This was originally intended as a response to someone's thread about moving on from Cartomizers, but it turned out to be a lot more. As I was writing the post I realized it would pretty much be a thread-jack, so I thought I'd start a new thread. Ordinarily, I wouldn't bother going through the effort to make a new thread just because my reply turned out to be more than what I thought it was going to be, (that is to say, I'd probably just drop a one-liner and move on) but, especially now in the face of the FDA and all others who wish to apparently oppose us (at least stateside) for one reason or another, I want to put my story out there and hopefully at least manage to add a tiny cog to the machine that's fighting on our side...
...Funnily enough, the only cartomizers I've heard of were for devices like the MarkTen. The first time I saw an e-cigarette I thought it was... one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. 'Why wouldn't you just smoke a real cigarette?' I thought. That was before I even started smoking. For the longest time I thought e-cigs were merely a poor imitation of actual cigarettes, with strange flavors. Surely anyone who wanted to smoke would light up a real one?
Fast forward 5 or 6 years to today and now I see it's anything but. It took almost losing someone very close to get me to so much as turn an eye towards vaping, but once I did, I was pulled in immediately. I can see now that back then, I had a very wrong understanding of the vaping industry.
It all started with my fiancee in the hospital. She had such a severe case on pneumonia that she wound up on a form of life support called a ventilator. For nine days I stayed by her side while she was on this machine, watching it breathe for her, watching her vital signs, waiting on the doctors to give me good news. It truly was a miraculous thing that she recovered enough to come off that machine. That experience scared the cigarettes out of her, and I had to quit smoking as well, for her sake.
At this time, we found e-cigarettes to be a safer substitute for smoking, especially for her. This is why I'll never be able to believe anyone who claims that e-cigarettes, or vaping, is equally as dangerous (or worse) than smoking, because if it was, the signs would most surely appear in her health. Admittedly, for whatever reason, she did try smoking a real cigarette again after all this. She only managed to smoke about half of one cigarette and discarded the rest of the pack. That small amount of smoking made her feel so sick that she wasn't able to even finish one full cigarette.
When we started vaping, we got what was immediately available to us, as far as our knowledge went. I had a MarkTen, and I recall she liked the Blu Classic Tobacco e-cig, but she also used the MarkTen, plus some other things she already had from before I even met her. Our first device that I can keep a clear track of was the Tripl3 setup which we found being sold at Sheetz. The Tripl3 eGo battery, their clearomizer, and their juice. Admittedly, their setup sucked. She would get irritated with them and often claim she was going back to real cigarettes, which would be next to a death sentence for her. We continually convinced her to stay with the e-cigs, and I resolved to look for better things. Right around this time, we found the Puff King setup elsewhere. Again it was an eGo battery, with some sort of clearomizer. I remember the clearomizer performing much better than the Tripl3 ones, and it actually worked acceptably for us, but as I recall, we only had one, and began having issues with it. Mind you all this is still quite a long while ago, so my memory of these things is a bit hazy.
At some point I was made aware of the Vapors Dream shop near me in Girard, Ohio. The first time I went in there I was floored by what I saw. At this time I still had no idea what I wanted, that is, what was going to work for us, namely my fiancee. They listened to my story and let me try all sorts of juices. I found what I liked there, and I found something for her too. I've been going there long enough to notice things not being there that used to be, and other things there that never used to be. I found some things that worked for us, and some things that didn't.
I've moved on to a 510-threaded box mod now, but my fiancee still uses the eGo batteries. I was really close to buying her a box, but I couldn't find one that I felt I could turn the power down low enough on. With her weak respiratory, even though vaping is much better for her than smoking, I don't want to give her an over-powered vape. She is also an epileptic, and the majority of tanks, at least the good ones, have metal tips. These metal tips become cold to the touch, at least, they do for her, and this poses the possibility to throw her into shock. That said, it becomes clear that she has limited choices when it comes to vaping, but again they listened to my story and made it work for us.
I mentioned earlier that I moved on to a 510 thread box mod. With it, one of the tanks I used was the Smok NBC. I explained that I would like her to use that tank, because it has a plastic drip tip, and uses a small, low power coil. It worked great on my box at 8w, but I feared that may be a little bit too much for her. They went through a few different suggestions with me, but personally I didn't like them. Since I said there was no box that I could turn the power down low enough on, they suggested some tanks with larger coils that could easily handle the minimum power of the boxes without being overwhelming. But me, erring on the side of caution, thought 'I don't want a larger coil with low power. I need a smaller coil with lower power than the minimum on these boxes'. I brought up that I was pretty much set on wanting her to use the Smok NBC, but the boxes might not work with it for her. I mentioned our small pile of eGo batteries it would likely work with, but I didn't want to connect a 510 threaded tank to an eGo battery because, well, it seems to create a weak point. It seems likely to break there. At this point they showed me an eGo cone adapter designed just for this purpose, connecting 510 thread tanks to eGo batteries. On that day I walked out of the shop with that adapter (and some other things I bought, including a suitable replacement for the Smok NBC I was using that she was going to use from now on) and put it on her Karnoo VV eGo battery along with that Smok NBC. It's the best setup she's had in over a year and a half of trying different things, in my opinion. In a strange twist of 'the way it worked out' her setup currently results in being ever so slightly over 8w, which is something I originally thought was going to be a little too much, after going through all that... but I can tweak it to be close to perfect with my next purchase of coils, by choosing a lower resistance and setting her battery to lower wattage. And me, well, I've moved on to my box with my Nautilus Mini and Vivi Nova, both of which I'm happy with.
I realize now by the end of this post the latter half of it has turned into more of a sort of log of what we've had and what we have now, although inside of it, there's still relevant information for anyone willing to scale the wall-o-text, whether they're interested in vaping or not. This thread tells my vaping story. Though, it's a story of almost losing someone close to me, and finding something that someone who was very addicted to cigarettes (2PAD+) could successfully use to get off of cigarettes for good. It tells how vaping doesn't harm somebody who became so sick, she couldn't even manage to smoke one whole cigarette before getting sick. It tells how helpful the vaping community has been to us, listening to my story and working with my unusual requirements. And, it tells how somebody who has gone through all this is concerned with the way big organizations like the FDA are handling the "regulation" of these products and the people who stand behind them.
The list of health issues my fiancee has is long. When it comes to this sort of thing, the one that stands out the most is the respiratory issue, and the fact that she failed to smoke one entire cigarette before feeling utterly sick after that nasty case of pneumonia that almost killed her. You're telling me vaping is so dangerous it has to be psuedo-banned to protect public health? Vaping is so dangerous it's being psuedo-banned, despite many much more hazardous pharmaceuticals freely available on the market, clearly stating they are NOT approved by the FDA?
First, let me say I support everyone's right to do whatever they want, at least, as long as it doesn't infringe on anybody else's rights. That is to say, if you want to smoke cigarettes, go ahead. I might not like it, but it's the year 2016, everybody should understand the risks now. Even I smoked, albeit for a short time. I did it because I enjoyed it. If you want to vape, you should have every right to. I'm absolutely convinced that not only is it infinitely less dangerous than smoking (provided you don't cram a car battery into a mech mod), but it is also the safest and most effective smoking secession product ever made! That said, I also don't believe that vaping should only be for people trying to quit cigarettes. I find nothing wrong with a so-called "never-smoker" who happens to enjoy vaping. I even supported smokers, if they wish to smoke. I might try to steer them to vaping, though, because I do believe it's a safe alternative! My own life is replete with strong reasons that support the safety of vaping.
Many here clam that vaping has saved either their life or the life of someone close to them, or at least improved their health. Add me to that list. While honestly I felt no difference in my own health (which I suspect is because I didn't really smoke for all that long, and because I am still relatively young), it surely made a big difference in someone very close to me.
I've become increasingly frustrated and worried about the upcoming regulations. The FDA has thus far been vague, even in the face of direct questioning (think Ron Johnson). They're vague about what the regulations mean, they're vague about what it will take in order for a vaping product to be approved, and they even appear to be completely unaware about what their regulations are going to do to the vaping industry as we know it.
...Funnily enough, the only cartomizers I've heard of were for devices like the MarkTen. The first time I saw an e-cigarette I thought it was... one of the dumbest things I've ever seen. 'Why wouldn't you just smoke a real cigarette?' I thought. That was before I even started smoking. For the longest time I thought e-cigs were merely a poor imitation of actual cigarettes, with strange flavors. Surely anyone who wanted to smoke would light up a real one?
Fast forward 5 or 6 years to today and now I see it's anything but. It took almost losing someone very close to get me to so much as turn an eye towards vaping, but once I did, I was pulled in immediately. I can see now that back then, I had a very wrong understanding of the vaping industry.
It all started with my fiancee in the hospital. She had such a severe case on pneumonia that she wound up on a form of life support called a ventilator. For nine days I stayed by her side while she was on this machine, watching it breathe for her, watching her vital signs, waiting on the doctors to give me good news. It truly was a miraculous thing that she recovered enough to come off that machine. That experience scared the cigarettes out of her, and I had to quit smoking as well, for her sake.
At this time, we found e-cigarettes to be a safer substitute for smoking, especially for her. This is why I'll never be able to believe anyone who claims that e-cigarettes, or vaping, is equally as dangerous (or worse) than smoking, because if it was, the signs would most surely appear in her health. Admittedly, for whatever reason, she did try smoking a real cigarette again after all this. She only managed to smoke about half of one cigarette and discarded the rest of the pack. That small amount of smoking made her feel so sick that she wasn't able to even finish one full cigarette.
When we started vaping, we got what was immediately available to us, as far as our knowledge went. I had a MarkTen, and I recall she liked the Blu Classic Tobacco e-cig, but she also used the MarkTen, plus some other things she already had from before I even met her. Our first device that I can keep a clear track of was the Tripl3 setup which we found being sold at Sheetz. The Tripl3 eGo battery, their clearomizer, and their juice. Admittedly, their setup sucked. She would get irritated with them and often claim she was going back to real cigarettes, which would be next to a death sentence for her. We continually convinced her to stay with the e-cigs, and I resolved to look for better things. Right around this time, we found the Puff King setup elsewhere. Again it was an eGo battery, with some sort of clearomizer. I remember the clearomizer performing much better than the Tripl3 ones, and it actually worked acceptably for us, but as I recall, we only had one, and began having issues with it. Mind you all this is still quite a long while ago, so my memory of these things is a bit hazy.
At some point I was made aware of the Vapors Dream shop near me in Girard, Ohio. The first time I went in there I was floored by what I saw. At this time I still had no idea what I wanted, that is, what was going to work for us, namely my fiancee. They listened to my story and let me try all sorts of juices. I found what I liked there, and I found something for her too. I've been going there long enough to notice things not being there that used to be, and other things there that never used to be. I found some things that worked for us, and some things that didn't.
I've moved on to a 510-threaded box mod now, but my fiancee still uses the eGo batteries. I was really close to buying her a box, but I couldn't find one that I felt I could turn the power down low enough on. With her weak respiratory, even though vaping is much better for her than smoking, I don't want to give her an over-powered vape. She is also an epileptic, and the majority of tanks, at least the good ones, have metal tips. These metal tips become cold to the touch, at least, they do for her, and this poses the possibility to throw her into shock. That said, it becomes clear that she has limited choices when it comes to vaping, but again they listened to my story and made it work for us.
I mentioned earlier that I moved on to a 510 thread box mod. With it, one of the tanks I used was the Smok NBC. I explained that I would like her to use that tank, because it has a plastic drip tip, and uses a small, low power coil. It worked great on my box at 8w, but I feared that may be a little bit too much for her. They went through a few different suggestions with me, but personally I didn't like them. Since I said there was no box that I could turn the power down low enough on, they suggested some tanks with larger coils that could easily handle the minimum power of the boxes without being overwhelming. But me, erring on the side of caution, thought 'I don't want a larger coil with low power. I need a smaller coil with lower power than the minimum on these boxes'. I brought up that I was pretty much set on wanting her to use the Smok NBC, but the boxes might not work with it for her. I mentioned our small pile of eGo batteries it would likely work with, but I didn't want to connect a 510 threaded tank to an eGo battery because, well, it seems to create a weak point. It seems likely to break there. At this point they showed me an eGo cone adapter designed just for this purpose, connecting 510 thread tanks to eGo batteries. On that day I walked out of the shop with that adapter (and some other things I bought, including a suitable replacement for the Smok NBC I was using that she was going to use from now on) and put it on her Karnoo VV eGo battery along with that Smok NBC. It's the best setup she's had in over a year and a half of trying different things, in my opinion. In a strange twist of 'the way it worked out' her setup currently results in being ever so slightly over 8w, which is something I originally thought was going to be a little too much, after going through all that... but I can tweak it to be close to perfect with my next purchase of coils, by choosing a lower resistance and setting her battery to lower wattage. And me, well, I've moved on to my box with my Nautilus Mini and Vivi Nova, both of which I'm happy with.
I realize now by the end of this post the latter half of it has turned into more of a sort of log of what we've had and what we have now, although inside of it, there's still relevant information for anyone willing to scale the wall-o-text, whether they're interested in vaping or not. This thread tells my vaping story. Though, it's a story of almost losing someone close to me, and finding something that someone who was very addicted to cigarettes (2PAD+) could successfully use to get off of cigarettes for good. It tells how vaping doesn't harm somebody who became so sick, she couldn't even manage to smoke one whole cigarette before getting sick. It tells how helpful the vaping community has been to us, listening to my story and working with my unusual requirements. And, it tells how somebody who has gone through all this is concerned with the way big organizations like the FDA are handling the "regulation" of these products and the people who stand behind them.
The list of health issues my fiancee has is long. When it comes to this sort of thing, the one that stands out the most is the respiratory issue, and the fact that she failed to smoke one entire cigarette before feeling utterly sick after that nasty case of pneumonia that almost killed her. You're telling me vaping is so dangerous it has to be psuedo-banned to protect public health? Vaping is so dangerous it's being psuedo-banned, despite many much more hazardous pharmaceuticals freely available on the market, clearly stating they are NOT approved by the FDA?
First, let me say I support everyone's right to do whatever they want, at least, as long as it doesn't infringe on anybody else's rights. That is to say, if you want to smoke cigarettes, go ahead. I might not like it, but it's the year 2016, everybody should understand the risks now. Even I smoked, albeit for a short time. I did it because I enjoyed it. If you want to vape, you should have every right to. I'm absolutely convinced that not only is it infinitely less dangerous than smoking (provided you don't cram a car battery into a mech mod), but it is also the safest and most effective smoking secession product ever made! That said, I also don't believe that vaping should only be for people trying to quit cigarettes. I find nothing wrong with a so-called "never-smoker" who happens to enjoy vaping. I even supported smokers, if they wish to smoke. I might try to steer them to vaping, though, because I do believe it's a safe alternative! My own life is replete with strong reasons that support the safety of vaping.
Many here clam that vaping has saved either their life or the life of someone close to them, or at least improved their health. Add me to that list. While honestly I felt no difference in my own health (which I suspect is because I didn't really smoke for all that long, and because I am still relatively young), it surely made a big difference in someone very close to me.
I've become increasingly frustrated and worried about the upcoming regulations. The FDA has thus far been vague, even in the face of direct questioning (think Ron Johnson). They're vague about what the regulations mean, they're vague about what it will take in order for a vaping product to be approved, and they even appear to be completely unaware about what their regulations are going to do to the vaping industry as we know it.
