Need serious advice for a serious question

[Lynda]

Hello, everyone! I'm seeking the help of the fine folks here to help my mom. She's 65 years old, smokes 3 packs a day, and has major COPD, to the point of occasionally requiring oxygen. It's no secret that if she doesn't give up analogs soon, she won't last many more years, and the quality of those remaining years will be total crap. I've talked with her about e-cigs and she's game (anxious, even) to give it a try. The problem is she doesn't have internet access, doesn't have a credit card, and lives in Middle-of-Nowhere, Missouri. So it will be up to me to provide for her, and I need to find the best way to make this work for her, but my pockets aren't very deep. I was wondering, if I give you wonderful folks my criteria, can you help me find the best solution? So here they are, in order of importance:

1.) Needs to satisfy the physical and psychological needs of a 3-pack per day smoker.

2.) Needs to be accessible. Since she can't order directly and has to wait for me to order, then send to her, our solution has to have a quick turn-around. Or, ideally, is there any way to purchase a sound starter kit that will accept OTC (njoy?) refills that she may be able to purchase locally? My fear is that if a component gives out and can't be easily or economically replaced, she'll revert to her all-too-easy-to-get analogs.

3.) Needs to be relatively simple. Mom is intelligent, but not technologically inclined, and won't have anyone on-hand to walk her through it.

4.) Initial cost needs to be conservative. There's no doubt that, once and if she takes to vaping, the amount of money she spends on analogs will more than cover the very best. But until then, I only have approximately $100 set aside to get her started.

I realize I may be asking for the dream-world perfect solution that everyone is seeking, but I figure it can't hurt to try.

My thanks in advance,
Lynda

 

[QueenInNC]

I am a newbie, myself so I am not much help, but just wanted to wish you luck with your Mom. She has a good daughter.

 

[nicowolf]

My advice would be to try the Ultimate starter kit at
The Smokeless Shop - and to get her some extra liquid to top up cartridges. This is only a starting point. As a 3 pack a day smoker, she will need some serious stuff to make this work. She will need you to send her a weekly or monthly care package with info from here, some spare parts, and some liquid. For the long term, you may want to look into a more expensive device like the Screwdriver or the Janty Kissbox.

Most suppliers do not do telephone ordering because they are so busy just with the internet, but in your special circumstances, one or two might. I would suggest sending a PM to a few you are interested in buying from. It couldn't hurt to try.

Don't get discouraged if this is not an overnight success. I hear your desparation, but she didn't get to 60 cigarettes overnight and might not quit 60 cigarettes overnight either. This is not a magic cure.

Good luck, and please don't be afraid to ask questions.

 

[Cellmeister]

Hi Lynda,

I was a 3 Pack a day for 30 Years.. I bought like 5 different kits!

Finally the Kiss Box 304 Pen Kit Saved Me. I was able to stop Smoking. $85.00 but its Quality!

Heres The Link to the Around

Pick up some high nicotine juice, different flavors, I would stick with regular flavor unless she smokes menthol or marlboro, take your choice, its there.

The VaporGuys Also Take Telephone Orders Too!! 1-877-E-CIG-NOW | 1-877-324-4669

I am not affilated with them, but I always get my orders from them in 2 days...

Good Luck & Stay Away from The Low End Stuff, It Won't Work!

Cellmeister

 

[RjG]

Or maybe a pen? Way bigger battery and cart

3 pack a day smoker will empty that 901 like it's going outa style ;-)

 

[RjG]

heh, Cell beat me to it

He has a good point about the high strength too. I was a pipe smoker (inhale) so I was probably in about the same boat, for nic intake

I tried starting with 16mg. I chain-vaped all day, killing batteries and filling carts. No fun, it was really a hassle.

 

[chokmah]

Well I am also new to e-cigs so not sure if I will be much help but I started with the starter kit with the penstyle (battery lasts a while). I ordered an extra atomizer and then as many cartridges as I could. I only had around 80 $ to work with. I was a 2 pack a day smoker so not sure of 3 packs. I then took and saved what I would have spent on cigs and applied that money when I ordered my husbands e-cig after we got our income tax return so loaded up then. (waiting on that shipment). I ordered from puresmoker.com and recieved them pretty quick. They also have free shipping on orders 99$ or more. We are needing to quit due to husband being diagosed with stage 4 lung cancer. I still cheat with cigs but I only smoke 3 or 4 a day max. I have had a few days where I just smoked 2. Without the e-cig I would still be smoking 2 packs a day so I am saving mass amounts of cash currently.

I would suggest an extra atomiser and then load up on carts then use the money your mom would sped on cigs and order more carts and a extra battery. Then you can just order parts as they stop working along with extra carts. Using the e-juice may be more cost effective but it is a tad more work

Again I am pretty new to the e-cig but that is what my order process will be and we dont have deep pockets here either.

 

[riddle80]

I was thinking a penstyle from Puresmoker would be good. They're great for former heavy smokers. That's all I use. He has quick turn around too.

You can get a classic penstyle kit, an couple extra atomizers, and some liquid for under $100. You can use the coupon code "pure5ref" for 5% off.

 

[JustJulie]

Bless your heart . . . you are such a good daughter!

Where in the middle of nowhere Missouri is she? Anywhere within spitting distance of St. Louis?

This business is still new enough that sellers seem to be pretty friendly. In fact, if you spend any time on this forum, you'll see that we tend to refer to the sellers by their first names as often as we do their businesses. In any event, I would be shocked if you couldn't manage to get some of those nice sellers to ship directly to your mother even though it's different than your billing address.

I ditto everything Nicowolf said. I'd make sure that when you get her some extra liquid, you get a fair amount of it. When you first start in with this, you tend to use A LOT of liquid.

I was a 2+ pack a day smoker for 30 years, and I am now in my 4th week of no tobacco cigarettes. For me, that's pretty freakin' amazing.

 

[Cellmeister]

Ya Steve at PureSmoker is Good Too. But I had Already Checked for the Pens, Out of Stock...

Ohh Sorry, I thought she wanted to do a phone order & wanted it fast. Vaporguys takes phone orders & ships same day for me, not many others do.

Just my reasons, not to offend.. If so My Bad...

Just Vape!

 

[skullsoup432]

I placed my first order with VG because they had disposables, and I didn't have to lay out alot of money to try something I might not like. The disposables weren't great, but I was intrigued. I called them hoping they might answer a few questions. Man, Kurt went way beyond my hopes. He listened, told me of pros and cons, options, etc. I ordered on Monday evening and got my items Thursday afternoon. I was and am thrilled. As a matter of fact I just talked to Kurt today (he actually returned MY call!) and he was just as patient and helpful.
I have been vaping 10 days now and have gone from 3 packs a day to 1! Don't want to quit, just cut down.
Ah, your mom will be just fine with this technology, it is not difficult. Good luck!

 

[ejfan1977]

Lynda, Hello and welcome to our forum!

I am a newbie also, just a little over a month into it and I have been very successful. What is really exciting is that my 84 year old stubborn Norwegian father has been smoke free for 32 days now. He too has COPD and I often wondered if he would survive some of the coughing fits he had. I could have sworn he was going to die!

I am fortunate to have him living with me and my husband so I am able to check on his cartridges and make sure his e-cig is functioning, etc.. We both use the Njoy pen style e-cig. It has worked out pretty well for us. He did have his atomizer poop out on him last week because he dry smoked it, but I since I have two pen styles I was able to loan him one of mine. I called Njoy and 2 days later I had a new atomizer in the mail.

It looks like there is s strong recommendation to go with a pen style for your Mom. As far as which vendor to purchase from that is the tricky part. This is a great group of people here and I know they all want to see your Mom be successful at quitting via an e-cigarette. I would recommend Njoy, but that is just me. I have had a positive experience with them.

I wish you the best in finding the right system for your Mom!

 

[nitewriter]

Lynda, bless you for doing this for your mom. I lost someone who I consider a second mom to me, one year ago (on the Feb. 26th) from COPD. If I had a penny for every time I wished I'd known about these devices for her, I'd be rich.

I also suggest the penstyle as I was a 3 ppd smoker. I'd be a little concerned about starting her out with 36mg liquid. I started with 16 and did fine. She might also like to closely replicate the real cigs with Marlboro or Virginia liquid to top off carts. I love Steve at Puresmoker! He'll take great care of you.

I am hopeful that these devices will save lives and possibly prevent the suffering from this, and other horrible smoke-related diseases in the future.

Good luck

 

[Lynda]

Thank you, everyone, for your kind and comprehensive advice! It certainly seems to be the consensus that the pen style is likely the best solution for my mom, along with extra batteries, atomizers and cartridges. I think refilling the cartridges might be somewhat overwhelming, at least to begin with. Once she has the hang of the process, she might be ready to learn another new trick. She has always smoked "light" cigarettes, her vain attempt at limiting the damage, so I might start her with a mid-strength nic and move up if she doesn't get the satisfaction that would keep her away from the analogs.

It's my understanding that the pen style from PS, VG & SS are all pretty much the same model, and that they are compatible with the Njoy replacement parts - is this correct? I've heard and read mixed reviews of Njoy, and they're pricey, but I find their ubiquitous availability attractive under the circumstances. If Mom can go to Walgreen's or Target to pick up refills in a pinch, that's a major plus. (Although a recent search on Target.com for Njoy products is coming up nil - I wonder if they've had a change of heart. )

I thank you again - and I'm sure I'll be back more often once I begin my own journey down the vaping trail!

PS to JustJulie: Mom's on the other side of the state, near Liberty/Kansas City.

 

[JustJulie]

PS to JustJulie: Mom's on the other side of the state, near Liberty/Kansas City.

Bummer. If she hadn't been too far away, I would have offered a free e-smoking lesson and some backup for you.

Can't answer your question about Njoy compatibility, but I will say that a penstyle probably is a good choice. They produce a lot of vapor, but I personally find that the "hit" is stronger with a DSE901. But, as others have noted, the DSE901 requires more frequent cart changes/top-offs. There's always a tradeoff.

Please keep us posted on what you decide to do and how your mom is doing.

 

[Momof3]

Both times going from solely analogs to e-cigs I've gone with Medium strength and I swear I smoke more until I settle in. I've only tried the penstyles and pilot. I'm going to try the neighbors dse901 when she gets it. My pen has a more satisfying hit IMO and is easier to top off. My understanding is the 901 is just as easy. I say either will be good, but I would add a usb passthrough with a house adapter. Waiting on a battery to charge for 4hrs will almost surely see her off buying a pack. I know it about did it for me a few times. HTH

 

[katink]

There need to be enough batteries to keep her going indeed (will probably mean at least two chargers also, for a 3ppd smoker) (or, as said, a usb-passthrough - in her case plus a wall-outlet adapter and if possible plus a battery-pack as she doesn't have a computer).
I agree the pen would be a good solution - though when you are in it a bit further I would also recommend getting a bling for her from heavengifts: not costly and quite reliable.

As for going for Njoy: I won't say anything about quality- or service-issues, as news on those differ greatly (maybe per njoy-place, I don't know). But I wouldn't go for Njoy for another reason: namely the cartridges.. Njoy-cartridges will keep you at much too high costs. What are they at the moment? Several dollar each last I heard... While for instance Janty has a wide variety of cartridges, at no more then 4 or 5 dollar for 5 cartridges.. that's a saving of what, 80% or so? And these are the costs that will be coming back every day, so really try to watch those maintenance-costs would be my advice (Janty-cartridges fit on almost all pen-styles btw, so you can buy the penstyle from many places - but if I remember correctly they don't fit snugly on an Njoy pen...).

I really hope it works out well for your mum; but if she is willing to try as she seems to be reading your words, I think you can have really good hope that this will either get her to e-smoking completely, or at least almost completely, within a short time. Good luck to you and her!

 

[xMarlboroMan]

(My apologies if this has already been sugguest; haven't read the rest of the replys.)

I am in fact thinking about the same thing for my mom; getting her to switch to e-cigs and get her away from the analogs. My mom is a bit older at 74 and probably just as technically inclined as your mom

If I were to sugguest to a friend about an ecig, I would say dse901 or penstyle and get e-liquid to drip. However, for older persons like our mothers, it probably wouldn't be very handy for them to drip. (It can be a pain you know.)

My thought was to get my mom a loongtotem. Those carts are supposed to last about 1 pack of cigs. A loongtotem would be almost fool proof. All she'd have to do is screw on a new cart when the old one ran out. No worring about it fading out when the cart gets 1/2 empty like a lot of the other ecigs.

===Now for the downside

Being new to e-smoking myself, I have only just yesterday received my parted together loongtotem (buyreddragon.com carts and bloogplanet.com battery), so I don't have much personal experience to go on. My first impressions are not that good though. It produces a ton of vapor, but there is absolutely no throat hit. For me, it is like smoking a Marlboro Light. This is unacceptable for me. I don't know how it would compare to someone that has smoked mlb lights before, so it maybe acceptable. There was a mild taste (I used a vanilla cart) and the vapor was much warmer than my dse901, but you did have to use a primer puff to get that warm feeling. I am going to try other brands of carts and see if there is any difference.

Also, I have read that you can refill these by popping off the cap you put in your mouth. I haven't refilled one yet, but I have removed the cap to see how hard it would be. It doesn't look to be so bad. I am sure 36mg of cash menthol would provide myself with the throat hit I would desire . This method of refilling should last a lot longer than contstantly have to drip on a 901/801.

The second downer is cost. Carts can run a couple dollars each. This is much much cheaper than a pack of cigs though, but if you are on a tight budget, this would be quite a bit more than buying the e-juices.

At any rate, I just wanted to give you another alternative to consider.

L8r, x

 

[Lynda]

But I wouldn't go for Njoy for another reason: namely the cartridges.. Njoy-cartridges will keep you at much too high costs. What are they at the moment? Several dollar each last I heard...

Oh, I certainly would not rely on Njoy because of the cost, as you said, but compatibility would be a plus in a bind. I'd rather her spend a couple dollars on a cartridge than the same amount of money on a pack of smokes.

Thanks again, everyone. Mom's actually in the hospital at the moment, hasn't had a smoke in 2 days and is not AT ALL happy about it. The nurses are ready to kill her. If only I'd gotten her started sooner, everyone would be a lot happier right now.

 

[Grandma Cas]

She has always smoked "light" cigarettes, her vain attempt at limiting the damage, so I might start her with a mid-strength nic and move up if she doesn't get the satisfaction that would keep her away from the analogs.

Hi Lynda just to let you know I smoked 2-3 packs of "light" a day so, thought "med" would be fine but, turned out I needed "high". I think us heavy long term (about 45yrs for me) smokers must need a little extra.