Question re. analog cravings.

[ChellyNelly]

You will have cravings for the rest of your life, some will be really powerful. Just keep in mind how smelly cigarettes are. I guarantee you 100% that you would light it, take a few puffs, almost vomit, put it out less than half way, and then feel sick for like 3 hours. It's just not worth it, but the addiction center in your brain will continue to tell you it is for the rest of your life -- it's a self-serving liar, just remember that.

 

[Toronto_Mike]

Much the same for me, Mike as posted above. I had cravings the first couple of weeks but my mind was so consumed with learning about all the gear & finding vendors that it didn't get the best of me. I even had a couple of hurdles thrown at me like finding a brand new pack of smokes on the floor of my work van during week 3.

Hang in there. The cravings will subside with time. Just keep looking at your banner & vape proud.

 

[ctourtelot]

I've been vaping for 3 years now so vaping has become as second nature to me as smoking used to be. I can't really say that I get cravings for cigarettes anymore, but there are times when my vaping just isn't doing it for me. I self medicate with nicotine, mainly for stress and I've had times when no amount of vaping was cutting it.

I did experiment recently with some WTA (whole tobacco alkaloid) liquid from Aroma Ejuice. Rather than having just nicotine, it contains additional alkaloids from tobacco that, for me at least, gave me a more genuine smoke like experience. I didn't get a head rush or anything like some people, but it does seem to have that extra "something" that set it apart from my regular liquid.

I wasn't crazy about the taste of it by itself, but I mixed it with some other tobacco flavors that I had around and I keep that on hand for those moments when I need a bit more.

Others have also used Snus in addition to vaping to get through extreme cravings.

Personally, I didn't restrict myself from smoking when I started. I had a pack left the day I got my first ecig and I took both to my poker league. I alternated between vaping and smoking all night long and by the end of the night I was dreading lighting up (but far too cheap to toss the remaining cigs). I was relieved when the pack was empty.

I had no cravings for the next 2 weeks on my ecig, but I wore out my blu kit in that time ( 2-3PAD smoker) and resorted to smoking until I could research and order a different kit.

Just hang in there. If you need a cigarette, have one. Personally, I feel that the stress of saying "never again" will make the cravings even worse. You'll most likely find it disgusting, but denying yourself of it tends to escalate a craving to an obsession. I bummed a smoke a couple months into vaping when my battery died at the courthouse. I took 2 puffs and was sick to my stomach the whole afternoon.

Best wishes and we're always here to help.

 

[talion]

Vaping is taking care of your body's need for nicotine, so what you're feeling is a purely mental urge. I would bet dollars to donuts that you have certain times and circumstances that work as triggers for your smoking urges. If you identify and avoid those triggers, or at least be conscious that it's only a mental switch telling you to smoke, and not a real desire to, then you'll be fine. I'm just a month in myself, and I can tell you that I'm fine because I've recognized the odd twinges where I've wanted a smoke as a mental memory saying to me "Hey, this is when you would usually be smoking, so light one".

Enjoy a nice vape instead, and refuse to be a slave to your body's imprinted urges from the past. The future is now and it's all yours. Good luck!

 

[wood]

i really need to try and stop with the stinkies , some days i still smoke a pack a day , some days half that. i have been doing better lately though

 

[vise]

i really need to try and stop with the stinkies , some days i still smoke a pack a day , some days half that. i have been doing better lately though

Hang in there Wood, I know you'll beat it!

 

[dragonbone]

I fight this every day too!! Today is only day 5, but that's a whole bunch of analogs I've stayed away from! It's worst for me when I wake up in the morning. New routine for me is leave the pv on the nightstand. Reach for it as soon as I wake up. Kind of disrupts the whole morning routine and helps a lot!
I must say too, this forum has helped a lot! Everybody here is uber supportive! I really like the "reward" idea too!

Wow, congrats! You are definitely past the hump! At one time I had two PV's hanging on a lanyard around my neck at all times and carried at least one more in my hand or several more in my shoulder bag when out the house. I read in bed before going to sleep, so also took to having a special little bag that goes on my nightstand with my PV's, glasses, eReader, hand cream, iPod etc. that travels with me to the bedroom before retiring and to the family room in the day time. It beat carting fistfuls of PV's around the house lol! Now as the months have passed and my collection has grown, this bag is fairly bristling with PV's sticking out at all angles lol!!!
Whatever it takes was my motto! And after almost 30 years of smoking I am a NON smoker.

 

[fuzzione]

Well it's my 1 month anniversary vaping today and after 40 years of PAD+, rest assured that if I can do it so can you Mike. Believe me when I tell you that I and everyone that knows me would have previously considered my feat absolutely impossible.

It's interesting to compare experiences on this subject. So much variance according to the individual.

I vividly recall that my 1st 4 days were a challenge; not so much 'cravings' but more like triggered compulsions that in retrospect were mostly subconscious. Walking into certain rooms, coffee, any routine really that ended in a smoke. On the 4th day I lit one. I remember not regarding it as caving in at the time, more like curiosity. Well I almost puked. I threw it away after half finishing the thing as the taste was horrid, immediately vaping thereafter which to me felt like relief. Funny thing happened to me on that day it seems because all that subconscious yearning magically disappeared. Poof. Vanished, just like that. It was amazing, as though the cigarette guy in me died suddenly. I've never had anything that even remotely resembles a craving since.

While this might not be the right methodology for everyone, lighting one up actually helped me. Just my own experience.
So as was mentioned earlier, don't be too hard on yourself if you absolutely have to light one. It might even end up helping you in the long run, as in my case.

 

[dhdonline1]

I find it amazing that with all of the "approved" methods for quitting stinkies, I've heard more positive responses from pv's than anywhere else! To me cutting back stinkies is success!

Another opinion I have developed - not sure if I am correct but that's why everybody has one!!

For me, I believe nicotine is a life long addiction. As many times I have tried to quit, they have all failed. Maybe it's just a self control thing? It could be! One of my more successful attempts was about a year and a half. Every single day was just as hard as the first. All I could think about was smoking! The cravings and withdrawl were just as bad as day one. Irratable, exhausted, couldn't focus. Then I got laid off from my job, 2 days after buying a car no less!! That was it.... Went and bought a pack! Here is a secret I will share that has made everything worse too - I was what I would call a "secret smoker". Reason being I was always ashamed - felt weak because of it I guess? My parents smoked as long as I can remember, and I am sure that had something to do with it! They have both since quit, and both still have cravings!! So now, vaping has pretty much a new life! Yes I am still consuming nic, but at much much less risk. I feel good about it!! Haha wow this became long winded! Sorry everybody!!! So, my opinion - I may be consuming nic for a long long time! I am slowly going to try cut the nic down, and maybe go zero!

My point is, I am frustrated that many governments are against pv's but basically PRO tobacco?

Sorry for the rant! Big thanks to everybody! All the support is awesome! Vape on!

 

[martinc]

They stink and make you and your whole surroundings stink...drill that into your head!

You are about to gain more,like accute smell (its like its boosted for a while,then it lvls back) cars stinks,the city stinks,other smokers stinks.

It stinks.

The odd thing is I had no problems at all quitting,even went a few days without vaping (ran out).

Somebody said programmed?

Hell for a couple months when I grabbed my PV my other hand was looking for my lighter

Hang in there!

 

[UnoAllaVolta]

Oh for gosh sakes! You've gone 15 days. Smoking a cigarette isn't the end of the world. So have one very 15 days. Enjoy it. I have one every day, walking around with a coffee first thing in the morning. Just do what you think is best and enjoy your life.

 

[FloridaHokie]

The way I see it, if you are cutting back on analogs at ALL. that's success!!

Don't beat up yourself too much... give it a little time, and suddenly you'll have that "light bulb moment" of your own... you'll suddenly realize how much time you waste by smoking an entire analog... and when you finally realize how much a real analog stinks... I mean, really STINKS... the curse will have been broken, and you'll never smoke again

 

[vise]

Everybody here has given good advice, but the bottom line is everybody here is not you. We all have different triggers that make us crave a stinky, and we all have our own way of dealing with the craving. What you need to do is find out A: what your trigger is, and B: what you need to do to take your mind off it. Go for a walk, bicycle ride, change the oil in your vehicle, do something you've never done before, the list is endless. But the important thing you need to remember is if you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up about it because you are only human. And every time you fight the urge and deny your craving, it makes you just a little bit stronger for the next time. Giving up smoking is tough. No it's a damn mountain to climb, but you've discovered a very strong ally in vaping to help you fight it, and here in ECF you have also found a great support team to help you.

Now load up a tank and invite your friends over for a Three Stooges Marathon and enjoy life!

 

[fuzzione]

Vise, just noticed your signature. You were spending $1000/month on smokes? Wow. Must leave you a lot of room for mods!

 

[vise]

Vise, just noticed your signature. You were spending $1000/month on smokes? Wow. Must leave you a lot of room for mods!

Yup, once I realized how much money I was actually spending on killing myself it wasn't hard to give them up! In Alberta a pack was costing around $12.50!!! I remember telling myself when I first started smoking that I would quit if they ever got to $1.00 pack! It was easier said than done.

As a gift/reward to myself I bought a 2012 Jeep Rubicon last month and I still have enough money left over to indulge in a GGTS or other mods!

 

[AinSophAur]

Everyone is different. Some never get cravings, some have cravings for the rest of their life. Personally I found the first 2-3 weeks the hardest. Now I very rarely if ever get cravings.