The Reason Why I Quit Analogs

[aussiedog61]

. . . and to add to that question, is there ever really a "right" time to quit??

I quit last Sunday after breaking up (I think) from my bf - who hated my smoking. My son was also starting to steal my cigs. I hated smelling like smoke. I hated the feeling after chain-smoking. I hated the way all I thought about after a long day at work was to smoke.

6 days out (how many times I have I posted this tonight?!) and I have run into a lot of issues - stuck EVOD, juices w/ no taste, dehydration, sore neck (from drawing - I know I am doing it wrong, still trying to get it right), NO appetite, panic attacks, figuring out the nic level for me. Heck, I've been to the vape store 3X this week. I am determined to get this right and sometimes I feel like I took on too much at one time. All I can think about is how I am so happy not to smell smoke. I quit drinking over 1.5 years ago. If I could do that, I can do this.

I'm under a lot of stress at work and with relationship issues right now and feeling alone - I spend all of my free time reading this forum. I know I am doing the right thing . . . just praying for strength to keep it up. I know its only been 6 days, but it feels like an eternity.

Stay strong and chill out, it will end up fine. Stick with what you are doing and you will find your way. You will get it right, there is no time frame. Sometimes focusing on something helps alleviate the pain from the other issues in your life. It's just a temporary fix, but whatever it takes, right? You won't be alone on this forum. There are plenty of members that will support you in your endeavors. Wishing you all the best out of life.

P.S. Congrats on quitting drinking. I wish I had that fortitude, but sadly I haven't reached that point yet.

 

[Diesel305]

congrats to u!!!!!!!!

 

[Blazebars]

I quit 8 weeks ago.Why! I tried to quit for years and now i found the ecig and its working sofar.

Rob

 

[crshsnwmn]

While I am still struggling to quit smoking completely and stay off cigs, the AHA moment for me was when my cardiologist took me off my beta-blockers for a month.
REALLY opened my eyes to exactly what smoking cigs does to my heart.

 

[BamaBeckster]

I also attribute quitting my PAD stinky habit with the BLU. Yes while they don't really taste that good, they do get you to thinking hmm, I don't smell like a cigarette or have to clean out an ash tray. I was off work for President's day 2/18/13 & went into a local vape store & haven't lit an analog since. Just put them down after 38 yrs with no plans to ever "light up" that way again. VAPE ON!

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Congrats and welcome

What was that AHA moment for you that made you switch to vaping?

A friend at the cottage was having serious health issues. Looked like death warmed over. Ran into him one day and he looked GREAT. He was going on about his medical tests and how everything had vastly improved. Next he started up about his PV. I came home and spent about 200+ hrs researching. I am eternally indebted to this person for his sage advice and have since given him and his wife a couple of Kgo kits. Also supply them with free juice eternal. Funny thing is when I came up to the cottage after 1 year of vaping neighbors also asked what I was doing as I looked GREAT

 

[Katcandoo]

Thank you for all the support and the great stories! The switch to vaping was pretty effortless for me, but I can understand the difficulty of getting completely off analogs. Hang in there, it can be done!

I was recently around a group of smokers for the first time since I quit, and like many people it reinforced that I don't think I will ever pick one up again. The smell was terrible. Ick.

 

[rockerlynne]

Such an interesting, and very moving thread. No real aha moment for me; just a constant underlying voice in my head every time I'd light up a smoke that was telling me I was killing myself. Most of the cigarettes I smoked each day I didn't even want, but I was smoker so I smoked them anyway. The ones I did enjoy, I LOVED. (I have been known to kiss a pack of Marlboro Black Box...in public!) For some people, smoking can be very emotional and the thought of giving it up can feel like a heart-wrenching loss. This too shall pass. For me it took practice and patience and lots of reading on ECF to figure out what works for me, and I'm still learning each time I check-in here. I just want to say congrats to everyone who has made the switch, and to those that are still working to make the switch, don't give up! YOU are worth the time it takes you to get it right and get off the cigarettes. Thanks ECF community for the knowledge, inspiration, and support!

 

[skyztheLynnit]

What wonderful stories .. thank you Kat for sharing yours and congrats to you!.. they truly are stories about lives saved..

My finally quitting for good happened just 2 days ago. I never thought I'd quit..i never even intended to quit.. my boyfriend quit last summer with the help of tootsie roll pops and lots of pacing. I was so very proud of him .. and i feel ashamed to say that at the same time i knew i would miss my smoking buddy.. we would spend saturday mornings in our sunroom reading, talking and smoking. He knew he couldn't be out here with me to succeed .. he is my hero for having the strength to overcome this addiction. (I am crying now.....?)

A couple of months ago a lady i work with came out to the smoking area with her setup and i asked her about it.. she explained about the water vapor and that she was forced to do something because money was tight.. and that she had come to love it. She let me try it (pina colada)... and it choked me out! I was a pack and a half a day marlboro smoker. I couldn't believe the hit to my throat .. and it tasted great.. a b&m opened up around the corner and she told me that's where she got it.. so still i smoked.. and I'd drive by that sign to the want2vape shop every day.. that stupid sign.. that sign that made me start thinking of quitting (i know.. odd that i was so stubborn about it!). That sign that said to me.. ok girl.. here is your way out..
I smile now when i see the sign. I thank the lady who let me try her ecig. I hug my boyfriend for not berating me for still smoking when he quit and i breathe.. i breathe deep breaths because for the first time in a very long time.. it doesn't hurt.

 

[issaru]

nice. congrats to u!

 

[iceman68]

Most of the cigarettes I smoked each day I didn't even want, but I was smoker so I smoked them anyway.

So true. I did the same thing for years. They tasted terrible and yet I still smoked. Then I'd get an "eye hit", where the smoke gets in your eye and burns like hell. So I'm standing there cursing cigarettes and rubbing my eye, but still smoking anyway. So irrational.

 

[Litta'sGabby]

My why is because I was going to spend a day at a smoke-free hospital for my daughter's surgery and I couldn't stand the thought of going all day without a cigarette, but still wanted to respect the smoke-free stance of the hospital! I used an e-cig, it helped, and thought: maybe I can give up cigarettes with this! My hubby doesn't smoke, but was always so supportive of my choice to smoke. And, yes...I LOVED SMOKING! It was an enjoyable and relaxing thing for me, just not for those around me. I am 3 weeks analog free. I started with something called a Quik E-Cig that is sold at Sheetz gas stations, purchased Blu until my eGo arrived. Never looking back! In 3 weeks I have come down from 18mg nic to 12mg nic. I have a full supply of 12mg nic so I will be here for a while. Next step to 6 mg then to 0. Have no plans to give up vaping, once I hit 0 mg nic. I enjoy this MORE than I ever enjoyed smoking. And that speaks volumes for eCigs!!

 

[rockerlynne]

So true. I did the same thing for years. They tasted terrible and yet I still smoked. Then I'd get an "eye hit", where the smoke gets in your eye and burns like hell. So I'm standing there cursing cigarettes and rubbing my eye, but still smoking anyway. So irrational.

Ah yes, the dreaded eye hit! Don't miss those, that's for sure!

 

[jfalbanese]

never planned on it. neighbor kid gave me a battery, and a full clearo. my last experience with the blu's was terrible. i puffed on that clearo to be polite. didn't want him coming back the following week to see i hadn't even used any. 1.5 weeks later, the rest is history. a life changer for this late in the game?, priceless.

 

[Reikoku]

I'd been smoking pretty solidly since I was 15, back when the legal age to smoke in the UK was 16 (Still can't believe that looking back now). As I got into my early 20s and was on a PAD my mum made me promise her I'd quit when I was 30, which was Labour Day. I'd tried E-Lites a year ago which I gather are the UK equivalent of Blus and they were pretty terrible, I eventually gave up on them and thought that's all there was to e-cigs.

The AHA moment was when a friend posted his PV on facebook a couple of weeks ago and I immediately bombarded him with messages. He couldn't really help me out with supplies I now live on the other side of the planet but he set me on my path to vaping, I found this forum, researched, made some purchases and I'm on my way.

After a lovely dinner with my gf and parents on Wednesday we went home and got the cake out. My mum put 3 candles in it then asked me for a lighter and I realised I didn't have one on me because I don't smoke anymore. The look on her face was priceless

 

[enuun]

well I hope that I can fully quit one day and go for long even without vaping =)

 

[nevrdowhatheydo]

I went to my barber a couple weeks ago and he was using an e-cig. He totally sold me on it. I've been really wanting to quit analogs for about a year or so (been smoking for about 12 years, a PAD the last 2 or 3) but was unsure if I had the willpower to do it. Once he told me about how much better he's been feeling-his ability to taste and smell, how much more enjoyable it is to exercise, the reaction from other people, etc.-I knew that I had to try vaping.

Plus, and I bet you'd all agree, I was just ready to quit. If I wasn't really ready than it wouldn't have worked. I guess it's just that everything else in my life has really been coming together. Analogs however, felt like the elephant in the room. Vaping just put me over the top!

 

[gal66stang]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on quitting smoking!!

 

[skyztheLynnit]

Ah yes, the dreaded eye hit! Don't miss those, that's for sure!

Those are the pits! I dont miss my yellow fingernails!

 

[fogMann]

I didn't have an 'aha moment'. I was a cigarette smoker for twenty years, then stopped cold turkey (before the days of ecigs). Years later, I jumped on the cigar craze. I spent the last 15 years smoking cigars to the point where it just as bad as cigarettes. I've known for along time that I needed to give them up. I always had the thought of mouth/throat cancer lingering in the back of my head.

About 6 weeks ago, I decided to give up cigars, and would have done it cold turkey. However, a friend of mine who has been vaping for about a year convinced me to give vaping a shot, which I did. I actually quit a bit earlier than my target date. I had set aside my last ten cigars. They're still sitting in the box. I've had no desire to smoke them. In fact, I've more of less forgotten about them.

I just hope the claims of no health problems with vaping are true. I'm convinced that they are much less harmful than actual tobacco. Not yet convinced that they are 100% risk-free. Either way, I hope/expect I'll keep my jaw and mouth the rest of my life (knocking on wood).