please advise-closest i've been to success

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stols001

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I was a 3 ppd smoker when I quit, I did not seek out tobacco flavors, I was sick of them (and very sick, generally). I have dual used on and off in the past, it took some serious health scares to get me to take it seriously this time.

1) Making "the decision" and then learning as much as I could through detox to stay focused on vaping, not smoking.

2) WTAs eased me from those last few cigarettes and detox was still HARD, but slightly easier. You don't have to use it forever, but the first few months it really helped me. I still keep some around for stressful situations and the husband's ongoing quit. Raising your nic level may help, too. Finding a juice you can tolerate... then actually like... (DIY was most helpful for me) is important. Finding a few "OMG" flavors really helps make vaping more appealing . I didn't try tobacco for this, IMO even NET (naturally extracted tobaccos) don't remind me of "real" cigarettes enough... If anything they would make me want a "real" cigarette in comparison, but I approached vaping as a whole different animal (with different set of expectations about what I would "get" from it and acknowledging it is never going to be the same as tobacco.) It just isn't, but in many ways vaping is actually BETTER. It's cheaper, it doesn't stink, and it can actually be AS satisfying if not more, but that takes some time. Changing my expectations helped.

I also had the realization (after dual using for years) that tobacco was ALWAYS going to be my favorite if I dual used. I am not the type to smoke "one" cigarette and stick with that, it js not tenable for my addiction and I had to accept that. While dual use may bring SOME harm reduction, it's not as much as switching entirely. At some point I had to be the frog that ACTUALLY jumped from the log. Don't get me wrong, I've had a few "stress" cigarettes here and there (less all the time) and a few times I fell off the wagon with catastrophic failure (think, smoking a pack one day after several weeks vaping) but most of all I kept dusting myself off, picking myself up and resuming vaping ,and I can't believe how much better EVERYTHING in my life has gotten. Quitting completely is worth it, and a worthy goal.

Finally, no matter what you do, willpower and desire (and some suffering, which seems to be different for everyone) are huge pieces of the puzzle as well.

Best of luck to you, I wish you all the success in the world! You can do it.

Anna
 

rabernet

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Finding a juice you can tolerate... then actually like... (DIY was most helpful for me) is important. Finding a few "OMG" flavors really helps make vaping more appealing . I didn't try tobacco for this, IMO even NET (naturally extracted tobaccos) don't remind me of "real" cigarettes enough...

Most excellent post! Wanted to reply to this part in particular. I completely agree. This is not my first attempt at vaping myself. The very first time I tried, juices weren't where they are today and I didn't care for much of ANYTHING I tried. Always a chemical tone to them. Over the years they've gotten better, and even today, I still won't "cheap out" on my vendor purchased liquids. My "OMG" flavor vendor of choice is Ahlusion. Probably because Wlad does his own extracts on most all of his juices, they are the cleanest flavors (to me), and it's rare for me to just dive in and try a new flavor and NOT declare it my new favorite flavor from them.

The Plume Room is another juice vendor that delivers consistent good flavors for me. And probably the third most purchased from juice vendor is Alice in Vapeland.

I just can't vape economy juices. Well, maybe not can't, but I can't find any that suit MY tastes.

I tend to like the fruitier (but more natural than candied) juices, some dessert, and after a time, I started to try some of the tobacco vapes - not for a cigalike taste - and found that I really enjoyed some of the different flavors as a break from the fruit vapes.

I've never done DIY, because I'm such a fan of the Ahlusion juices and I know that I could probably never be as satisifed with DIY as I am with their juices. AND, I just never had a desire to DIY. Maybe it's because I'm afraid I'll be more likely to replicate the economy juices that I don't care for, than the artisian level vapes I've come to love.
 

BrotherBob

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Any other favs. out there? Also what could I expect if I use a different coil, say the .5 or the 1. Thanks much to any and all who are willing to give me the benefit of their ESH (experience,strength ,hope)
Welcome and glad you joined.
You have received good feedback.
For taste (IMHO) and cost savings, it's best to stay on the non sub ohm side of 1.0+ ohms.
re: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/f...re-and-lower-resistance.706656/#post-16692106
I have provided a little more information to evaluate tobaccos.
Might like to read:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/f...ion-tobacco-flavoring-discussion-only.667055/
The Vaper`s Guide to Flavour Chasing: 10 Tips To Maximise Flavour
We Tried the Most Disgusting E-Cig Flavors So You Don't Have To
 

Gramdogg

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The 0.6 AIO isn't really a MTL or DTL vape, it is RDTL. I quit smoking over 2 yrs ago but still need a true MTL vape throughout the day to mimic smoking at the times you mentioned. In the morning with coffee my lungs ain't ready for clouds yet. I break them in with an old evod from like 2013 first lol.
 

Melanie Mitchem

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Dec 17, 2014
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Wow, Thanks everyone. I'm kicking myself right now for all the time I spent just looking up stuff instead of posting and asking. Ya'll have given me a ton of valuable info and encouragement and I'm very grateful. And planning on a lot of reading and vaping. Btw.. only 1.5 since I got up today,hoping I can chain vape thru the next crunch time. I'll keep posting and keep reading; just like I was told 7 1/2 years ago, all ESH is priceless. While it might not help me specificly, it will help someone, so put it out there. :thumbs:
 

Melanie Mitchem

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Dec 17, 2014
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the only thing I would add is get another tnk or cheap device and put some high nic juice in it for the real bad times
Yep,yep, well sort of; a coworker gave me the rest of his high nic when his vape broke. Only issues is that its salts and menthol. So what I did was put 1-3 drops in the juice I already had. But my WTA juice came and I'm working that now instead. Definitely a big difference from my 18 kure cowboy that I was using. Thanks bunches :)
 
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Melanie Mitchem

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Dec 17, 2014
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Have you considered that maybe you are addicted to more than the nic in cigarettes?

There are so many different chemicals in cigs that some are also addicted to what is known as Whole Tobacco Alkaloids(WTA). There are some that just need that added boost to be able to kick the stinkies to the curb.

Search on ecf for WTA. A wonderful ecf member and chemist isolated these alkaloids a few years ago and Aroma ejuice makes this for the vapors. They also have a forum here on ecf where you can read about what it is and what it does. There are a few online vendors whom also sell different variations of it.

Good luck and let us know how its going.

:)
Just wanted to let you know, I took your advice and got some from both aroma and om. Prob. gonna try one or 2 other vendors just for a comparison. 3 different flavors; like all of them but no omg love it, witch is just fine cause the point is satisfaction more than anything else. I will say I prefer the aroma since its 70/30 and I can chain vape. The om's a alot thicker and I've already gotten some dry hits trying to hit before the coil has soaked up again. What would be the best way to thin a juice like that? Water or unflavored pg? And its working famously btw. Almost at the point where I actually CAN'T smoke. Thanks again for your advice. :)
 

mcclintock

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  • Oct 28, 2014
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    I was tempted to hit the "disagree" button on every anti-tobacco-flavor post in this thread. However I do agree that trying to exactly mimic a cig works poorly and I have no idea why so many try to do so, except there is something different about what one wants from vaping or smoking than eating or drinking (except alcohol, which is a similar difference). The best vaping tobacco flavors are superior to smoking tobacco. The are also often quite subtle and a smoker will have trouble fully tasting them, so they are not all that suited to quitting. Another thing to consider is that some very non-tobacco flavors can "play" a lot more like smoking than you would expect. Almost any flavor, if strong enough, increases throat hit and can hit you like a physical punch.

    I quit very gradually and think my addiction was more about the WTAs than pure nicotine. Also there can be a need to change attitudes time to and adjust to the concept. But there did seem to be something physical going on. Increasing nicotine would just make me feel sick -- if there's a time of the day you find yourself doing that, that's the one time of the day to just have cig for a little longer. I have heard that some people also have less issue with feeling sick when using nicotine salts eliquid. They don't contain WTAs but still agree with the body somewhat better, or satisfy better.
     
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    Sugar_and_Spice

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    I am so happy that this has helped you. YAY!!

    I would try just one drop of distilled water to thin the wta down. Or you could do 1-2 drops of pg. In both cases make sure you shake the dickens out of that bottle before reusing.

    The whole world is so focused on that key word 'Nicotine' being so bad when in reality it is no more addictive than caffeine and by itself just as safe. Wonder what their reaction would be if they learned that cigarettes contain chemicals-drugs that are far more addictive. smh
    :)
     
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    tgs3

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    I relate to your post since I have been somewhat in the same boat as you. I began vaping last August after 4 decades of smoking 25-30 per day, full flavor. It has been a long haul, but I now have what I consider bad weeks rather than bad days. The last week (seven days) for me was 'bad' in that I had five analogs - four on Monday. However, I did not smoke a single analog because of a physical craving. I chose to smoke everyone of those and frankly was disappointed every time. I know I will not smoke five this week. Vaping is working for me. It is just a matter of time.

    I started at 24mg so that might not be a bad idea for you. I want to put in a plug for www.Naturally-Extracted-Tobacco.com, e-liquids for electronic cigarettes. Their cigarette style liquids in my experience are excellent. Like someone else on this thread, I too like vanilla flavors. I have discovered some RY4 liquids that I like a lot. For me, this one from Heather's Heavenly Vapes is a nice one.

    Hang in there. Keep vaping and good things are likely to happen.
     

    Melanie Mitchem

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    Dec 17, 2014
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    :thumbs::thumbs:
    I was tempted to hit the "disagree" button on every anti-tobacco-flavor post in this thread. However I do agree that trying to exactly mimic a cig works poorly and I have no idea why so many try to do so, except there is something different about what one wants from vaping or smoking than eating or drinking (except alcohol, which is a similar difference). The best vaping tobacco flavors are superior to smoking tobacco. The are also often quite subtle and a smoker will have trouble fully tasting them, so they are not all that suited to quitting. Another thing to consider is that some very non-tobacco flavors can "play" a lot more like smoking than you would expect. Almost any flavor, if strong enough, increases throat hit and can hit you like a physical punch.

    I quit very gradually and think my addiction was more about the WTAs than pure nicotine. Also there can be a need to change attitudes time to and adjust to the concept. But there did seem to be something physical going on. Increasing nicotine would just make me feel sick -- if there's a time of the day you find yourself doing that, that's the one time of the day to just have cig for a little longer. I have heard that some people also have less issue with feeling sick when using nicotine salts eliquid. They don't contain WTAs but still agree with the body somewhat better, or satisfy better.
    Yep, I'm becoming more and more aware of the difficulty to mimic my smoking/ feeling off the analogs. I do know that some of my issue is more than likely method. When I had started, I had no knowledge of the whole direct lung thing til one of my bam store staff suggested doing it like that. When I pay close attention to how I inhale i can, and get more off it. But then I get distracted by various things and revert back to "smoking" instead of vaping. My buddy told me about the mtl vs. dl, and and recommended that I look into it and it might help because mtl is how most people smoke. It may be psychosomatic, but I do seem to be able to grab the vape more often and not the analog, especially when it comes to stress smoking. That plus the wta's seem to be doin it for me. Fingers crossed, I'm reducing gradually and its getting easier to leave the analogs alone. :thumbs:
     

    AngeNZ

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    I'd play with how you prefer to inhale while vaping - if you want the cigarette like draw of mtl, then maybe try some higher 1.0 ohm coils. I started on an innokin t18 with 1.5 ohm coils and found that perfectly gave me the tighter cigarette like mtl inhale. I got an aspire pockex with 0.6 ohm coils and found the direct to lung inhale nowhere near as good for 'replacing' cigarettes. I've kept it though for when I advance up the ladder sometime :)

    I also used nicotine patches for the first couple of weeks as well as vaping. Found that kept the cravings down better and stopped me reaching for a cigarette. Once I stopped using patches I vaped 18mg juice in a menthol flavour. Like you I initially looked for an ejuice that tasted like a cigarette. Menthol was similar enough to get me through that initial stage - now I'm branching out to creamier flavours.

    Chain vaping also kept me smoke free. I've done 2 months smoke free now and no longer have the physical urge to want a cigarette. Didn't think that would ever happen but it does! Hang in there
     
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