The MENTAL draw to smoking analogs

[Endor]

I feel like I'm playing mind games with myself... moving them further and further away, a little at a time. Like that makes it easier, LOL.

Whatever it takes!

Yep, whatever it takes. We all have our ways of getting through it.

In my case, I made a conscious decision to treat my PV just like a cigarette. I perform my exact same rituals I did with analogs but substitute my PV. During work, I go to the smoking section and vape, just like I did when I smoked. I don't vape in my car, as I didn't smoke in my car. I don't vape at home when I'm with my wife and child, just like I didn't smoke there either.

I feel that smoking is just as much a ritual as it is a nicotine addiction. This is why ecigs have worked for me when patches and gums didn't. I can still have the same rituals, except I vape instead of smoke. I didn't have those rituals with a piece of gum in my mouth or a patch on.

Now, when I get the occasional craving (which I do, I'm only 3 weeks in), I change from my more luscious and sweeter juices to my Pink Spot Honey Cured tobacco 24mg juice. It kicks like a mule on the throat and has a heavy (and somewhat acrid) taste. It is the closest to cigarette smoke to me in both taste and in the "feel" on inhalation, and therefore kills my analog cravings....

...Well, that, and sheer willpower. Sometimes, THAT is what it takes.

 

[abstemious]

I made a conscious decision that as soon as my analogues ran out when I got my ecigs that I was just going to give up on them. I can't smoke where I live, so when I would smoke I would go outside.

Multiple times now I have put on my jacket as to go outside and then I sit down outside and my brain kicks in and I wonder what I am doing. It's funny because I am instinctively reaching for my lighter, or looking for my pack of cigs even though I already made the decision to go all out vaping.

Habits are such strange things and can make us completely lose all rational thought

 

[Merzeal]

Yes, being able to vape makes it so much easier... I tried the patches, and ended up making myself sick because I still smoked with it on, lol. They never worked for me. Gum didn't either... It's definitely more habit / ritual... Even little things like showering, I would smoke before and after (self-defeating) and they still trip me up. Just hit the PV hard, though I think a step up in nicotine would help a lot, I'm at 18mg, and we all know how notorious NAS smokes are for Nicotine content. :\

 

[RevsVice]

Does it ever go away?

I just want to get to where I can get through the day without that magnetic pull... you know? Is that even possible?



I am only 2 weeks into vaping myself. I still catch myself reaching for the shirt pocket!!! it is just habit, we learned this behavior, now we just have to re-learn a new one!!

I do not have any desire for analogs, but do find myself repeating behavior i learned as a smoker. Now I just hit the PV instead of rocking the Zippo!!!

Good luck!!

Yea I keep my 510 mini in my shirt pocket. Always available.

I miss my Zippo collection. They sit unused in by vaping box. I think I might convert some to be carto holders, or perhaps a clever box mod.

I don't miss the analogs but I must say something is missing. Its been almost 3 weeks and while I haven't had an analog, there is something my body wants occasionally. I am convinced there is something in cigarettes besides nicotine that is addictive. And I wonder if its natural in tobacco, or added. Begone you analog demons!!

 

[Plumes.91]

I don't know what mg nicotine your vaping right now, but if its 18 or under, then I recommend that you get yourself 24mg nicotine juice and vape that for a week. I'm telling you right now, I had 6 PAD+ years under my belt, and with 24mg nicotine, in just a tiny little 510 original model, it satisfies my need for throat hit and DEFINITELY my nicotine craving. I still grab a cigarette here and there and it DOESN'T satisfy me like my 24mg liquid does. Vaping is BETTER, and it only takes a few weeks to get accustomed to the superior throat hit and nic buzz that 24mg nicotine delivers, trust me! haha. There is nothing better than my vapor now, not my once strong rolled cigs, not even my favorite cigarettes, newport 100s. Nothing cracks a whip in my throat like my 24mg. Forgettttttt about analogues!!

 

[sh_]

Hello Greeks! I know how you feel... I got myself thinking to light up my hookah this weekend... but then I just got 2 PVs with me, refilled the cartos and vape for a bit... (good 10 minutes....).

After drinking lots of water and vape my favorite just the urge just gone away.

I agree thats more ritual... everyday I dot exactly the same, I arrive at home after a hard day at work, go straight to my bedroom and get my PV stuff, refill my cartos and relax on my chair for about 10 to 20 minutes before dinner.

Its been weeks now and I after I get my nic buzz from my PV I really feel better

 

[CloveHunter]

For me is the feeling of holding/playing a cigarette in one hand while doing something else. I developed a useless skill with it (rotating it around, moving it finger to finger etc) and those habits are really hard to break - and I agree it is some kind of ritual. That's why I tried e-cigs and while it's only just a bit over a week for me, I believe it will work out for me (for one: no more burning fingers!)

 

[Coil]

Ya know I had the same fears for a bit. I think I was being a "Worry Wort" more then anything. It's kinda like someone who suffers from anxiety. Putting them in the middle of a crowded mall might not be on the top of their list of things to do to break that anxious feeling but after being pushed into that situation it may help them overcome that fear. At least that's worked for me.

I was always afraid to go outside with buddies when they smoked or just random people. Now I see it in a COMPLETELY different way. I use my Ecig to strike up convo with just about anyone. You pull out a PV in front of a smoker and they're going to start asking Q's prolly 90% of the time

Keep pushing yourself to take your vaping habits and treat them the same as cig habits. Personally I think if you treat it like that you'll be better off then trying to make vaping a "new chore." Keep up the good fight!

 

[jdrewry]

to the OP:

Yes, for quite a few people (myself included) the urge for a cigarette does go away. I'm not missing them at all, and I now find that I can go longer between my "vape breaks" at work, and not feel any anxiety or feelings I used to have when I was taking long breaks between smoking cigs.

 

[DC2]

Yeah and won't it be fun to come back in a year and see how silly we all were with our newbie fears and anxieties.

Most likely, yes, it will be fun and you'll laugh about it.

 

[Provarian]

it's been 3 weeks, and I'm ok with 12mg...and I found that when I really crave an analog, I either just screw in my 18mg carto and take a couple of good pulls, or turn my mod's voltage high... AWESOMNESS! of course, you have to find the juice you like best!

 

[dlsw]

to the OP:

Yes, for quite a few people (myself included) the urge for a cigarette does go away. I'm not missing them at all, and I now find that I can go longer between my "vape breaks" at work, and not feel any anxiety or feelings I used to have when I was taking long breaks between smoking cigs.

How long ago did you start vaping? I am ready to be rid of the anxiety before vape breaks.

 

[gvegastiger]

I've found in my 34 days of vaping, that quitting analogs is more mental than physical. The nicotine helps for sure!, but what has been difficult to overcome is the situational smoking.

I was a stealth smoker. Whenever I left the house I smoked. Whenever I was home alone I would sneak out and smoke, and especially when I travel for work I smoke. It was sort of like a game if you want to think about it like that. Finding the times and opportunities to smoke was my game. It was a stress reliever for sure, but it was also fun (and incredibly juvenile).

Vaping has been great, and has helped me stop smoking for the most part but the fun of sneaking an analog has gone away too and that is what I miss the most.

I've smoked analogs since then and they do taste terrible! But, Instead of buying my usual 17 packs this month I've only bought 5. It sure is nice not having to sneak around, but the twisted thing is I also miss sneaking around. I miss the game a little.

But I miss it a little less each day too. I'm hoping that after this last pack is gone (I just got home from a business trip) I'll be off the analogs for good.

I'm vaping 24 mg by the way using a Joye 510. I'm hoping that LT coop comes through for me as I think using a higher voltage will help some too.

 

[Paul S]

Ditto on what everyone has said. I smoked one to one-and-a-half packs a day for over 40 years, and I'm about two-and-a-half months into vaping. I DO feel like a smoke every now and then, but I keep my PV (5-volt GLV) with me ALL of the time, so that I can grab it IMMEDIATELY and take a nice, long drag. Any place or situation where I used to smoke, if I'm there, I'll be there with my PV.

 

[Trucapri]

I smoked without ever having even a short "quit" for more than forty years. I haven't had a cigarette in 2 months and don't want one. Really! However . . . almost daily I catch myself wondering what ashtray I laid one down in. Then it dawns on me . . . I DON'T SMOKE ANYMORE!

Many have said I was always a little "mental"!

 

[Huuwap]

It's different for sure. You do get a "smoker's" mentality after a while. The habit becomes so engrained in what you do it's ridiculous. Folks told me how it was before I ever started, and I didn't believe them, but your life does end up revolving around your habit. In the end, I had a smoking room in the house, where I hid myself away from the kids (and I sit in it right now) because I wanted to keep it at least a little bit separate. I spent way too much time in here with the door closed, pushing my kids away from me when the door was opened because I didn't want the smoke out of the room I was occupying. I keep the door open now, and I love it.

You know, we do weird things for weird reasons. It's really tough to get out of some of the situations we put ourselves in. Ultimately, if you want something enough, you'll make it happen. You just have to direct that want, put effort into it, because the effortless want just gets you to an early grave, broke.

 

[jdrewry]

How long ago did you start vaping? I am ready to be rid of the anxiety before vape breaks.

I've been vaping since August 2011. The first week, I went though very slight withdrawal from analogs (for me, it was mothing more tyhan a slight headache, and, believe it or not, it helped me to realize what the headache was from). On my 3rd day of vaping, I threw out my remaining analog cigarettes (and my lighter, and my ashtrays--I didn't want anything laying around that reminded me of analogs). For the next two weeks, if I even thought I was getting a twinge for an analog, I picked up my PV, and vaped away. It was the first time I didn't have to deal with the typical symptoms of going cold turkey, or even worse (for me, at least) those side effects from taking Chantix.

 

[DietSalem]

Thank you all so much. I greatly appreciate your honesty & willingness to share your challenges. I don't want to "just smoke one" because I know me... and I know one is all it would take. I know that first one would taste like ....., but I would still do it. And then another.. and then another. Just like when we all started smoking to begin with!

I'm glad to know I can come here once and awhile and just say, "hey, I need some reassurance" and you all jump in to give it.

Shorty, I also have a pack, unopened, in the console of my car. That goes back to my anxiety issue though... as long as it's there, I don't feel like someone took it away from me. This way, I have control over it and I'm making the choice to not use them.

If you're saying you'd still keep smoking after vaping, you clearly are vaping the wrong PV/Nic/Flavor. After my first 10 minutes vaping I pretty much quit smoking, after being a 2 pack a day smoker since I was 13. There are flavors out there that will make you not even want to eat because they taste better than food.

 

[DC2]

If you're saying you'd still keep smoking after vaping, you clearly are vaping the wrong PV/Nic/Flavor.

Although I'm sure there are some people who still think they want a smoke now and then, I think they are the minority.
Once people find the right device and the right juice(s) that work for THEM, I think most stop thinking about cigarettes completely.

Cigarettes have so little power over me now that I'll even have a cigarette once every couple of months.
I do it just for fun, because I can, and they pose no threat whatsoever to me.

They taste like crap, smell like crap, and produce a nearly insignificant amount of smoke.
Why would I ever want to go back to that?