On stopping analogs completely...

[MattZuke]

OMG! I was so ...... off at reading that American Spirits add freebase nicotine to their products....

No one said they added freebase nicotine, only they contain a unproportionality high quantity of it. Given free-base nicotine is naturally forming, and if their advertising is true and they don't use additives, stems, or reconstituted tobacco, it's grown that way.

Remember, just because it's all natural or organic doesn't make it good for you, or even better.

 

[sea]

No one said they added freebase nicotine, only they contain a unproportionality high quantity of it. Given free-base nicotine is naturally forming, and if their advertising is true and they don't use additives, stems, or reconstituted tobacco, it's grown that way.

Remember, just because it's all natural or organic doesn't make it good for you, or even better.

Interesting, I obviously assumed they added it with the levels that high. I wasn't aware that free-base nicotine was naturally forming, but I kept myself in the dark about a lot of things regarding smoking. Thank you for the info!

 

[hittman]

Update: I now have my 24 and 36 mg juice and haven't smoked an analog since. I have a few left in a pack downstairs and I'm not even interested right now. I am very hopeful that increasing the nic will do the trick.

THANK YOU again for all the thoughtful comments. I am so grateful for this site!

That is fantastic new sea. Good for you!

As far as American Spirits I am not sure if they do it or not but I remember reading that some companies do add ammonia or something to cause the nicotine to freebase. On another note, I do know that depending on what kind of tobacco and what part of the plant is used that there are naturally varying nicotine levels in tobacco. I use Swedish snus and nasal snuff and know that using different species of tobacco and using different parts of the plants that it is how they get the different levels of nicotine in their products. Swedish snus is proven to be over 90% safer than smoking and part of the reason is how the tobacco is processed(pasteurized) and another reason is that they don't use the additives that are used in a lot of American made tobacco. In Sweden, their tobacco is regulated by the government basically as a food product and must meet certain safety criteria. Sorry if I got off on a tangent. Congrats to you sea for getting off of the smokes.

 

[CarrieM]

when I vape 18mg, I go back to smoking. When I vape 24mg, I don't need smoking, but am getting nic overdose: headaches, nauseas, heartbeat, etc.. Go figure!! LOL Oh well... At least I smoke MUCH less, and to me it's good enough.

Tami have you tried switching back and forth a bit. Take a couple of long drags off the 24 and them switch down to the 18, or maybe just mix them together and end up with a 20-21 mg mix.. I use anywhere from 18-20 most of the time.

 

[shamreez]

The day before I started vaping I used to smoke almost 20 - 25 Malbaro lights a day.
I also had a crate of them gifted from my friend who had picked it up at a duty free..

I started of with green smokes (I don't want to talk about them as they were the crappiest things I had)

But even Green Smokes let me reduce my cig from 20 - 25 a day to 5 - 10 a day and than I got my ego tank.

Once I got these than I had smoked for 4 more days max 2 or 3 a day (That too mostly in the mornings and late night just before bed)

One day I had lit my analog in the night and I literally felt disgusted at the taste of it (Was vaping some nice lemon flavoured ones till than).
That was the last analog I had and my signature below tells you how many days before it was.

And I still have 7 packs of Malbaro lights lying in my desk and I don't even look at them.

I am confident I would not go back to cigs coz I love the taste of vaping and once you get it not only would the cig's burning taste look disgusting to you even the smell would put you off..

So you have nothing to worry just give it some time and like it happened to me one day you would just realize that you hate them stupid analogs...

Lets all toast to that...

PS: I have never tried high nicotine. Started with medium and now on low nicotine.. I guessed that if I feel like I want to have a cig I would just vape more. Coz I had heard of some people getting a headache or odd sensation if they vape too much on high nicotine. I am not sure if this is a myth or real.. But did not want to take any chances.

 

[Rosa]

2. Smoking smarter?
"The "Natural American Spirit" cigarette, marketed here as "100% Chemical Additive-Free Tobacco." American Spirit cigarettes contain 36 percent free-base nicotine, compared with 9.6 percent in a Marlboro, 2.7 percent in a Camel, and 6.2 percent in a Winston."


Freebase nicotine - SourceWatch
"To freebase nicotine, cigarette companies add ammonia, usually in the form of diammonium phosphate. The addition of ammonia, a base, de-protonates nicotine, making it cross through membranes in the body much more easily. This makes the drug more "bioavailable" to the lungs, brain and tissues. Because ammonia is also a base (negatively charged), it strips away protons from nicotine, turning it into "freebase" form. Scientists have collected the nicotine in cigarette smoke with filters, exposed it to ammonia, and measured how different concentrations of ammonia affect the ratios of protonated to "freebase" nicotine in cigarette smoke. Studies suggest that adding ammonia has a substantial effect on the amount of freebase nicotine contained in cigarette smoke."

 

[sea]

2. Smoking smarter?
"The "Natural American Spirit" cigarette, marketed here as "100% Chemical Additive-Free Tobacco." American Spirit cigarettes contain 36 percent free-base nicotine, compared with 9.6 percent in a Marlboro, 2.7 percent in a Camel, and 6.2 percent in a Winston."


Freebase nicotine - SourceWatch
"To freebase nicotine, cigarette companies add ammonia, usually in the form of diammonium phosphate. The addition of ammonia, a base, de-protonates nicotine, making it cross through membranes in the body much more easily. This makes the drug more "bioavailable" to the lungs, brain and tissues. Because ammonia is also a base (negatively charged), it strips away protons from nicotine, turning it into "freebase" form. Scientists have collected the nicotine in cigarette smoke with filters, exposed it to ammonia, and measured how different concentrations of ammonia affect the ratios of protonated to "freebase" nicotine in cigarette smoke. Studies suggest that adding ammonia has a substantial effect on the amount of freebase nicotine contained in cigarette smoke."

Maybe the consider ammonia a "natural" ingredient for flavor or something. Nothing would surprise me. I don't even think they even bother trying to rationalize it.

 

[sea]

So you have nothing to worry just give it some time and like it happened to me one day you would just realize that you hate them stupid analogs...

Lets all toast to that...

Let's definitely toast to that!

 

[sea]

That is fantastic new sea. Good for you!

As far as American Spirits I am not sure if they do it or not but I remember reading that some companies do add ammonia or something to cause the nicotine to freebase. On another note, I do know that depending on what kind of tobacco and what part of the plant is used that there are naturally varying nicotine levels in tobacco. I use Swedish snus and nasal snuff and know that using different species of tobacco and using different parts of the plants that it is how they get the different levels of nicotine in their products. Swedish snus is proven to be over 90% safer than smoking and part of the reason is how the tobacco is processed(pasteurized) and another reason is that they don't use the additives that are used in a lot of American made tobacco. In Sweden, their tobacco is regulated by the government basically as a food product and must meet certain safety criteria. Sorry if I got off on a tangent. Congrats to you sea for getting off of the smokes.

I'm not off them completely. I was for awhile and then yesterday morning I left my case on the couch that had been sitting next to my bag. I didn't have realize until I got on the bus and didn't have time to go back because I was already close to being late. I thought ....! I'll have to smoke analogs today! So I bought a pack, but as soon as I got home yesterday I was disinterested in them again.

 

[sea]

Oh! But I did some math and since I started vaping I would have smoked over 700 analogs, and I had less than 100 in 41 days. Still not bad progress.

 

[JWebb]

Sea, its god to see all the comments and info you have generated about the negatives or analogs and thanks for the contribution

 

[Religion]

Like everyone said, up the nic. When you start to shake or bounce off the walls you can lower it down. I assumed that I would always need 24mg or more forever. After a month, I am already starting to twitch with 24 and am loving the lower nic juices. My experience may not be normal, but vaping is apparently weaning me off nicotine whether I want to or not. Certainly not a bad problem to have ;-) But I would have freaked out if I didn't start with high nic.

 

[MickeyRat]

My experience may not be normal, but vaping is apparently weaning me off nicotine whether I want to or not. Certainly not a bad problem to have ;-) But I would have freaked out if I didn't start with high nic.

Actually you aren't alone. I posted about this a while back. Started out on 24 then one day I got that dizzy, headachy, nauseous feeling of too much nic and it wouldn't stop every time I picked it up. After that, I tried a few different levels and stopped at 18 for a while. Then it happened again. Now I'm on 12. That seems to be working.

 

[sea]

Actually you aren't alone. I posted about this a while back. Started out on 24 then one day I got that dizzy, headachy, nauseous feeling of too much nic and it wouldn't stop every time I picked it up. After that, I tried a few different levels and stopped at 18 for a while. Then it happened again. Now I'm on 12. That seems to be working.

I hope this happens with me someday!

 

[sea]

Like everyone said, up the nic. When you start to shake or bounce off the walls you can lower it down. I assumed that I would always need 24mg or more forever. After a month, I am already starting to twitch with 24 and am loving the lower nic juices. My experience may not be normal, but vaping is apparently weaning me off nicotine whether I want to or not. Certainly not a bad problem to have ;-) But I would have freaked out if I didn't start with high nic.

Upping the nic has really helped. I use a range from 0-36 each day, but mostly use 16.

 

[Tazzy63]

Hope I can quit analog comPletely as well! The smell, bad breathe etc

 

[NorthOfAtlanta]

I started analogs in 1958 and have tried many times over the last 50+ years to quit. Been through gum, patches and even tried the pills once, none of them worked for me. Started vapeing on Dec 12th and smoked my last analog on the 17th. I started with 28m and have worked my way down to 6m, don't know if I'll go any lower as I'm feeling better than I have for quite a while and I haven't had the urge to light one up in over 2 months.

 

[Philla_Dutch]

you gotta just go for it the sooner the better.. the longer u wait while still smoking the ecig the less effective the ecig will end up being as far as a tool to help u quit.. sounds hard but it will only get harder unless u slowly get off analogs.. try getting higher nicotine mg levels that should help.. good luck u can do it!

 

[smilinglila]

I quit smoking the first day I received my vapor 4 life e-cig, but I also started with a 36 nic level. If you try going higher with your nic level it may help. Good luck

 

[sea]

you gotta just go for it the sooner the better.. the longer u wait while still smoking the ecig the less effective the ecig will end up being as far as a tool to help u quit.. sounds hard but it will only get harder unless u slowly get off analogs.. try getting higher nicotine mg levels that should help.. good luck u can do it!

This may be true, but I have have a history of mental health issues and I think the MOAIs in tobacco are playing their part. I'll have anywhere from 0-2 analogs a day now and won't even smoke a whole one. I would rather ween a bit than trigger a depressive episode. Upping the nic has really really helped though.