Littlte Introductory Thread: Trying to prevent a relapse to smoking.

[Joe Normal]

Hello dear forum!
About 1 1/2 months ago i started to vape, my first system was a set of Ego-T (A) models that i bought via a German internet store that delivered very quickly, so got a nice set to start out with along with some small sample of a nice apple/cinnamon liquid. I ordered some additional refill tanks along with some additional liquids of a quite diverse variety.

It all started when semester finals week at university started and the stress grew cumbersome and finally started to wear me down. Just FYI: I was an ex-smoker back then already, quitted smoking about... 3 years ago, having been quite a heavy smoker for about 10-11 years of my life.
Yes, it's quite unusual for an ex-smoker to start vaping, but i did so because one morning i was fetching myself a nice cup of cappuccino at the vendor's booth at the subway station near campus when i felt that certain... need... or was it just a feel of sorts... rise up in me. Like a mean sort of wanting, yearning for a certain feel, the rush of a nicotine hit.
So i was standing at the booth, and the lady vendor poured me a nice cup of fresh, boiling cappuccino, and put it on the counter, asking me these dreaded words "Would you like anything else along with that?".
Out of the blue i became totally completely flabbergasted, because a known, yet... somewhat "antique" thought came to mind: "I have enough additional change for a lighter and a pack of smokes... just one pack..." but then my conscience came back to senses as i told her "No, but thanks.", paid the 80 eurocents, grabbed the cup, and left.
On my way to campus i decided to not give in to tobacco again and to buy a set of e-cigarettes along with some supplies like liquids (only without nicotine, mind you, as i wanted it to be a placebo that satisfies my ritualism), and the like.


So, at present i'm vaping a tiny, Smoktech DCC carto (clear version) with a flat drip tip (silver) on an Ego battery (650 mAh), as the Ego-T atty is, though it's nice and neat, does not exactly satisfy my demands relating to the amount of vapor and taste.

So far I achieved the best results regarding amount of vapor and variety in taste when i vaped a Janty EDC carto (dual coil, 1.5-1.7 Ohm) on a Janty EgoVV battery with middle setting.

Luckily a German online was able to sign a deal with PSV, so i was among several German buyers that were first able to buy PSV liquids and aromas directly from a German shop.

I have already tried Blueberry Mojito and Strawberry Bubblegum, but i'm sure there are even more nice flavours from PSV that i could try...

Anyway, hello forum!


p.s.: Feel free to ask if there's something you'd like to know!

 

[36tinybells]

Welcome and happy vaping! Glad you are off the nasties cigs!

 

[dlsw]

Congrats on making a great choice!!! Welcome and tell us more about vaping in Germany.

 

[Joe Normal]

Well, as you've probably might've already heard from members of the two big forums here in Germany there's quite a witch hunt going on in the mass media. Several politicos are all up in arms trying to prevent vaping from becoming a viable alternative to smoking, by using any means necessary, even by means of regulatory agency raids officially backed by public persecution department, even though it's still unclear what the actual accusation against the e-cig vendor is/was.
Basically the government (rather some single politicians) tries to use scare tactics, disinformation campaigns launched via lobbyist-prewritten press releases and, as the former suspicion seems to become more solid, even outright malpractice...

We're trying everything we can to fight back, but it's not over until we win against some totalitarian politicos that bring up the remembrance of a much darker and worse Germany, the methods used and the agendas of the politicos (and, even sadder, scientists) involved are very clear for all to see.

The cynical thing: One of the politicos campaigning against e-cigarettes is a medical doctor (now please brace yourselves) with the German Cancer Research Center and she is (now it gets hilarious) the head of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Tobacco Control.

So, let me sum that up for you: A medical doctor that tries to prevent cancer and keep people from smoking by trying to deny them an alternative to smoking by trying to get e-cigarettes and e-liquids illegal.

Let that sink in, just for a moment.

Now think about the fact that Germany once had a very famous chancellor named Helmut Schmidt that, to this day, smokes on stage when he's invited to talk shows on tv, and does so publicly.

 

[MadValleyVapingMama]

The Canadian & German governments must be working together on the quest to outlaw e-cigs & juice

 

[Joe Normal]

The situation among the vaping community at large is almost like watching a mass panic erupt among a group of people at a public demonstration.
Some people even start to hoard nicotine base liquids in amounts of several liters, i kid you not, there are even people thinking aloud in the forums about buying canisters of 20L or even more, putting it in the freezer so that they'd have a stash if the e-cigarette, rather the liquid(s) would be banned or heavily regulated.
But it gets even worse when i think about that there's a rapidly growing amount of vendors of e-cigarettes and e-liquids that, atm, has no firm quality standards AT ALL. Everybody and their granny seems to be selling supplies for and e-cigarettes themselves, without even trying to run proper business.
The confusion would be even greater if there wouldn't be several cool peeps like, for example, forum users like "Philgood" (who also maintains a nice YT channel called "Dampferhimmel" literally "vaper's heaven" that has reviews, tutorials and other educational and entertaining videos on it) that try to bring some sort of order and a flow of correct information into the scene.
Still, the scene is growing every day, even though the hysteria in mass media even goes as far as exploiting the incident that recently happened to that e-cigarette modder guy to the maximum possible level.
Shy estimations on the actuall numbers of vapers in Germany speak of 1.2 million(!) e-cigarette users, bolder assumptions claim it to be ~2 million. Whatever the number, it seems to grow rapidly even though (or due to, who knows) some guys campaigning so heavily against e-cigarettes.

But the even greater irony is, that some anons made even a video related to the campaign against e-cigarettes trying to mobilize the vaping masses of Germany to fight back for their rights to vape. No, i'm not kidding.

 

[nansc]

Welcome to the forum Joe and good luck.

 

[Joe Normal]

Thanks for the nice and warm welcome to the forums, i'm looking forward to having great debates&discussions with you!

 

[sailorman]

Welcome, Joe. Good luck fighting the good fight in Germany. Many of us have stashes of nicotine juice in the freezer as well.

Thanks for your very interesting account of the vaping scene in Germany. I must say that I'm disappointed somewhat. I'd always considered the German government to be more level headed than the knee jerk reactionaries that infest positions of authority in the U.S.. It just goes to show you, ignorance and self-interest know no national boundaries.

I also want to commend you on your most excellent English skills. I'm guessing that you are not a native English speaking expatriate only because of a very few grammatical errors I have noticed are common with German speakers, namely the use of the word "quitted". That said, you deserve an A+

 

[Joe Normal]

ARGH, i knew it. Yes, i should've known that, but i'm a bit out of practice when it comes to speaking English, sadlily.
I use my English skills when it comes to my gaming hobby, see, i've been a wargamer/table top gamer since the early nineties and i'm a Role Playing Gamer (the pen&paper variety only, i don't really like computers that much) for about... 16-17 years. Pitifully the RPG scene offers most of the good systems and books solely in English and most of the German translations of US and foreign titles are rather sloppily done due to the market being a niche market.
No, i'm not going to renfair(s) and no, i'm not worshipping the devil and no, i'm not that socially awkward and yes, i do shower on a regular basis.

Just to get the stereotypes out of the way.

 

[kcss88]

Tell me Joe....are you still vaping nicotine free and finding it satisfying?

 

[CrunchyGeek]

Joe - it's refreshing reading your posts because of the fact that your English grammar is actually much better than the average American's. The posts I read on facebook have literally made me grind my teeth - I'm a bit of a "grammar nazi" (my husband's words, not mine) - probably because I am a writing major. Interestingly enough, I've noticed that it is very common for people who've learned English as a second language to have a better mastery of grammar than native speakers!

 

[pagga]

The cynical thing: One of the politicos campaigning against e-cigarettes is a medical doctor (now please brace yourselves) with the German Cancer Research Center and she is (now it gets hilarious) the head of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Tobacco Control.

So, let me sum that up for you: A medical doctor that tries to prevent cancer and keep people from smoking by trying to deny them an alternative to smoking by trying to get e-cigarettes and e-liquids illegal.

Let that sink in, just for a moment.

As an American, or maybe just as a New Jersey-an, I'm used to blaming corporate greed on every problem in my country. I'm anything but relieved to be reminded that greed drives mankind no matter what soil they are on.

One of the primary reasons I joined this forum, aside from harm reduction (I plan to quit tobacco but PV 's aren't cessation devices), is to add my tiny bit of volume to the vaping community's voice. The second reason is to understand what needs to be regulated for PV 's and the e-liquid to be as safe as possible. Hopefully safety won't come at the expense of unnecessary government meddling. If it weren't so disgustingly apparent that most of the motivation for banning PVs is greed, I'd actually support (government) regulation and maybe even make a case for taxation (I'm bracing for the flaming that I surely inspired by saying "regulation" and "taxes").

Maybe I'm wrong, and greed isn't the element I should be concerned about. Please, someone correct me, someone tell me that there are wholesome, ethically sound motives behind the movement to force us all to die of tobacco related illnesses. I can't find sound evidence that any of these anti-PV movements are fueled by anything other than the self-preservation of professions that thrive on the scourge that is tobacco.