Still can't quit analogs

[yoshistr]

I bought the Smoke Fifty One and DSE901 e cig models and some ejuice and it was good for a few weeks. Now they are both collecting dust and I keep buying more analogs, it is like my brain realizes I'm running out of analogs and says buy more when I still have a full pack. This leaves me with a bunch of boxes and I feel like I need to finish each cigarette and THEN I will quit, lol obviously I am lying to myself. The problem is I really like the e cigarette but I just smoke analogs without even thinking. Before I realize it I am standing outside, the cigarette is out the box, light up and being puffed on and I am staring at like how did that just happen. I know this might sound like a lame excuse but I don't even know if I want to quit because I have been depressed and stressed out lately.

It is the idea of slowly killing myself that is so alluring about smoking analogs, for some reason it seems like I pity myself and want to punish myself with cancer. My life hasn't exactly been great, I lost a lot of opportunities and even though I am only 21, I have already given up on life and feel so old. I thought I loved a girl but she blew me off, now I am just emotionally weak, my life isn't going anywhere even though I am graduating college in a few months (B.Sc. in Biology) I am not going anywhere with it because I can't afford medical school. I learn things very quickly and am smart but it just irritates me how life is unfair, then again I know I need to work hard, etc. but I have this feeling inside me which makes me sabotage everything good I work for. Maybe the analogs are my way of saying I gave up on life and the smell deters people from talking to me (but some girls still offer me gum to talk...erhh). I just feel tired of trying so hard and in the end getting put down by something, when I have quit smoking in the past I have felt so great about it for a while but then something goes wrong in my life and I start again. I know there are no excuses but when you certain things about this life it becomes unbearable. I am not suicidal because I know I have debts to pay off, me being here wasn't free so I will pay it off and die when it is my time.

Anyone else feel that their life is miserable so they end up smoking until it just keeps getting worse?
I'm so tired of making empty promises and failing myself, that I just don't want to quit smoking but at the same time I know soon enough I will regret it all and wished I had these years back to live rather than to turn my back on life.

Sorry about my long story (just thought I would share & someone out there might care).

 

[lorie1482]

I care, don't give up on yourself sweetie!You still have along way to go in life! Things may seem glum now, but its temporary. You'll start to see things turn around for the better! Quitting can be a hard task, but remember the health benefits in the long run! Good luck in your efforts!

 

[Harry Crazington]

Sorry about my long story (just thought I would share & someone out there might care).

Yoshistr...Hmmm, you sound like the story of my life !! Word for word. You're 21 & I'm 61 & felt the same way pretty much since I was 21. So I do care about you. I've tried EVERY quit smoking method without success the past 40 years. E-cigs are the first thing that's worked for me. I was smoking 2 packs a day. I still want a 'real' smoke EVERY day too. Especially after meals, so I allow myself 3 a day, after meals. E-cigs the rest of the time. So I feel cutting back from 40+ real ones to only 3 a day is a huge improvement!! Life is a real beotch Yoshistr, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, no matter which side of the fence you're on. I'm glad I stayed along for the ride this long though, I mean...I musta had a reason for visiting this big blue marble in the first place! Make the best of your stay here.

 

[yvilla]

Hey, I'm 58 and I often wondered if part of my inability to quit smoking (over 44 years) was slow suicide too. Talk about your expert quitter - I couldn't count how many times and ways I've tried to quit.

And, I first tried e-cigs with great enthusiasm a little over a year ago but relapsed after about two weeks.

The good news? I gave it another go in October, the 17th to be exact. And except for two separate packs smoked during two periods of "technical difficulties" - ie, pre-Screwdriver - I'm smoke free since then!

There's plenty of hope for you yet yoshistr, just hang in there.

 

[FlufferNutter]

I'lll buy them both for $20 plus shipping

 

[TribbleTrouble]

When I start to feel that way about myself, that is when I like watching or reading the News. There are so many people out there in the world that live in horrible situations. When I see that, I end up thanking God for how good my life actually is, analogs or no analogs. Hang in there, Dude! This ball of mud is one big classroom. We are all here to learn. One of the lessons we are here to learn is PAIN. What doesn't actually kill you, will only make you stronger. It will all equal out in the end.

 

[Spikey]

Well... I could say that "things will get better" and "you are smart and a great guy" and a whole lot of other BS that will make you feel better... but I am not one to give pep talks. Get off your pity pot and get your **** together boy! You are 21! You have your whole life ahead of you! When you are young... you think that any little thing is the end of the world. I have been through 2 Psych degrees (soon to be 3... going for the PhD soon... if I get in somewhere I want to go), 19 years of smoking and a crapload of relationships. I have failed at quitting smoking 9 times and gained a total of 45 pounds if you combine each time I quit (* though never more than 12 pounds at a time). I am not going to give you MY sob story cause u could prob give a sh*t. BUT... I will say...

All the things that seem so big right now will not seem so big in a few more years. Everything we come across in life crosses our path for a reason. Set your mind that you are NOT a ..... and you CAN do this.

Now on a more practical level... read some of the threads on quitting.. it does not happen instantly (though for me.. I was off analogs within days because I scoured the boards for info before choosing and it was quick for me to find which ones (cig and juice) worked for me!). As you find the right flavor and e-cig for you (I needed the 401 because for ME it felt more realistic and replaced an analog better... the 901 did not make me want to give up analogs) you will start to ENJOY e-smoking/vaping and as you drop down to 3-5 analogs a day you will start to notice they taste nasty. As you get down to just the hardest ones (the one after u eat and the one when u wake up in the morning) you will start to dread that lighter and the smell of the smoke reeking. You will start to enjoy not having to empty an ashtray or clean up ashes (though you mentioned going outside... so maybe you are not allowed to smoke inside) and not having to go outside and freeze your ... off to smoke. You will crave the e-cig like you used to crave analogs. You will misplace your e-cig and then buy a pack of analogs and realize how awful they taste and then you will order a backup e-cig so you have 2 and you will be thankful you never have to smoke an analog again. You won't have to carry gum and breathspray as much when meeting girls. It will be fantastic.

So from a fellow Long Islander... Buck up kid. Watch the reviews, read the boards, find the right one and you will be fine.

If you want.. we can start an e-cig support group for LI'ers. I only know 3 others here who vape... but a small group will grow fast as they get more popular.

Spike

 

[Beequeen]

Hey yoshistr, I haven't kicked analogs yet either! I'm about three weeks in and I still have between 5-10 a day...BUT that's down from a whole pack a day, so there is progress. For me, it won't be an overnight thing because I've been smoking for over 20 years and I freaking loved it. In fact, I STILL enjoy analogs. Jane from ecigsales still smokes regular cigs and she makes no bones about it. I DO want to quit, but I refuse to beat myself up for not doing it the moment I picked up an ecig.

I know about beating yourself up, though. Before my dad died of cancer several years ago (not lung cancer, he never smoked), I promised him that I would quit. It never happened, although I tried. When he died, I actually stepped up my smoking, with the thinking in the back of my mind that I wanted to punish myself and get cancer and go through what he went through. I also wanted to "join him" because I was so completely crushed after losing him. After awhile, I realized that I was doing the exact opposite of what he wanted...for me to live a full life and not wallow in misery. I guess, in a way, I was being selfish.

You are just 21, and even though things look bleak and hopeless sometimes, like right now, it won't always be like this. When I was your age (I'm 41 now) I was pretty aimless- dropped out of college because I was too hungover to make it to class, partying every night, etc. It took me awhile to find the thing I was meant to do. Today, I do it and I'm very successful at it! At least you are graduating from college! That is quite an accomplishment in and of itself, if you ask me . So don't throw in the towel just yet...not on this not smoking thing AND your life.

 

[lordmage]

my simple suggestion is to fiqure out your nic requirement daily and go slightly above it for the e-cig. and still treat your e-cig like a analog only use it where you could smoke a regular smoke and only for the usall time might help you

 

[rickstar009]

G'day guys

I am 34 and i have been smoking for 18 years now, but i have almost stopped smoking analogs entirely since i started using these amazing! e-cigarette apertures that we have come to ooooh so luvvvv, but still i have not completely stopped lighting up an analog carcinogen filled cigarette but i have cut down a tremendous amount. I was a 50 analog a day smoker but now i only light up 6 or 7 analog cigarettes a day instead
I also use these lovely little helpers called Tar filters

they block the tar from entering my lungs which leaves me feeling much better health wise, I do not cough as much, actually I now do not cough at all since i have been using both the e-cigarette and the tar filters

The tar blockers catch the tar so it does not enter my temple/body

You can buy these analog cigarette filters from eBay or even your local cigarette store

I highly recommend the Tar filters to all of you who can not give up the analog cig completely because like me the e-cigarette while extremely helpful does not entirely satisfy me and my ever wanted nic hit addiction

 

[SpaceCadet]

Oh wow, they sell those things in my local cheapo drugstore (Savers), they're called Crafe Away, I never really looked at them properly. They also sell incredibly useless looking dummy cigs. Looks like the filters work, then! Gonna get me some later for the remaining duration of my analog smoking!

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[MrKrinkle]

In the words of the master JOE DIRT!!! Life is a GARDEN BABY!!! DIG IT!!! Your still a baby... SO MANY WOMEN SO LIL TIME... CARPE DIEM... Sieze the DAY!!! In other words man suck it up and if at first you dont succeed TRY TRY TRY again!!!

 

[rickstar009]

You're most welcome SpaceCadet Ever since using these tar filters i am feeling so!! much heathier, I just want everybody to be healthy along side me

AND! to MrKrinkle ...Waaaaaaaa??? 8-o not sure what that was all about MrKrinkle

but i can dig it mate hehe

 

[SpaceCadet]

AND! to MrKrinkle ...Waaaaaaaa??? 8-o not sure what that was all about MrKrinkle

but i can dig it mate hehe

Ahhh, that would be directed towards the original poster - guess I took it a bit off topic there, and forgot to say to yoshistr - you are YOUNG! I went through so many low points in my 20s, then had a serious medical problem that gave me the impetus to sort my life out. My 30s have been the happiest years of my life. Your life will go somewhere, it took me 13 years after graduating to get a 'career', it's never too late!

And a few analogs a day will not do that much harm - remember the days when non-smokers were breathing all that crap in wherever they went? A couple of analogs a day is probably doing less harm! No point making yourself miserable. Don't punish yourself - enjoy!

By the way, my mother died in her mid 50s, from smoking like 70-80 cigs a day. But she had 50-odd fantastic years. She died from something she loved, though I'd rather she hadn't. Think - that is NOT going to happen to you, on a few cigs a day.

 

[MikeMac]

Hey Yosh,

Who said you had to quit analogs? I'm not trying to be funny, but really, who said? You're 21, you've got a long way to go. Smoking analogs is not the worst thing you could be doing right now. It's not the best, but certainly not the worst. I've been vaping about a month. I went from 15 analogs a day to 2-5 per day. I keep my analogs in the garage and only have one if I REALLY want it. No harm, no foul. I just look at how many I DIDN'T smoke. I am confident that someday soon I'll quit goofing around and just not have the analogs there anymore. Funny, it doesn't even seem scary to me like it used to. It's almost like I have forgotten what it was like to smoke analogs all day long. Don't go so hard on yourself. It will happen when it happens. You're not failing, you're adjusting to life.

And by the way, I felt the same as you when I was your age (geeez, I sound like an old fart!). I thought, sc**w it! I'm just gonna sabotage my life and whatever happens...whatever. Until I hit my forties. All of a sudden I wanted my youth back. I wanted my health, my strength, my drive and all of it back! All the parental types used to say to me that time flies. I didn't believe them. What did they know...Geeezers! But here I am 20 years later. I just watched a friend of mine die from Emphysema (sp?). He slowly died without being able to breathe. But I always said that would never happen to me cause I'm different. Well, maybe not. It's a slow suicide if that's what you want. Here after 20 years, I'm not so sure it's what I want.

Nevertheless, you don't have to quit analogs. In fact DON'T! Until you want to. Until you get your sh*t together in your life. But don't let it go too far lest it become a regret. And you're only a failure when you give up trying. Have some analogs and have some vape. Cut back on the analogs and vape more. Then you might just find you like vaping better and the analogs just drift away.

And by the way, my son is 3 years older than you. (guess that makes me a parental type) And yes, time DOES fly! Looking back I also can say, there has never been a problem in my life that analogs helped me solve. Strange but true. And what a fool I was.

Now get on with your life!

 

[MikeMac]

G'day guys

I am 34 and i have been smoking for 18 years now, but i have almost stopped smoking analogs entirely since i started using these amazing! e-cigarette apertures that we have come to ooooh so luvvvv, but still i have not completely stopped lighting up an analog carcinogen filled cigarette but i have cut down a tremendous amount. I was a 50 analog a day smoker but now i only light up 6 or 7 analog cigarettes a day instead
I also use these lovely little helpers called Tar filters

they block the tar from entering my lungs which leaves me feeling much better health wise, I do not cough as much, actually I now do not cough at all since i have been using both the e-cigarette and the tar filters

The tar blockers catch the tar so it does not enter my temple/body

You can buy these analog cigarette filters from eBay or even your local cigarette store

I highly recommend the Tar filters to all of you who can not give up the analog cig completely because like me the e-cigarette while extremely helpful does not entirely satisfy me and my ever wanted nic hit addiction

Hey, I tried those things. They actually work! You'll go through a boatload of them, but they do take the tar out! I got tired of spending the extra$$ on them so I would soak them in alcohol to clean them. That worked but it was such a hassle. I finally gave those up.

But hey, now I've got vaping!

 

[rickstar009]

Ahhh, that would be directed towards the original poster - guess I took it a bit off topic there, and forgot to say to yoshistr - you are YOUNG! I went through so many low points in my 20s, then had a serious medical problem that gave me the impetus to sort my life out. My 30s have been the happiest years of my life. Your life will go somewhere, it took me 13 years after graduating to get a 'career', it's never too late!

And a few analogs a day will not do that much harm - remember the days when non-smokers were breathing all that crap in wherever they went? A couple of analogs a day is probably doing less harm! No point making yourself miserable. Don't punish yourself - enjoy!

By the way, my mother died in her mid 50s, from smoking like 70-80 cigs a day. But she had 50-odd fantastic years. She died from something she loved, though I'd rather she hadn't. Think - that is NOT going to happen to you, on a few cigs a day.

Start using the tar filters as soon as you possible can then SpaceCadet, and let me know what you think of them,

I bet you end up telling me that they are GREAT!

sorry to hear about your mother by the way mate god bless!

 

[rickstar009]

Hey, I tried those things. They actually work! You'll go through a boatload of them, but they do take the tar out! I got tired of spending the extra$$ on them so I would soak them in alcohol to clean them. That worked but it was such a hassle. I finally gave those up.

But hey, now I've got vaping!

Hey Mike

I usually just clean my tar filters with cotton buds, its worth the hassle for my health though but hey! thats cool mate

I might try cleaning them in the alcohol, never thought of that

See these forums come in handy for abit of knowledge after all hehe

 

[nicowolf]

I too have not given up the analogs yet. I haven't given up the ecig yet either, so that is good news. I think part of my problem is the convenience of the analog, no battery charging, no topping up, no explaining to people.

I have noticed that I smoke more analogs when I am sleep deprived - like this past week. I have less patience for fiddling with the ecig and I want my nic hit NOW. Another part is wanting to send a F--ck You to all the people I feel want to control me. I want hedonism for myself but not the whole world - somebody has to do all the stuff I hate to do.

One thing that helps me is to set smaller goals. Try to see just how long I can go without the analog, two hours, how about 3? The ecig is hard to smoke at someone like you can with analogs. I try to save the analogs for when nothing else will do. I also do the ecig along with everything I consider fun, so it becomes part of the fun and the ecig becomes part of the harsh, bitter world I am avoiding. I do not remind myself of failures by counting how many times I have fallen short of my goals, I just brush past that fact. I tell myself and everyone else that I am replacing analogs with ecigs, I am still an addict. I tout my successes and tell everyone around me when I get through a day with only 5 analogs.

 

[Beequeen]

Also, I wanted to echo something that I've suddenly started suspecting, and something I think JustJulie (?) mentioned somewhere. Since e-smoking, I've been eagerly hitting the candy like flavors, almost exclusively (banana, toffee, etc.). Well, no wonder I've been reaching for the straight up tobacco flavor of my regular cigs! I need to smoke more of my regular tobacco like juice! DOH. Something tells me that this will help me cut down even further. I don't know if this might be true in your case, but I thought I'd throw that out there .