Need some encouragement :/

[Liskrig]

**mods/Admins, Please feel free to move this if it is not the correct section.

TL;DR Version 3.0 located at the bottom along with the question

My dad has smoked for as long as I can remember. I have photos of him from after work in his bright orange shirt (complete with breast pocket for keeping Winston brand cigarettes) and Fruit of the Loom grey sweatpants from before I was even born. I'm 26 now, and my dad has smoked for over 30 years (possibly a lot more).

He lives about 6 hours away, and is retired with a custom build automotive garage that is bigger than his house. We meet up every time he is back in the area, and usually get dinner.

I recently (for the holidays) decided to get him an innokin endura t18 kit, as I liked the performance on it, and the great review by Phil Busardo (pbusardo) as a great starter device. He is a master mechanic with 30+ professional years in the industry, and has a licence to drive anything with a combustion, or electric engine. Choosing a color wasn't hard. I got chrome. He likes chrome.

I showed him how to fill it, and explained a bit about the tank, and battery, and the coils. We went outside, and I screwed the tank onto my mod and gave it a couple of low power pulls to make sure it was wicked. It worked well. So I put it back on the Endura battery, took a quick pull on that (12mg is now a lot for me) and handed it over to him...

He took a drag, and instantly started coughing. I asked what he was feeling, and he said "it feels like I'm inhaling pipe tobacco"

I asked for it back, and I took another pull, this time inhaling with a MtL technique, and it was surprisingly smooth. No throat hit, no burn... Asked him to try it again, same result. He was good about it though, took another hit after the 2, this time slow, and gentle. He was able to handle that. I explained that as much as it may feel like it, this is not a cigarette. It may take some time to adjust to the difference.

TL;DR
I got my dad the Innokin Endura T18, and he was having trouble using it. I tried to give him some good advice and made it VERY clear that I would spend every penny I had to my name to get him something that would work for him. Was there a stiff learning curve coming from years upon years of smoking, then going to vaping? I didn't smoke for nearly as many years as he did, so the transition for me was quite easy.

Thank you all so much for any positive input. I'm worried he may be turned off from vaping despite having used Blu disposables occasionally.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

I think an Evod would be a better starter tank. 14 watts is a bit had for someone starting out. Maybe a nautilus mini or even a CE4 is better for most beginners than a 14 watt vape. Once he breaks into something like that he can move up to the Endura.
Phil and most longtime vapers have lost what it is really like for most beginning to vape.

 

[Liskrig]

I think an Evod would be a better starter tank. 14 watts is a bit had for someone starting out. Maybe a nautilus mini or even a CE4 is better for most beginners than a 14 watt vape. Once he breaks into something like that he can move up to the Endura.
Phil and most longtime vapers have lost what it is really like for most beginning to vape.

Thank you for the reply! I started with a Nautilus Mini, and an iStick 20w. I may get him a VW/VV mod (he's not a dummy when it comes to watts, volts, and ohms) The tank is great because it really does have the same resistance (air-flow) as a traditional cigarette. Thanks again

 

[AndriaD]

**Mods/Admins, Please feel free to move this if it is not the correct section.

TL;DR Version 3.0 located at the bottom along with the question

My dad has smoked for as long as I can remember. I have photos of him from after work in his bright orange shirt (complete with breast pocket for keeping Winston brand cigarettes) and Fruit of the Loom grey sweatpants from before I was even born. I'm 26 now, and my dad has smoked for over 30 years (possibly a lot more).

He lives about 6 hours away, and is retired with a custom build automotive garage that is bigger than his house. We meet up every time he is back in the area, and usually get dinner.

I recently (for the holidays) decided to get him an Innokin Endura T18 kit, as I liked the performance on it, and the great review by Phil Busardo (pbusardo) as a great starter device. He is a master mechanic with 30+ professional years in the industry, and has a licence to drive anything with a combustion, or electric engine. Choosing a color wasn't hard. I got chrome. He likes chrome.

I showed him how to fill it, and explained a bit about the tank, and battery, and the coils. We went outside, and I screwed the tank onto my mod and gave it a couple of low power pulls to make sure it was wicked. It worked well. So I put it back on the Endura battery, took a quick pull on that (12mg is now a lot for me) and handed it over to him...

He took a drag, and instantly started coughing. I asked what he was feeling, and he said "it feels like I'm inhaling pipe tobacco"

I asked for it back, and I took another pull, this time inhaling with a MtL technique, and it was surprisingly smooth. No throat hit, no burn... Asked him to try it again, same result. He was good about it though, took another hit after the 2, this time slow, and gentle. He was able to handle that. I explained that as much as it may feel like it, this is not a cigarette. It may take some time to adjust to the difference.

TL;DR
I got my dad the Innokin Endura T18, and he was having trouble using it. I tried to give him some good advice and made it VERY clear that I would spend every penny I had to my name to get him something that would work for him. Was there a stiff learning curve coming from years upon years of smoking, then going to vaping? I didn't smoke for nearly as many years as he did, so the transition for me was quite easy.

Thank you all so much for any positive input. I'm worried he may be turned off from vaping despite having used Blu disposables occasionally.

I didn't have any particular trouble at first, but then, I was using an eRoll; not going to any fog competitions with that. But even after vaping for nearly 2 yrs now, on much better equipment, now and then I take a hit that just doesn't go down right or something, hits that cough-spot in my throat. I dunno why, and it rarely happens twice in a row. Slow and gentle really is the best way to avoid that; seems like that happens more if I'm in a hurry for some reason.

Good on you for getting your dad started; hope he sticks with it! Our son is currently living out of state, and when I told him, in 2014, that I had quit smoking after 39 yrs by using e-cigs, his response was WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY MOTHER?!?!?!

Andria

 

[Douggro]

I started with ET-S's on Aspire VV stick batts. Anything that is as analogous to cigs is going to be more effective IMO for getting someone to switch. The Nauti Mini might be a good idea - tighter draw but can still pack a punch.

 

[Liskrig]

I didn't have any particular trouble at first, but then, I was using an eRoll; not going to any fog competitions with that. But even after vaping for nearly 2 yrs now, on much better equipment, now and then I take a hit that just doesn't go down right or something, hits that cough-spot in my throat. I dunno why, and it rarely happens twice in a row. Slow and gentle really is the best way to avoid that; seems like that happens more if I'm in a hurry for some reason.

Good on you for getting your dad started; hope he sticks with it! Our son is currently living out of state, and when I told him, in 2014, that I had quit smoking after 39 yrs by using e-cigs, his response was WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY MOTHER?!?!?!

Andria

Thank you, Andria! That makes me feel a lot better... I've been racking my brain all week wondering if I did something wrong either in the equipment or juice, or advice on the technique... I messaged him on BookedFace earlier this week and he said he is using it with taking slow, easy pulls without issue.

 

[pianoguy]

I remember coughing my head off when I started with KR8 cig-alikes (after smoking for 40+ years), can't imagine what it would've been like with the gear we have available now. It's quite an adjustment, just learning to inhale a different substance. Also, I've often wondered if starting with unflavored liquid might be easier for some folks. Best of luck, hope you can find just the right solution for him!

 

[Liskrig]

I remember coughing my head off when I started with KR8 cig-alikes (after smoking for 40+ years), can't imagine what it would've been like with the gear we have available now. It's quite an adjustment, just learning to inhale a different substance. Also, I've often wondered if starting with unflavored liquid might be easier for some folks. Best of luck, hope you can find just the right solution for him!

Thank you so much I just started DIY and haven't got the flavoring thing down yet, so I can always send him a bottle of unflavored. I'm good at unflavored

 

[fishwater]

Most of my friends who try my gear cough their lungs out, I tell them to take it slow & easy since this isn't a real cigarette. Only 2 out of the 5 that have tried it have stuck with it. I think the key is a heavy nic juice to start & little to no air on the mod. I vape squonkers with RDA's so when they try my gear I can't turn the watts down on my mechs. The two VW squonkers that I do have I will usually drop it down to about 30 watts & close the air off which helps. I only vape around 40 watts myself anyway so it's not that big of a jump but like I said closing off the air seems to be the key for them.

 

[roxynoodle]

It took me a good week to get down the difference between how to hit my first e cig and how I smoked. Yes, light and easy is the way. I guess I tended to hit a cig hard and quick. I also smoked 35 years so I understand where your dad is coming from . Tell him to keep practicing and he will adjust.

 

[Liskrig]

It took me a good week to get down the difference between how to hit my first e cig and how I smoked. Yes, light and easy is the way. I guess I tended to hit a cig hard and quick. I also smoked 35 years so I understand where your dad is coming from . Tell him to keep practicing and he will adjust.

Thank you! I have a feeling that is what he was doing, but because it was so common, he didn't know it. I'm gonna give him a call tonight and see how he is doing with it

 

[undone23]

Since vapor doesn't burn your lungs like smoke while inhaling; I thought it was easy to take too large of a drag of vapor when just starting out. Perhaps puffing on it like one would with a cigar and then gradually finding his preferred inhale amount/technique would help. I smoked for over 15 years before switching; but I wasn't completely inexperienced with vaping when I started on nic juice.

 

[Susan~S]

You may find this very beneficial to read: Inhalation technique with an e-cigarette

 

[jefsview]

Vapor isn't smoke, so everyone transitioning will cough at first -- just like the first time they picked up a cigarette. One's body has to adjust to it, just it had to when they first picked up the cigs. The biggest difference is that most people were young when they started smoking and didn't care how it felt and just kept smoking. People looking to quit, and who start vaping, are usually older and, for some, don't want to push through the initial discomfort so their bodies become accustomed to vaping.

I smoked for 35 + years, and it took me about a week to get used to vaping. And that was on a simple cigalike. I coughed again when I got my Halo Triton ego starter kit, and then my first RBA.

 

[coolerat]

36 year smoker here.

I'm afraid I had an aweful time getting started vaping over a several year period.

What people kept giving me was high nic juice with high PG content.

That combo always did make me cough my head off and does to this very day.

Once I found sub ohm and more importantly low nic juice high in VG I never smoked again and honestly had a real easy time quitting.

Nowsdays I vape on higher dollar equipment but the watts, ohms, nic level and VG content hasn't moved much but that first day.

I personally could not quit smoking with the vape that mod would give. 14w's just won't give me the filling satisfaction a heavy smoker craves. Its a tootle puffer. Did your dad tootle puff cigarettes or did he smoke full flavors one off the other like it was a race??

But everyone is different so try different things.

I'm dealing with the same stuff myself. I set my son in law up with a unit the other day. It wasn't the best choice but its what I had on hand. he only smoked a pack a day and this mod was one of my personal mods which would be a better match for 2-3 PAD smoker. Its choking him out so I gotta make some changes tomorrow. He's just a kid so we have time.

Meanwhile my 60 something sister in law is banging on a Subtank at .5Ω.

Just no way of knowing.

 

[Devn]

Took me the good part of a day to take hits without coughing. Sometimes i'd try to hold it in and tear up. I just gave my coworker a vape for christmas and he's been coughing after each hit--he's on 6mg/ml. I find that to be normal.

After a few days if he is still coughing, lowering the nic will help with the coughing. lowering the pg may help also, but not as much as lowering the nic.

Also for me, if i am getting over a cold, i would cough once every five hits probably due to excess mucus somewhere. give it some time. good luck.

 

[coolerat]

What somebody told me and I pass it on and may or may not be true is I say smoking scratches your throat and the vape gets in the scratches. So first few days coughing is normal but its caused by the smoking. And the longer you dual use the longer you will suffer.

Little white lie between friends.

 

[Susan~S]

And for anyone reading @Mooch recently tested the Innokin Endura T18 kit: Innokin Endura T18 Hardware Testing...a great, robust MTL device!

 

[Alien Traveler]

I stared with Vamo (VW) and iClear 16 (tight draw, like cigarette). VW helped to get accustomed to vaping - in the very beginning I used really low settings to avoid coughing. I smoked longer then your father, and often I smoked rather harsh tobacco; still needed some time for transition.
Main thing - I wanted to quit smoking, so I kept vaping.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

And for anyone reading @Mooch recently tested the Innokin Endura T18 kit: Innokin Endura T18 Hardware Testing...a great, robust MTL device!

My Endura T18 kit I won just showed up in vapemail!