a good clone of the M201 with its filled cartridge. Both then perform the same. But if you drip onto the M201 you will get more throat hit than the DSE 801 and considerably more vapour. The M201 delivers far more throat hit than the DSE 801 but this comes at a price as the batteries suck. So in short if you like to drip then the DSE 801 is the tool and if you like to fill your carts then the M201 is the better tool. The nice thing about the M201 is that the atomiser will fit on the Janty Stick and it's bigger than the atomiser on the Janty so you have interchangable parts right there.
The Janty stick is most useful for getting your nicotine blood levels up in a hurry, like first thing in the morning. Stick in a cart with your morning coffee or tea, plug it in and vape away. It's good when you are really craving cigarettes on the first day or three of quitting tobacco. It kills the cravings dead where the M201 and the DSE 801 just take off the edge. It's good for when you want an intense vaping session like when you're working on your computer or even watching TV and you don't want to worry about batteries. The usb powered Janty delivers unbelievable throat hit and generates vapor second to none. Even the M201 lags far behind. Be warned though, you can get carried away and suddenly realise you've had too much nicotine. So easy does it. You'll know when you've had too much.
Now for the liquid nicotine or e-juice or e-liquid. In my experience only 24mg juice will make the transition from tobacco to electronic cigarettes a painless and craving free one. Get some favours in 24mg and start with these. Then have a few flavours at 18mg and 15mg (Twisp high is 15mg by the way) Try a few suppliers and find some liquids you like. Your best starting point is to find a reputable supplier and we have them on the forums. I've tried vaping101's juices. I highly recommend them. Ask the supplier what is his/hers most popular juice. Some flavours sell and others don't. Get your 24mg and don't waste time with anything under 24mg if you are a 20 or more a day smoker, because you won't get enough nicotine to remove the cravings completely. Once your initial cravings are satisfied you can experiment with lower nicotine content juices.
In the beginning you will have a honeymoon period with e-cigs. You will experiment a lot to try and find what works for you. You will alternate between e-cigs and regular tobacco. What you will find is that you will begin to prefer the taste (but definitely not initially) of e-cigs over tobacco cigarettes. When you are ready to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes it will be easy as long as you are vaping 24mg juice. That has been my experience. 24mg juice (and higher) is very hard to find in this country at the moment. None of the e-cig companies like NPRO and TWISP supply it. You wont find it on the shelves of any pharmacy or store. You will find it via online suppliers and it's but a phone call or a click away.The time will come when you try a tobacco cigarette and you simply will find the taste unbearable. You will inevitably put it out halfway and you will notice at the same time that your brand no longer satisfies the "throat hit" requirement you've now come to expect from vaping.
An easy way to make the crossover for good is to remember just how bad your regular cigarettes tasted and how weak they felt when you've been vaping a bit. Chances are you will not look back. However you must have spare parts-spare batteries, spare atomisers, spare cartridges, and most important of all, you must have the right juice and don't run out. We've got some great liquids out there and we've got some really horrible watered down liquids out there of unknown origin. There are scammers and people out there in it for a quick buck. You need to avoid these and find the reputable suppliers. When done right, with the right tools and right supplies, your e-cig experience will be a positive and very pleasurable one.
Give up those nasty tobacco cigarettes for once and all. I never thought I could until I discovered vaping and I still have all the pleasure without actual cravings for tobacco. I hope you will too.
