If You DID NOT Go Cold Turkey How Many Per Day Did/Do You Smoke?

[LaZeR]

I had cut down to 14 cigs a day and with vaping dropped rapidly to 7 a day. It took 2 months to drop to 6 a day and a total of 9 months for me to drop to a cig a week. I then continued to smoke a cig a month (as 3/4 a cig every 3 weeks) for almost 2 years. And yes I think even that small amount was helpful if not essential. To my system, purified nicotine was a not a sufficient replacement for whole tobacco, in fact I tended to find cigs to have too much nicotine. ....

How many cigs NOW?

 

[LaZeR]

I think the psychology behind smoking plays a factor in all of this too and is different for each individual. For me there was definitely an addiction to nicotine/cigarettes, but there was also an addiction to the routines or rituals - morning cig, after dinner cig, a bunch of cigs before work, etc...

Yep, but Physical is ALSO a huge aspect, like movement, cig in hand, etc, as well as Psychological, both = Physiological (I think). I'm still smoking sometimes 2, sometimes 5 per day, but TRYING to avoid patterns like when waking up, coffee, after meals, etc.

Quitting is a personal thing and is a different experience for each one of us.

Right now, I'm not sure, and cannot pinpoint exactly why, I want to. For me smoking is a waste of money, at 3/4 pack per day, social aspects, ashes, and SPORTS activities. I have another thread here but barely anyone is ANSWERING!!

 

[stols001]

11 years ago I encountered my first vape. I quit cold turkey for 6 weeks, started a stressful job and dual used on an off, before relapsing into just smoking.

I had a lot more motivation the second time around. I was at 3 ppd and about to be dx with COPD. I think it took about a week and a half to GREATLY reduce, and probably 3 months total (but mainly not, just a few catastrophic meltdowns like going to a concert as a vaper and having no idea how to do that, etc.)

I'm not perfect. I have stress smoked on occasion but it's Very Rare, enough that I don't beat me up over it.

Anna

 

[Letitia]

Yep, but Physical is ALSO a huge aspect, like movement, cig in hand, etc, as well as Psychological, both = Physiological (I think). I'm still smoking sometimes 2, sometimes 5 per day, but TRYING to avoid patterns like when waking up, coffee, after meals, etc. Right now, I'm not sure, and cannot pinpoint exactly why, I want to. For me smoking is a waste of money, at 3/4 pack per day, social aspects, and ashes. I have another thread here but barely anyone is ANSWERING!!

You need to take into account we have answered these questions so many times on so many threads already.

 

[LaZeR]

I was at almost 3 packs a day. My first vape was my last cigarette.

WOW!! That's kinda amazing... Can you post the equipment you first used to vape, and eLiquid brand?

 

[Ryedan]

I smoked a pack a day for 37 years. Bought an eGo-C kit in 2012. I vaped only for a couple of days, then vaped and smoked a few cigs for about a week, then weaned off the cigs and just vaped. I had one cigarette a few months later, and none since then

 

[vaper1960]

Got my first vape (Aspire PockeX) and some unflavored 18 mg nicotine juice. Went down from 1 pack a day to 5 cigs within a few weeks (was very proud of that, and low budget so couldn't afford the $10 a pack for my brand anyway) One day I woke up and said "I think I can do this". Mostly just vaped and a few cigs here and there (first thing in the morning) Been over 3 months and almost no cigs ( OK, I do slip once in a while... mostly when around a bunch of smokers) Great thread BTW.

 

[Big Orange]

Yep, but Physical is ALSO a huge aspect, like movement, cig in hand, etc, as well as Psychological, both = Physiological (I think). I'm still smoking sometimes 2, sometimes 5 per day, but TRYING to avoid patterns like when waking up, coffee, after meals, etc. Right now, I'm not sure, and cannot pinpoint exactly why, I want to. For me smoking is a waste of money, at 3/4 pack per day, social aspects, and ashes. I have another thread here but NO ONE is ANSWERING!!

I kind of unintentionally quit and my reasons to start vaping were weird. The first day of no cigs came about because I was curious how long I could go without a cigarette. Turns out 1 month and a few days so far. I had a whole pack that I could’ve smoked and I didn’t.

I do have reasons I haven’t gone back to cigs though. I stick with vaping because I like it and I like not smoking cigs. For me it’s that simple. I will eventually like having extra money (I have saved none so far). I definitely like smelling better and not having to go outside at night to smoke (bugs). My teeth are actually whiter. I feel like I have more time and I’m definitely better hydrated. Plus, I’ve met some really nice people irl and online in the vaping community.

 

[Diver9543]

My introduction to vaping started in the summer of 2014. One of our local TV stations did an episode about a local vape shop and explained what vaping was. I was dating a lady at the time and when she dropped by after work I had her drive me to the shop. I walked out with a cartomizer on an eGo battery. I dual used for a while and then put it down.
After the new year, I started thinking about quitting again and returned to the vape shop and sat down with the sales clerk about vaping what would be best for me to finally quit cigarettes. I walked out with a Nautilus tank, another eGo battery and 24 mg/ml house e-liquid. I again started dual-use and did this for about a month. I decided that I needed to set a goal for quitting so I set my birthday for my quit date. About 2 weeks before my birthday I started cutting down my cigarettes. I was smoking 3pad and cut down to about half a pack. My last pack of cigarettes lasted about a week so I smoked my last cigarette on the 25th of February. The next day I found and joined ECF. As it has been said, "It has been downhill since that day." The only things that I really remember as to day, time frames and dates are the day I had my last cigarette and the day I joined Ecf.
I hope this has been helpful to you. When I started I really didn't think that it would be important to remember all of the details.

 

[stratus.vaping]

Smoked French, Russian and other air cured tobacco cigs, dry, strong with fewer additives - some were unfiltered. A few cigars sometimes. Not many a day, memory fading but 3 or 4, cigs not packs! More if drinking with friends somewhere. A guess, smoked (on and off) for +40 years.

So did the commonplace "find a liquid that tastes like those cigs" Doomed to failure ofc. Continued to smoke and vape for a week ( ? memory fading) after finding flavours I liked I simply stopped smoking. First device was an awful Smok tube thing that leaked out of every orifice and seal. Ditched that pronto after a replacement was the same.

Now I often vape zero Nic, sometimes 3mg.

I smoke 1" of a cigar at Christmas and stub it out in disgust.

 

[scott58]

WOW!! That's kinda amazing... Can you post the equipment you first used to vape, and eLiquid brand?

It was a cig a like looking thing from a place called premiumecigarettes almost 10 years ago. Cig end glowed and everything lol. The cartomizers were prefilled and to this day some of the best flavor I ever had. Took about 8 batteries to get through a shift but I stayed with it until better tech came along. Did a v4l Zeus for awhile. Their tobacco flavor juice isn't too bad. These days I like Istick and juice from Heather's with a Nautilus tank.

 

[Jebbn]

I started cutting back on cigs in about 2013. I went from 25ish plus a day in 2013 to 9...ish a day in 2017.
When I started vaping in 2017 it took a month, 7th Sept to 7th Nov, to get settled with vaping and have my last cig.
I sort of immediately dropped 3 cigs a day but I never really had a plan or expectation to quit so I never tried to drop them completely. It wasnt until I realised that it was quite possible that I might be able to quit using vaping as a cessation aid that I decided to adjust my mindset and dig in. It took about a week to drop to zero cigs a day from 5 a day.
If I didnt change my mindset to quitting and really dig in I would still be smoking I think. In a blog I ran on a non vaping site my last real pang for tobacco was 9months after I had my last cig. Up to 6months after I had my last cig I craved tobacco every day and I felt it quite keenly.
Now I roll a daily supply of cigs for the old guy next door every morning and feel nothing about them. I even stick them in my mouth unlit to test the draw is right. Nothing, no pangs. It helps that his smoking room stinks and the acrid stench makes me feel off, I guess

 

[sorrynomore]

I still struggle.
I started vaping in 2014,I went a few months without smoking (I smoked 1 and a half packs a day for over 40 yrs.)and only vaping,then I'd have a few smokes and hate it.Then go through a spurt of no smoking again.On and off,here and there,it is what it is.I hate each siggie I smoke BUT am still drawn to it.
At the moment I'm smoking about 2 or 3 a day.
I definitely have a love/hate relationship with cigarettes and struggle I do...

 

[mcclintock]

How many cigs NOW?

It's been about a year and a half since I had one at all. I did think that was inferred by my 1 a month stage being finite and therefore ended, but admittedly I left off the 2 a year stage. ... The other night someone found a whole pack of cigs, I don't know if it was these other peoples' or if they took them, but was sooo tempted for just a moment. It's been a while since I felt that. For so long the cigs and packs had a certain magic allure even though I know full well they don't hold up to closer inspection.

I also haven't smoked FSCs (fire safety cigs, i.e all manufactured cigs in the US) since Feb. 2010 except as "emergency". If you must smoke, still don't smoke the carpet glue. I almost just quit, vile.

 

[YorkMan]

These are all amazing stories! I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing them.

I was about to start smoking again, had been bumming cigs from friends and neighbors (I know that’s the worst thing, buy your own cheap-o). Started rolling my own with pipe tobacco. A young neighbor said something about vaping so I did some research and ended up buying a Juul kit for $1 from their online store. Didn’t like J but loved vaping. I immediately knew that I wouldn’t ever smoke cigs again. Finally tossed two fine cigars in the trash a few days ago. All that I have left is a corncob pipe that I will keep as a relic.

 

[CMD-Ky]

I gradually cut back from 2 - 2 1/2 packs per day over two months or so. I was finally down to two every morning (news and coffee before going to work) and that went on for about six months. One day I just realized that it had been days since I smoked a cigarette. I have not had one nor wanted one for five years. I have to use approximate duration because I didn't keep track but my best guess is around eight months to go to zero.
I would have considered it a victory if I had continued with two in the morning after coming down from between forty or fifty per day. I hope this answers your question.

Hi, if you're one of those that Vape in order to cut down on cigarettes, or did/have NOT completely stop(ped) smoking 100%, OR, if quitting smoking was a gradual process for you, could you please post how many per day you smoke, or did smoke, and the context around this? Note that this applies to only AFTER you started vaping.

This is very much appreciated so THANKS in advance!!

 

[AttyPops]

I started with a cig-a-like. Found eGo pretty quickly (they were NEW back then!) thanks to ECF. And with ECF and support I "paralled" for a while, finishing off a carton. Then I resolved to "make the switch".

Went through 2 or 3 weeks of withdrawal from tobacco, vaped my .... off and resolved not to buy any more. Went through a lot of "blue foam" too. and DIYed my own juice to keep myself into vaping, play with recopies, and deflect from the fact that I wasn't smoking. Brain-tricks. Obsess with mixing for 3 weeks. Focus on vaping.

It worked. Been 9 years.

There's no one right way to make the switch, but you should try to find A way to switch completely if you can. Ideally. I realize everyone can't. There's WTA juice too if you need it.

 

[Horselady154]

WOW!! That's kinda amazing... Can you post the equipment you first used to vape, and eLiquid brand?

I quit cold turkey on the crappy equipment that was available in 2012, or maybe it was before. It was when the screwdriver mods first became available and back then, it was by far the best, in my opinion. You have to WANT TO quit. I satisfied my nicotine craving by making sure I was using a high-enough nicotine level. I started with 18 and went to 24. I think I even went higher with a couple of bottles, if I recall. Whatever it took. It wasn't perfect and I kept trying others of the again crappy stuff that was available then; trying to find something that I truly liked. It was nothing like what it is now. Now is nirvana compared to then. The biggest thing is that you have to want to quit and be determined to do it.

 

[Letitia]

I still struggle.
I started vaping in 2014,I went a few months without smoking (I smoked 1 and a half packs a day for over 40 yrs.)and only vaping,then I'd have a few smokes and hate it.Then go through a spurt of no smoking again.On and off,here and there,it is what it is.I hate each siggie I smoke BUT am still drawn to it.
At the moment I'm smoking about 2 or 3 a day.
I definitely have a love/hate relationship with cigarettes and struggle I do...

Look how far you've come. Personally I think you're doing great keeping the number of cigs you smoke down rather than tossing in the towel. I believe you have and continue to accomplish quite the feat.

 

[LaZeR]

I still struggle. I started vaping in 2014, I went a few months without smoking (I smoked 1 and a half packs a day for over 40 yrs.) and only vaping, then I'd have a few smokes and hate it. Then go through a spurt of no smoking again. On and off, here and there, it is what it is. I hate each siggie I smoke BUT am still drawn to it. At the moment I'm smoking about 2 or 3 a day. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with cigarettes and struggle I do...

• I am pretty much very similar to you having started Vaping in 2013 but also always went back & forth with cigs.
• Starting in April 2019 I was up to smoking 3 quarters pack per day and thought "&%#! this is SUCH a WASTE of moola $$$$", so a couple weeks ago went back to Vaping again.
• Now with vaping, I'm still smoking 2 to 5 cigarettes per day, but TRYING to avoid patterns like lighting up after waking up, with coffee, after meals, etc.
• Sometimes a stressful situation triggers pulling out a cigarette, but if I have an eCig right beside me, sometimes I forget about smoking it, vape instead, and the cigarette burns away in the tray to one long ash.
  
• For me smoking is a waste of money, at 3/4 pack per day, social aspects, the smell, ashes, and SPORTS activities.
  
• Right now, I'm not sure, and cannot pinpoint exactly WHY, or IF, I want to stop cigs 100%, and use 2 to 5 cigs as a complementary additional hit to vaping.

Are you avoiding BEHAVORIAL PATTERNS around lighting up a cigarette, and maybe also got some Nicotine Gum?