Starting vaping after stopping cigs?

[Bassman]

Hi Guys
Just joined the forum. I gave up cigs cold turkey (from 40 year 1 PAD) on 3rd June this year - so I haven't had a cig for about 6 weeks and I can now smell cigarette smoke from about 1/2 mile outside (downwind of course)..

Is the third time in my life I have tried to quit. I am now mid 50s and could really feel the harm cigs were doing to me. So I stopped for health and also self-respect reasons and I feel I just cannot go back to smoking cigs. I feel miles better, sense of taste/smell, energy levels - all the usual benefits but I still miss smoking and there is a "hole" in my life where cigs were. Plus I do get irritable at times which is not nice for those around me and I am eating more and putting on weight.

My question is - any reason why I shouldn't have a go at vaping? I am wondering if it could be a "gateway" for me to go back to cigs. Anyone on the forum started vaping after giving up cigs? Does vaping help with controlling over eating and irritability after giving up smoking?

 

[arkador]

It is all goign to have to be your decision. If you feel a hole that a cig would fill, but don't want to go back to them. vaping may fill that hole for you and keep you from going back.

 

[WomanOfHeart]

If you're still feeling the urge to smoke, then taking up vaping can definitely help with that and keep you off the cigarettes. It'll help with the irritability you're experiencing.

 

[jtlewis]

Bass-- First congrats on the quitting part. But in my opinion if you’re done then don’t touch it. The time to break the habit is now. If you start vaping you of coarse are going right back to the nicotine addiction you’ve fought to beat as that’s what you’re putting back in your system. I would advise only to go this route only if you’re going to falter and go back to analogs as vaping is a way better option for your health. Also if you go this route you can drop the nicotine levels on the carts you get all the down to 0 so it’s like the patch. Hope this helps.

 

[ZinniaBlaze]

I smoked for 26 years never able to quit. I tried a few times but never lasted more than 6 weeks, problem was as much as I wanted to quit, I enjoyed smoking. I started vaping in November using smoketip and then added the ego tank system in January. I love vaping, do not miss smoking at all! Now I can breathe, smell, taste and best of all I havnt been snippy from withdrawal, at least not any more than usual anyway. . It's a personal choice and for me was the best decision I've made in a long time. I hope you find your solution.

 

[carpedebass]

My advice is to try vaping with zero nicotine juice. If you're like me, the actual act of smoking is what you're dearly missing...not the nicotine. Give it a shot, can't hurt anything. Just my opinion...that and a buck fifty might buy you a can of soda...

 

[pfaber11]

I've given up smoking with electronic cigarettes and seem to be doing ok. If you can find a reliable rig then this could be for you. I use a homemade usb pass through and 801 atomizers on a usb adapter that i plug in the wall . Nothing to go wrong . Not much anyway. If it's a choice between going back to smoking and e cig then give it a go .

 

[ZinniaBlaze]

Oh I agree with jtlewis, you've done the hard part already. If you can press on that would be best. I was never that strong.

 

[jj2]

I quit a few times and always went back so if it's between going back to analogs or starting to Vape, I recommend the latter.

 

[harleybluz]

If I could quit smoking cigarettes completely as you have, then I would only go to vaping as a last resort to stay away from smoking. However, the 0mg nicotine that was mentioned above may help with the urge to start smoking again. I wish I could get away from all of it but vaping, right now if my best option and much healthier. Good luck on whatever you decided to do and congrat's on quitting smoking. What a hard thing to do and you've done it. Yea!!!!!!!!!

 

[tiboute]

My advice is to try vaping with zero nicotine juice. If you're like me, the actual act of smoking is what you're dearly missing...not the nicotine. Give it a shot, can't hurt anything.

carpedebass is right, i gave up on analogs exactly a month ago now and before finding out about e-cigs, i was just like you, i felt like something was missing. so when i found out about e-cigs, i ordered one and stated vaping on 0 nicotine. Now, im not addicted to vaping at all, i can go for 2-3 days without vaping but i always bring it with my because now i ''smoke''(vape) because i like it, not because i have to!..... plus, it helps me a alot when i feel irritated, i take out my e-cig, sit down, relax and vape and then i feel perfect!

 

[markfm]

If this is your third try at stopping smoking, I'd try vaping without qualms. I smoked over 35 years, PAD, did several quits for relatively short periods of time (couple months max), always went back to cigs; I was edgy when off the cigs, even with patches and/or Welbutrin (thankfully I took a pass on Chantix). Since I started vaping I've stayed off cigs, and I can honestly say that any thoughts about smoking are very fleeting; yes, I've finally made it to being a non-smoker

I also wouldn't sweat using nicotine vs. not. If vaping 0 mg does what you want, super. Myself, a year after quitting I still generally vape 20 mg/ml (fairly high strength). I like the stimulant effect of nicotine, have found that since I can vape more places than I could smoke my coffee use has dropped significantly (traded nic for caffeine).

I don't see vaping as a gateway to smoking -- if you have smoked, tried to stop, but there's something missing, vaping might well fill the gap.

Good luck!

 

[hairball]

My advice is to try vaping with zero nicotine juice. If you're like me, the actual act of smoking is what you're dearly missing...not the nicotine. Give it a shot, can't hurt anything. Just my opinion...that and a buck fifty might buy you a can of soda...

I agree...it may be the hand-to-mouth that you are missing and not the nic. However, you can always get a really low nic content to help with the irritability issues you are having.

 

[Iffy]

... but I still miss smoking and there is a "hole" in my life where cigs were. Plus I do get irritable at times which is not nice for those around me and I am eating more and putting on weight.

When I went cold turkey 17 years ago for ten weeks, I was miserable, made everyone around miserable and gained 27 pounds.

After vaping now for three months, I've experienced none of the ol' withdrawal symptoms and actually lost a few pounds.

So my answer to you is too try out a good ecig and see it fills that 'hole'.

You came to the right place for great info and one hellava support team. Good luck!

 

[KeysBum]

My advice is to try vaping with zero nicotine juice. ..

+1........................

 

[Bassman]

Thanks for the input everyone - so quickly too. I think carpedebass and tiboute have nailed it - it is the act of smoking I am missing not the nicotine per se. At the moment I am constantly chewing gum (normal gum not nicotine gum ) - even though it tastes of nothing - its the nervous energy I have that has to dissipate somehow. I think I'll try vaping with 0 strength gum as suggested. I am pretty sure now if I smoked a cig the taste would be disgusting...

just seen markfm post..

yes - third time this time. First time was a few months, second time 2 years - so I know what being smoke free is like. But even with all the fantastic benefits I still missed smoking cigs - how crazy is that? Maybe because I had my first cig at 9.5 years old and I have ALWAYS smoked that I miss it so much.

Anyway - I think compared to smoking vaping seems pretty harmless at whatever strength nicotene so I will give it a go. Just the fact that it may fill the gap smoking has left has cheered me up!

thanks again guys!

 

[Bassman]

Iffy - ha ha.. hilarious - that it me exactly too. And you're right - what a splendid bunch of peeps on this forum - thanks guys

 

[madmartyr72]

I agree with so many others on this thread in saying that vaping is by all means the better alternative than going back to smoking. You have already done something that I never could when I smoked (I was a PAD smoker for over 20 years), and that is being able to quit cold turkey. The longest I was ever able to go cold turkey was 1 week...and it was the worst week of my life! Before I found vaping, I honestly believed I would never be able to stop smoking. Unlike you, I had to first begin vaping before I could throw away my analogs, but to be honest I have had a few minor slips since then. To this day I can't say that I am no longer a smoker because I know how quickly that table can turn on me and my resolve becomes compromised (becoming extremely stressful, getting drunk, running out of supply's, etc), but I can say that every day I vape instead of lighting up is a day I am not a smoker.

Your faced with a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, you have kicked the need for nicotine and for smoking altogether by using the hardest method there is - cold turkey. On the other hand, you are now substituting the 'hand to mouth' fixation associated with many years of smoking with eating more which isn't a good habit in itself (even though, losing weight is A LOT easier than quitting smoking any day of the week and twice on Sundays!). I am not sure how to call this one haha! A big part of me wants to say "Hang in there your beating it! Develop a new workout routine to combat the weight gain and don't give in!" while the other half of me is use to advocating vaping to people as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. Hmmm...

I guess I would say this - if it comes down to you having a breaking point and you are about to go back to smoking, DON'T! Instead, do some research, find you a good PV, and vape. Since you have already beaten your nicotine addiction, it wouldn't be nicotine that wants to draw you back into smoking, it would be your mental addiction. Vaping can substitute the years of mental addiction extremely well! If you do go this route, I suggest vaping 0mg of nicotine since your body no longer needs it and all you are doing is feeding your mental addiction. Be warned though, vaping could very well reopen a doorway that you currently have boarded up...

Good luck to you and job well done!

 

[Bassman]

Thanks for your words of encouragment madmartyr. All year my screensaver has been a list of the pros and cons of smoking - I was preparing myself to give up. I had been feeling tightness all down my left side/chest and arm and it had to be the smoking. I went on holiday in the Algarve to see my brother end of May. Tried a short run down the beach and could only manage a couple of hundred yards - gasping fit to bust... I mean smoking is/was obviously killing me. On the way home I could have bought duty free tobacco at the airport at half UK price (smoking is VERY expensive here). I looked at it and thought - no way - made a snap decision to give up right then. So I gave up and have not smoked since June 3rd. The left side tightness is gone and I feel a whole lot healthier generally. Trouble is, I am often short tempered and grouchy - not good for the relationship with my wife and the few friends I had are fast disappearing!

Stopping nicotine does not give major withdrawal symptoms like big h for example - they say it is out of your system in a couple of days. As you say - I think it's the psychological addiction and that is why it can be very hard to give up as it tricks you. You think smoking it actually helping you relax and concentrate etc and it is only insofar that it creates the need to relax in the first place. It is a confidence trick and it works unbelievably well on millions of people the world over. You think it's a "friend" but it is stabbing you in the back. After I gave up I found Allen Carr's book online which helped me keep off the cigs. He says its easy to give up. Yeah well - I say it can be but you have to get in the correct mindset to give up and you have to want to - absolutely. That is if you go cold turkey. I could probably stay off the cigs permanently without vaping but I would likely end up totally on my own and downright miserable - I think only my dogs would just about put up with me!

Anyway since posting on here earlier today I have ordered a starter e cig kit. They are also sending various cartridges: 0 nicotine, half strength and full strength. The guy said start on 0 and if that does the trick I can swap the ones I don't want. Also sending me a 4 different flavours to try. Really good customer service as I only paid for the start up kit and not all the extra cartridges. See how it goes and thanks again to everybody for their input.

There is real help on here and I think it is because everybody is in the same boat and can totally relate to what everyone else is going through!

Good luck to one and all!

 

[wrigleyvillain]

Good luck and keep us posted. (yeah you had to call it "the big h" the filters here are a bit overboard)