Newbie, when to stop vaping concerns...

[Slummy]

Hey guys, Im Dane from the UK.

so recently i decided to put down the cigs and start vaping. had my JACVAPOUR V1P starter kit a couple days now, which i think is more or less the equivalent of the V2 brand in the US, uses the same tech e-cigs. i really love the vaping, and havnt touched a cigarette last 3 days, which has still been hard, but gets easier every day as i get use to settling into a new routine with my vaping.

the first day i started vaping, i was surprised to feel somewhat of a nicotine rush i hadnt had in years, i actually loved it, nice happy light headed feeling tho a little queezy. the next day i had a pretty major headached all day, not sure if it was related to my vaping or not, but i was chain vaping most the day anyway. and now today, im also chain vaping. even so, my lungs feel healthier, my teeth whiter, and i dont smell anymore

But this brought me to my first concern about vaping, when to stop??? searching on the net lead me to the forum in the link below.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...244-when-stop-vaping-not-easy-quistion-5.html

I guess im just concerned my new habbit, altho healthier, is it going to be just as addictive as my old one?. After doing some research, we know nicotine gives you the buzz by binding to nicotonic receptors and in turn releasing dopamine and other neurotransmitters that give the happy feeling. it is also widely thought that nicotine itself, is actually only moderately more addictive then caffeine. Cigarettes also contain Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) which prevent the breakdown of dopamine in the brain, and its thought that the strong coupling reaction between the nicotine and MAOI's from cigarettes is what really causes the addidction.

ofcourse, E-cigs only contain nicotine and no MAOI's, and i am wondering truly, if the lack of MAOI is the reason there is no stopping point to my vaping and i keep trying to get to that comfortably satisfied point where i can put it down and stop vaping, because essentially, without the MAOI's the effects of nicotine are shorter lived.

Also slightly off topic, but something i found interesting... i assumed menthol was always just for taste. but actually menthol slows down the breakdown of nicotine in the body giving it a longer half life. so in theory, smoking or vaping menthols should leave you feeling satisfied for longer.

Im no scientist, but i do have a pharmaceutical degree. interested to hear everyone else thoughts, knowledge and experience on this topic

Happy Vaping,

Dane

 

[Slummy]

no replies anybody?

 

[elxt]

It's the same addiction. You're still addicted to nicotine. Light headedness will occur if you're vaping too much.
If you want to quit nicotine, smoking and vaping altogether, from whatever nicotine strength you're on at the moment, slowly reduce it.
Keep reducing it until you reach 0mg, this could take several weeks or months to do, but it's better than fags right?
Once you're on 0mg, you'll have to wean yourself off the "hand-to-mouth" addiction.

 

[cyberwolf]

Welcome to the ECF! You've packed way more info into your post than I can add to. What I will say is that I have always thought that the headache and light-headed feeling when first starting to vape may have more to do with oxygen than nicotine. When we put down cigarettes and start to vape, we often take more and longer inhales than we ever did with cigarettes. That, coupled with the fact that we are inhaling cleaner vaper instead of burning chemicals means that we are getting a much higher does of oxygen than our bodies are used to. I still get a headache sometimes when I vape non-stop for awhile, even though I am using low or no nicotine.

No medical degrees here, just my observations.

 

[elxt]

Welcome to the ECF! You've packed way more info into your post than I can add to. What I will say is that I have always thought that the headache and light-headed feeling when first starting to vape may have more to do with oxygen than nicotine. When we put down cigarettes and start to vape, we often take more and longer inhales than we ever did with cigarettes. That, coupled with the fact that we are inhaling cleaner vaper instead of burning chemicals means that we are getting a much higher does of oxygen than our bodies are used to. I still get a headache sometimes when I vape non-stop for awhile, even though I am using low or no nicotine.

No medical degrees here, just my observations.

If it was the oxygen giving us headaches, surely we'd have headaches while not vaping at all. Breathing normally is surely the cleanest, biggest intake of oxygen?

 

[Slummy]

Thanks mate, ye im not to bothered about being addicted to nicotine at the moment, tho eventually down the line i would like to quit it all together.

at the moment, im on 12mg carts, and im going through 2 or more carts a day. is this normal? im worried my nicotine intake is far higher than it was before starting vaping

 

[eratikmind]

First off, welcome to the ECF boards, Slummy.

I agree, vaping is just as addictive as smoking, if not more so. As such, I have been lowering the nicotine content in my juices. There is much, which we do not know about vaping, yet. However, for me, I find vaping to be a much better alternative than to smoking cigarettes.

Ultimately, I strive to reach a 0mg nicotine level, as I will most likely continue to vape for some time to come.

Andy

 

[elxt]

I don't know what kind of cartridges you're using, so I can't really say.

What I can say is, most vapers vape differently to the way they smoked. I smoked about a half pack a day, but now I take a drag on my PV every 5-10 minutes.

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the nicotine absorption rate in vapour is less than in smoke, this could be a reason for you needing to do it more.

If you're worried about your nicotine intake, try only using your eCig when you feel like you need it, not just because you're fascinated by your new toy.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Hi Dane and welcome to ECF. Quite the first post and my compliments.

the first day i started vaping, i was surprised to feel somewhat of a nicotine rush i hadnt had in years, i actually loved it, nice happy light headed feeling tho a little queezy. the next day i had a pretty major headached all day, not sure if it was related to my vaping or not, but i was chain vaping most the day anyway. and now today, im also chain vaping. even so, my lungs feel healthier, my teeth whiter, and i dont smell anymore

The first few months I vaped 36 mg and at least 50, 60,???...ml per week. When I chain vaped I usually went down to a lower nic level to avoid headaches, queasiness, etc.

I guess im just concerned my new habbit, altho healthier, is it going to be just as addictive as my old one?

When I was down to 24 mg X 40 ml per week I found that when I got busy and forgot to vape for a few hours I didn't have any real "drive me up a wall" cravings that I had with analogs.
A few months ago vaping 12 mg I went out of town overnite and forgot all my PV gear. Really wasn't that bad but I prolly gained about 5 lbs from all the eating

Also slightly off topic, but something i found interesting... i assumed menthol was always just for taste. but actually menthol slows down the breakdown of nicotine in the body giving it a longer half life. so in theory, smoking or vaping menthols should leave you feeling satisfied for longer.

Since dropping down to 2 mg X 15 ml per week I've found menthol to be a nice addition. I also have found the nic hit seem to be more level rather than up and down. Also adds nicely for TH and also possibly helps with a health issue I was having. I believe right now, for me, it's more about the hand to mouth and the vapor with a bit of TH rather than the nicotine.

 

[elxt]

Reading the JacVapour website, it shows that 1 cart is 0.8ml. At 12mg, that equates to 9.6mg per cart, if you vape two carts a day, that 19.2mg a day.

You can see if this is more or less than you used to intake when smoking by multiplying the mg of nicotine per cigarette that you used to smoke by the amount of them you smoked per day.

 

[bols2DaWall]

Number one rule of vaping , drink lots of water as vaping dehydrates .
I plan on vaping for roughly a year before quitting that also , i'm currently vaping 6 - 8 mg. NIC and will taper that down to 0 eventually .

 

[flutterbies575]

I totally get ur concern. Vaping poses no risks unless u over do it and get nic sick. I was smoking a pack and half of Marlboro red 100's a day. I started vaping 6 1/2 months ago. I started out on 36mg of nic and am down to 18mg. If u enjoy vaping u can work ur down to zero nic and just vape flav. But if ur getting dizzy and nauseous u r vaping too much or too high nic. U may want yo lower ur mg or reduce how often ur vaping. I plan on working down to 0 nic but still vape the juice. U may also want to look into the possibility u could be pg or vg sensitive. Good luck and vape on!

 

[Talyon]

Hi and welcome mate, just gotta say that u can't really compare nic levels in cigarettes to liquid, as the body absorbs them both very differently. That being said I don't know of any timetable as to when to give up the Vape, I think that will be an individual thing. I'm also confident many have quit after a certain period of time, perhaps some of them can chime in and we could get an average in months years etc.

Great post mate.

 

[Slummy]

thanks for the replies guys,

I didnt know about the drinking plenty of water part.... i drink a lot of caffein drinks during the day, which also dehydrate, so that coupled with vaping may be reason for my severe headache yesterday

im only using 12mg carts and e-liquids at the moment, which seems by everybodys posts, they are vaping stronger? maybe if i try a stronger cart, i will get to that satisfied felling quicker and wont feel inclined to chain vape as much?

@ elxt, i also read that the absorbtion rate was slower, but also read the absorbtion was more efficient in other places. the novelty of a new toy has worn off somewhat. for the moment im trying to keep my vaping habbit similar to my smoking habbit, by going outside now and again when i feel the need, but being able to use e-cigs inside, i find myself chain vaping while watching tv, or especially while doing work on the computer. its actually kind of nice while doing work, can just take a drag or 2 every so often instead of lighting a whole cigarette.

its all a new experience really, and hope i will find what works for me with the e-cigs... i still miss real cigarettes tho and its still hard to resist, but trying to concentrate on the benefits of vaping to keep strong and not go back.

i travel quite a lot tho and worried in the future, when i visit singapore for example, where e-cigs are illegal, i will have to go back to smoking cigarettes, if i will easily switch back to vaping again.

its stupid they are illegal in singapore, they claimed it was because e-cigs are targeted at women and children, but everyone knows the real reason they ban e-cigs in singapore, is because they cant currently tax it, and worried about tax revenue being driven away from cigarettes which they tax about 70-80%

 

[Slummy]

Reading the JacVapour website, it shows that 1 cart is 0.8ml. At 12mg, that equates to 9.6mg per cart, if you vape two carts a day, that 19.2mg a day.

You can see if this is more or less than you used to intake when smoking by multiplying the mg of nicotine per cigarette that you used to smoke by the amount of them you smoked per day.

interesting... i was smoking light cigarettes of 0.5mg, so based on that i was probably taking in 5-10mg of nicotine a day smoking, whilst based on your theory im taking in double that now.

i could move down to the 6mg carts and happily chain vape 2 carts a day... but to be honest, the nicotine isnt all that bad, in certain cases there are health benefits of nicotine, and as someone who is susceptible to depression and concentration issues, the nicotine really helps me focus... im just happy i am still getting my nicotine now without all the bad chems in tobacco, and getting the nicotine from a somewhat enjoyable delivery system and comparable to real smoking.

 

[gthompson]

Vaping is not as addictive as smoking IMO. There are many chemicals in cigarettes we get addicted to. Nicotine itself is not the evil chemical many want you to believe it is. It's not much worse than caffeine.

 

[stillnotsmoking]

You may be too high of nicotine content. I started on 24mg/ml and had constant headaches but all that went away when I dropped to 18mg/ml, even when chain vaping. I have also found that even with 18mg/ML I had to lay off the RedBulls because I was jacked up all the time from redbull/chain vaping lol. I've also found that it works really well for me to start the morning with 24mg, then switch to 18mg when I leave for work, and then down to 12mg when I get home so I can sit and watch TV and vape my head off. The 18mg at night was not allowing me to sleep properly, but I have not had that issue since moving to 12mg before bedtime.

 

[amarat]

Vaping is really awesome

 

[Rachy_B]

You've packed a lot into one post but...

It gets a heck of a lot easier... keep it up!

If you're getting headachy, you might be overdoing it. Perhaps try some lower strength juice? Is there a time of day when you really crave? It helps to have a variety of strengths hanging around. Higher for the craving moments, lower for later in the day when you're wanting to sleep/ chain vape and maybe somewhere in the middle for the rest of the time. How much and what did you smoke? Roll ups or cigs, for example? And what are you using now? For headaches, also make sure you're drinking a LOT more water.

As for when to stop vaping, a representative of GSK said at the FDA meeting back in December that tobacco cessation could and should take far longer than we are accustomed to. The three months on the NHS garb, for example, just isn't going to work. Slowly and steadily wins the race. Since I started back on ecigs at the beginning of November, I've reduced from 24mg first thing in the morning and 18mg though the rest of the day; then to 18mg all day after about 2 weeks; then 18mg during the day but 11mg at night by the middle of December; then 11mg all day by January. Now I'm reducing it usually 1mg at a time and I'm on 8mg all day and 4mg in the evenings/chain vaping sessions. My medium term goal is to get to 4mg. One day, I'll get to 0mg! But I'm trying to take it steadily. I've blogged about this on here somewhere too... although I'm told I over think it!

Also, as to what you said about Singapore; if you can get your nic as low as possible, depending on how long you're in Singapore for, you might be able to get away with using an inhalator. When I'm in a situation where I can't vape (important libraries, for example), having one on hand is a god-send. Once all the other nasty chemicals from tobacco are out of your system, I've found these inhalators easier to use although its a pity they only come in one strength!

Hope that helps!x

 

[elxt]

It will take you a while to get into vaping, to find what you like, what suits your style etc. Experiment with things, different strength juices, you'll find your spot eventually.