Quitting tobacco (again)

[vaper1960]

I was doing so well for many months then I slipped back into smoking. First (because of stress) had two each morning, then had other "excuses" and it was 3, 4, 5... some days 6. I hate myself! One day my RTAs leaked, another day my new drop-in was bogus... lots of handy excuses but that's all they were. Smoked my last one this morning... might have to "vape like hell" for a few days but I've got to do this. I could use some support, but what I really need is some "tough love"... tell me I'm an idiot, a fool, how I did so good for so long and screwed it up (don't hold back... put a boot on and kick away) I guess a little emotional support would help too.

 

[P2PLeon]

How long did you abstain.

 

[Wow1420]

I was doing so well for many months then I slipped back into smoking. First (because of stress) had two each morning, then had other "excuses" and it was 3, 4, 5... some days 6. I hate myself! One day my RTAs leaked, another day my new drop-in was bogus... lots of handy excuses but that's all they were. Smoked my last one this morning... might have to "vape like hell" for a few days but I've got to do this. I could use some support, but what I really need is some "tough love"... tell me I'm an idiot, a fool, how I did so good for so long and screwed it up (don't hold back... put a boot on and kick away) I guess a little emotional support would help too.

Well, you did screw up. But good people sometimes do screw up. Since you came back here for support, you're demonstrating that you're not a fool.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Mama always said,
you got to put the past behind you.

 

[AngeNZ]

Since you've started on this forum you have always gone out of your way, to try and help new vapers . Now it's just time you take that enthusiasm and energy to work on getting yourself 100% smoke free.

The only way I got myself through my first year smoke-free was through playing mind games with myself - and chain-vaping my .... off. I knew if I had 1 smoke here, 1or 2 there, it would be a slippery slope back to full-time smoking. So whenever the urge to smoke got really bad - I'd tell myself if I still wanted one in an hour, I could have it. And I vaped a higher nic content juice during that hour. Once that time was up, if the craving was still there - I made myself wait 2 hours. And so on. It's all about delaying the instant gratification. And it worked. I'm now well over 2 years without a single cigarette.

Cigarettes here in NZ also cost so damn much, it it by far way way cheaper to vape. That also helped in my motivation - I didn't want to spend $25nzd ($15US) on a pack of ciggys, when instead I could use that money for a new RTA.

You can do it

 

[Javichu]

Do what you gotta do man,use whatever device,mod,atomizer,e-liquid flavour or dose of nice but really do it.

Friend of mine always got back to smoking,he went old school with an idea i gave him,he was buying a pack of smokes and in Spain they come with really awful images like thorat stuff and dirty real lungs and stuff like that.
Told him maybe he should make a poster of one of those images and put it in his bedroom,week later he had 12 posters in his house and all of them with nasty images of how messed up your liver and throat can get.

Not saying you should do that but maybe just the mental image is the little push you need.

Hope you dont get back on the wagon,anything you need we all here for you buddy.

STAY STRONG!!

 

[vaper1960]

Cigarettes here in NZ also cost so damn much, it it by far way way cheaper to vape.

Same here except for cheap "cigarillos"... 1/3 the price because they don't have as much tax as cigs (or even worse, 3 cigar for $1... tear them apart and roll non-filters) I'm broke right now so it's a good time to do this.

 

[vaper1960]

I should explain the source of my stress. My living situation (hopefully temporary) My wife and I lived in the mountains but I couldn't work because I needed hernia surgery but no insurance. Had to move back home with my 80 yo mother... my wife lives with the gal she works for in the mountains (they are self-employed) Mom is OCD neurotic (and going senile) She treats me OK but never leaves me alone! Her neurosis rubs off on me (I have not lived at home since 1978) It's not even noon and I am dying for a smoke and a shot of booze (good thing I'm broke) Otherwise, I could deal with the withdraw (physical and mental) I only see my wife once a month when she comes down to the city (I miss her and the mountains so much) I have to go... mom needs help with the screen door project (I do earn my keep around here!) I'm sure it could be done in an hour but she will make it take 6 hours (if I'm a good boy she will let me have a beer later) I feel like I'm 16 again (I'm almost 60)

 

[Jwaterski]

No magic tricks, if it was easy to quit smoking, there would be no smokers!! Just vape away and do the best you can. I sure ain't going to beat you up over a few cigarettes, I smoked a lifetime of them. Vaping has worked for you, it'll work again!! Next time you get stressed chain vape away!

 

[vaper1960]

I just keep saying to myself... "vape like hell, vape like hell..."

 

[Mordacai]

@vaper1960, you're more than welcome to message me if you wish and just vent if you want.

 

[vaper1960]

I forgot to say... I got on medi-cal, had the surgery, fully recovered and doing well... looking for work
Going to help my son tonight... will ask him to buy me some snus (been wanting to try that for awhile now)

 

[vaper1960]

The good news is mom fully supports my vaping... told her it was going to be a rough day and I might get moody.

 

[evan le'garde]

I dunno !.

Maybe up your nicotine !?.

I need to be able to taste the nicotine i'm vaping !.

You know how some folks like to be able to taste the alcohol in their beer, some like the strong stuff, which i hate, and some like a less noticeable amount. Me, i like my lager around 3.7%, that's when i drink it, which is quite rare these days. As opposed to Scotch where i can't taste it at all but that's a whole other story.

So i vape mouth to lung with 24mg's of nicotine. I think flavours make a big difference too. I don't really like flavours which are in any way sweet, so no added sweetener. I just use diy juice with Capella flavourings. Green Apple mixed with Cinnamon is a really good one. Another one i like is Choc Fudge Brownie mixed with Coconut. Double chocolate is another good one. Irish Cream is excellent so is Cappuccino. Cinnamon on it's own too. The best of all these is definitely Green Apple mixed with Cinnamon though. It has a texture all of it's own which adds to the 24mg's of nicotine. I also like to re wick and change flavour after every tank for various reasons, most important of these is that it helps keep the flavour fresh. The Choc Fudge Brownie mixed with Coconut, with a fresh wick tastes just like burning Old Holborn tobacco as if i'm smoking it , it is great !. It's not really about the actual flavour for me, it's just about the added texture. these aren't great tasting juices, they do taste and feel a little rough, but do provide a much closer experience to smoking than using sweets, candy etc.

That's all i've got, sorry !!.

 

[DaveP]

I was doing so well for many months then I slipped back into smoking. First (because of stress) had two each morning, then had other "excuses" and it was 3, 4, 5... some days 6. I hate myself! One day my RTAs leaked, another day my new drop-in was bogus... lots of handy excuses but that's all they were. Smoked my last one this morning... might have to "vape like hell" for a few days but I've got to do this. I could use some support, but what I really need is some "tough love"... tell me I'm an idiot, a fool, how I did so good for so long and screwed it up (don't hold back... put a boot on and kick away) I guess a little emotional support would help too.

What was your nicotine percentage? Those who are most successful start out at a high level, 24mg and sometimes 30mg or higher. I continued to smoke about 3 to 5 cigs a day (down from 2 packs) while getting used to vaping at 24mg nic strength. At the 3 month point I started to forget my after meal cigarette and just vaped my 24mg juice. That was when I realized that I didn't need cigarettes anymore. I finished my last pack and never bought another.

You can do it. Just make sure that you are using juice with a high nic level. When the cigarette urge arises just vape a little harder until you feel the nic satisfaction and the cigarette desire goes away. Don't give up. You will make it if you continue to dual use and vape high nic juice. If the juice you vape doesn't satisfy the urge to smoke, up the nic in increments until you feel the satisfaction. You can always taper down as you buy replacement juices.

 

[vaper1960]

How long did you abstain.

When I first started vaping, I went from 1 pack a day down to 5 cigs. After a couple months, quit completely... started smoking again a couple months ago (about 5 a day) so I'm guessing 7 months smoke free. ECF helped me the first time... good to know you guys can help me again.
I really need to rebuild two RTAs and mix a bunch of DIY stuff... that will help a lot! Right now vaping my MTL tank (12mg) and a little pod(18mg) so I'm OK but I miss my RTAs.

 

[vaper1960]

Oh I have lots of yummy flavors (having so much fun doing DIY) but it's hard to find the time when mom's not buggin me. My son also needs lots of help (just moved and many projects) but he buys me beer and pays a little cash (I do half the work for free... he's my son and I get to see the grandkids) He would also buy me those crappy little cigars and kept asking why I smoke those nasty things. One day he bought me my fav brand of cigs and I ended up smoking even more.

 

[toneman2121]

i used to spend 250 a month on those @#$*&^ cigarettes. that's over $1000. i might have spent close to 500 but i have something to show for it and also have a sort of hobby, building, mixing, learning. i have 5 devices, 8 atomizers, tools, etc. and cigarettes stink and when I visit with my daughters, I always had to make sure clothes were fresh outta the laundry and my hair was washed or else i'd hear it. i was tired of having to go through this every time so that was one driving force, and when she asks me if i'm smoking I say no. I don't have to lie, i just don't say I'm vaping. i hope my story helps a bit, if not...

NA NA NA NA NA
YOU SMOKE AND I DON'T

NA NA NA NA NA

 

[stols001]

@Vaperer about 5 days of achieving my one year anniversary, I relapsed and felt like I couldn't stop and it was terrifying. I also self-flagellated on this board for a long time. It did NOT help me quit I will tell you that.

What did help is what I have said to new members SO many times, and I will tell you hearing it from OUTSIDE my brain helped. UP YOUR NIC in a few setups. Vape like you normally do but if you have a craving, WELL grab those setups. VAPE like hell ,and if you still want to smoke do it, BUT ALSO VAPE right in the middle of that cigarette and see if you want the rest of it. I found mostly, I didn't because I would have gotten nic sick probably. I mean I vape around 19 but I set up a couple of 30 nic tanks.

Over time it got better. The less I focused on it the better, Snus may be helpful for the alkaloids but the stuff sold here is sort of low in nicotine. You can vape with snus in your cheek if you need to! If you want, I would be more than happy to send you some of the strongest snus made, I think, its called Thunder and it is STRONG. It is actually like SCARY strong, one time I got nic overload so bad I puked in the bathtub.

Or of varying flavors and strengths, just say the word and I will be happy to do it.

Remind yourself: You are a vaper! We all have issues etc. You can move forward but you need to STOP beating yourself up. We all have struggles from time to time. It happens. I am NOT a DL person at all so if you need more RTAs I could send you a brand new, probably wrapped one of the DL OR MTL persuasion whatever you need! Just say the word and I will send you a care package, PM me.

When I relapsed a member here sent me some Aroma WTA and it helped a ton. I have a bottle of UMBAVAPES too it's not as potent but it may help. AGAIN please let us all help in whatever ways you need.

You can do it, you can. I am sure all of ECF is behind you. I don't count anniversaries anymore the same dang thing happened my first year sober I just don't do well celebrating in HEALHY ways I guess, but like, I have not smoked in a LONG time.

Hang in there you can do it. If you smoke ONE half inch less of a cigarette today you are moving in the right direction.

Anna

 

[vaper1960]

NA NA NA NA NA

Thanks @toneman2121 , this is for you (there are many versions but I think this is what you meant: