New old member needs help

[Jiggs]

Hi everyone,

I haven't been here for a while. I've been trying to make the switch from analogs to e-cigs for 4 years. Everytime I go to a vape shop, they tell me I don't have the right device. I'm a MTL vaper who now has 2 drawers full of devices. I have from smok Xfinix to Aspire NX30 to vaporesso Target mini. I could go on. Two drawers worth. I also have over 100 juices, 12 and 18mg nicotine and every flavor that's made. I need to know how others managed to quit and whether I am just not using enough willpower or expecting too much from vaping.

18mg is really too strong, since I'm going from Marlboro lights. I prefer 12mg at 50/50 PG/VG.

Please help. I've lost 2 old co-workers to lung cancer in the past year and another who has survived for a year so far.

 

[Jwaterski]

It's not easy to quit smoking. That's just the hard fact. Will vaping work for you? I can't tell you that, I know it does not work for everyone, but keep trying, if you vape every other time you would have had a cigarette, that is progress. Do what you can, there are other options that you could try as well.

 

[Vapemesilly]

I quit about 4 years ago using a vape pen and 24 mg juice. Once I started vaping I did not buy any more cigs. When the urge to smoke came up, and it did, I vaped.

When I quit smoking I probably did not smoke enough to start out at 24 mg juice but I did it to help keep the cravings down.

I didn't move on to other devices and lower nicotine until about a year into it.
Now I vape 6 mg juice.

If you are vaping, just vaping, and getting a enough nicotine your brain will still tell you to smoke. It's ingrained into you to smoke. Your head is messing with you even though you are getting the nicotine you crave. This addiction is as much mental as it is physical. Tell your brain to pound sand and just vape. It will get better and easier but you can't cave.

 

[Hawise]

Quitting cigarettes and switching to vaping is very much a personal experience. Some (lucky) people pick up a vape and never want another cigarette. Others, like me, vape for a while before they come to a point where they're ready to switch. And some never do reach that point. It sounds like you're in the last category. People in your shoes who have switched successfully often say they had to do it through will-power. Set a day, and from that day on determine never to smoke again.

Not that it always works the first time, of course. It's equally important to get back on the horse if you fall off. If you find yourself smoking after your quit date, don't set a new date. Stop smoking as soon as you realize you're not doing what you want yourself to be doing.

One strategy that some people find useful is to have a few setups with different nicotine levels available (it sounds like you have all the equipment you'd need for that!). Vape your 12 mg/ml most of the time, and when you're hit with a particularly bad craving, switch to the 18.

Another option is to look into WTA (whole tobacco alkaloids, I think). I'm not very familiar with them, but perhaps someone who knows more can help you there. Basically, there's more than nicotine in cigarettes, but not in your standard vape. If it's one (or all) of the other substances that's holding you back, WTA may be able to offer it in the vaping format. The risk profile of WTA is even less well-known than that of vaping, but it's very probably safer than smoking so if you aren't able to switch to a normal nicotine vape, WTA might get you there.

Good luck!

 

[gandymarsh]

Yeah, it does take willpower to quit smoking even with vaping. I also quit smoking immediately after starting to vape. It was very difficult, at times, though.

Have you ever tried WTA juice? WTA stands for Whole Tobacco Alkaloids which are not present in regular juice. Some members here say that it helped them.

 

[bombastinator]

Are you expecting too much? It’s possible. One thing you might try is dig out that tarot mini again and try an 18mg salt juice with reduced throat hit.

 

[tailland]

1. Identify exactly what impulse it is that makes you smoke cigs. Needs some serious introspection and observational discipline, not another device in your drawer.
2. Re-route this thing to your e-cigs.

This should be doable.

Personally, I was "lucky", in a perverted way, that smoking cigarettes had deteriorated my health and therefore ...... me off so badly that I didn't miss anything about cigs, except for the purely behavioral act of smoking. And that was very easy to re-route, which is why I never spend a single thought about smoking again. And since my sense of smell returned, other people's cigarettes smell like a chemical poison bomb to me, so I can't even imagine ever touching a cig again. I suppose I can be thankful for that circumstance...

 

[QcVaper]

Probably not what you wanna hear but, i just did it no issue no wrong device i just went into a vape shop one day not expecting much, bought me a simple mtl setup and next day went on to vape (i did have a morning smoke with my coffee for the first week, but after it i 100% quit). Every time i wanted a smoke i vaped through the urges.

I did have a LOT of willpower, i was tired and wanted to feel better + having my taste back motivated me even more tbh, specially when my mother made steaks on a BBQ for the first time last summer

 

[Brewdawg1181]

I don't mean to sound callous, Jiggs, but vaping can't make you quit. The only thing that worked for me was making the commitment (to my son) that I was going to quit smoking 5/1/17. I didn't really plan on vaping, but knowing how hard quitting is, and having tried vaping before to quit, I thought it'd help me thru the first month, when it's really rough those first couple or few weeks. I never planned to continue vaping.

I mean, I was going to quit, hell or high water this time. Vaping just made it easier. A lot easier. But if I'd have told myself that I was going to vape until the urge to smoke went away.....well, I'd be smoking a cigarette right now. I loved smoking, but hated being a smoker.

Some people find quitting smokes easier than others, of course. Everybody is different. But nobody does it without a commitment. From my (admittedly unique) perspective, if you make the commitment, and stick to only vaping, it gets MUCH easier in week 3. For reference, I started at about 11 yrs. old, bought and had cigarettes regularly at 12-13, and continued Marlboro Reds/Lights, American Spirit, then inhaling cigars for over 45 years. I'd quit multiple times, but always came back. It's been over a year and a half, and I've tried a cigarette out of curiosity at 3, 6, 12 months, and know I'll never smoke again. Taking a drag now, you just feel the poison. And with vaping, you get all the habit, ritual, and satisfaction, without the smell, nastiness, and death sentence. If vaping disappeared, I'd be able to quit it much easier than cigs ever would have been.

If you want this, you got this!

 

[r77r7r]

I think that I had been tired of it for many years and just never saw a way out. Mostly the smell and the routine. Vaping seemed like it was a possible alternative when I skipped a few. Then I just kept skipping them.
I think it was more a simple choice making every time I was going for a smoke. Which did I want to do most at that time.
I didn't have plans or willpower, just every time I wanted to smoke, I said Piss Off.
I'm much better at the Piss Off thing than organizing my life with plans and such.
Gl, sir!!

 

[Vicman]

For me, quitting was all about mindset. I never planned to quit, just started using vaping as a way to save money. Was vaping between 24mg to 18 mg at that time which was only due to the availability of juice at a local vape shop. After a few months of duel use, I found that I like vaping more than smoking. One morning I lit my last smoke, smoked it a little and ashed it out. Never had another and was amazed how easy it was to quit smoking.

Everyone has a different path and a story which is unique to them. Some have extreme trouble and others just quit on the day they buy their first vape. Others, like me and a few others on here, quit on accident. Which ever way works for you is the best way for you. The main thing to do is not beat yourself up and be grateful for the cigarettes your not smoking. Every cig not smoked is a victory, just hang in there.

 

[vapdivrr]

Hi everyone,

I haven't been here for a while. I've been trying to make the switch from analogs to e-cigs for 4 years. Everytime I go to a vape shop, they tell me I don't have the right device. I'm a MTL vaper who now has 2 drawers full of devices. I have from Smok Xfinix to Aspire NX30 to Vaporesso Target mini. I could go on. Two drawers worth. I also have over 100 juices, 12 and 18mg nicotine and every flavor that's made. I need to know how others managed to quit and whether I am just not using enough willpower or expecting too much from vaping.

18mg is really too strong, since I'm going from Marlboro lights. I prefer 12mg at 50/50 PG/VG.

Please help. I've lost 2 old co-workers to lung cancer in the past year and another who has survived for a year so far.

It seems the devices you mentioned are just mods (maybe the smok one is a pod?) What type of tanks are or have been using?

 

[Jiggs]

I have several pods. Tried using salts in them, but they aren't very satisfying and need frequent recharging. I mostly use a Vaporesso target mini with Guardian tank and an Aspire NX30 with an Aspire mini Nautilis tank.

 

[asmcriminal]

I was never a heavy smoker. I'd smoke about a quarter pack a day. I just bought an e-cig and started vaping instead of smoking. The first day my cigarette count went down drastically. It took me about three days to stop smoking. Most vapers I have seen vape a lot. They don't pull out their device from time to time to take a few hits. They usually vape most of the day.

I started out with an MTL device. That seems like the norm. My brother, on the other hand, tried various strengths of nicotine a while back. It did not work for him. I always thought sub-ohm vaping was too intense for beginners. My brother ran out of snus and wanted to try vaping again. I gave him some 9mg juice and he wasn't feeling it. I got him a sub-ohm setup and that was it. He stuck to that and he said he liked it a lot more than the other device(MTL).

P.S. Stop buying from that vape shop. You do not have the "wrong device." I am sure you have a variable wattage device. Turn it up and turn it down. You can do sub ohming and MTL based vaping on devices. The difference is the airflow and power in most cases.

 

[Brewdawg1181]

I have several pods. Tried using salts in them, but they aren't very satisfying and need frequent recharging. I mostly use a Vaporesso target mini with Guardian tank and an Aspire NX30 with an Aspire mini Nautilis tank.

For MTL, it's hard to get a satisfying vape on a drop in coil. I had to start building to get a really full, good hit. The Kayfun Mini V3 was far superior to the Nautilus 2 I used. And now, the Doggystyle is WAY better than that. Much more reliable, simpler, and easy to build. I know RTA's arent for everyone, but they really do provide a much better mtl vape. If you're handy at all (and even if you're not), it's worth considering to stay off smokes.

And you say you've tried hundreds of juices, but if you haven't tried them, I'd highly recommend NETs.

 

[tgs3]

I began vaping at the beginning of August in 2017 after smoking 1 1/2 pad for over forty years. It was really hard to cut my smoking in half but after about a month I did so using a juul. I was clearly not one of those who quits immediately. Sometime in September, I bought a pocket notebook and wrote down the time of every cigarette before I smoked it. I also invested in an innokin t22 which made vaping more satisfying. I also used WTA and NET liquids with .24% nicotine. Over time I was under ten cigs per day and by the beginning of the year, under five. Eventually, I finished my pack of American Spirits and decided not to buy another. That was on May 11. I am coming up on six months without smoking - but it took me nine months to get here. This forum was an incredible help.

For me, the key was acquiring a strong attachment to vaping. I chain vaped constantly. I still do, but now at 9mg or 6mg nic.

Hang in there, and good luck. It can be done.

 

[BrotherBob]

also have over 100 juices,

Suspect you have not found the right e liquid that taste good to you. Might want to narrow your search down to a flavor category:
Category:Flavor Properties - The Flavor Wiki
which will spark your taste buds.

 

[stols001]

I was a 3 ppd smoker. I used 18 mg nicotine salts, and WTA for me was super helpful, I bought the wholesale variety (from Aroma) and would just put tiny squirts in my tank, which was good.

I know this is a "vaping" situation, and I did pretty well quitting while vaping, I was a chain vaper like I was a chain smoker, which meant that I pretty much had a vape all the time.

I went back to work (my health was pretty dire when I got here, to quit land) and I really did NOT want my work to know I was a vaper, and I decided to try Swedish snus. I can go twelve hours or longer without vaping once. Snus is equally or even more so harm reduction as compared to smoking. I made the commitment I was NOT going to be seen vaping or smoking at work (it's a new job) and I also find that snus has more alkaloids in it than vaping unless you are really going to be using a TON of WTA. I also moved into a small apartment a week into my job because the commute was impossible. I really found myself being able to withstand stressors that otherwise may have made me smoke, and I don't have the urge to constantly vape.

Swedish snus is sold here under the name American General. I'm just mentioning it in case it might be helpful to you. I still vape in the mornings, the evenings, and on weekends. But if I'm engaged in an extensive chore I will more than likely abandon my vapes and use some snus. It's easy, it's convenient, I don't have to take vape "breaks."

Just a thought. You can quit by vaping only too, which is what I did the first time. I had a pretty strong motivator (I slipped up here and there early on) of not wanting to get COPD and having pneumonia for pretty much 18 months straight and drowning in your own fluids was horrible.

Quitting was not easy for me even with WTA, and as has been stated, there is no special "gear" "flavor" or "juice" that can make you magically quit. YOU HAVE TO develop a quit plan. For me it was ridding myself of that first cigarette, because it was my hardest, and I knew I would smoke all day if I didn't. I just pushed it out further and further, and eventually quit, but that is what worked-- for me.

So, you really have to examine your motivations and needs and find the right nic LEVEL (and maybe WTA) and stick to a plan.

You will hurt, given what you have said of your history with vaping. I was a vape dilettante for a long time (vaping only when I couldn't smoke) and I really had to face the fact that I was going to HURT to quit.

The rewards have been immense, and my trail has not been perfect (had kind of a terrible relapse after one year, which was much harder to halt in some ways as my body has recovered.)

However, it's short term pain. You can decide if you are willing to undergo it. Pain is not optional (if you are not that magical unicorn of vape with no issues from that first puff) but suffering IS OPTIONAL and that, for me, meant I put more energy into learning Every Last Thing about vaping I could while I underwent the pain of quitting.

Then I got to experience all the joys of vaping: building, DIY juice, all sorts of stuff. You get out of vaping what you put into it, and I was such a dependent smoker I had to put ALL my energy to vaping.

Best of luck to you the choice is yours to make, or not make, but NO ONE can undergo your quit experience other than YOU and it will be what it IS, and you can decide to be an enthusiastic participant, or to keep smoking.

Anna

 

[dom qp]

From 2013 or so until 2017, I tried quitting cigarettes with vaping 4 or 5 times. None of them worked.

MTL vaping just was never good enough to replace cigarettes.

What got me off was going subohm and low nicotine. 3mg @ 0.2X-0.3X is what was able to satisfy me.

 

[Baditude]

I was a 35 year, pack per day smoker. Using nic gum, patches, prescription meds, and hypnosis all failed.

Long story shortened, I bought my first ecig about seven years ago. Being a cigalike, it wasn't great but it wasn't bad, either. I moved up to a mod and the rest was relatively easy.

I had the benefit of having extra motivation. The week that I first tried the cigalike, my mother found out she had cancer, and left this earth two weeks later. Her doctor had misdiagnosed her cancer for gall bladder disease for over a year.

I consider losing my mother to cancer as being my Life Changing Moment. I realized at that moment that if I didn't quit smoking I'd be joining my mother 6 feet under ground. I had already developed symptoms of hacking up a lung every morning, shortness of breath with exertion, etc.

It wasn't easy, but as I said I had extra motivation. I set a quit date. I knew that despite vaping, I'd have cravings for a cigarette. I had one pack of smokes left and vowed that I would never buy another one again.

When I got a craving, I vaped more. If that didn't work, I allowed myself HALF of a cigarette, and saved the other half for the next bad craving. Those second half cigs tasted bad, but that helped me to quit. As the week went on, I noticed the cravings were becoming less frequent and less severe. I haven't had another cigarette since.

______________

I would suggest that if you do still smoke, stop buying your favorite brand. If you smoke a menthol, buy a non-menthol. Vice versa.

Avoid situations where you always feel the desire to smoke. Avoid alcohol, other smokers, etc.

Even if you break down and fall off of the wagon, its not the end of the world. Just start back fresh on your original plan. It's not how many cigarettes that you smoke that is important, its how many you DIDN'T smoke that is.