Nicotine Necessary?

[Anthrox]

Hello all, i've been vaping for about 3 weeks now and love it. Although recently i've been questioning the need of nicotine in my juice. It's more expensive, harder to get (Canada), and the effects to me are barely noticeable, or so I think.

My question is: Do you really get satisfaction from the nicotine or the act/feel of smoking? Have you vaped juice with AND without nicotine and noticed a difference in taste/throat hit/relaxation?

I ordered a bunch of 0mg nicotine juices which i'm still waiting for, but I just wanted to find out from more experienced vapers of any and all of the differences since i've only been vaping 18mg.

 

[DC2]

Should be interesting, I am just posting so I can see what others have to say...

 

[CapableVapable]

I've definitely noticed a difference in the 0mg juices I've tried. Even when they have been the same ones that I typically vape at 18-24mg, they aren't the same. They lack a certain bite that makes vaping them quite unpleasant, imo. Like vaping flavored water or something. Now, plenty of people on here have cut down to 0 with few problems, so I certainly don't speak for everyone, but that's my experience.

 

[banjo]

I don't get any satisfaction from the nicotine, but it does reduce the cravings for analogs, which are caused by the addiction to nicotine.

 

[MickeyRat]

As with everything else in this activity, it's strictly a personal thing. I have seen posts from people that started out with nic and worked their way to zero and they still vape. I use 12 most of the time but, sometimes, it just doesn't do it. So, I drip a little 24. So, I guess it's necessary for me. I DIY so, I can mix up some zero nic in any flavor I like. Haven't done it yet though.

 

[Levitas]

From what I understand, most of the TH comes from nicotine. I am sure this depends on the juice as well, I've never tried 0mg menthol juice but it might have a little bite. Personally, I tried some 0mg recently and I felt nothing. I even tried it at high voltages to see if the warmer vapor would do anything and still, nothing.

I vape 12mg with an occasional 18mg here and there (leftover from the transition)

 

[MustangSallie]

I smoked a pack and a half to two packs a day for 20 years. I then quit completely for five years, and (dope that I am) took it up again at the beginning of this year for about 4 1/2 months. Within about 3 weeks of starting again I was right back up to a pack and a half to two packs a day. When I decided to switch to vaping, I ordered a bunch of juice from 11 mg to 0 mg. Mostly I vape at 6mg, and at 0 mg (on purpose so I don't od on nic) when I'm really on a tear (I chain vape a lot when I'm not working) . Even if I'm not chain vaping the 0 mg, I feel the same amount of satisfaction as I do with the 6 mg. I don't vape the 11 mg at all, and I think I could easily vape 100% at 0 nic without even noticing. For me I think the smoking is more about the act and less about the nic. But I always felt that way, even as a die hard smoker of 20 years. I highly doubt my husband would feel the same way, for him it really seems to be more about the nicotine. Funny isn't it, that I can't get him to even consider vaping.

 

[AttyPops]

Necessary? For me... yes, unfortunately for now. If I go zero nic, I get the grumps, cravings, etc. Like banjo said, I too need it to reduce analog cravings. I'd say I'm 1/2 as addicted as I was when smoking, but still need nic. Something about those "other" chemicals in tobacco too. But you can beat that if you don't have to beat the nic at the same time. Nic... tougher to beat. Same reason I couldn't get off the gum/patches/lozenges.

For you... who knows. Hope you kick that monkey.

P.S. TH is higher with nicotine. Other than that, nic has a faint turpentine taste, and needs something to cover it up (IMO... others vape unflavored).

 

[KDK]

I think it's highly personal. I can't seem to get below 8mg without getting crazy and depressed, even though I only started at (and gave up analogs) at 18 mg. Alot of people are happy at 0 mg. Go for the 0mg if you can, but even if you can't, you are doing yourself a favor by vaping!

 

[Stosh]

I use nicotine to stay off smokes, every quitting scheme I've ever tried (35+yrs)
get to 0 nic and I'm back smoking.

 

[upStomp]

90% of the need for nicotine for me is the throat hit. If I can find a safe way to duplicate it with another substance, I'd be on it in a heartbeat. Don't get me started on Qhit - that stuff costs more than what I pay for 100mg nicotine.

 

[TNT]

I'm going to try some zero nic next time I buy liquid. Then again, many doctors have told me over the years that -- despite two packs a day -- my nicotine addiction was never very strong. That's based on the idea that I usually didn't smoke my first cigarette of the day until after I'd showered, eaten breakfast, etc. Also, if I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or have a midnight snack, I almost never had a cig before going back to bed. Oh, and I also smoked a lot more in the evening than I did in the morning.

A long time ago, I talked my doc into being one of his first patients to try Nicorette gum. When I reported it didn't work, he said, "I knew it wasn't going to. Just replacing nicotine will never work for you." (He was right: gum, patches, lozenges, snuff, etc. never had much effect. The one time I quit for three months, I only did it by constantly eating... gained 60 pounds in three months).

When it comes to e-cigs, I really can't tell a difference between 36mg and 8mg. However, as several posters above have said, at least some nic in the liquid may provide TH.

 

[SweetPuff]

As others said, it's a very personal experience and everyone's journey will differ...I started out on 18-26mg juices, and worked down to 6-12mg and don't feel any jonesing for cigs at all.

6mg works for me now, unless i'm having a stronger nic craving (which does happen at least a few times a day). I'd like to wean off of the nic altogether, but think it's gonna take time. If you can go with zero, go for it, that would be a great thing if you can. Let us know how it goes!

 

[roxics]

At the beginning of the year I had gotten sick and stopped vaping for two weeks. I had been at 18mg before getting sick. By the end of those two weeks not vaping I was pretty stressed out. So I decided to start vaping again, but I was already past the nicotine withdrawals so I started vaping 0 nic. Amazingly it helped even though there was no nicotine in it. However over the course of the next month or two I found I was turning to my PV less and less until one day I didn't pick it up at all. I put it in my pocket every day but never got it out. That lasted for about a month, off everything.

Then about a month and a half ago I made a choice to start vaping again. So I pulled it out and started vaping 0 nic. A week later I had gotten a little stressed out at work and the 0 nic wasn't cutting it so I decided to go back to nicotine. I had already thought about it a few times anyway. I put in some 18mg juice and was immediately satisfied. Since then I've been vaping nic again. But I just mixed up some 12mg a few days ago and it's been just as satisfying as the 18mg.

I can definitely notice the throat hit from 0 to even 12mg. The TH is part of the satisfaction I had been missing.

So long story short, yes without the nicotine the e-cig slowly became unimportant to me. Over the course of a month. But some nicotine, even low amounts like 12mg (and I imagine 6mg as well) makes me reach for my e-cig on a regular basis and provides a more satisfying vaping experience because of the TH.

 

[Valsacar]

I know of one person (personally) that switched from 12mg to 0mg, because he felt he didn't need the nicotine and it was all habit for him. In less than a week he was back to a pack a day and I haven't seen him with an ego for almost a month now.

 

[Dicot]

I'm just finishing my third week analog free, and I'm still not sure where my bottom requirement for nicotine is. I started out with 16mg for all of my juice, but the past 2 weeks I've been ordering juices in 12mg and using them successfully to stave of any cravings. I'm still a bit weary of dropping down to 8mg or below, so if the juice vendor doesn't sell a 12mg, I'll just buy the 16 to be safe. Now that I have a decent collection, and a handful of flavors I enjoy I think I'll start buying some lower nic juice here soon. I really don't want to rush it though.

My worst fear is falling victim to exactly what Valsacar described: picking up cigs again, somehow justifying it to myself, and then never looking back. I've even had multiple dreams during the past few weeks where I smoke a cig and then hate myself for it. My smoker friends are largely a bunch of a-holes who chastise me for "puffin on a battery" and continually ask if I'm sick of ecigs yet, so they're of no support, other than to provide a desire to prove them wrong and shove it in their faces. Suck on that, dicks!

However, in my short time with ecigs I have noticed that throat hits are not that big of a deal to me. I smoked Parliament menthol lights for about 8 years steady, and I don't really remember a throat hit with those. Perhaps I smoked differently than many of you: I would always take in a bit of extra air after every drag. But whether it was my method or my brand, throat hits were not a noticeable part of my cig smoking experience. Because of this I feel it will be easier for me to drop the nic in my juice in due time. I also feel like the actual process of smoking is a large part of my addiction to cigs, since my strongest cravings seem to occur during times where I would habitually smoke, like while driving or playing disc golf.

Lets hope I'm right about that as this adventure continues!

 

[Anthrox]

Interesting... I wonder if the flavours have anything to do with a throat hit. I've notice in the very few flavours I have that the tobacco flavour has a strong one, but my fruity flavours don't, or not as much. Not sure if it's just the ones I got.
Hmm, we'll see. I actually like my fruity/drink flavours a lot more than the tobacco flavour, I guess i'll start with those 0mg flavours I ordered and see how I feel about a week after and report.

One things for sure, I'm not going back to cigarettes. I don't mind them, but I won't buy them. I don't even mind that they're bad for my health. I just don't like the fact that it's something to be dependent on. I don't want to rely on a substance to ease my emotions or a be a social tool.

 

[earthpig]

Valsacar.
Yeah, that's the concern a person who has recently quit smoking should have. I would suggest a solid 6 months after that last cig before cutting back or out of nicotine, so there is no temptation to go back to the real smoke thingy.

I personally am at 16-18mg (depending on the juice), and see no need to cut back. If Canada has stopped your access, ya got a problem there, and I would be looking for a nic juice to stockpile, but that's me.

Piggin

 

[Shantia]

I get super duper cranky with out the nicotine. Ancey and agitated too.

 

[biffette]

i don't care about throat hit. i don't even like it, actually. i'm all about the nicotine. i've always been a nic junkie. (i smoked full strength Pall Mall Red 100s) i went crazy in the neuro ICU one time cuz i was going through withdrawals so bad. my family tried to get the nurses to stick a patch on me, but they wouldn't without the doctor's ok & he was out of town for the weekend. (it was like, 20 years ago. the patch was still prescription only) the 2nd time around, i mide the doc write it in my file before i would even agree to go into the ICU. that time, i was a peach.

i can't quit with the patch unless i'm locked up though. same with the gum. i've tried & tried.

so yeah, for me, 0 nic wouldn't cut it at all. if it works for you, then that's great. more power to ya!