the final push: a request for encouragement
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I like this idea. I'm glad to hear I'm not alone when it comes to those last few. Thank you.
First, great job so far 
You've gotten some great advice so far. I had a stash of higher nic juice for the bad cravings. At that time I was vaping 24 mg/ml and would use 36 when the cravings kicked in (different time/very different gear than now).
I just let it happen naturally, I woke up one morning and went out to light my morning cigarette and thought "this tastes like crap, why am I doing this?" That was my last one, 5 and 1/2 years ago.
Congratulate yourself for the ones you haven't smoked and don't beat yourself up for the ones you do.
I've never tried WTA but it seems to have helped a lot of folks here over the hump.
You've gotten some great advice so far. I had a stash of higher nic juice for the bad cravings. At that time I was vaping 24 mg/ml and would use 36 when the cravings kicked in (different time/very different gear than now).
I just let it happen naturally, I woke up one morning and went out to light my morning cigarette and thought "this tastes like crap, why am I doing this?" That was my last one, 5 and 1/2 years ago.
Congratulate yourself for the ones you haven't smoked and don't beat yourself up for the ones you do.
I've never tried WTA but it seems to have helped a lot of folks here over the hump.
Looking back, I believe I benefited from it because I had zero side effects from cig withdrawal that many here report of when going cold turkey.
My first post here at ECF was similar to yours - I was looking for advice for getting past those last few cigarettes. And here I am, just over two months later, and I haven't smoked for nearly 8 weeks.
Somebody here on ECF said something to me that stuck with me. You just need three things to swap smoking with vaping. The right device, your favorite e-liquid, and ECF. And she was right.
I changed my device to an Innokin Endura, started making my own e-liquid, spent many hours on ECF reading, learning, and asking questions, and here I am - an ex-smoker for the first time. And I was a hard-core smoker.
Stick around. It WILL happen.
Somebody here on ECF said something to me that stuck with me. You just need three things to swap smoking with vaping. The right device, your favorite e-liquid, and ECF. And she was right.
I changed my device to an Innokin Endura, started making my own e-liquid, spent many hours on ECF reading, learning, and asking questions, and here I am - an ex-smoker for the first time. And I was a hard-core smoker.
Stick around. It WILL happen.
1 at a time! Find a juice that tastes absolutely awesome with your coffee! Once you get rid of that morning one the others will be easy
Good luck
I was in your shoes about a month ago. My morning cigaret and 1-3 during the day, and my last one before bedtime. I have always been an outdoor smoker after I got kids, so "fortunately" we had some days with lots of rain and snow about a month ago and I really, really, really did not feel like going out in the cold dark one night so I just ended reaching for my iStick instead of going though the hazzle of putting on jacket, boots etc to go outside. Went to bed satisfied and with no cravings, got up the next morning and went outside to get my cigaret. A few days later the weather was still ....ty so I cut out all cigarets but the morning one - which I have always enjoyed with my morning coffee outside on my patio, so this ritual was difficult for me to get over. But less than a week after I had stopped with the morning ritual, too, because I willed myself to think that it actually was so much easier to just stay inside with my coffee and my iStick instead of taking the time to put on all the clothes to go outside.
The thing for me is, that I still have cigarets in the house.
I "know" that I "have" to have them here because that is the strongest sign for me that I am good at this and actually kicked the habit!
If I didn't have the cigarettes here I am pretty sure that my stupid, psychological cravings would make me feel like I was punishing myself and I would feel the urge to get a cigarette much, much more - and that is not the point here.
I was at two parties this weekend and I smoked app. 1,5 packets of cigarettes at those parties. Just because I still need to learn to vape in public, but that is the next step for me. I felt no relief with the party cigarettes at all and I still have some of them left - they probably will end up as dust in my cupboard before I get an urge to smoke them.
So for me it simply was a natura proces - getting ready to smoke got to tedious and too much an inconvenience for me, so I simply reached for the iStick instead and tried if it couldn't do the trick instead ... and it could.
My morning cigaret and 1-3 during the day, and my last one before bedtime. I have always been an outdoor smoker after I got kids, so "fortunately" we had some days with lots of rain and snow about a month ago and I really, really, really did not feel like going out in the cold dark one night so I just ended reaching for my iStick instead of going though the hazzle of putting on jacket, boots etc to go outside. Went to bed satisfied and with no cravings, got up the next morning and went outside to get my cigaret. A few days later the weather was still ....ty so I cut out all cigarets but the morning one - which I have always enjoyed with my morning coffee outside on my patio, so this ritual was difficult for me to get over. But less than a week after I had stopped with the morning ritual, too, because I willed myself to think that it actually was so much easier to just stay inside with my coffee and my iStick instead of taking the time to put on all the clothes to go outside.The thing for me is, that I still have cigarets in the house.
I "know" that I "have" to have them here because that is the strongest sign for me that I am good at this and actually kicked the habit!
If I didn't have the cigarettes here I am pretty sure that my stupid, psychological cravings would make me feel like I was punishing myself and I would feel the urge to get a cigarette much, much more - and that is not the point here.
I was at two parties this weekend and I smoked app. 1,5 packets of cigarettes at those parties. Just because I still need to learn to vape in public, but that is the next step for me. I felt no relief with the party cigarettes at all and I still have some of them left - they probably will end up as dust in my cupboard before I get an urge to smoke them.
So for me it simply was a natura proces - getting ready to smoke got to tedious and too much an inconvenience for me, so I simply reached for the iStick instead and tried if it couldn't do the trick instead ... and it could.
As soon as I started vaping my daily cigs went from 25 to 5. I called that 80% control, just like your situation. 6 weeks later I noticed I had run out of cigarettes. A short while later I got a call that someone significant had died so I'd be leaving work and spending a few says dealing with that. Leaving work, instead of stopping and buying more cigs, I stopped at a vape shop and got more powerful gear (Nautilus mini to Atlantis). By that time I was certain I wouldn't stop vaping so a relapse would only be back to 5 cigs a day. That removed a lot of stress. It worked because I picked a moment when I was more motivated than usual and I didn't have any cigarettes at hand. I got a brother vaping a couple months later. I advised him to focus on vaping and have a cig when he wanted one. He was a dual user for 9 months. He finally quit under the same circumstances as me, the death of someone and dealing with funeral circumstances. If you don't stop vaping eventually you will stop smoking. You'll succeed when there are no cigarettes at hand, you are more motivated than usual and you are a confirmed vaper.
I'm so not-a-smoker I could smoke a cig right now with no risk of relapse. There's no temptation to smoke any more because it's an inferior experience. It's not about quitting, it's about control.
Every single one of us has had YOUR story! I am as of 2 days ago 3 years analog free. Was it easy, heck no. Is your journey going to be easy NO. I am not going to BS you, the craving will be there. I still have it but then remember the struggle it took for me to stop. It took this site and the companions I met on one of the Contests that really solidified my vaping challenges. I still have challenges now because I am heavily into DIY and building my own coils. Your journey will differ from every one else. All I can say is we know your pain and you will get through this.
Try this it worked for me, but might not for you. During worse cravings Vape a higher NIC. If you are at a 6% try 12%. It gets me through tough times. Also if you cannot vape, grab Wrigley's spearmint gum. Seriously it worked for me. Also try cinnamon gum or cinnamon candies. Took the edge off for me.
This is so true. And OP, when I finally got down to just a few a day, I could not believe how much better I felt, it was incredible. Physically feeling better than I had in many years was a huge motivator for me, and many others on ECF.
As long as you keep vaping, you will very likely naturally get rid of those last few smokes with little or no fuss. If not, you are still worlds ahead of where you were
Well, I started vaping on a Saturday night to " cut down on smoking"... A few hours later, I reached for my Marlboros and realized it was out of habit just as much as it was a need, so i grabbed my tiny eVod and puffed till it passed. That was a little over a year ago, and I haven't had one analog since. You can do this, you're so close already! Like so many have already said, count the ones you don't smoke, and hang in!
Congratulations on your success, your almost there..!First, great job so far
You've gotten some great advice so far. I had a stash of higher nic juice for the bad cravings. At that time I was vaping 24 mg/ml and would use 36 when the cravings kicked in (different time/very different gear than now).
I just let it happen naturally, I woke up one morning and went out to light my morning cigarette and thought "this tastes like crap, why am I doing this?" That was my last one, 5 and 1/2 years ago.
Congratulate yourself for the ones you haven't smoked and don't beat yourself up for the ones you do.
I've never tried WTA but it seems to have helped a lot of folks here over the hump.
Ditto what @B2L said....You can do the same, when that urge comes, have a heavy hitter available, like 18-24 mg nic, but an enjoyable tasting juice....the 24 mg put beads of sweat on my forehead from the strength, but I didn't want to smoke.
About a week of 18-24 mg I quit a 40 year pack-a-day habit. Then bought some 12 mg...about 6 months later 6 mg, after a 1.5 years its 3 mg. Soon I'll try zero.
Wish you the best of luck...!
So many encouraging words! I really appreciate all of you. Shooting for 3 today. To celebrate, trying out TC side of the vaping universe. Love the fact that there is no fear of burnt hits, which despite my cravings for those last few, is exactly what an analog tastes like.
Thank you, every single one for taking the time to reply to this relative rookie. I know it's a matter of mind control and discipline but good grief I never thought those last few would be so challenging to drop. Oh well, you know what they say; if it were eay it wouldn't be worth doing.
Thank you, every single one for taking the time to reply to this relative rookie. I know it's a matter of mind control and discipline but good grief I never thought those last few would be so challenging to drop. Oh well, you know what they say; if it were eay it wouldn't be worth doing.
I found that I couldn't enjoy vaping while smoking . I just always felt like, what's the point in vaping when I have the real thing sitting there. I have a very addictive personality though. So I set myself a date that I would completely stop smoking cigarettes and only vape. I now haven't smoked a single cigarette for almost 2 months which is a real achievement for me. I loved smoking, especially that first one in the morning. I smoked around 15 a day. So if you struggle to reduce those last 4, then maybe try cutting them all out? I think this worked for me because I'm very much all or nothing.
If you can't give up those few a day, to be honest, 4 isn't much anyway. I'd be happy enough to only smoke a couple a day and vape the rest but as I said I just can't do it. If I smoke, I smoke.
If you can't give up those few a day, to be honest, 4 isn't much anyway. I'd be happy enough to only smoke a couple a day and vape the rest but as I said I just can't do it. If I smoke, I smoke.
Hey thanks for the follow up. I've been very sick but feeling much better now. I have officially made my car a vape only vehicle; cleaned it out refreshed it to get rid of the stink and that has really helped. Down to one in the morning and one at night. Those last two should fall off quickly.
Stick to it. Remind yourself about how analogs make you taste, smell and feel - and then vape. Then compare the two.
Congrats on pushing so far! You will never look back.
Congrats on pushing so far! You will never look back.
Lots of great advice/ pointers/ encouragement in the above comments. Both Vaping and quitting smoking are seriously YMMV journeys. You'll find the rest of your path (sounds like you have done great getting pretty far down that path already). That said, a few comments that ring familiar for me (a little over a year now).
On the topic of doing something different for a while:
Find that flavor to pair with coffee or beer or whatever that last tough spot is. Or a nicotine bump (you are already at 12mg sub ohm, so depending on your habits and your body, you might not have much headroom there). Or get a NET (naturally extracted tobacco) juice that you keep in a separate tank and just hit during those last few holdout times. I kept two setup with me for months: my "regular" vape setup and my "smoke break" set up.
All in all, sounds like you're kicking .....
You know you can vape through 80% of the day and 80% of the crave. That last mile is long, but you can "experiment" one day. Go to bed without the last one. Or vape through coffee or on your commute. If it goes okay, you can do it again the next day. If it's really painful, you can do another "experiment" the day by seeing if skipping that .... is easier the second time or if skipping a different one is easier. You can decide that you weren't quite ready and carry on with beating yourself up. Either way, you are not "never smoking again". You are not saying goodbye to your long term companion. You are just doing something different for a while.
On the topic of doing something different for a while:
Find that flavor to pair with coffee or beer or whatever that last tough spot is. Or a nicotine bump (you are already at 12mg sub ohm, so depending on your habits and your body, you might not have much headroom there). Or get a NET (naturally extracted tobacco) juice that you keep in a separate tank and just hit during those last few holdout times. I kept two setup with me for months: my "regular" vape setup and my "smoke break" set up.
All in all, sounds like you're kicking .....
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