Started smoking analogs when I was 10 years of age. Smoked a pack a day of Marlboro box until I was 23, then quit. My older sister started a couple of days before me, when she was 12. Unfortunately, she never quit and passed away a few years ago, in her early 50's from small cell lung cancer (caused only by smoking cigarettes). I watched as she grew old that last ten years of her life, in a way that I can only atribute to her smoking up to two packs a day.
That said, I have no idea why I started smoking cigarettes again, like four months ago, but I did. When I was young I enjoyed the experience of smoking, and it was very difficult to quit the first time around. The past 30 years of living a smoke free life has been wonderful, and with no desire for nicotine.
I work with actors, and they can smoke like trains. In short, grabbing a beer with a couple of them, after hours, and I would bum a smoke from time to time. Then, I bought a pack of my own. Which, was the beginning of the end of my smoke free life. Of course it could be said, I was stupid, careless, flat out crazy to mess with the cancer sticks again, guess I was just cocky. Whatever it was, I was hooked in no time at all.
Desperate to find a way to stop (I have 3 teen boys) I stumbled upon ecigs. First ones I tried were the "Trial Offer" type (4.99 for starter kit) and they tasted awful. I read the small print and got out of that contract before they charged me ($150 in first week) for way sub par 510's. Which, they planned to follow with an additional $150 each month for carts - which would auto send. Yet, interestingly, when I would Vap from one of those horrible tasting ecigs, an analog would not taste good or give any kind of throat hit for a few hours afterwards.
I started doing my research (google) and realized there were quite a few options out there. Saw a guy smoking a Blu outside my local coffee shop and asked him about it. He had nothing but praise for the Blu, and how he had not smoked an analog in a couple of months because the ecigs. To be honest, I really didn't want to dive into ecigs at that point. I kept telling myself I could quit cigarettes on my own. At that point I was only smoking 5 or 6 a day for a couple of months. Within a few weeks I was up to half a pack a day. My boys started smelling it on me. (They asked my wife about it.) She discovered I was smoking again on our 22nd wedding anniversary getaway. She was understanding, but obviously concerned.
reviews on the internet kept me from going to the Mall and buying the same kind of ecig I had experienced with the "trial offer". Then, when buying a pack of smokes, at my local store, I saw a "disposable" ecig (Square Menthol 18mg) on the counter. Vapped on that for a couple of days, while smoking up the pack I purchased. The Square didn't do the trick. For the next week I dabbled with the idea of ordering Blu's, but hesitated. Then, I noticed on their website that they sell disposables at Walgreens. I scooted over to Walgreens and purchased one. For some reason, the disposable Blu is 24mg ($8.99). The highest Blu sells with their starter kit is 18mg. Since I was a Marlboro Red smoker, the disposable 24mg seemed to be just right for me.
But, after only a day and a half the disposable Blu was spent. Did a bit more research and found out that a Blu disposable lasts about the same as a pack and a half of regular cigarettes. That meant I was going to spend more on ecigs than analogs. Since, I was taking two days to go through a pack of Marlboros. And, (imho) the Blu still didn't satisfy nearly as well as an analog. And, I saw that guy at my coffee shop again, and he had ditched the Blu's because the batteries didn't last very long. What to do? Then I found out about mega cartridges with large rechargeable batteries. - Still had not discovered this forum. - So, I did some more research and decided on a Pig Cig. Got it last week and have not had a cigarette since. Honestly, I have had a couple of urges, but nothing that sucking on a Vap device couldn't cure.
Like I wrote earlier, I was desperate to stop the smoking, for obvious reasons; cancer runs in my family, and I missed that bullet once already. More important, because my youngest and oldest boys have been getting into smoking over the past year. I know, why the %*&!? would you start now? I don't know, but I did. And, as many of you on here know, it ain't easy to quit. So, all I can say is thank God for ecigs. They might just save a few lives in my family. I really wish these things were available years ago, my sister would probably still be alive. Like me, she enjoyed the tactile part of smoking - which ecigs do very well. And, she probably, like me enjoyed the calming effect that nicotine affords the user. I'm not saying I will turn my boys on to ecigs, rather they no longer can say, "Hey, you do it Dad." I sat them down and told them I quit smoking last week. And, I have. I don't openly Vap, and don't plan on doing so, either. My wife knows I Vap, but this is a habit that I can keep to myself. It's personal.
I find it ironic how so many out there are concerned that kids or people will just pick up an ecig and start smoking for the first time. Sorry, but that would be like a person choosing to get around in a wheelchair, even though their legs work. I would be surprised to meet anyone that starts using nicotine from experimenting with ecigs. It just isn't practical. No matter how cool looking the divice is, it just doesn't look "cool". Of course they are conversation starters, but I would presume that is either curiosity of the non-smoker ("What is that thing!?") or smokers intrigued by the option. I remember a year ago when I saw Johnny Depp smoking one in a movie. I was like, that is just weird and not at all convincing. The character he was playing in the film was a strange character, and the smoking of an electronic cigarette seemed strange and out of place, even for that character!
One really can't Vap anywhere that smokers can't smoke. They are not any more convenient in that way. Vapping is not that inexpensive (as a habit), and it takes quite a bit of work (battery charging; cart filling; atomizer cleaning). Not to mention, one almost needs a phd in something or another to understand all the options for Vapping (e.g. 510's, 808's, 900 this and atomizer that's). Yet, these things WILL SAVE LIVES.
What I find rather interesting is I never get the buzz from Vapping that I did from smoking. I am guessing it is because I got some buzz off the nicotine that cigarettes deliver, but most of my smoking buzz came from all the chemicals and poison! It was so long ago when I smoked cigarettes as a kid, so I can't really recall what I felt like when I smoked then. But, this time around I would sometimes need to lean up against my car so as not to loose my balance when I would smoke that first cigarette of the day. That has never happened with Vapping, not even close. And, I don't know if I want it to! LOL
Long story longer...if I felt that ecigs caused people to start smoking/vapping I would be less supportive of them. Of course only time will tell the long term effects of Vapping, but I am pretty certain it can't be any where near as bad as smoking. I've read quite a few studies and there are reports that claim Vapping isn't any more harmful than the intake of caffeine from drinking coffee; all the way to the "studies" that report they are finding some of the same chemicals that are in anti-freeze in eliquid. Well, I also read a laboratory study 30 years ago that reported human mother's milk can cause cancer in laboratory rats! Who knows??? All I know is after only four months of smoking cigarettes I had headaches, muscle aches, was getting smoker's cough, shortness of breath and I smelled like an ashtray. ALL of that has stopped in less than a week with Vapping.
I want to quit this soon, as well. Not sure if that means stepping down to 18mg, then 12mg and so forth. For now, I am very glad there is an alternative.
God's speed to all of you.
That said, I have no idea why I started smoking cigarettes again, like four months ago, but I did. When I was young I enjoyed the experience of smoking, and it was very difficult to quit the first time around. The past 30 years of living a smoke free life has been wonderful, and with no desire for nicotine.
I work with actors, and they can smoke like trains. In short, grabbing a beer with a couple of them, after hours, and I would bum a smoke from time to time. Then, I bought a pack of my own. Which, was the beginning of the end of my smoke free life. Of course it could be said, I was stupid, careless, flat out crazy to mess with the cancer sticks again, guess I was just cocky. Whatever it was, I was hooked in no time at all.
Desperate to find a way to stop (I have 3 teen boys) I stumbled upon ecigs. First ones I tried were the "Trial Offer" type (4.99 for starter kit) and they tasted awful. I read the small print and got out of that contract before they charged me ($150 in first week) for way sub par 510's. Which, they planned to follow with an additional $150 each month for carts - which would auto send. Yet, interestingly, when I would Vap from one of those horrible tasting ecigs, an analog would not taste good or give any kind of throat hit for a few hours afterwards.
I started doing my research (google) and realized there were quite a few options out there. Saw a guy smoking a Blu outside my local coffee shop and asked him about it. He had nothing but praise for the Blu, and how he had not smoked an analog in a couple of months because the ecigs. To be honest, I really didn't want to dive into ecigs at that point. I kept telling myself I could quit cigarettes on my own. At that point I was only smoking 5 or 6 a day for a couple of months. Within a few weeks I was up to half a pack a day. My boys started smelling it on me. (They asked my wife about it.) She discovered I was smoking again on our 22nd wedding anniversary getaway. She was understanding, but obviously concerned.
reviews on the internet kept me from going to the Mall and buying the same kind of ecig I had experienced with the "trial offer". Then, when buying a pack of smokes, at my local store, I saw a "disposable" ecig (Square Menthol 18mg) on the counter. Vapped on that for a couple of days, while smoking up the pack I purchased. The Square didn't do the trick. For the next week I dabbled with the idea of ordering Blu's, but hesitated. Then, I noticed on their website that they sell disposables at Walgreens. I scooted over to Walgreens and purchased one. For some reason, the disposable Blu is 24mg ($8.99). The highest Blu sells with their starter kit is 18mg. Since I was a Marlboro Red smoker, the disposable 24mg seemed to be just right for me.
But, after only a day and a half the disposable Blu was spent. Did a bit more research and found out that a Blu disposable lasts about the same as a pack and a half of regular cigarettes. That meant I was going to spend more on ecigs than analogs. Since, I was taking two days to go through a pack of Marlboros. And, (imho) the Blu still didn't satisfy nearly as well as an analog. And, I saw that guy at my coffee shop again, and he had ditched the Blu's because the batteries didn't last very long. What to do? Then I found out about mega cartridges with large rechargeable batteries. - Still had not discovered this forum. - So, I did some more research and decided on a Pig Cig. Got it last week and have not had a cigarette since. Honestly, I have had a couple of urges, but nothing that sucking on a Vap device couldn't cure.
Like I wrote earlier, I was desperate to stop the smoking, for obvious reasons; cancer runs in my family, and I missed that bullet once already. More important, because my youngest and oldest boys have been getting into smoking over the past year. I know, why the %*&!? would you start now? I don't know, but I did. And, as many of you on here know, it ain't easy to quit. So, all I can say is thank God for ecigs. They might just save a few lives in my family. I really wish these things were available years ago, my sister would probably still be alive. Like me, she enjoyed the tactile part of smoking - which ecigs do very well. And, she probably, like me enjoyed the calming effect that nicotine affords the user. I'm not saying I will turn my boys on to ecigs, rather they no longer can say, "Hey, you do it Dad." I sat them down and told them I quit smoking last week. And, I have. I don't openly Vap, and don't plan on doing so, either. My wife knows I Vap, but this is a habit that I can keep to myself. It's personal.
I find it ironic how so many out there are concerned that kids or people will just pick up an ecig and start smoking for the first time. Sorry, but that would be like a person choosing to get around in a wheelchair, even though their legs work. I would be surprised to meet anyone that starts using nicotine from experimenting with ecigs. It just isn't practical. No matter how cool looking the divice is, it just doesn't look "cool". Of course they are conversation starters, but I would presume that is either curiosity of the non-smoker ("What is that thing!?") or smokers intrigued by the option. I remember a year ago when I saw Johnny Depp smoking one in a movie. I was like, that is just weird and not at all convincing. The character he was playing in the film was a strange character, and the smoking of an electronic cigarette seemed strange and out of place, even for that character!
One really can't Vap anywhere that smokers can't smoke. They are not any more convenient in that way. Vapping is not that inexpensive (as a habit), and it takes quite a bit of work (battery charging; cart filling; atomizer cleaning). Not to mention, one almost needs a phd in something or another to understand all the options for Vapping (e.g. 510's, 808's, 900 this and atomizer that's). Yet, these things WILL SAVE LIVES.
What I find rather interesting is I never get the buzz from Vapping that I did from smoking. I am guessing it is because I got some buzz off the nicotine that cigarettes deliver, but most of my smoking buzz came from all the chemicals and poison! It was so long ago when I smoked cigarettes as a kid, so I can't really recall what I felt like when I smoked then. But, this time around I would sometimes need to lean up against my car so as not to loose my balance when I would smoke that first cigarette of the day. That has never happened with Vapping, not even close. And, I don't know if I want it to! LOL
Long story longer...if I felt that ecigs caused people to start smoking/vapping I would be less supportive of them. Of course only time will tell the long term effects of Vapping, but I am pretty certain it can't be any where near as bad as smoking. I've read quite a few studies and there are reports that claim Vapping isn't any more harmful than the intake of caffeine from drinking coffee; all the way to the "studies" that report they are finding some of the same chemicals that are in anti-freeze in eliquid. Well, I also read a laboratory study 30 years ago that reported human mother's milk can cause cancer in laboratory rats! Who knows??? All I know is after only four months of smoking cigarettes I had headaches, muscle aches, was getting smoker's cough, shortness of breath and I smelled like an ashtray. ALL of that has stopped in less than a week with Vapping.
I want to quit this soon, as well. Not sure if that means stepping down to 18mg, then 12mg and so forth. For now, I am very glad there is an alternative.
God's speed to all of you.
