Congrats on getting to reduced analogues, that's fantastic. I think trying the 24 nic might help, if you are still craving cigs a great deal, and certainly, it's time to find a setup that may be more customizable/less expensive. To start, if you like the way your cartridges feel/vape in your hand, then you are looking at a preference (perhaps) for MTL vaping, meaning a smaller, lighter refillable device (they can put a lot of power, bells and whistles into those these days) that has an internal battery that you can charge via USB. The *least* expensive way to determine if you prefer sub-ohm (meaning low resistant coils), versus smaller, refillable high-ohm devices would be to buy a mod capable of running both (and determine if you want an internal or external battery mod, though most sub-ohmers do use rechargeable batteries on higher power devices, mainly for flexibility and/or to vape all day without changing the batteries. There are lots of good options out there, just make sure you check
@Mooch's blog about battery safety/chargers, etc. It's best to order those directly from reputable suppliers.
Then, you can select a sub-ohm tank and a MTL tank (I'd personally recommend the Nautilus 2, as it has variable coils, down to 0.7 which is technically subohming, though I vape that coil MTL with the right wattage and airflow settings, but coils go up to 1.8 which is a much tighter draw. The coils are inexpensive and easy to use. As far as a sub-ohm tank, there are tons of options but I don't enjoy subohm very much, too many clouds for me, so I can't give you an exact recommendation. But doing things that way would give you some flexibility and options, unless you have a friend who can let you borrow their gear or something, to get a feel for it. That said, keep your cartos around, some people *just* prefer them, you may be one of them....
As far as counting cigs, it was mentioned on here while dual using, to count the ones you *don't* smoke. It certainly is more positive, starting out. Also, vaping.... a lot of it is going to depend on you. I dual used intermittently and sporadically for a fair amount of time (my initial motivation was to cut back/be outside less) but until I took my quit seriously *this* time, I don't think I would have made much headway. Finding this site helped a lot, and the other thing that worked for me was "WTA" juice, which has some of the alkaloid/MAOI substances found in tobacco that are missing from a pure nic vape.... It's not cheap, but it was helpful. I'd vape and hit a point at around 3 p.m. where I wanted to chew through steel.... It wasn't pleasant, and I did not do very well during my evening times. With the WTA I started with putting *tiny* squirts of it in my tank, then set up a separate tank with some WTA in it I can use in times of frenzy/stress.... Like, if I went to a concert or something, I would definitely pack that tank. I'm mostly phasing it out though, as vaping has become "stickier," for me.
Also, I never stopped vaping this time.... Even if I smoked, I would force myself to vape right before and right afterward, to reinforce that smoking was gross, and I did not need it. I rewarded myself for milestones, like the first non-smoking day I bought craft supplies and I'm making a blanket (keeps hands busy during meetings, etc., too), when I could sing again (I was pretty ill when I landed here) I got a guitar and my brother the musician is giving me weekly skyping lessons and I'm having a great time with it, as is he (he's on his first week cold turkey off analogues, incidentally, which I find amusing.... All my male relatives seem to disdain da Vape, and want to suffer) but the point is, after using cigs as my "reward" for so long, I literally did not know how to reward myself and had to sit down and make a list....
And I also had to forget about Every Other quit attempt I made, and focus solely on this one... .Had I counted all my failed attempts, I would have failed... Miserably. So I kept in mind the mantra that "every quit is different" and just kept going with that.... The cigs faded out over time, and I almost fell down in surprise during my first cigarette free day.
With that being said, you do NOT have to put a time table on quitting just yet (or ever) if you don't want to. It really depends on your goals and motivation, I really know myself and that if I smoke even very few cigarettes, there will be a time that one "hooks" me, and that's usually how I start back up. I remind myself when I have cravings of how it was when I was so ill, then quitting analogues on top of it, and yes I do still get the occasional craving, but they aren't bad, and they do pass if I vape, ignore, vape, etc.
Best of luck, I think you will be able to quit if you desire, though I understand that feeling of "those last few cigarettes" are so precious, difficult.
That's why I really didn't try a schedule of reduction, by the time I am down to 1 or 2 cigarettes a day (via whatever method of quitting) I usually want to marry them or at least bronze them and place them on my mantelpiece.... That's why I had to quit-quit I saw vaping was largely working and THIS was my opportunity, and it's working
So, I'm sure you'll hit your own opportunity moment when it comes but just Don't Stop Vaping and that day will arrive. Everyone's different though, so just focus for now on figuring out what situations/needs/wants make you want to smoke, and how you can manage/deal with them over time, there is no Gigantic Rush or Vape trophy (though you may collect some here, LOL) that you'll get for quitting over a 1 week period vs a 1 month period, as long as you get to the point where vaping can work for you.
Best of luck, it will happen....
Anna
i'll add the fact though that to test dtl and sub 0hming the nautilus 2 with a .7 coil can do "restricted" lung hit just like my original nautilius does. Sure it's not exactly the same but gives you a pretty good idea of what it's like to have bigger clouds and stuff. Like you said it's not for everyone though, i use both a dtl and mtl setups i just found that sub 0hms and bigger clouds felt more satisfying to me but again like you said you don't like bigger clouds and it's totally cool ! If i may i'll just add this
