The MENTAL draw to smoking analogs

[geekswife]

Does it ever go away? I've heard some say that they make a conscious decision every. single. day. not to pick up a pack of cigarettes. I was a PAD smoker and smoked on my back porch 90% of the time. Here we are, 10 days after putting down my last analog and I can barely open the back door... I'm so afraid it will be a trigger for me! A friend called on a rampage 2 days ago and, on auto-pilot, I walked to the back door, hand-on-doorknob, before I even realized what I was doing.

I've never lived in this house (3 yrs now) as a non-smoker. I smoked for about 15 years. Please tell me it gets easier! I haven't given in to the craving, and I really don't think I will. However, so far a day hasn't gone by (errr.. an HOUR hasn't gone by) without thinking of cigarettes. It's almost as if smoking had become such a huge part of my life that now I really don't know what to do with myself. I'm sure that will make sense to a lot of you...

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

 

[dearme]

What nic level are you using? If your nic level is right for you, you shouldn't have any strong cravings.

 

[shortyjacobs]

You are still allowed to go out on your back porch. The key to me was replacing the analog with the PV. So if you feel the urge to go out onto your back porch when your friend calls to rage, then grab your PV on the way out instead of grabbing your pack.

For me, it was being in my car, as I smoked a lot in my car. Now I just vape a lot in my car. I think the physical habits we formed, (places where we smoke, the hand to mouth thing, blowing out smoke) are even more difficult to get past than the nicotine addiction, but the good news is that anywhere you could smoke, you can now vape!

 

[mooreted]

Exactly; I just replaced smoking with vaping. I no longer have any desire to smoke.


Sent from my easy chair using brainwaves.

 

[KayVapes]

I vape 24 mg nic and I still have the "urge" to at least glance for an analog. Granted, I do not have the "desire" to smoke one. I've been off analogs for going on 5 weeks now. I understand what u mean Geekswife.

I smoked a minimum of a PAD for over 40 years and it's the breaking of the idea to reach for an analog that sometimes stops me short. It's an unconscious habit that will sneak up on me from out of the blue. I just reach for my PV and vape up a storm. LoL

 

[K-man]

Satisfy your urge! I did and I'm only a week in. I smoked a couple of analogs in the 1st two days after I started vaping and all it did was re-affirm my conviction to vape. It didn't taste any better....lol tasted and smelled awful! It didn't feel any better either. And it didn't satisfy the way I thought it would. It was all in my head and taking that couple of puffs did a big job at getting analogs further out of my mind. Take a puff or two! I'm sure it will have the same effect on you. And then you can get them out of your head.

 

[geekswife]

I think the physical habits we formed, (places where we smoke, the hand to mouth thing, blowing out smoke) are even more difficult to get past than the nicotine addiction, but the good news is that anywhere you could smoke, you can now vape!

This is exactly what I'm talking about. I honestly don't think the nicotine is where my addiction lies... it's the act of getting away, taking a break, enjoying a moment to myself, and the fact that I REALLY enjoyed going outside to smoke, LOL. Maybe next week I'll take my PV out back & give it a go... I don't know that I'm ready to take that step/chance just yet.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[Angi2299]

As others have already said I replaced smoking with vaping. Some things I am still avoiding as I am not very far into my journey (a little over a month). Once you get comfortable with your PV and find the right liquids and nic strength, things get easier. The first couple of weeks, not a day went by that I did not want a cigarette. Now, I only have passing thoughts every few days. Those days tend to correspond to stress levels at work and home. It is so much easier now than the first week though and I am already reducing nic strength. Good luck, be strong and repeat to yourself that you can do it!!!

 

[geekswife]

Only half of my reply showed up.. hmm, weird. Oh well, I also said that I was a Menthol Ultra Light smoker. My husband has been vaping for a tad bit longer than I have and let me try several different nic levels. The 12 was the highest I could do.. the TH was just way too harsh with the others. Since using the 12, I've been able to take a puff here & there off of his 18 (just for juice taste tests), but I still prefer the 12.

Hubby has been able to walk away and not look back. I, on the other hand, have some irritating anxiety issues that cause me to ehhh, freak a little at the thought of such a huge change. But I'm going to make it... I AM going to make it.

 

[K-man]

This is exactly what I'm talking about. I honestly don't think the nicotine is where my addiction lies... it's the act of getting away, taking a break, enjoying a moment to myself, and the fact that I REALLY enjoyed going outside to smoke, LOL. Maybe next week I'll take my PV out back & give it a go... I don't know that I'm ready to take that step/chance just yet.

Thanks for your replies!

I work at a car dealership where just about everyone smokes. There's a lot of dead time in this business and I found myself outside having a smoke frequently. Now that I am vaping, I still go outside to vape occasionally, just to satisfy the habit of going out for a smoke.

 

[dragosbold]

I was quitting 3 months ago, after 17 years of 1, 1,5 packs/day. A half of year ago, if somebody would told me that I am not smoker for life, I sholud told him that My last wish in life will be to smoke a cigarette.
Everything was a kind of revelation- the idea that " from tomorrow, it could begin the rest of my life".. a kind of desire to try to be somebody else.. a new life, a new freedom,.. to feel something different..
in a word, I 'd started to be bored of myself..tired of the same ideas, wicknesses..
I've choosed a diferent way, to be and to feel that I am diferent..somebody else!

 

[Patrick21]

Maybe try something with a higher MG strength as when your fulfiled with nicotine you shouldnt want a cigarette after.

 

[Oban]

I feel ya geekswife, in the car (I spend a lot of time there), in a bar having a cocktail with friends or on the phone (I spend a lotta time there as well) was when I smoked the most. When I first started vapeing I would catch myself reaching for a smoke, but there sat my PV and it filled the need/desire that I felt.

I smoked for 36yrs, about 2PAD when I quit and have been vapeing for about 3.5 months or so and still have about 2/3 of my last pack in the console of my car and haven't touch them since my 2nd day of vapeing. If I can put the stinkies down anyone that wants to can do the same. It seems obvious that you want to since you're hanging out at ECF.


BTW, it gets easier

 

[northwestfarmtn]

I MISS SMOKING! in my head I keep trying to convince myself that i was not ready to quit at the same time as I have gone 13 and a half days why start all over, I did sneak 1 drag of a analog on the 5th day and it was wonderful but then I threw it away because i figured i went 5 days why start over. not sure when that goes away but am right there with ya waiting for it to get easier, hope it happens soon

I also go outside now i just step out the door with my pv in my hand

 

[ClippinWings]

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?

From my experience... it DOES get easier... and it get's easier even quicker if you can wrap your CONSCIOUS MIND around a simple concept...
(your subconscious is like a honey badger, it doesn't give a **** LOL, more on that in a second)

You smoked for YEARS... when you hit a stress or other trigger that used to be followed by a cigarette, your naturally brain thinks... "I need a smoke".

It does NOT need a smoke.

You spent years training you brain that in times of stress or other triggers, it get's a cigarette. Just like Pavlov and his dogs. If you smoked everytime you heard a bell ring over those years, you would have a hell of a time being near a church without wanting to smoke

As a result, your subconscious mind does not know any other way to deal with the psychological state it is in... it knows no other way to get that soothing nicotine it 'requires'.... with time you will re-train your brain to think "I need to vape" instead of "i need a smoke".

Weeks 2 to 4 for me were rough, I'd be at the gas station getting gas and realize I was out of smokes and needed to buy some... only to snap back to reality and laugh at myself.... LAUGH AT YOURSELF and how foolish your silly little mind is for forgetting YOU ARE A NON SMOKER.

It's getting steadily easier for me... I actually now have started getting the "I need to vape" impulse... it's maybe 50/50 now, I still get the other one, but it's fading.

Hang in there and remember:

You ARE a non smoker.
You DO NOT need to smoke, vaping works just fine.
You ARE NOT alone... posting on here really does help... others have been there before

 

[BWG707]

I had smoked PAD for 35+yrs. now I've vaped for 1yr.+. Yes it gets easier. Actually much easier. I'd say at about the 8mo. point I started to forget about ciggies and after several more months I'm done thinking about ciggies. I actually forget about vaping at times also. Ecigs have been one of the best things that I have done in a long time. It really made quitting easy. But I'll still say you have to want to quit first. I would not suggest ecigs to antbody unless they really want to quit.

 

[DietSalem]

I honestly feel that if you have an urge, smoke it. Don't deny that urge. Just, smoke it. You'll find that it doesn't taste good and you don't want it anymore. It hurts, it burns, it smells, it tastes bad. THAT will kill your urges. If you treat it like forbidden fruit you'll only crave it more.

 

[AttyPops]

This is an excellent question.

I certainly can't speak for everyone, for me it went from EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. to almost every single day but not bad. Today, it was when I was checking out at a local store with all the stinkies arrayed behind the cachier with big "ON SALE" signs on them. lol. I just remind myself how bad it is for me and how much it stinks. Most days, no real issues. It's been over 1.5 years for me. You have to keep up the good fight.

Remember that there is a withdrawal from tobacco beyond just the nicotine (IMO) and it lasted about 2-3 weeks for me. After that it was really getting better every day. So hang in there.

 

[shortyjacobs]

This is exactly what I'm talking about. I honestly don't think the nicotine is where my addiction lies... it's the act of getting away, taking a break, enjoying a moment to myself, and the fact that I REALLY enjoyed going outside to smoke, LOL. Maybe next week I'll take my PV out back & give it a go... I don't know that I'm ready to take that step/chance just yet.

Thanks for your replies!

I can appreciate your anxiety. I'm an engineer, and travel frequently to manufacturing plants to run experiments. I hid the fact that I was a smoker from my wife, so when I was on these business trips, I relished the idea of taking smoke breaks regularly during the day.

I had a trip last week, and found that after a couple hours in the plant, I'd get antsy and want to go out for a break. The whole time I'm walking outside, (5 min walk through the plant), I'm thinking about how I have a pack of smokes in my car, (they've been there since I quit), and how nice it would be to have one of those instead of vaping, since I ALWAYS would go out and smoke in my car and listen to audiobooks.

I'd be thinking about that cigarette the whole walk through the plant, but as I got outside I'd be pulling out my PV, cuz my smokes were in my car, and my PV was in my pocket, so as I'm walking across the parking lot, I'm vaping.

Weird thing happened. By the time I got to my car, only a 30 second walk, I'd forgotten about the analogs. In fact, I sat in my car for 10 minutes, vaping happily, listening to my audiobook, and only as I was opening the door to the plant and walking back inside did I realize that I completely forgot about wanting to smoke an analog.

Same thing happened multiple times. Your brain is wired to think "I want a smoke!", but as soon as you distract it with the PV, even in a situation that it was VERY normal to smoke in, your brain forgets.

It was great! I was worried about going back to analogs while on this trip, but as soon as I got to somewhere where I could vape, I'd pull that out, and totally forget about the smokes.

 

[Angi2299]

From my experience... it DOES get easier... and it get's easier even quicker if you can wrap your CONSCIOUS MIND around a simple concept...
(your subconscious is like a honey badger, it doesn't give a **** LOL, more on that in a second)

You smoked for YEARS... when you hit a stress or other trigger that used to be followed by a cigarette, your naturally brain thinks... "I need a smoke".

It does NOT need a smoke.

You spent years training you brain that in times of stress or other triggers, it get's a cigarette. Just like Pavlov and his dogs. If you smoked everytime you heard a bell ring over those years, you would have a hell of a time being near a church without wanting to smoke

As a result, your subconscious mind does not know any other way to deal with the psychological state it is in... it knows no other way to get that soothing nicotine it 'requires'.... with time you will re-train your brain to think "I need to vape" instead of "i need a smoke".

Weeks 2 to 4 for me were rough, I'd be at the gas station getting gas and realize I was out of smokes and needed to buy some... only to snap back to reality and laugh at myself.... LAUGH AT YOURSELF and how foolish your silly little mind is for forgetting YOU ARE A NON SMOKER.

It's getting steadily easier for me... I actually now have started getting the "I need to vape" impulse... it's maybe 50/50 now, I still get the other one, but it's fading.

Hang in there and remember:

You ARE a non smoker.
You DO NOT need to smoke, vaping works just fine.
You ARE NOT alone... posting on here really does help... others have been there before

Very wise. Exactly how I feel. Wish I could "like" this a thousand times!