Must Stop the Insanity! Need advice on stopping dual-use.

[r77r7r]

When I got my first one, I went down to 3 cigs those first few days and then I panicked at missing them and went up to 6,lol. That went for about 6 wk and I don't think it had as much to do with vaping as it did that I severely disliked the way I smelled after smoking that gave me the reason to finally end it.
Near the end, I allowed myself to have a few puffs and then watch it burn down in the ashtray while I vaped. I just needed to respond to the trigger that said "here, light this and you'll feel better".

 

[RedForeman]

Am I the only Luddite that had to ask the Google what a pod is? I guess being happy with the same thing for 3-4 years I missed some news.

What @Rossum said. I was around nine months smoking and vaping. One day, I realized that I had not smoked in who know how many days. That was about four years ago and I am now considered by people with a brain (those who are not group thinkers) as a former smoker.

I resemble this remark. A little less time, it took the right taste and high enough nic to get me over the hump.

OP: About the only other bit of advice is make the real ones much more inconvenient to use, while the vape is in your hand whenever the urge strikes. When transitioning, I kept the smokes and lighter in a dresser drawer, and went outside to use them. It was a 10 minute ritual to have a real one, about 0.5 seconds to vape. I'm lazy, so that went well.

It did take me a tiny bit of will power to completely stop smoking. One day I realized I had not had a real one in three days, which of course set off epic craving. I stuck it out 30 minutes, then an hour, then days at a time. 7 years ago.

You'll get there.

 

[Vapemesilly]

I'm going to go totally against what everyone else is saying...so don't hate me. I'm not trying to be a jerk.

Don't smoke! Throw the cigs away and just vape. Try it for a day. If it goes ok try it another day. Then another.

You've done the dual use thing for a while. Try it without the cigs. I believe that smoking is as much a mental issue as physical. You're getting nicotine from vaping. Your brain is telling you that you want a cigarette. Tell your brain to pound sand and pick up your vape.

Try it.

 

[Suomynona]

Personally I think the key to not smoke cigarettes anymore is an adequate level of nicotine in your vape. If you have enough nic in your liquid, your body will tell you it's enough. If you don't have enough, you're being left with a craving that could be mistaken for a craving for tobacco...

When I quit, I didn't even have the intention to quit. I bought an e-cig for use in the car when I'm travelling with my asthmatic wife (and didn't want to stop to smoke outside in the cold, wind and rain). I started off with a 12mg MTL device and it gave me enough nicotine to get a nic high when chain vaping. I liked the vanilla flavor I bought so I was sucking on the mod like a baby on ...., and really didn't have an urge for tobacco at all anymore. So I quit right there and then, without dual use.

Later on, with changes in hardware and looking at how other people "progressed", I went down to 3mg juice on a subohm tank (later drippers and RTAs)... but that craving came back. More recently I upped my nicotine again to 5mg and I'm all good now. I even reduced my liquid consumption to about 50% now... so my total nicotine consumption may still be where I was with the 3mg, but every puff I take is a lot more satisfying and easing the urge from my nicotine addiction.

There seems to be a notion among a lot of vapers that you have to reduce your nicotine consumption, but quite frankly, if you're concerned about health, it's probably safer to vape your nicotine than all the flavors they put in the liquids. Higher nicotine % in your liquid will reduce the amount you vape (save you money) and it also greatly reduces the amount of possibly damaging substances you inhale.

So TL;DR, if you still have an urge for tobacco, you just don't get enough of your nicotine and you need to increase the nic level in your juice.

 

[AttyPops]

I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I did and what I went through.

I quit using DIY. These days, there's so many flavors and vape shops it's even easier if you don't DIY your juice. But the point is that I had A LOT of stuff/flavors to fuss with.

I also made sure that the hardware worked (old stuff, now) well enough to not fail on me. So I had a backup.

I smoked the last one, and didn't buy any more. I had it set in my head that I wasn't going to give any more money to BT, or pay the outrageous taxes on smokes. It was costing a small fortune.

Then, I went through some minor withdrawal, numb tongue and such. Meh. Like Rossum, zoiDman and others have said, there's more in a cig than just nic. You will need the nic to get through it. Don't be afraid of the nic while quitting.

After a short while, you'll start saving even more money. Your sense of taste and smell will come back. You won't stink like cigs. You'll reduce your risk level much much more than you are now (even one a day is nasty risk wise). And dual use can have EXTRA risk in a sense, as any additional risks you have with e-cigs are ADDED on top of the risks you already have with cigs, even if cutting down reduces those some.

Your CO levels will go down after a day, and your oxygen levels will increase, and give you more energy.

Maybe you can try a "just for two days" approach and see if you feel any difference? If that helps you. But after about 3 weeks, cigs STINK. That's why we call them stinkies now. Another phrase that helped me was "Just not today, maybe tomorrow".

And you can wash clothes, drapes, paint walls, whatever and not have it yellowed up (if you smoke inside).

Good luck to you.

 

[Katdarling]

I am finding the more I just grab the Vape, the longer it takes for me to even think about having a cigarette. I am now up to about 2 PM before having a real and that is only because Of my work smokers. For some reason it’s the feeling of, “missing out on something,” which is totally ridiculous. But I like it out as that I have kind of settled on one flavor instead of constantly thinking about what I like because smoking regular cigarettes is pretty mindless. When I have my first Real cigarette, it tastes gross and I smell.

Welp, Major, I have a feeling you'll find what's right (best) for you. Sometimes time is the key.

I needed a bit of distraction from my smokes. I dualed for prezactly 10 days, during which, I kept my vape and a pack of cigs next to me. I allowed myself to pick up whichever I wanted in the moment. During those 10 days, my body and mind just sort of naturally drifted towards the vape. Day 11 was my first non-smoking day.

That was 7.5 years ago.

Distraction. Some people around here know that I love shiny and BLING! I like shiny/blingy toys. So part of what worked for me was getting a lot of gear, and having new toys to play with. It allowed me to simultaneously not have TIME to smoke, but it also gave me the opportunity to learn more and more about my vape. I watched endless YouTubes on vaping, and as I am a monkey-see monkey-vape vaper, I vaped right along with the videos.

Best wishes on your path. We'll be here to cheer you on!

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I was a very heavy cigarette smoker.....some days up to 3 packs. I had been looking for a way to quit for several years and none of the aids on the market ever did anything except address the nicotine problem. Needless to say that the smoking habit is far more than just smoking a cigarette and none of the aids even began to address those issues.

I would start to panic when I opened my last pack(bought by the carton) knowing if I did not stop right then and go buy some I would run out. Well, that always send me traveling to the nearest place to buy more. I hated that this damn addiction had so much power over me. I was desperate to stop.

I had also been searching the web to find alternatives and had heard about ecigs so after many failed tries to find any info on them, I finally found something I wanted to try. It was called safe smoke. I immediately bought 2. Altho I did not plan on having any cigarettes within my reach when I started to use the Safe Smoke product, I ended up with one unopened pack when my new product arrived in the mail. I decided to put that pack in a kitchen drawer and concentrate on just using the ecig.

At first, it was difficult but I was determined. Each time a thought or craving came up, I would just vape more and say NO to those thoughts and cravings. Eventually, the thoughts and cravings got less and less until they finally went away. If I went into that kitchen drawer for something that pack was still there and I would just pass right over it.

I think for me, that knowing that pack was there kept my anxiety down and that I was finally taking a stand to help myself lose that monkey on my back.

Making the switch is a process. Each of us does things differently and there is no one size fits all. Take from all of the posters suggestions and if they don't fit within your way of doing things, then pass right by them. Keep the suggestions that are doable for you.

I think that once you do get past whatever hurtles you have you will be thrilled with the changes you will start to see. Each day will bring more surprises as your body begins to heal and senses will start to return that you didn't realize you were missing.

Good luck in your journey. I promise it is an amazing ride.....

 

[stols001]

Yeah, there is no one perfect solution for everyone, that's for sure. I will say this, even one day without a cigarette (even if you go right back to smoking) can be revolutionary.

However, let it go on too long, dual using, and it sort of becomes this eternal One Day and etc.

It was/is considerably harder to stop this time (and I'm getting there but not enough to oh, put a banner below me) than it was the time before, but I was in a very different state of health and stress and whatnot. I began to panic because smoking oh, 2 or 3 cigs a day was becoming my new "now" and that wasn't going to work, I just knew it. Upping nic helped... But only to the extent that I allowed it to do so.

You can't be the frog forever, at some point you have to jump, and suffer a bit and it does get easier, etc.

Anna

 

[vapdivrr]

I have never tried a juul or pod and nic salts, so I really don't know how they compare with let's say a nautilus and a proper mod. I do know my wife and countless others have had great results from a nautilus or more recently a nautilus 2 and high nic juices (no salts). Your current device may be just as good, but it may be worth a try ,to at least give something like this a go.....good luck and keep at it

 

[VHRB2014]

My success hinged on 7 days cold turkey. After that, vaping seemed like a God send.