Key to Kicking The Analog Habit For Good? - My Thoughts.

[tdinello]

I was just over at the POLLS looking around and there was a poll I thought was interesting. It was about the mg strength that people used to keep them off analogs. As I was reading some of the responses, I got to thinking about some of the other things I have read on the internet. I think, although is not scientifically proven, that I have stumbled onto what just might be key to kicking the analog habit. You see, from everything I have read, it seems that people need to INCREASE the MG strength one notch in order to stay off analogs. So, if you are struggling to stay off analogs for good, I suggest you increase your mg strength one level and see what happens. If you normally vape at 18mg try kicking up to 24mg.

 

[Caridwen]

I agree with this. I'll move this to New Members- probably a better place for it.

 

[Aaron Peik]

I started out on 24mg nic when i quit, and it made one of the most dreaded things in my life(quitting cigs) a total breeze. Of course i vape like a train however and spent alot of time overdoing the nicotine and feeling 'cloudy headed' which still happens when i chain vape for an hour. +1 to high mg nicotine for quitting IMO.

 

[tdinello]

I dreaded it to but I knew it was something that I needed to do for me and my family. The 24mg got me to stop in less than 3 days and I have never looked back. Thanks for the reply and confirming my thoughts.

 

[dejo]

I am at 24mg and have been totally analog free for only 5 days. but that is the longest I have went between analogs in almost 30 years.

I think you are right on with your thought

 

[Caridwen]

Some people may not even need very high nicotine for long. Just until they are able to make the transition from smoking to vaping.

 

[shad0wxb0i]

You don't necessarily have to start with high nicotine content. When I quit I started with 6mg. Depending how you feel with the nicotine content you can Vape for a longer session with lower nic to simulate going through more analogs or stay with high nic. To each his own. Vape on!

 

[Ken62]

Everyone is different.

My wife and I started at 36 mg in December of last year. She is down to 18 and ready to go down to 12 on her next refill. I, on the other hand am nowhere near ready to take a drop (tried 24 mg last month and nearly killed someone/something).

 

[Swampey65]

I started with 18 and found it to be a very smooth transition from cigarettes. I do remember once in a while that I would feel a jones creeping up but that was an easy fix - literally just vape more! Having said this; if you are someone that does not want to "vape more" then yeah, 24mg would obviously be the next step/answer to curing the nic jones.

I vaped at 18 for about 3/4 of my vaping "history" (this July will be a year). Just in the last month I bumped down to 14mg (I DIY) and have noticed no ill effect with regards to any kind of nic withdrawal/jonesing and I am not vaping anymore than usual so, all is well in Swampey land.

 

[Talyon]

I to started at 24, and am now transitioning to 18 and have found it to be very easy 3 months in. I figure in a few more months or 6 lol I might try for 12. But no matter I'm here for LIFE.

 

[Caridwen]

Someone I know needed 36 mg. to quit and quickly reduced nicotine after that. Really, if you listen to your body you know when it's time to reduce. I started with 24 mg and had some 30 on hand for moments when I needed it. I've naturally lowered it, but I don't really want to go too low because I don't want to vape non-stop. Just when I feel I need it.

Everyone is different and has different long term goals. But to transition, you need high enough nicotine to allow you to do that.

 

[Pam Breeze]

I started at 24mg and over 3 years later am still vaping 24 mg although lately I have been toying with the idea of trying 18mg. I think a lot may have to do with how heavy a analog smoker you were to start out with and what type of analog you smoked...full flavor,lights etc. For me it is the physical act of smoking rather than the nicotine so even if I were to get down to 0mg I think I would still vap...Because I like it a lot more than smoking analogs.

 

[Tepid]

NIC Strength is a definite, but also finding a flavor you like helps tremendously.
Try vaping a good flavor you like for a week, then pick up and smoke an analog (you don't even have to inhale)
I would rather vape a good flavor (even some tobacco flavors) than a smoldering tobacco analog.

 

[Vault]

I smoked 45+ a day of Old Holborn/Golden Virginia. I put that as a slash because by swapping from Old Holborn to Golden I thought I was cutting down. Now it appears that the Virginia blend had a higher nic content than the Old Holborn? It was just the smoothness of Golden that gave this impression.
After 35 years of rolling my own I was pretty consistant in my roll-ups, all were about the same thickness and content so i guage this as a good baseline.
I`m a noob at vaping but when I started I suspected that 24mg would be a good starting point and it was for me anyway.

The way i tested it was.... on average my rolly would last for 12 good drags and that was down to my fingers! Rarely did I smoke them down that far (a waste!) so average 10 drags.
45 rollies a day at 10 drags would be 450 good pulls on the E-cig (what-ever the configeration for me).
So one day I counted the pulls (yeah i know! ) and it seemed that around 400 at 24mg would get me through the day with no craving.
Result so i cut down to 18mg which is where I am now.
My delivery system is not the best although it has improved (evod and ego-c) and I`m now mixing my own juice so I can have a higher throat hit and flavour (not adverse to PG at all luckily! ) without having a higher nic content.

The slight downside is that I feel that I am vaping more than I smoked, not a problem for me because I am enjoying the flavour and not using it to satisfy the craving. I am adding vodka to the VG content rather than DI water and boosting the drops of flavour I put in the mix whilst keeping the nic content the same.
The 36mg I bought (just in case ) has never been needed and is now cut to make 18mg.

Seriously with my record of smoking I would have thought I`d be vaping neat Nic juice at 70mg!!! But this hasn`t been the case, if it had been nic patches or gum I believe I would have been using a lot more more but there seems to be something about the delivery method of vaping that satisfies the craving rather than just the percentage of nicotine!
Go figure maybe the act of vaping satifies the craving on a more basic level rather than the physiological effect of the nicotine ingested?.
It works for me and I`m one of the worlds sceptics

 

[Oktyabr]

1.5 PAD average for 25+ years, went from "full flavor" to "menthol lights" about 10 years ago. Tried quitting with 12-18mg juice and the garbage technology that was available four years ago with little success. Bought a vision spinner, a clearo and a bottle of 36mg candy flavored juice (if you really want to quit smoking why would you try to find a juice that tastes like tobacco? Just my $0.02) and vaped myself sick over the first 24-36 hours. Passed the rest of that bottle off to my wife and stepped down to 24mg myself. Now I vape mostly 9-18mg and I'd still carry a little 24mg for that occasion where I can't vape whenever I felt like it. Haven't had a smoke since. My wife quit a few days after I did. She vapes mostly 24mg now but I think is about ready to step down to 18mg too.

 

[Smokachino]

Great information! I smoked ultra lights, so my local vape shop recommended 18mg and I've stuck with that for the 2 months I've been steadily vaping. I still get occasional analog cravings (that first one in the morning is the worst!), so may get some 24 mg and see how that works. Thanks again!

 

[Vault]

I used to smoke at least three roll-ups before I got out of bed! I know bloody disgusting! so now I keep all my vaping gear in the next room and have to get up and dressed before I can indulge.
I have one clearo for the morning, it`s still only 18mg but a tobacco flavour thats as rough as old boots! That gives me the hit I need first thing then I can can sort myself out before actually enjoying a vape with a much more pleasant flavour.
This is a sort of reward therapy for being patient and not giving in first thing in the morning (which I agree is the hardest part of quitting).

 

[rogue_cig]

thanks for sharing your thoughts. I've only tried 8-16mg eliquids and I'm finding I'm still need the analog hit occasionally. The next eliquid order will be a mix of 24 and higher eliquids.

 

[jandrew]

NIC Strength is a definite, but also finding a flavor you like helps tremendously.

This! And not just a flavor you like but one you can vape all day long. I actually recommend unflavored -- not terribly exciting, but it does the trick, is cheap and easy to DIY and zero in on your nic level, and always a good fallback while trying all the flavors out there.

 

[jdubba]

I was at 1.5 - 2 PAD for 20 years. The first few days I was at 24mg, and barely noticed that I wasn't smoking analogues. The biggest problem was that at 24mg I was over doing the nic regularly, so now I've actually switched to kind of a dual system. During the day, when there are longer gaps in my vape sessions, I still use the 24mg. Once I get in the car to head home, I switch to 6mg and vape away for the rest of the night. Seems to keep me from over doing the nic (mostly, I still have to force myself to put it down from time to time).

The biggest thing though, is getting enough to get off the analogs, whatever that number is for you.

I still get occasional analog cravings (that first one in the morning is the worst!)

Also this. After 10 days, this is the only time I ever even think about analogs. It's mostly just a passing thought, not a serious craving. Ten minutes of vaping on some 24mg and it's all forgotten.