Very new to vaping

[SaltyDawg]

Hi all,

My wife and I both started vaping yesterday, so I am a complete neophyte. Smoker for 15 years (sigh, it's really been that long). Hoping this can help kick the habit and we can stop killing ourselves. I would REALLY appreciate your knowledge, help and advice.

Questions...

1. I have a "starter kit", no idea what the model is, bought it from a local vape shop. Clear "tank" with mL lines marking how much juice has been used. I have seen numerous differing opinions from 1mL to 3mL equaling a pack of smokes. What's the standard opinion around here? The juice we are using is 15mg. of nicotine.

2. By day three of quitting smoking (so many tries!) it always gets exponentially harder. Should I expect that with vaping or should this control the cravings fairly well? So far I am pleasantly surprised, but i'm only on day 2.

Thank you in advance,
Monica

 

[Andrew Jones]

We'll, I can't answer question 1, but as far as #2 I also had a hard time getting off cigs. The first few days to a week would go ok but then the cravings and feeling like I was missing "something" started to be to much and I would go back to normal smokes. I also had an issue with nic patches gave me some pretty serious nausea no matter the strength I used. Vaping was a godsend because, for me, it fulfilled all of the habit cravings. One day I was smoking and the next I had taken up vaping. I haven't had a normal cig in over a year and have stepped my nic levels down from 24 to 3. I know it's not that easy for everyone, but I hope it will be for you guys!

 

[Ablonz]

Hi SaltyDawg and Welcome to the forums... Congrats on your first step to kicking ash to the curb There are plenty of great people here with wonderful info. As far as your first question, there is a blog that goes more into depth but I haven't the time right at the moment. The amount on nic ingested is different in ecigs vs traditional cigs. 1-3 ml only depends on the amount of nic in the juice. How much did you smoke a day? As far as question 2, I see with a lot of people including myself, if you vape, you will notice that you won't smoke as much. If quitting cold turkey works for you, continue. As for my self, I have been vaping since the end of July. I continued to smoke my analogs along with vaping. As time went on, about 2 weeks into it, I was cut back about half the analogs cigs as I normally smoked without even trying. I never made myself quit, just happened on its own because the more I vaped, the more disgusting traditional cigs tasted. As of today I am glad to report it has been 2 weeks and 2 days since I had my last analog. Needless to say, I have 7 smokes in one pack in my car and another unopened pack in my freezer. Both are readily available to me but the cravings are gone

 

[Ablonz]

I will also add to get a second battery so while one is charging, you may use the other. No being tied to an outlet to vape while its charging.

 

[Akky]

This is my second time trying, First time did not go well. Now I found a flavor I really like and I'm down to about 2 analogs a day. I find that the vape tastes better than the analogs now.

 

[PeteW]

If you feel like the cravings are becoming unbearable, you could try raising your nic level for a little while until they get easier, then step it down again. 15 mg seems kinda low to be starting out with. That's just my opinion of course. Its whatever works for you that counts!

 

[RosaJ]

Hi SaltyDawg and Welcome to the forums... Congrats on your first step to kicking ash to the curb There are plenty of great people here with wonderful info. As far as your first question, there is a blog that goes more into depth but I haven't the time right at the moment. The amount on nic ingested is different in ecigs vs traditional cigs. 1-3 ml only depends on the amount of nic in the juice. How much did you smoke a day? As far as question 2, I see with a lot of people including myself, if you vape, you will notice that you won't smoke as much. If quitting cold turkey works for you, continue. As for my self, I have been vaping since the end of July. I continued to smoke my analogs along with vaping. As time went on, about 2 weeks into it, I was cut back about half the analogs cigs as I normally smoked without even trying. I never made myself quit, just happened on its own because the more I vaped, the more disgusting traditional cigs tasted. As of today I am glad to report it has been 2 weeks and 2 days since I had my last analog. Needless to say, I have 7 smokes in one pack in my car and another unopened pack in my freezer. Both are readily available to me but the cravings are gone

This was my experience as well. I smoked for more than 45 years and promised myself I would smoke at least one cigarette a day when I started vaping. After 1 1/2 weeks, I forgot to smoke my allotted cigarette and lit one up. I almost vomited and put it out after only 3 puffs. That was 3 years ago come March 1st andI haven't touched nor craved another cigarette either.

Cold turkey doesn't work for most of us.

 

[Crf450]

quit sept 17 and have not looked back. tried everything patches gum pills.. find a flavor u like (mine was ry4) and go nuts. if you feel the urge to have a smoke just start vaping.. maybe get a little lower nic so you don,t over do it. that's what worked for me

 

[SaltyDawg]

Thanks so much everyone! I am trying to cold turkey it (after spending several months cutting back to about 1/2 pack/day). Happy thanksgiving, and I appreciate all the great advice.

 

[PeteW]

Good luck to you and your wife!
Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. Hot turkey tomorrow, then cold turkey!

 

[K_Tech]

Hi all,

My wife and I both started vaping yesterday, so I am a complete neophyte. Smoker for 15 years (sigh, it's really been that long). Hoping this can help kick the habit and we can stop killing ourselves. I would REALLY appreciate your knowledge, help and advice.

Questions...

1. I have a "starter kit", no idea what the model is, bought it from a local vape shop. Clear "tank" with mL lines marking how much juice has been used. I have seen numerous differing opinions from 1mL to 3mL equaling a pack of smokes. What's the standard opinion around here? The juice we are using is 15mg. of nicotine.

That's really hard to say exactly, as you've probably seen. I can only say that when I quit smoking, I was at around a pack and a half a day, and I started out vaping around 4 ml of 24 mg e-liquid, so I guess that one to three range might be in the ballpark.

The important thing isn't how much you vape, it's vaping enough to satisfy the urge.

2. By day three of quitting smoking (so many tries!) it always gets exponentially harder. Should I expect that with vaping or should this control the cravings fairly well? So far I am pleasantly surprised, but i'm only on day 2.

Everyone is different. In twelve hours I went from being a smoker to being a vaper, basically. I had a few cigs left the day I received my vape gear, and I finished the last two the next morning. For me, the first day or so wasn't too bad, and then the following two weeks were rough. After that, it started getting easier.

This is my second time trying, First time did not go well. Now I found a flavor I really like and I'm down to about 2 analogs a day. I find that the vape tastes better than the analogs now.

That is a GREAT sign!

 

[wshanncap]

Welcome aboard Monica. And congratulations on your decision to quit. Cancer sticks is one of the things in life where being a quitter is a good thing. Yes vaping will help control the urge and make it much easier. Everyone has a somewhat different experience. I remember when I first started vaping I felt great and didn't want a cig. But seeing someone else with one or even hearing the flick of a lighter would make me want to light up. Just part of the psychological aspect of quitting. Stay determined and you will do fine.

 

[ckfvt]

Congrats on your attempt to get off the analogs! If you're still having urges to smoke try raising the nic level to help curb those desires. It's also OK to have a cigarette if you really feel the need. When I started vaping I had an occasional analog over the first couple of weeks before getting off of them completely. Good luck

 

[V4p0rTrail]

My wife and I are just starting out ourselves... though from the opposite side of the spectrum. My wife is the one who got into it really, she smoked a hooka with a friend of ours on several occasions, and when he started to transition to vaping, he kind of pulled us along. I'm sticking to 0mg/ml juices, while my wife's going for the moderately low nic level at 12mg/ml.

We started out with a one (eventually getting a second) of what appears to be the 'Innokin Iclear 16 starter kit' with several extra tanks. You'll have to google that to get an image... because I'm still new, the forum screams at me when I try to post an image link.

All told about $75-100, I guess. Which sounds alot like what you've described as your starting setup. Was a decently cheap starter but certain juices (notably my wife's favorite cinnamon flavor) simply started eating the plastic tanks and hardware from the inside after about 2 weeks to a month. The inside of the tank would cloud up, and eventually the mouthpiece tip would start to literally dissolve. So I'm doing some research with an eye toward getting my wife a nice Christmas/Birthday present.

As far as nicotine level, from my research I've seen that 18mg/mL is generally about what a smoker of regular cigarettes at a rate of a pack a day might use. Marlboro Reds are about 24mg of nicotine per pack... and if you're vaping 18mg/mL juice at the rate of a 1.5 mL tank / day, you're getting about 27mg/day of nicotine.

 

[VBdev]

Nic has really gotten a bad reputation, guilt by association with all the other really bad things in cigs. Non smokers have nic in their systems too from the foods they eat. It's a stimulant, so less is better, but if you need to up your nic it's a heck of a lot better than picking up a cancer stick.

Vapor particle size is much larger than that disgusting smelling stuff coming from a cigarette involving combustion. As a result your body does not as easily absorb it. Hold it in your mouth a little more before inhaling, perhaps exhale part of the drag through the nose, exhale slowly. You're trying to improve that absorption which is happening in your mouth and nose mucus membranes as well as lungs. Another side effect is there is no X ml of 15 mg juice matches up to a pack of cigarettes. It's different for each user, and it changes as the users technique changes.

For me, I smoked a pack of Marlboro mediums a day for a little over 20 years. I vape 3-4 ml a day at 18mg per ml. I use higher end rebuildables, so they are likely more efficient at producing denser vapor, and more of it than your starter kit. When you are getting "too much" you can tell, it's a stimulant, you feel it. When I was using a clearo it took a lot of effort to get through 2ml in a day and at 18mg per ml I don't think I was getting as much nic as I did from the pack of cigs. I think if you polled a lot of regular vapors on here, many would be going through 4, 6, or even more mls, especially if they are dripping low ohm coils, but they are using less mg per ml liquid.

A key point for me was to prevent nic cravings from happening. I say aim high on the nic content, and don't wait for a craving to get the vapor flowing. I vape throughout the day, slow but steady. Not like a stinky where once an hour I go at it for 5 minutes playing russian roulette with my life. I vape more consistent and steady. I think the only draw back to high nic content for beginners is it makes the throat hit stronger too, can be rough on the throat. But if you can get to where you do get a little nic buzz, then you know you're getting a good amount and you can back off a bit from there. First transition, and if you want to reduce nic down the road more kudos to ya then.

Good luck and stick with it. Read on here. I think success has a lot to do with "getting into it" too, it's a bit of a hobby, altough I haven't had the best experiences in vape shops per say.

I wish you the best. This is a very positive change you are making. Feel good about it. And if you want to reward yourself with a new mod and atty, go for it. How much were you and your wife spending on smoking a year? You're allowed to have nice gear. The big cost is the store bought liquid, but there's many ways to get that way way down... ECF has all your answers.

 

[Akky]

A key point for me was to prevent nic cravings from happening. I say aim high on the nic content, and don't wait for a craving to get the vapor flowing. I vape throughout the day, slow but steady.
.

I'm starting to be more conscious about that. I notice that when I don't vape and start craving, that's when I feel like having a cig. Thanks for the advice.

 

[wafflnator55]

im fairly new to vaping myself. this is week 4. at the time i started i never had fully intended to quit smoking, i was more in for the cool flavours and smoking indoors. but im happy to say im in it for the long haul. ive tried many times to smoke and its gotten to the point where i can even finish a smoke without getting sick. i hate cigs now. keep with it. the world of vaping can be intimidating but stick with what works for now. when your more interested in learning, or stepping up your game, there's always going to be more to try and learn. you can make it a way to quit smoking, or make it a new hobby. and dont feel that you need the most Nic either. try out some lower dose and you might find it more enjoyable. good luck!

 

[Rat2chat2]

to ecf SaltyDawg. So glad ya'll are here. After trying so many times I gave up and decided I would never be smoke free. I bought a kit to try and save a tiny bit of money and did both for a good while. Got to the point where I just preferred vaping and accidentally quit smoking. I hope it will be easy for you too. I don't know how much you smoked but whatever you start out with, you might want to have a higher nic juice available just in case you develop any cravings. I look forward to reading about ya'll success. Let us know how you are doing. Have fun and happy vaping.

 

[WattWick]

Welcome aboard to you and wifey.

I never figured how to translate cig use into e-liquid use. Not much of an exact science. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

For the cravings. I would lie if I said no one has cravings at first. Some more/less than others. At least I wouldn't 'brace for impact' as it may hurt more than help.

If you find yourself with major cravings, try to vape through it. May not be extremely pleasant as you may find yourself slightly overnicced. On the plus side, you probably don't feel like lighting up a cigarette when you're already slightly uncomfortable from nic. If this excessive amount of nic concerns you, just think of the cigarettes you're not smoking. Excessive nic is very temporary. A smoking habit - not so much.

Just one random internet citizens thoughts. Hang in there, nic up the wife - and best of luck.

 

[Johnnycloud]

First off if you can, I would recommend getting something a little higher end than a starter kit. Those kits won't be nearly as enjoyable. I suggest getting a tank with adjustable airflow. Airflow will have a big effect on taste. Also a lot of the starter kit batteries break easy and if you do not have a battery that allows you to adjust the wattage your even worse off. As far as how much juice equals a pack of smokes, I have heard that 15ml of nic. 18 is about 2 1/2 packs. I smoked 1 1/2 packs a day but if I'm using a tank a 15 ml lasts up to 4 days cause unlike a cig. You can take a cpl puffs and set it down until you want more. My switch to Vapeing couldn't have been easier. I bought the stuff, vaped for 1 day, the next day I picked up a smoke and took two drags and put it out. It tasted as if someone dumped an ashtray in my mouth. I tried once more after that while drinking and got the same results. Since then I have not looked back. Vapeing really does kick ash!