I can't have even one... not ONE!

[NoMatches]

I've seen a couple of threads where folks are talking about having an analog, and people are very encouraging, and saying it isn't a big deal. It isn't. For them. For me, it's armegedon. At least that is how I feel about it. So, for those who feel like I do, if there are any, this is my approach. Not one analog. Not now, not ever.

I tried to quit so many times before, the patches, the gum, both, trying to cut back, keeping cigs outside in my truck. I never once got through a single day. Not once. It was always that first cigarette that did me in. I had one, and a pack would follow.

I hit three weeks today. I am in mortal fear of slipping up now. It has to be black and white, no grey. E Cigs have finally given me a way out. I will NOT, today, tomorrow or forever light up another cigarette. I just won't do it. tobacco has powers. Powers until now I had no defense against.

I look at having even ONE cigarette as defeat. I will NOT let that happen, ever.

We are all different, and I don't mean to discourage people that have lit up. For them, it may be fine and not a problem. It's just that for me, any compromise at all could be a disaster, a disaster I cannot, will not risk. I'm an E Cig nazi now. NO analogs, ever ever ever again. I will not budge. Maybe this is my own pep talk after reading about some folks who after getting off, went back, even for just one. Maybe it's something someone else needs to hear too.

I will not backslide. I will not budge. This is how I have to do it. Maybe I am not alone in my extremism. I sort of hope I have some company. It's always good to have some company.

 

[plantlvr]

I think your willpower and determination will see you through NM! Like you say, we are all different. I haven't had a cig in over a year and wasn't even trying to quit, it just happened. I remember some friends that could have one or two cigs a week and that drove me crazy! i loved to smoke, but i love vaping more, so it all worked out.
I hope you will look back in a year without a cig and be very proud of yourself as you should be now. You haven't smoked over 1,300 cigs!!

 

[Ruppy]

Im right there with ya Nom.... I will never smoke again. I do not desire it. I never liked it. I will never do it again. After 15 years I have not smoked in 4 months. I have come to far to ever go back.....

There is no shame in slipping up. But for me I am set on never going back.

 

[JenJen]

Hang tough! Everyone is very different indeed! I am one of those lucky people who within 2 weeks of vaping and having a few cigs a day realized I didn't even want the cigs anymore. I was done. And the few times I have picked up a cigarette, they tasted vile to me and I only ended up taking a few hits before returning gratefully to my VK. I applaud you for the wisdom of knowing how easily you could get sucked back in to smoking. I can't tell you how many times I quit - for months, years, whatever and then got sucked right back into it. I once quit for 3 years then went to the River where everyone was drinking and smoking and I started right back up again! So yeah, I totally get it! I am extremely grateful that since finding vaping, cigarettes just don't do it for me anymore! I feel FREE at last!!!

But if I was still the least bit tempted by smokes, I would most likely do what you are doing because I NEVER want to go back to those! Hang in there and keep up the good work! I have a feeling you are not alone, and that many will chime in that even with the good vapes, the cigarettes can still tempt them!

 

[EleanorR]

Congratulations on your 3 weeks, NoMatches. It's good to know one's limits, and everyone is different. Hang tough, but try not to "obsess" -- that can become a real will-breaker and crazy-maker.

 

[phishtraveler]

i admire what you are saying and the line you are drawing in the sand. i applaud it.
but you are stressing yourself out! putting too much pressure on yourself...(no slipping up!)

i agree with plantlvr. vaping is so much better than smoking cigarettes, why would anyone go there?

i also agree with jeffree.... if i remember right, his quote went something like this...
"I gave up horrible, disusting cigarette smoking for smooth, clean vaping. It was such a no-brainer"

 

[keyzygirl]

I agree too,I just cant take that chance.I really liked smoking and Im not going there again.My kids hated it,I was smelly and I felt like poop.Im feeling good now,Ive got all you guys to help me keep going,theres no reason to go back now.

 

[NoMatches]

i admire what you are saying and the line you are drawing in the sand. i applaud it.
but you are stressing yourself out! putting too much pressure on yourself...(no slipping up!)

i agree with plantlvr. vaping is so much better than smoking cigarettes, why would anyone go there?

i also agree with jeffree.... if i remember right, his quote went something like this...
"I gave up horrible, disusting cigarette smoking for smooth, clean vaping. It was such a no-brainer"

Actually, I find my approach to be less stressful. Might sound wierd, but it is for me. Black and white. No grey. I don't ever have to even think about having a cigarette. They don't exist. That is my mindset, and I find it to be more of a "no stress" mindset. I am an ex-smoker. Black and white. No going back. If I were to slip up... just cannot, will not go there. It keeps me stronger. No leaks in the dam.

Liker I said, and others have noted, it's different for each of us. For some, a cig might not be a big deal. Tell a ...... addict one more main line won't hurt him. That is my line. I look at it and appraoch it the same way. No compromises. It's easier that way for me. I was a 3 PAD three weeks ago. To have even one now... would be an unmitigated disaster for me. Aint gonna happen. Never, ever again. It isn't the caboose that will kill me.

 

[Morandir835]

NoMatches sir, I see exactly where you are coming from and understand why it's far less stressful. It's always easier to see things black and white, the shades of grey are the subtle minutiae that lets in doubt (but also let you see the real picture in which black and white no longer exsist allowing true understanding of the nature of things)... For some it's easier to go this is right, this wrong. Others, it simply doesn't work.... Go with what works for you.... All part of us being individuals....

 

[Clover~]

its how Ive been from the start. I have no reason to smoke a cig. I need nicotine...I can vape that now! a couple days after I started vaping I wanted to know what a cig was like again...couldnt do it! they disgust me sooo much now! I cant believe I ever smoked those things...

 

[Joey S]

I'll agree with you 100% NoMatches. I feel the same way. I'm looking at it this way: I'm a recovering smoker, much in the same way as a recovering alcoholic. Yes, I may have quit smoking but I don't think I will ever be cured of the disease.

I've read several post where people say that the analogs take awful and it make me curious. I smoked for 29 years and I have a hard time believing that the taste could be that bad. For me though, there is no turning back. Like you said it's black and white, there can be no gray, I guess I will never know how bad they actually taste.

 

[NoMatches]

NoMatches sir, I see exactly where you are coming from and understand why it's far less stressful. It's always easier to see things black and white, the shades of grey are the subtle minutiae that lets in doubt (but also let you see the real picture in which black and white no longer exsist allowing true understanding of the nature of things)... For some it's easier to go this is right, this wrong. Others, it simply doesn't work.... Go with what works for you.... All part of us being individuals....

You are wise, Morandir 835 sir. Could Bilbo resist the power of the ring long after he had given it to Frodo? Could Thorin so easilly surrender the Arkenstone, when in fact the halfling used it to good means and the saving of elves, men and dwarves?

Black and white rarely exists, but in our own minds, outside of chess pieces and imagination. But that can be made quite useful under circumstances. Dreaming of eggs and bacon, when one is eating only cram, that is quite close to black and white as well.

 

[Kanza]

Matches <hugs from all of us to you and your family>

What a wonderful attitude - I have to face the same situation myself only it's not *my* health that would be harmed, it would be my husband's. The doctors told him no more cigarettes about 2 years ago and he quit cold turkey. I didn't smoke on the same floor he was on but even then I always worried about the smoke finding its way to him. We had tried every trick in the book for me and nothing worked.

I decided to revisit what I had dismissed as "airline garbage ads" (the blu cigarette ad I would see in airplane magazines) and I decided to do more in depth research because it wouldn't be my guilt that would kill him...it would be the smoke. After a few weeks of surfing the net, I was more confused than ever until I found the e-cigarette forum and, by what I will always consider a bit of a miracle, the V4L forum. Everyone here seemed to "scream" that "we're family" and "this is the place you should be" so while he was in Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago, I ordered my first kit and just today placed my 2nd order.

I was almost as heavy a smoker as you were and I've walked away from them. By the time he returns from this trip to Tel Aviv, I hope to be able to say, "I've quit!" and mean it!! You'll be my inspiration, 'Matches!

 

[NoMatches]

I'll agree with you 100% NoMatches. I feel the same way. I'm looking at it this way: I'm a recovering smoker, much in the same way as a recovering alcoholic. Yes, I may have quit smoking but I don't think I will ever be cured of the disease.

I've read several post where people say that the analogs take awful and it make me curious. I smoked for 29 years and I have a hard time believing that the taste could be that bad. For me though, there is no turning back. Like you said it's black and white, there can be no gray, I guess I will never know how bad they actually taste.

I was smoking Chesterfield non filters in the womb. Both parents smoked. I lit up my first at about age 10. Might have been 12 when I bought my first pack. Been smoking ever since, to age 56. On 2 to 3 PADs for at least 25 years now. If an analog would taste horrible now, I know not, not will I ever. God willing, I will never know, and that is just how I want it, and believe I need it to be.

Honestly, the threads about people smoking were getting to me a little. I began to think, well, maybe I would hate it... maybe I would not... so not as to crtiisize others, I wanted to see if others felt as I did. That it's a black and white issue. I am happy to see others have a similar if not identical mindset. LOL... I think it's called suppoort, and there is a lot of that around these here parts!

 

[NoMatches]

Matches <hugs from all of us to you and your family>

What a wonderful attitude - I have to face the same situation myself only it's not *my* health that would be harmed, it would be my husband's. The doctors told him no more cigarettes about 2 years ago and he quit cold turkey. I didn't smoke on the same floor he was on but even then I always worried about the smoke finding its way to him. We had tried every trick in the book for me and nothing worked.

I decided to revisit what I had dismissed as "airline garbage ads" (the blu cigarette ad I would see in airplane magazines) and I decided to do more in depth research because it wouldn't be my guilt that would kill him...it would be the smoke. After a few weeks of surfing the net, I was more confused than ever until I found the e-cigarette forum and, by what I will always consider a bit of a miracle, the V4L forum. Everyone here seemed to "scream" that "we're family" and "this is the place you should be" so while he was in Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago, I ordered my first kit and just today placed my 2nd order.

I was almost as heavy a smoker as you were and I've walked away from them. By the time he returns from this trip to Tel Aviv, I hope to be able to say, "I've quit!" and mean it!! You'll be my inspiration, 'Matches!

WOW! Hey, if I can inspire anyone, so much the better! That is what this forum is all about. We are all so different, but have in the end, the same goals. What path we take, what tools we use, what mindset we have, all as different as each of us are. Your post also inspries me. How great you will be able to surprise your husband! That is just a great, great tale of overcoming! And of love, in it's truest and most unselfish form. How wonderful! God bless!

 

[Morandir835]

I do love the Lord of the Rings references NoMatches sir.

 

[marine13]

Hey I am with you to. I have three open packs of cigs in the house (over a month old) and I don't want them at all. Like I said the cigs are a month old so they probably really crappy now. Just make sure you don't run out, I have 2 starter kit boxes and I keep them full and when one box goes out I'll order plus when I'm down to 4 30 ml bottles I'll order. And beside you smoking 1300 cigs a month I'm sure you feel a lot better, I know I do at 400 a month.

 

[6String]

I'm with you, NM. I was a very casual smoker. I could take or leave it to be honest and if i ran out of baccy, it didn't bother me. I'd just buy some next time i was passing by the shop i bought it from. but i enjoyed it a lot. Maybe smoked about 6 roll ups a day. And they were thin as toothpicks anyway. So i'd say if you put the amount of tobacco i rolled into a tailor made smoke, it'd probably be 1 or 2 at the most.
But i still enjoyed my smoking. Then my wife found V4L and we took the plunge. I was intrigued by it and found i love it more than smoking.
I've had a pouch of tobacco sitting in my car next to my sunglasses case since november and i don't even pay it any attention. I just haven't bothered to throw it out (like a lot of junk in my car lol. Makes it less attractive to car thieves is my excuse hehe).

Vaping is much better, for you, for your family, for friends around you, for everyone. Don't look back. Leave the analogues far behind you.

 

[Mary Kay]

Hi, My name is Mary and I am addicted to Cigarettes.
I quit almost 2 years ago and haven't touched one since..I know one will be my downfall.
I see the posts about having one and it was great/yucky/whatever. Those are some lucky people to be able to stick their head in the lions mouth and not get bit. I would be missing my head!
After smoking for 37 years..I know my limitations!
Good for you NoMatches..just don't stress over it..eat some sunflower seeds and vape some peppermint!

 

[Sandy68]

NoMatches, congrats first of all for being analog free for 3 weeks already. Way to go! I’m one of the fortunate ones in that once I started vaping the analogs just didn’t appeal to me anymore. I like my clean smelling house, clothes, the freedom to BREATHE, etc. so no more of those nasty tabbacy things for me!

Hey, it’s good that you know your limit (nothing wrong with not allowing for gray areas), and before you know...you’ll reach that 1 month mark. Woohoo! BTW, celebrated my first month smoke free yesterday. You only got one more week to go...you’re gonna make it too cause a little birdie told me! Seriously, you’ve got determination and a goal set forth, so that’s a winning combination!