Nicotine levels and older vapers, something I find odd. (a little story)

[Claudia P]

I smoked for most of over 50 years with the last 7 or 8 only being a pack to pack and a half a day, SO and I would share a pack so I was never sure just how much I would smoke, after deciding not to smoke in the house.Now that I've quit and he hasn't I know I was really smoking about 3/4 to one pad, since I was going by how long a carton would last. He would insist he was only smoking half a pad, but since the carton now only lasts twice as long I know better, he was smoking as much as I did. When I first started vaping I tried 18mg and it wasn't nearly enough, when I went to 24mg I was able to put the cigs down. Now I vape anywhere from 6 to 24mg throughout the day depending on whether I am feeling anxious or not. For me when I feel anxious it means I need to increase nic level rather than decrease, I have yet to get shaky from too much nic, rather I'll feel my heart rate increase a bit. Most of the day I vape 12 or 18 mg and when the cravings hit I up that to 24 for a little while until they go away. When I'm not feeling cravings and just want to vape I'll go with 6mg.

 

[bosun]

40 plus years of smoking. Started at 24mg. Then 24mg just for that initial kickstart in the AM and 18 the rest of the day. Then just 18. Thinking my body is going to let me drop down to 18 AM and 16/14 rest of the day. If I get down to zero nic - fine. If not, that's OK too. My war against the coffin nails has been won!

 

[Newportlocal]

^One thing I might advise is getting two seperate tanks; one with whatever nic you truly like, and one with none. If your body just needs that pick-me-up in the morning (I think that's the ONE thing I may have a true need for nicotine for), puff on the high one a little while, and then puff on the no-nic one the rest of the day or until you need the high one again. A few puffs of high nic a day would be a lot better than a constant 3mg, if you do vape a lot.

I have plenty of tanks. I will give that a try, and see how often I even need the nic.

 

[Chas F.]

I smoked less than 1/2 pad of American Spirits. I bought 7 liquids when I started, 3 @ 12mg, 2 @ 6mg and 2 @ 0mg. Now I mostly vape at 3mg but I keep 1 tank @ 6mg, 1 @ 0mg and 2 @ 3mg. The 6mg is usually my ride to work vape. I'm giving the 12 mg to my nephew tomorrow when we get his setup, but I suspect it will be too strong for him.

 

[DaveP]

I like 6ml but still miss the teste of a real cig and I'm still looking for it after 4 months!

Halo Torque56

 

[DaveP]

I smoked for many decades and weaned myself down to Doral Ultra Lights because they were cheap and listed low nic levels. I started vaping 24mg juice 3 1/2 years ago and just recently dropped to 18mg and then 12mg. It was really easy and I vaped a little heavier for a week or two, then backed down to the point where I can leave it alone for extended periods.

It was kind of the way I got off cigs. I continued to smoke one after a meal and with coffee for a couple of years while vaping, then decided to quit. There were no withdrawal symptoms. I just didn't smoke after the last pack I finished. Piece of cake for me and I was one of those who quit and started back a couple of times and never lost the desire until I vaped for a while.

I tell that story once in a while hoping new vapers will listen.

The estimates say that the average vaper is getting 10% to 30% of what they got from cigarettes. How that's determined wasn't revealed, but I think it's probably close.

 

[Mark Anthony]

I didn't smoke that much, as compared to some (1/2 PAD), but I needed 24mg to quit the stinkies. Now I'm at 18mg, will probably stay here for a few more months, then knock down to 12mg. I have a bottle of 10mg that I use at night so I can get to sleep, but I couldn't use it all day.

I fall into this category as well..... I'm at 24 and love it. I never get edgy or have any urges for analogs.

 

[Silent Scream]

When I smoked, I smoked almost constantly, 3 packs a day or more. I never went long without a cig, and lighting one right after another was pretty much constant.

When I started vaping, at 24 nic, I did the same, and it didn't get me of the cigs. 30nic juice did the trick. And just like when I was smoking, I was vaping constantly, 24 most of the time, 30 right after meals. For months, 24 "all the time" was my norm. Then I decided to cut down.

As I cut down, I still vape all the time. I'm down to 0 nic, and other than the lack of throat hit, I don't miss the nic enough to matter. But I still vape constantly, and if I can't or don't vape, I'm not happy.

So for me, I needed the high nic to get off the cigs, but moving down was easy, and I can do without the nic. But at least so far, I haven't found a way to slow down how often I vape, just the nic level when I do.

Just a question... do you find you can't slow down because the 'hit' isn't there? Or are you vaping because it's something to distract you from the nic?

 

[bhswmc01]

I fall into this category as well..... I'm at 24 and love it. I never get edgy or have any urges for analogs.

Good luck! I'm almost 5 months into vaping, and am using 12mg most of the time now. Still use 18 in the morning, or if I'm 'nic fitting'.

 

[Baldr]

Just a question... do you find you can't slow down because the 'hit' isn't there? Or are you vaping because it's something to distract you from the nic?

The worst part of no-nic vaping is the lack of throat hit. I don't really miss the nic itself, but I do miss having a little throat hit, and I may go back to a low level of nic (6mg?) at some point.

I had hoped to quit once I reached no nic. I thought if I didn't need the nic, I could just to set the thing aside, but the habit is still very, very ingrained.

 

[Baldr]

Just a question... do you find you can't slow down because the 'hit' isn't there? Or are you vaping because it's something to distract you from the nic?

The worst part of no-nic vaping is the lack of throat hit. I don't really miss the nic itself, but I do miss having a little throat hit, and I may go back to a low level of nic (6mg?) at some point.

I had hoped to quit once I reached no nic. I thought if I didn't need the nic, I could just to set the thing aside, but the habit is still very, very ingrained.

 

[patkin]

As far as nic goes, vaping is no different than smoking. You know when you've smoked too much and when you've vaped too much whether there's high or low nic in your juice. It really shouldn't cost a lot to find it out. If you get the symptoms of too much, and every smoker know what those are, just dilute it a bit with plain PG/VG or buy zero nic in the same flavor and cut it down. As for the number of years spent smoking or smoking the same brands, we can't compare with others. Every person draws differently and holds it in for more or less time absorbing more or less nic whether that's smokes or juice. Personally, I always have at least three juices going at once with different nic levels to ensure I can keep vaping when I want without getting too much nic. I recommend doing that for him. I don't know how old he is but the elderly are much more sensitive to all medications and some foods. Most give up some of their favorite foods at some point if they're spicey, greasy, etc. and docs prescribe in accordance with not only size but age both directions... young and old.