In need of serious help

[Vegil]

Hi,

It's been about 3 months since I started ecigs, I like the fact that I almost lost my smokers cough, I was coughing roughly every 3-5 minutes which was annoying, now it is about every 10-30mins, which to me is a huge improvement.

Straight to the point: I am in need of a flavor and strength recommendation of an e-juice that closely resembles a real cigarette, badly, here's why:

I usually smoke 12mg, (tried 18mg but was too strong for me) usually menthol or sweet tobacco like Boba's, but every now and then during the weekends when I go out with friends, I cheat and smoke a few cigs, but when I get home and the next day comes I don't crave it. It's been about a week since I last touch one of the "cheated" cigs, but I feel like I am craving one like crazy. It doesn't seem e-cigs are working for me when I am out with friends because I noticed that the hit isn't strong at all. Hopefully some of you more experienced vapers can shed some light, I am on the verge of going back to cigs but I really don't want to (I don't have a lot of will power either :X)

For reference - I use KGOs with stardusts, to me that is my favorite setup and works best.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

You may be one of the rare individuals that needs WTA juice. Whole Tobacco Alkaloids (WTA) eliquid. Dinnertime.
Good Luck.

 

[Tezcatlipoca]

Check out Vapenstein's Analog Replacement Sweepstakes. He's been compiling a list of juices that give a level of satisfaction similar to that of a cigarette. Click on the title of any juice for a thorough review. It's a great resource.

Edit: Apparently this link is broken. Googling "Vapenstein Analog Replacement Sweepstakes" will take you there. Thanks for the heads-up, Elfstone!

 

[AttyPops]

Also...
1) There is a withdrawal from cigs. Once you get em out of your system you go through the witdrawal for about 2 weeks (but can still use nic).

2) Try non-tobacco juices so they don't make you crave smoking (others have recommended this highly). So flavors like fruit flavors or mint or such taste "clean"... and don't remind you of smoking.

3) What ohm is the stardust? Have you tried other atties/cartos? Also, what PG/VG ratio of juice? A number of factors effect "strength" of the vape (usually TH) vs strength of the nic. Voltage/wattage will effect nic too.

 

[elfstone]

Tezatlipoca, you link was broken by ECF.

Anyway, Vegil, it sounds like there may be two issues: you might need to have stronger juices (18 mg, maybe even 24 mg) for going out with friends, and a different flavor. With the flavor I can't help you because I don't like tobaccos, but I can tell you that sweet-ish juices don't go well with booze in my taste so you might want to try either something dry (it doesn't even have to be tobacco)... did you try anise / licorice flavors? Some people seem to like them... Menthol or "cool this-and-that" works with booze... I don't know, I would even go as far as possible from tobacco just so it doesn't remind me of cigarettes at that vulnerable moment.

 

[Semiretired]

Hi,

It's been about 3 months since I started ecigs, I like the fact that I almost lost my smokers cough, I was coughing roughly every 3-5 minutes which was annoying, now it is about every 10-30mins, which to me is a huge improvement.

Straight to the point: I am in need of a flavor and strength recommendation of an e-juice that closely resembles a real cigarette, badly, here's why:

I usually smoke 12mg, (tried 18mg but was too strong for me) usually menthol or sweet tobacco like Boba's, but every now and then during the weekends when I go out with friends, I cheat and smoke a few cigs, but when I get home and the next day comes I don't crave it. It's been about a week since I last touch one of the "cheated" cigs, but I feel like I am craving one like crazy. It doesn't seem e-cigs are working for me when I am out with friends because I noticed that the hit isn't strong at all. Hopefully some of you more experienced vapers can shed some light, I am on the verge of going back to cigs but I really don't want to (I don't have a lot of will power either :X)

For reference - I use KGOs with stardusts, to me that is my favorite setup and works best.

A lot of people cheat as you call it in the beginning. I do not know how many years you smoked, but for me it was over 40 years so dropping them over night was not in the cards. In the beginning I went to 1/4th of what I used to smoke and kept going down from their. It was a month or more (probably more) before I finally quit smoking. I have slipped twice since that time (once with dead batteries and another time just because) - I did not beat myself up about it and neither should you. I just pressed on. As time has gone on it has changed - they actually turn me off now, but I still get an urge once in a while (all habitual after 40 years of developing the habit)... I do not plan on giving in again, but I will not beat myself up about it if it happens - I will just fix it - again.

Look at it this way - every time you vape and do not smoke is one step closer to breaking the habit... and one less smoke that you smoked...

You said you tried 18mg and it was to strong - have you thought of using it just for the craving moments to help getting you past them. WTA is possibly another solution. Looking for a perfect smoke flavored vape is going to do two things - remind you of cigarettes and frustrate you - it does not exist... Since this is vapor - imagine what it would take in flavor to match the flavor of a "burning cigarette"... Do not think I would want to vape it...

 

[Vegil]

Just read through all of your helpful replies, thank you everyone, so here are some answers real quick:

I smoked for ~10 years, I have SR and LR Stardusts, I think Semiretired you're right, I should get some 18mg when I go out with friends it might just do the trick, all I have are 12mg. The 2 closest thing that helps me for these craves are BWB's Casablanca and V4L's No.7, but I think I need them probably at 18mg to hit that sweet spot. I know it would be hard to find an exact replica of a real cig in e-juice but as long as it provides me with the good throat hit, close enough flavor and good vapor (outdoors, i seem to notice when out the vapor production is close to nothing vs indoors )

Also thank you Tezcatlipoca for that reference, i Googled the link and started reading on some, might help.

I am curious of BWB's 'Bakco, mainly because I live in NY and the shipping is pretty fast.

Also, thank you AttyPops, I do think its the withdrawal, but this time its just almost unbearable, when I first started it worked like a charm, but I think my body built a tolerance for the nicotine level (12mg) perhaps I really should consider going back to 18mg.

Another fun fact is, when I started I used to get weird and interesting dreams at night, they are less frequent, I kind of do miss those dreams though since it was like a different movie every night haha

 

[elfstone]

I do NOT recommend that anyone does this, and if you do it - do it at your own risk!

You can still get those dreams on occasion if you wear a nic patch when you go to bed. It worked for me at least.

 

[Vegil]

You're right I do remember getting those dreams when I tried patches a few years ago, but its not really important to have those dreams, it was just interesting

On a side note, I am doing some research on WTA, trying to find any topics regarding health concerns, but it does look like it might work for me from what I'm reading.

 

[AttyPops]

FYI - that's called lucid-dreaming. It's too much nic while sleeping. Many people cut down on vaping and/or nic strength before bedtime.

 

[Semiretired]

Yep, I use 18 - 24mg all day and go down to 8 - 12mg at night (sleep better)...

A little bit higher VG will give you more vapor, but will cut down on the TH. Stardust vape a little cooler for me so that may be also something you could consider..., but the LR ones should be compensating for that... The LR stardust with the 18mg should give you the TH you are looking for.

 

[AttyPops]

Other things affect vapor production (like your outside example)...

Voltage ... increases heat and "fullness". LR atty's/Cartos simulate higher voltages. So Ohm changes = wattage changes.
VG adds vapor, PG adds some TH. Nic adds TH too. Some flavorings add some TH.

Light level always affects visible vapor. Also, vaping outside can cool the atty/carto a bit in the wind. Surprised that it would have an effect on a stardust though, but who knows.

 

[kingcobra]

Some good suggestions here. +1 for going with more nic if you need to. I can tell you that it's not because vaping doesn't taste like a cigarette. Cigarettes taste like crap to be honest It's not throat hit either, that doesn't make sense. Throat hit is actually a sensation of discomfort, although we do tolerate it in vaping.

However there are some other things the cigarette is giving you. +1 for your craving smoking because you aren't getting enough nicotine at times. I had to vape 36 mg for several weeks straight to be able to quit. 30 mg wasn't enough and the furthest I ever made it with that is 5 hours. Now I'm back to 30 again but it took a month and the addition of half WTA to do it. +1 for WTA by the way.

So you definitely need less than I do, but whatever your level of nic need is, if you don't get it, you will crave it. You should also try out some WTA, you don't have to vape it straight, half and half is enough. Half of that at 12 mg and half 18 mg regular juice sounds about right, that will yield 14 mg which is probably what you need.

It's all about working on getting it right as far as when you can quit for good, it took me over a year to get there, most people get there sooner than this, but unless you are willing to adjust things as needed then you will have a lot tougher time.

 

[sailorman]

Other things affect vapor production (like your outside example)...

Voltage ... increases heat and "fullness". LR atty's/Cartos simulate higher voltages. So Ohm changes = wattage changes.
VG adds vapor, PG adds some TH. Nic adds TH too. Some flavorings add some TH.

Light level always affects visible vapor. Also, vaping outside can cool the atty/carto a bit in the wind. Surprised that it would have an effect on a stardust though, but who knows.

Don't mean to nitpick, but it's a common misconception that PG adds throat hit. PG, unlike VG, simply doesn't reduce throat hit. Because high PG juice necessarily contains less PG, it gives the impression that PG is responsible for TH. In the absence of certain additives used by some juice makers, TH is almost entirely the result of nicotine levels. Alcohol is one additive that can enhance throat hit and a cooler vaper will mute throat hit. But may people, especially new vapers, confuse heat with throat hit. Similarly to the way that PG is mistakenly credited for TH, more heat is also mistakenly credited with increasing TH. Low heat (and the resultant low vapor) and VG mute throat hit, but their opposites don't create it. Only additives and nicotine create or add TH. Just sayin.

 

[stew5150]

I fully agree with KingCobra on the above post. I smoked 2 pad for almost 20 years. It took a high nic level for me, and I still had cravings. I vape at 30mg and I have some 36 for when I am drinking or when the cravings are worse. I'm still pretty new to this, but I attribute my success to not getting down on myself if I do need a cig, and those occurrences are becoming farther and farther apart - as they will for you. Now I can't even finish one if I try.
Don't beat yourself up over it, don't be afraid to go too high on the nic level and definitely try a WTA juice. There's a lot more stuff in cigs than nicotine that your body may be craving. Anything is better than smoking.

 

[Mroutlaw]

I would suggest getting some 18mg and just use that when you go out with your friends. That will hit your throat harder. Depending on the pg content in your juice, you could also up that and stick with the 12 mg.

You won't find a juice that has the taste of an analog that you smoke. The best you will find is something that tastes like the analog smells before burning.

There is no way to replicate the burning taste of tobacco


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[elfstone]

Don't mean to nitpick, but it's a common misconception that PG adds throat hit. PG, unlike VG, simply doesn't reduce throat hit. Because high PG juice necessarily contains less PG, it gives the impression that PG is responsible for TH. In the absence of certain additives used by some juice makers, TH is almost entirely the result of nicotine levels. Alcohol is one additive that can enhance throat hit and a cooler vaper will mute throat hit. But may people, especially new vapers, confuse heat with throat hit. Similarly to the way that PG is mistakenly credited for TH, more heat is also mistakenly credited with increasing TH. Low heat (and the resultant low vapor) and VG mute throat hit, but their opposites don't create it. Only additives and nicotine create or add TH. Just sayin.

Yeah, but I mean if you don't DIY there's no way you can tell these things. If you do, then you just vape plain PG - 0 throat hit, then PG + flavors - 0 throat hit, etc... If you miscalculate nic concentration once, you feel what "killer throat hit" means and you don't do it again, and so forth...

With pre-made juices it is relative as you have no idea what they put in the juice. Boba's is 100% VG and yet has a solid throat hit, right?

 

[JohnsWorld]

As everyone has suggested you probably need more nicotine. I'm new to vaping and quit cigs about 1 month now. I had one day (about 1 week after I quit) that I thought I would have to have a cigarette, but thankfully I read on this forum that I probaly wasn't getting enough nic. So I grabbed my hubby's reo and 18 mg nic and all was better in a little while. Haven't had any cravings at all since. I still use 12mg for most vaping, but occasionally use 18 mg when I feel the need. Hope it gets better for you.

 

[Vegil]

I appreciate everyone's input, I should have mentioned this but I forgot, but the reason I stopped with 18mg was because it felt harsher on the throat, when I meant 12mg didn't hit as hard I meant I don't get the kicker, not enough nicotine kind of thing. I think I might try mixing 12mg and 18mg of the same juice that I like and I should get a medium, I tried that with Boba's but it seems the 18mg was kicking in harder since I felt it on my throat. Sorry for the confusion, but thank you guys so much for the input, if anything you guys gave me some will power to not go buy a pack right now

 

[Tezcatlipoca]

Just a suggestion since you're an Alien Visions customer already -- the main juice that I use when I feel like I might want a cigarette is their 555. I use it at the same strength I vape everything else at (12mg), and I wouldn't say that it tastes like a cigarette, but for some reason it does if for me. I think it's the magical combination of the right flavor, throat hit, and vapor production that satisfies a ciggy urge for me. That's just my experience though, for what it's worth.