The Stages of vaping
1) Discovery – This is the part when you take your first drag from a generic electronic cigarette. You may have tried a friends or impulse bought one at the local gas station while loading up on gasoline and bags of Cheetos. It is not exactly a traditional cigarette, but it does SOMETHING. You’re intrigued. You load up on a few disposables. No more tobacco for you!
2) Adaption – Not realizing you are shoving a square peg into a round hole, you simply use your electronic cigarette like you would a regular cigarette, but because you can use it ANYWHERE, you start smoking like Don Draper. At home, at work, in the car, in the bathroom, in the shower, during Church Service, during acts of procreation, at the gym… all the while laughing manically and yelling with a crazed look in your eye: “IT’S VAPOR I TELL YOU, VAPOR! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH”.
3) Back to the Closet – Because your cheap e-cig was designed to look JUST like a cigarette, the people around you think you ARE smoking a real cigarette and that you’re an ....... You don’t know it, but you just discovered stealth vaping. But you are also changing the WAY you smoke. You learn how to take in vapor, which is different from inhaling smoke.
4) Research – You realize that buying 10 disposable e-cigs a week costs more than traditional cigarettes, so you google “electronic cigarette.” This leads you to a sea of obviously fake reviews that link to shady sites with sales pitches like, “For smokers not wanting to like tobacco, this is being greatest invention ever being discovered by scientist.” These sites may also have tempting links to porn sites. You may even click on one of the ......... links. So after removing all the malware, viruses and Trojans from your computer, you finally get your search refined enough that you find legit vendors. If you are lucky, you will find a good one. You order your first, big-time, legit, quality e-cig.
5) Stalking the Mailman – Time will stop. Presidential Administrations will come and go. Children will graduate from high school. The Post Office may file a restraining order against you. But then…
6) Real vaping - …your product arrives (Mine was the Volt). You take your first drag. The warmth of the vapor, the flavor of the juice, the throat hit. Angels weep. Children laugh. The Buddha himself appears before you, smiling contently. You notice a Unicorn, walking with a care-free gate, through your office. Now you’re hooked.
7) Problems – You start hitting a myriad of problems. Not deal breakers, but issues that must be solved. Why did the vapor that was so good just 20 seconds ago start tasting like burned cheese dip? Why does the damn battery last just 2-3 hours? Is this bad for me? What other chemicals are in here? Why don't my old, cheap batteries fit these new carts?
8) The Vaping Community – In a perfect world, newbies would find their way to forums like ECF long before buying their first kit. But if they don’t find some contact with the vaping community, this is the phase where they are likely to give it up. If, however, they start getting the answers they need, and more importantly, find a group of like-minded, friendly people that want to help, then they crash with wild abandon into…
9) Obsession – Now you're into it. You realize that it is not e-smoking, it’s vaping. That stupid analog look-alike, though it introduced you to vaping, stole your money and punched your mother in the face. You realize there is no need for your PV to look, in any way, like an analog cig. You start taking notes on the volts and amps your battery is using and your cart is pulling. You become intrigued by the more advanced models out there. Can this outstanding vapor get EVEN BETTER? Four weeks ago, you questioned the wisdom of spending $9.99 on a cheap disposable e-cig, now you’re staying up until 4:00am watching YouTube reviews of the eGo systems and considering dropping $200 on the GG Telescopic Storm.
10) Running out of Carts – I will spend this entire Sunday in what Douglas Adams might have called The Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul. My order was delivered to my work address on Saturday by mistake (MY mistake, not Smokeless Image’s). I am surviving on left over gas station cheapies. I think this is a mistake that most vapers make. Once. I never thought I would say this, but I CAN’T WAIT TO GO TO WORK ON MONDAY!!!
11) Moving On Up - This is where I am now. Something that was a lark to drop tobacco has turned into a hobby. A potentially expensive one. But I love it. Thanks to everyone at ECF!
1) Discovery – This is the part when you take your first drag from a generic electronic cigarette. You may have tried a friends or impulse bought one at the local gas station while loading up on gasoline and bags of Cheetos. It is not exactly a traditional cigarette, but it does SOMETHING. You’re intrigued. You load up on a few disposables. No more tobacco for you!
2) Adaption – Not realizing you are shoving a square peg into a round hole, you simply use your electronic cigarette like you would a regular cigarette, but because you can use it ANYWHERE, you start smoking like Don Draper. At home, at work, in the car, in the bathroom, in the shower, during Church Service, during acts of procreation, at the gym… all the while laughing manically and yelling with a crazed look in your eye: “IT’S VAPOR I TELL YOU, VAPOR! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH”.
3) Back to the Closet – Because your cheap e-cig was designed to look JUST like a cigarette, the people around you think you ARE smoking a real cigarette and that you’re an ....... You don’t know it, but you just discovered stealth vaping. But you are also changing the WAY you smoke. You learn how to take in vapor, which is different from inhaling smoke.
4) Research – You realize that buying 10 disposable e-cigs a week costs more than traditional cigarettes, so you google “electronic cigarette.” This leads you to a sea of obviously fake reviews that link to shady sites with sales pitches like, “For smokers not wanting to like tobacco, this is being greatest invention ever being discovered by scientist.” These sites may also have tempting links to porn sites. You may even click on one of the ......... links. So after removing all the malware, viruses and Trojans from your computer, you finally get your search refined enough that you find legit vendors. If you are lucky, you will find a good one. You order your first, big-time, legit, quality e-cig.
5) Stalking the Mailman – Time will stop. Presidential Administrations will come and go. Children will graduate from high school. The Post Office may file a restraining order against you. But then…
6) Real vaping - …your product arrives (Mine was the Volt). You take your first drag. The warmth of the vapor, the flavor of the juice, the throat hit. Angels weep. Children laugh. The Buddha himself appears before you, smiling contently. You notice a Unicorn, walking with a care-free gate, through your office. Now you’re hooked.
7) Problems – You start hitting a myriad of problems. Not deal breakers, but issues that must be solved. Why did the vapor that was so good just 20 seconds ago start tasting like burned cheese dip? Why does the damn battery last just 2-3 hours? Is this bad for me? What other chemicals are in here? Why don't my old, cheap batteries fit these new carts?
8) The Vaping Community – In a perfect world, newbies would find their way to forums like ECF long before buying their first kit. But if they don’t find some contact with the vaping community, this is the phase where they are likely to give it up. If, however, they start getting the answers they need, and more importantly, find a group of like-minded, friendly people that want to help, then they crash with wild abandon into…
9) Obsession – Now you're into it. You realize that it is not e-smoking, it’s vaping. That stupid analog look-alike, though it introduced you to vaping, stole your money and punched your mother in the face. You realize there is no need for your PV to look, in any way, like an analog cig. You start taking notes on the volts and amps your battery is using and your cart is pulling. You become intrigued by the more advanced models out there. Can this outstanding vapor get EVEN BETTER? Four weeks ago, you questioned the wisdom of spending $9.99 on a cheap disposable e-cig, now you’re staying up until 4:00am watching YouTube reviews of the eGo systems and considering dropping $200 on the GG Telescopic Storm.
10) Running out of Carts – I will spend this entire Sunday in what Douglas Adams might have called The Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul. My order was delivered to my work address on Saturday by mistake (MY mistake, not Smokeless Image’s). I am surviving on left over gas station cheapies. I think this is a mistake that most vapers make. Once. I never thought I would say this, but I CAN’T WAIT TO GO TO WORK ON MONDAY!!!
11) Moving On Up - This is where I am now. Something that was a lark to drop tobacco has turned into a hobby. A potentially expensive one. But I love it. Thanks to everyone at ECF!
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