New Member Intro and WTA-Related Note

[ifpo238]

Hi! I'm Jeff. I'm a 37 year old MWM living in Houston TX.

I started smoking at 16, and smoked consistently (with the exception of a 1 year break in grad school) ever since. When I quit this time, I was smoking about a pack and half a day.

I got married a little over 6 months ago, and the wife and I want kids. I always told myself I'd quit before I had them, so I've quit again. (I also told myself I'd quit before I was 30, 35, etc., but that didn't happen.)

The first time trying to quit this time went ok, but after 3-4 weeks, the cravings hadn't subsided, and I was starting to feel grumpy/sad all the time. (That didn't happen when I was in grad school, when I was over it more quickly and didn't get the "sadz." I wonder if continued use actually causes the "depression/anxiety" that some members here have speculated that some of us are self-medicating with tobacco for...) I started sneaking cigarettes (hiding them from my wife). I found that 1 or 2 a day would get me through, but, without them, I was struggling. Big time. Decided the sneakiness thing wasn't cool, so I quit. Got grumpy/sad again, which led me to admit to my wife what I'd been doing... (The little lady was quick to tell on me at our church small group meeting, too... )

I saw Camel Snus somewhere, and Googled them. I also saw Smoking Everywhere e-cigs at the mall, and decided to Google them. That's how I found this site and learned about Swedish snus, which I am now using. They're a godsend! Of course, reading this site got me interested in trying vaping as well... My wife and I went to the mall, and I tried the Smoking Everywhere stuff. I was surprised at how much I liked it. I got a bit of a headrush, but that also could have been because it was the same morning I popped in my first General Snus portion... At any rate, I was able to feel the vapor in my throat and lungs (I was afraid I wouldn't), and I felt enough like I was smoking to want one. Bad. They wanted $180 for the model that I liked (bigger battery), and it only took cartomizers. Having read up a bit here, I felt like I knew better. My Joye 510 is on order from healthcabin.net. Hopefully, it'll be here before my brother's bachelor party next weekend, where temptation to smoke will be great. Thank goodness, though, I'm stocked up on new snus brands/flavors to try...

This is my first post here, but I've been reading quite a bit, including the entire "Are we getting it or not" thread, and the temporary follow up. After more Googling, I found this tidbit:

Rock Creek is exploring processes for the extraction of alkaloids from zero-nitrosamine tobacco for the purpose of using those alkaloids in the development of a generic nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), as well as a potential non-nicotine nutraceutical product. The nutraceutical would supply a dietary supplement for adult smokers who seek to minimize nicotine craving using a non-nicotine product. These development efforts are based in part on earlier research cited as support for the patents Star Scientific previously obtained for the use of tobacco alkaloids in treating various neurological conditions, including depression.

Curtis Wright, IV, MD, MPH, Medical Director of Rock Creek, stated, "We have acquired a large body of knowledge about why people smoke, and why smokers have been so unsuccessful in multiple quit attempts. We believe an appropriate strategy involves both an over-the-counter product and a parallel dietary supplement that may be of value in minimizing nicotine cravings."

Rock Creek and Star Scientific recently have developed a prototype nutraceutical product. The prototype combines minor alkaloids of tobacco with other ingredients typical of botanical-based, dietary supplement products. Contracts for initial benchtop and animal toxicity testing have been entered into by Rock Creek. Additional toxicity testing is expected to begin in the next few months. If those testing results and consumer acceptance studies of this product are favorable, Rock Creek anticipates using the brand name CigRx(TM) when it begins its test marketing effort. During the intervening period Star Scientific will be exploring a joint venture with either a pharmaceutical company or a marketing and distribution partner in order to be in a position to achieve broad market penetration with the new nutraceutical product.

Sounds to me like they're working on a pill that has the x-factor stuff without the nicotine. It'll be interesting to see if it works, or if the combination is of nicotine and the other alkaloids combine to create the x-factor. I can imagine using the pills instead of snus, and maybe walking down the dosage, so then I'm just using nicotine with the PV. I'm pretty convinced I'm not addicted to nicotine, at least alone. Gums and patches don't work for me, and I'm not willing to use Chantix or Wellbutrin. I don't want the cure to be worse than the disease. Anyway, I know this is a long post, but I wanted to say hello, many thanks, and pass along that info. I was surprised I hadn't seen another post about it here, but it's entirely possible that it's here and I missed it.

Thanks!

-j

 

[quasimod]

Hi, ifpo! Welcome to ECF! It sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on things so far, but don't be afraid to ask questions.

 

[Skyler]

Hi Ifpo,

Seems that you are doing a lot of research but have yet to find your niche. It's the nicotine and it is available in so many ways. The 510 is a good choice for control. If you feel that this is more trouble than it is worth perhaps a KR808 2 pc cartomizer would be the answer. I have found when I don't want to fiddle or fill I grab the KR808 and screw it on and I'm vaping and I'm a happy vapor too. When I want to mess with filling and dripping I grab my mods.

 

[ifpo238]

Thanks for the welcoming words! I won't be afraid to ask questions, especially after the 510 arrives. I hope I love it as much as others here seem to. I'm already considering building out a battery box for it. Seems like the AA-sized protected rechargeables are pretty easy to come by, and would be a good first mod.

 

[JWHIT]

i smoked for 31 years and when i got ready to guit i treid camel snuz it kinda work for nicotine needs but i still liked smoking so i saw smoking any where in a mall liked the concept but not the price after doing web search
i bought e cig 901 off line half price of smoke any where .that was 1 1/2 years ago now i am using 510 and love it.i dont consider what i am doing quitting but a smarter way of smoking. i love the smoking sensation and dont know that i will ever quit but i feel alot better after swicthing.
you you want to quit i would recomend 2 weeks high nic then 2 weeks med followed by 2 weeks low nic and then finally 0 nic. i think 510 would be best model to do this with

good luck

 

[Kurt]

ifpo238, welcome! This is an impressive first post. good to see someone really doing their homework before purchasing. Many here use snus. Your post of the WTA NRT is most appreciated. I was not aware of that, but it is something we have been looking for, although there seems to be an obsession with having it as a juice, not a pill. Both might work. The tobacco dissolvables like Stonewalls also give the full spectrum of alkaloids, and I know several here that love them.

Your choice of the 510 is very good right out of the box, and its an model that can be dramatically improved upon easily, from the carts to the batteries.

Vape on!!

 

[ifpo238]

Thanks, Kurt!

Agree that having a juice (a la DVap's) would be ideal. I wonder whether this latest development will make a commercially-available WTA juice more or less likely. On the one hand, there's a ready market for the extracted alkaloid spectrum. On the other, these folks are planning to go into the NRT business, and may want to protect their products' market share...

I haven't tried the Stonewalls, but I've seen that TBob speaks highly of them. Any idea of the relative strenth of those versus strong portion snus?

Thanks!

-j

 

[Kurt]

Thanks, Kurt!

Agree that having a juice (a la DVap's) would be ideal. I wonder whether this latest development will make a commercially-available WTA juice more or less likely. On the one hand, there's a ready market for the extracted alkaloid spectrum. On the other, these folks are planning to go into the NRT business, and may want to protect their products' market share...

I haven't tried the Stonewalls, but I've seen that TBob speaks highly of them. Any idea of the relative strenth of those versus strong portion snus?

Thanks!

-j

I don't, as I haven't done the smokeless thing yet. I would recommend you post in the Smokeless Forum, but you need 15 posts to post in other forums, so just say hi and welcome to the other new members here until you get 15 posts. I do know TB uses the Stonewall first thing in the AM and it does him well for a while.

DVap is not going to market his WTA. Too much work and effort to just get a little, and the amount of toxic solvent waste for the process is large. He just did it in the evenings from his day chemist job. Someone that has the $ and time to gear up a full lab to do it safely would make the big bucks, for sure, but that is not happening anywhere here that I'm aware of. It is a major operation, and you must be an organic chemist, and a seasoned one at that. It is not for the naive, by any stretch. I'm a chemist of many years, but I have no interest in working with such nasty solutions.

People have tried alcohol extractions here, but it ends up with too much plant materials. PG or VG does not work, although it does make a nice tobacco flavored juice. Some have soaked snus in hot VG, and get a nonimal amount of nic, but not enough to make it worth it unless you are just after the flavor, and it should be filtered to get rid of particulates.

Glad to see you on board. I predict you will contribute much here. Are you in the sciences per chance?

 

[ifpo238]

Hah! Nope. I'm afraid I'm just a computer nerd (IT operations manager) with a monkey on his back.

I do love to learn, though. I tend to research the heck outta stuff, once I get interested in it. I've been able to understand most of what I've come across, and I've read it with interest, but I'm not likely to try homebrewing any e-liquid any time soon. (Home brewing beer, on the other hand, is old hat. )

-j

 

[solnishko]

Hey J,

Welcome and... wow, you've really done your homework! Very interesting and informative.

You're a lot like me, as far as quitting attempts go. I've tried everything and when I was able to quit for 4 weeks (how I didn't hurt someone, I do not know!), the grumpiness, cravings and depression were so rough that I ended up going back to smoking. I looked into snus as well, but decided to try this instead.

Here's hoping that we can both be nic free when it's time to have children

 

[ifpo238]

Thanks, Sol. Here's wishing you luck!

I just learned that my 510 will be here tomorrow. (Actually, they tried delivering it, but I was out. I'll have to pick it up in the morning.) I can't wait!

-j

 

[ifpo238]

510 is in hand. How important is it to charge the batts 8 hours, regardless of the light on the charger? Seems to me the chargers do an auto-shutoff after the light turns green anyway... Ah, well, perhaps I'll be good and follow directions. Did some test vaping. The vapor seems awful thin compared to Smoking Everywhere ecig I tried at the mall. This surprises me. I expected even more from the 510. Seems harsher, though. (Is that what folks call throat hit?) I did blow out the attys. I wonder if the Smoking Everywhere folks gave me VG-spiked juice. I did pick up some 99.5% glycerine at the grocery store the other day. Maybe I'll try some. Not crazy about the Marlboro flavor that came with the cigs, but when I dripped the Desert Ship (Camel?) flavor, it tasted a little better. I may pick up some unflavored in 24 or 36mg and try that, mixed with a little VG. I hope my atties aren't "duds."

Let the learning curve begin.

-j

 

[ifpo238]

Sorry to keep bumping my own thread, but didn't want to do the 510 an injustice. After a couple days with it, it's started behaving. It may have had residual primer to burn off, or maybe the atties just needed breaking in. Whatever it was, it's producing copious amounts of yummy vapor now. I'm a happy vaper vaping happy vapor!

-j

 

[DVap]

A bit late, but welcome Jeff!

Glad to see you've gotten something out of the WTA discussion, and glad to see that snus is giving you the edge you're looking for.

Somewhere on the learning curve, you're going to get really fed up with the battery life and start looking at the numerous threaded battery holders that can connect an atty to an 18650 ~3000 maH battery... multi-day battery life, wonderful.