I'm not a smoker. Is this worth getting into?
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I just want to clarify that first, yes, I do believe you are genuine, that you aren't just "trolling for a story." A troll would have given up by now... I think you're just starting out in this life, and are intensely curious about this due to your experience in the hookah bar. Nobody has had the balls to say this yet, so I'm going to: Welcome to the Forum!
I'd also like to say that we've got a reason to be a bit paranoid right now. The other members of the forum have accused you of being out trolling for a story because such things have happened before! Once bitten, twice shy.
Now, I'm going to burst your bubble......You ask if vaping is a bad idea for you to try, you're hoping someone will tell you "yes, go ahead, you'll love it...." I'm NOT going to tell you that, I'm going to tell you no, don't try it!!!!!!
But, I'm going to give you reasons:
First, do you think that Nicotine is the ONLY thing we're addicted to? If that were true, NRT's would have a lot better success rate than 5%. That's right, 95% of smokers who try NRT's FAIL to QUIT!!!
It's the whole ritual: Physically-the hand to mouth, the controled inhale, the complete exhale of everything in your lungs...... Psychologically-it's the rebelliousness of the act. The thought that, even though it's been "sanitized" and thought "safer" than tobacco, it's still an act that goes against the grain of society (smoking, and everything that looks like smoking, is EVIL) THAT'S what is so addictive...
Second, say you take up vaping, even the zero nic stuff... even if you're not inhaling....What happens when the FDA BANS the damn things?!?!?!? Now, you're hooked on the hand to mouth. Now, you're hooked on the ritual. What's going to happen then? You might think you're strong enough to abstain, you might be.... BUT WHAT IF YOU'RE NOT?
You're going to crave the ritual, want it, need it. It's going to be an itch you can't scratch. worse, its going to be forbidden fruit - the big, evil government guys have taken away my new, shiny toy! What are you now going to do? You're going to go back to the hookah. You're going to tell yourself you can handle it, it's just every so often. But you are now exposing yourself to nicotine, absorbed through the soft tissues in your mouth, and in the end, the nicotine will have you......Congrats, you're just another addict like us.
So my counsel for you is to wait..... Wait until vaping has had its trial by fire (and its coming, make no mistake!!!)
In the meantime, get a humidifier, pour some flavoring ingredients in the water, and sniff away. Take a yoga class, learn meditation, practice rythmic breathing. Burn incense or scented candles.
In the meantime, continue your research on all things vaping, and continue to be active in the forum. Every mind, every voice will make a difference wether or not our new toys get approved or buried.
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If I can throw in my 2 cents. I won't assume you are a troll, I'll assume you are genuine and answer in my own humble opinion.
I DO smoke, I have smoked for almost 25 years. It's killing me slowly (well, a bit faster nowdays). I started vaping a month ago not as a suppliment or a cessation method, but as a dilution method. I am not smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day now. I now smoke about 8-10 cigarettes a day. That's a 75% decrease. It is helping me in more ways than one with a life threatening addiction.
Let me tell you some things about vaping and you decide if it sounds like a fun weekend thing to do:
-Ill leave out the expense details, its already been said 100 times. Its very expensive.
- In order to vape, you need the following tools: A lockbox to keep your kids or pets from getting into the juice and killing themselves, syringes, filter batting, a steam cleaner, a bottle of everclear, little holders to keep the e-gig upright (if you lay it down, juice leaks out and eats the finish off your table), saline rinse in case you rub your eye after handling the e-cig, cotton balls and mouthwash in case you overfill and suck a bunch of juice into your mouth, ziplock bags, a carrying case to tote around: extra cartridges, batteries and atomizers, a batter charger and a drawer full of batteries that cost 20 bucks each, tweezers, at least a dozen small 5ml dropper bottles, ehh... get the idea yet? The list is actually about 3 times longer but I'll stop here
- Now you need supplies. You are forced to order most of them from china or UK and wait 2 weeks to get it. You need spare atomizers, spare batteries, a wall charger, a car charger, a USB charger and a pass-through power supply, various flavors of nicotine juice, if you are allergic to PG, you need to make sure you are getting VG juice and hope the supplier is honest about it before you take a hit and swell up, a box full of spare cartridges to keep filled up and carry around with you hoping they dont leak in your glovebox , and a box full of empties in case you want to change flavors. Anyway, there are more items but this is getting long.
Anyway, I know it looks like a cool gadget hobby, but it's not. Most people here are responsible and know how to handle what they are dealing with, some in the general public are not. You don't have to be a chemist but you need to be careful. This is not a thrill hobby. People still look at me as though I am pathetic because I am addicted to something and Ive gone to this extreme to satisfy my urges.
Also, the juice we vaporize and inhale is considered safe for all effective purposes. However, we arent putting it in cake mix. We are vaporizing it and inhaling it. Gasoline is not flammable in liquid form, but you better not get a match next to the vapor, the change in properties makes a big difference in the physical laws. Asbestos, like glycerin, is safe to chew and swallow, but if you inhale the dust, bad things happen. Vaping could be the same, we simply don't know the long term effects yet of inhaling vaporized glycerin repeatedly over long periods of time so be warned.
So, if you haven't picked up which way I lean, I'm telling you. Don't mess with it. It's a huge pain in the rump and it could be dangerous to your health. We believe it is safe, but we arent biologists and we havent studied specimens for 30 years to observe the effects. As smokers and ex-smokers, we are making a choice between jumping off the top of a skyscraper and jumping out a second story window in an effort to save ourselves. It really comes down to that. This isn't fun, trust me.
I wanted to add one more thing. Something I'm not proud of, but just to put things into perspective about addictions.
I had an accident in the past and went through many surgeries on my back. During that time, my only relief was vicoden. I finally got my back "fixed", but was left consuming 60-70mg of hydrocordone per day. If you know your drugs, and it sounds like you do, you know that's a lot of narcotics. I took this drug for 4 years at that level.
I got up one day and stopped taking vocoden. I am a VERY strong willed person and I quit a very vicious narcotic addiction cold turkey. No help from my doctor and no mental health support. I just quit. It sucked major for a couple weeks, but I did it, no problem. Never relapsed, never wanted another one.
Having said that, I have tried to quit smoking at least 20 times and have failed each and every time.
My point is to highlight what someone else mentioned earlier. The addiction is NOT the drug. It is plain and simple. Be very careful, you are meddling with what could be a life altering decision. I hope you take my advice seriously, there is no point for a healthy person to take such a risk. Pickup cliff diving, cave jumping, stunt driving or something else a little safer.
Just a troll trying to feel morally superior to us "dirty" ex-smokers.
The OP is probably the same type of person who says "Some of my best friends are ________"(insert appropriate minorty group here)
The OP is probably the same type of person who says "Some of my best friends are ________"(insert appropriate minorty group here)
So, I'D like to add a bit about ADDICTION.
LET ME APPLAUD ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO HAS ATTEMPTED AND OR OVERCOME ANY ADDICTION
If/ like you, can clean themselves up w/o any outside help. is an amazing and remarkable thing, especially pills.
although any addiction is , well all you know, what it is. How many times have we hid and cried to ourselves, PLEASE PLEASE STOP, HELP ME STOP, the thought of going thru that again, makes me ill, just thinking about, gotta vape, excuse me
WHAT IS SO WONDERFUL!!! IS TO SEE ALL OF US, BAND LIKE BROTHERS AND SISTERS, YELLING AND SCREAMING AT THIS KID, ( whoever, they are) NOT TO START and then telling our story
just shows how special this group is and how really intense we are!!!
I LOVE YOU GUYS
idontusetobacco, is lonley, he remindes me of another person we had on here several weeks ago from Egypt.
ok ill bite that said... if you chooce to vape 0nic for flavorsing then go right ahead however most flavors dont come accross like they did with the hooka remember that other wise i would advise you not to use the PV devices but you go ahead and do what you will
funkyZero and Vicks,
Thank you for your posts. Now THOSE are the kinds of responses that a question like "Is it worth it?" warrant. You've given me plenty to think about. I may be underestimating the risk of psychological addiction. Having had the discipline to lose 75 lbs and completely change my eating and exercise habits, I may be tricking myself into thinking that I can handle the oral fixation aspects.
funkyZero, regarding all the supplies and costs, I'm really not contemplating doing anything nearly that complicated. I really was thinking of this as a very casual thing that I might use briefly on a friday or saturday night, and probably not even every week. But again, maybe I'm underestimating the complexity and cost. I had been considering smoke51 (which I gather is really just a re-branded loongtotem, correct?) since it seems much simplier and easier to use, but I thought, why not save some money and also have access to more flavors by going more the DIY route.
Thank you for your posts. Now THOSE are the kinds of responses that a question like "Is it worth it?" warrant. You've given me plenty to think about. I may be underestimating the risk of psychological addiction. Having had the discipline to lose 75 lbs and completely change my eating and exercise habits, I may be tricking myself into thinking that I can handle the oral fixation aspects.
funkyZero, regarding all the supplies and costs, I'm really not contemplating doing anything nearly that complicated. I really was thinking of this as a very casual thing that I might use briefly on a friday or saturday night, and probably not even every week. But again, maybe I'm underestimating the complexity and cost. I had been considering smoke51 (which I gather is really just a re-branded loongtotem, correct?) since it seems much simplier and easier to use, but I thought, why not save some money and also have access to more flavors by going more the DIY route.
Could you elaborate on this more? So none of the flavors will be as good/intense/tasty/whatever as my hookah experience?
You are, IMO. I'm finding to my surprise that I seem to be more hooked on that than the nicotine, so you have been warned.
I was perhaps a bit mean in my other comments in this thread, but I hope you understand that having found something which gets us away from burning dead leaves and inhaling the smoke, vapers are *very* wary of anything which threatens to take away our PVs. We've already today had someone claiming to be an 18 year old who wants to start vaping, and that would be wonderful propaganda for prohibitionists.
And let's not forget the one that hacked dc2k's survey..filling out 10+ survey forms as a 17 year old.
Hadn't heard about that but it doesn't surprise me. Some people are just dicks for the sake of it.
I was in the same boat as you.
I would smoke maybe 3-5 cigarettes a week (I don't think most people would classify that as a smoker) and I got into vaping because I love the act of smoking, not the chemical addiction (I don't even feel anything from nicotine) so I started vaping.
Here are a few things to keep in mind
1.) If you have an addictive personality, this is a very risky path to go down.
2.) It will cost money, probably around 100$ to get started (eCig + Liquids + backups)
3.) You will get no throat hit from no nicotine liquids (some claim they do, but i've never had any luck)
4.) Your lung capacity will still suffer a little, although much less than cigarettes.
I say go for it if you just enjoy the ACT of smoking, and are not susceptible to addiction.
I would smoke maybe 3-5 cigarettes a week (I don't think most people would classify that as a smoker) and I got into vaping because I love the act of smoking, not the chemical addiction (I don't even feel anything from nicotine) so I started vaping.
Here are a few things to keep in mind
1.) If you have an addictive personality, this is a very risky path to go down.
2.) It will cost money, probably around 100$ to get started (eCig + Liquids + backups)
3.) You will get no throat hit from no nicotine liquids (some claim they do, but i've never had any luck)
4.) Your lung capacity will still suffer a little, although much less than cigarettes.
I say go for it if you just enjoy the ACT of smoking, and are not susceptible to addiction.
So, after receiving some complaints about this thread and the OP, I have just spent the last half hour+ reading this entire thread. My conclusion at this point is that idontuse is not a troll.
The question he/she poses may not be one you would choose to come to this forum and ask, but that should not deter others from doing so, providing their motives are not otherwise malicious.
idontuse....it is true that a lot of people here are "on edge", facing possible bans, FDA intervention and supply shortages. I'm sure you can understand that.
You don't sound malicious to me....nor out to bring harm to the forum. However, should that end up not being the case, you obviously would not be welcome here, just as anyone else that comes here who might be considered a threat to this community. I hope you won't prove me wrong.
With that being said, I do not plan on intervening in this thread further, unless it somehow takes an ugly turn. And for those who don't agree with this, feel free to contact SJ. He can obviously take any action he wants here.
Now....play nice peeps! I have lots of other complaints to look at yet.
Lu
The question he/she poses may not be one you would choose to come to this forum and ask, but that should not deter others from doing so, providing their motives are not otherwise malicious.
idontuse....it is true that a lot of people here are "on edge", facing possible bans, FDA intervention and supply shortages. I'm sure you can understand that.
You don't sound malicious to me....nor out to bring harm to the forum. However, should that end up not being the case, you obviously would not be welcome here, just as anyone else that comes here who might be considered a threat to this community. I hope you won't prove me wrong.
With that being said, I do not plan on intervening in this thread further, unless it somehow takes an ugly turn. And for those who don't agree with this, feel free to contact SJ. He can obviously take any action he wants here.
Now....play nice peeps! I have lots of other complaints to look at yet.
Lu
If you can find nicotine free flavors, go with it.
Totally Wicked and Johnson's Creek have nicotine free flavors. If you send an email to Christian @ Johnson's Creek, I'm sure he would be glad to make you a nicotine free sampler.
Totally Wicked and Johnson's Creek have nicotine free flavors. If you send an email to Christian @ Johnson's Creek, I'm sure he would be glad to make you a nicotine free sampler.
I just don't feel like there is any threat from someone even if they are fishing for something. We are all in this for a reason and that reason doesnt include fun. You can see that from the responses. Nobody here is going to tell anyone to start vaping unless they are trying to find an alternative to tobacco. Anti-smoker groups (note I say anti-smoker, not anti-smoking) need to paint us as evil, and we simply aren't. We are just addicts. The gov. hands out methadone to ...... addicts not because it is good for them, but because it isn't quite as bad for them as ....... No, it's not a good thing, but it's better than having them mug old ladies to buy drugs of unknown origin and inject it into their bloodstream. Maybe not the best of analogies on the relative scale, but anyone reading will get the idea.
We can respond with genuine answers even if we arent' answering the guy who started the thread. Other people read the posts and it may lead them to a better understanding of who we are as a group... not necessarily members of this forum, but desperate smokers looking for a way out. Those of us with an e-cig have found a medium, hopefully a temporary one that we finally lay down one day.
I don't want to vape, I want to smoke, and Im trying like hell to correct that. I know that every time I take a hit of vape, I save myself a tiny sliver of lung capacity I would have lost to tobacco. I want everyone to know that, troll or not.
Most of "us" don't even know what an e-cig is yet, let alone read this forum. All I know is the e-cig has not only helped me to cut my tobacco usage by 75% inside of 30 days, it has also liberated me from the constant barrage of insults and demonization dealt by anti-smokers, and they don't like it one bit.
Now, the lobbyists are after us again. This time, it's the tobacco companies we used to support. At it's root, it's not about the FDA being concerned about safety, that's just the excuse being printed to get the masses of anti-smokers in line with their agenda... and as usual , it will mostly likely work against us.
How on earth did I get this far off topic?
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