I survived The Smoker's Den!

[RebeccaX]

I had been looking forward to (and also dreading) getting together with some friends I hadn't seen since I quit smoking analogs almost five months ago. My friend who owns the house is a smoker, as is every person who drops in to visit her. I was afraid I'd be tempted to smoke, mainly because one of my best friends, after having quit last year, got hooked again while spending a weekend at what I've come to think of as The Smoker's Den.

Surprisingly, I wasn't even tempted to smoke an analog. I happily vaped a variety of flavours and smiled as I got kidded that I was smoking a pen or a waterpipe, etc. And most of the people who dropped in for a visit were curious as to what it was I was smoking and as soon as I mentioned e-cigarette, everyone had heard something about it. Most were impressed that I'd used it to quit analogs.

The only person who wasn't impressed was my friend who'd quit and started again last year. She had tried e-cigarettes as well, some cheap convenience store set with pre-filled non-nic cartridges. She was angry with me and kept insisting that vaping is just as bad for your health as smoking tobacco! I tried politely defending vaping (talking about how it’s just pg/vg and some nicotine) but she would not let up about how terrible vaping was for my health. Even my brother who was there (and a smoker) piped in with "It's just water vapour". It was absolutely bizarre and I was shocked and a little upset by it.

Besides that, I was pretty proud of myself that I got through it. ChellyNelly said something a week or two ago forum a week or two ago on this forum that stuck with me: “A lot of it is in your head and if you can conquer that then you'll be golden.” She was right.

 

[jj2]

Glad you made it through and sometimes friends will make you want to scream!!!
I have one or two like that and there is no changing their mind so I don't try.

 

[bidslayer]

Congrats!

I'm getting this rather ominous image of a house with plumes of analogue smoke streaming from the windows and doors though.

 

[classwife]

...cough...choke...

Congratulations !

People can say the strangest things !

 

[RebeccaX]

Thanks guys! I did notice everyone hacking up their lungs the next morning and then of course lighting up cigarettes, like I used to do. As soon as I got home I washed all the clothes I had worn there because they completely reeked of smoke.

 

[MisterMike]

Congrats!

It's amazing what you can make it through once you've found what works for you.

I never realized just how much that smell clings to you until Meg walked by me the other day after talking to one of the movers who was having a smoke break outside and I could smell it even then.

 

[VintageMitzi]

Some people just don't get it. I saw a friend this past weekend and was so proud to show her my ego batt and shiny blue stardust. Told her how it got me off cigarettes about 2 1/2 months ago. All I heard was how easy it was for her to quit smoking and that I better get off that thing quick...nicotine being so addictive and all and I was just harming myself....and on...and on...

It still stings....but I'm still vaping. Knowledge is power.

 

[farmer_bric]

Knowledge is power.

It's obvious you never watched Game of Thrones

 

[VintageMitzi]

Hate to admit it but I'm clueless.

 

[farmer_bric]

Hate to admit it but I'm clueless.

Just after he said this, the Queen ordered her guards to slit his throat

 

[Roberta Souza]

Buddy congratulation on surviving the temptation of smoking analogs, and surviving the ignorance...lol...people like that really piss me off...so she basically stopped smoking the cancer sticks, went back and now she is trashing people who found a healthier alternative...who knows maybe one day she will see the light...

 

[Smile n' shine]

The only person who wasn't impressed was my friend who'd quit and started again last year. She had tried e-cigarettes as well, some cheap convenience store set with pre-filled non-nic cartridges. She was angry with me and kept insisting that vaping is just as bad for your health as smoking tobacco! I tried politely defending vaping (talking about how it’s just pg/vg and some nicotine) but she would not let up about how terrible vaping was for my health. Even my brother who was there (and a smoker) piped in with "It's just water vapour". It was absolutely bizarre and I was shocked and a little upset by it.

She obviously was trying to prove some point, possibly from the inner guilt she felt herself. When some people fail at things,
they don't want others to succeed. Keep your head held high and pay no attention.

 

[RebeccaX]

She obviously was trying to prove some point, possibly from the inner guilt she felt herself. When some people fail at things, they don't want others to succeed. Keep your head held high and pay no attention.

That's exactly what I thought of the next day. Plus her daughter has been nagging her to quit again - she had a bad scare with her blood pressure being off the charts, which is why she quit smoking last year. On the other hand, my best friend of 30 years quit analogs and started vaping about two months ago because she saw it worked for me.

Oh and farmer_bric - poor Ned Stark, I'm still getting over that one!

 

[Zurrix]

poor Ned Stark, I'm still getting over that one!

It was getting a little easier with time, but then I started reading the books and it opened the old wound.

I think what you're explaining is the most frustrating feeling (back to ecigs). Especially when it's someone who is smoking and has health problems and they're doubting that something with a handful of chemicals is better for you than something with 4000-5000?

Use your brains people!

And then of course there's the complete opposite, my Dad went to his doctor a couple weeks ago (the doctor had never heard of ecigs) and told him that I quit using ecigs. The doctor got excited once my Dad explained what chemicals were in it and said that we should go into business selling them!

 

[RebeccaX]

I think what you're explaining is the most frustrating feeling (back to ecigs). Especially when it's someone who is smoking and has health problems and they're doubting that something with a handful of chemicals is better for you than something with 4000-5000?

I shouldn't have been surprised really, when I saw her about a month ago she was so pleased with herself that by taking up smoking again, she'd lost the 20 pounds she'd gained when she'd quit last year. Her daughter asked her: "Well would you rather be fat or dead?" She chose the latter.

 

[~ puff ~]

A couple little old ladies who live in the same building as I do are after me to "get those things out of your mouth -- you don't know what's in them!"

Both are smokers. Both have been told to quit.

Truth is, one has serious heart problems. And another is dying of multiple cancers, likely caused by smoking.

I say little to them, as their minds are made up.

Plus, they're probably not feeling well and likely wish they had a less harmful alternative than analogs...

~ puff ~

 

[jespeak]

I too have friends that smoke cigarettes. And I am truly amazed at how stinky the burnt tobacco is. I also get the addicted to nicotine song and dance - I would rather be vaping than inhaling all the ugly chemicals found in a cigarette/analog. I am so relieved to find a forum that speaks volumes and supports all its members.

I feel very confident in my choice of switching and plan to keep on trucking or should I say vaping!

 

[Samyaza]

This makes me feel as though I have the best friends in the world.

They love the smell of my vapor and even request that I blow it towards them. The "worst comment" I have received from them is that I will turn into a robot lol

I have now helped 3 of them get set up with e cigs, one insisted on buying the cheapest everything and it died so he started smoking again The other 2 are happily set up with ego twists and juggies juice.

My non-smoker friends were always stealing puffs off my Provari when I turned my head so I made them some 0 nic juice and take it out with me and 2 ego batteries for them lol. Some of them used to bum smokes when drunk, now they vape 0 nic

 

[recidivus]

Congrats on making the gauntlet!

Last night was my first trial-by-fire, big hooplah that ran till the wee hours of the morning. Smokers were sent outside but the owner knew of e-cigs and I was given the go-ahead to use indoors. It was nice not having to go outside, the small smoking area was crammed full of people, elbow to elbow. Needless to say, it went spectacularly well, whole night/morning. I finally broke at 5A sitting out back at home with my wife (still a smoker). It was a moment of 24 hours awake weakness/dazed curiosity after 2 months without one. It wasn't terrible really, but surprisingly it didn't satisfy me in the least. I needed a vape pretty much right after, and that got rid of the itch.

To make a long story longer: Partied hard, had a smoke after making it the night, found out they don't "work" for me any more.