All has been going well for me up until this point. I haven't smoked a cigarette in 5 weeks (exactly) but today I'm thinking that I wasn't really ready for this. I have Vaped like mad today but I just can't shake the craving for a real cigarette. For those who have gone months and years without set backs, what helped you when you had days like I am having today?
Week 5 of being smoke-free
- Thread starter TSowder
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I told myself that my body was getting the nicotine that it needs, that the feeling is not physical. It is the "Ghost Habit" messing with your mind. It will pass.
Some folks just go ahead and give in and smoke. I was afraid to do that. I didn't want to get back up on that One Trick Pony that was only leading me to poor health and an early demise. I had an aunt who was just miserable with emphysema for years before she died too soon. Also other family members with lung cancer.
Some folks just go ahead and give in and smoke. I was afraid to do that. I didn't want to get back up on that One Trick Pony that was only leading me to poor health and an early demise. I had an aunt who was just miserable with emphysema for years before she died too soon. Also other family members with lung cancer.
Hi TSowder! I'm on pace with you at the five week mark. I don't have the experience of some of the long-timers, but I've found in these five weeks that I have certain days when I vape like mad and others that I don't. I think a lot of it depends on the old psychological triggers we had from smoking: certain foods, times of the day, or even just a memory of, "hey, last time something like this happened, I really enjoyed a cigarette." The trigger can be visual, stress-related, or even just out of the blue (who knows?). I deal with these in a couple of ways:
1) I always keep a higher nicotine liquid in a tank that I pull out if I need to. The extra nic doesn't provide the entire comforting chemical concoction that a cigarette provides, but it does help take the edge off.
2) I make it a regular practice to walk past--or even, sometimes, stop at--a smoking area when I'm not craving. The smell helps reinforce what my brain already knows: that smoking stinks. This makes it easier not to go out and buy a pack when times get tough because I the unpleasant smell is fresh in my memory.
3) I promise myself, on occasion, that it would not be the end of the world if I do have a cigarette. Beating myself up about it would only add to the stress and make me want a cigarette more. Instead, I say to myself, "Sure, I can go have one if I want to, but let me see if I can go a little longer without one." My hope is that the longer I stay away from them, the worse the first one will taste. (One guy at a local B&M said he even recommends that smokers-turned-vapers have a cigarette after a month because the taste just reinforces the urge to keep vaping--I have yet to put that to the test).
That said, at about 10 days, I did have the perverse urge to buy a pack of my old brand at a gas station. Fortunately for me, they were out of them, so I walked away empty-handed, with a vape in my pocket.
You can do this... just like me!
1) I always keep a higher nicotine liquid in a tank that I pull out if I need to. The extra nic doesn't provide the entire comforting chemical concoction that a cigarette provides, but it does help take the edge off.
2) I make it a regular practice to walk past--or even, sometimes, stop at--a smoking area when I'm not craving. The smell helps reinforce what my brain already knows: that smoking stinks. This makes it easier not to go out and buy a pack when times get tough because I the unpleasant smell is fresh in my memory.
3) I promise myself, on occasion, that it would not be the end of the world if I do have a cigarette. Beating myself up about it would only add to the stress and make me want a cigarette more. Instead, I say to myself, "Sure, I can go have one if I want to, but let me see if I can go a little longer without one." My hope is that the longer I stay away from them, the worse the first one will taste. (One guy at a local B&M said he even recommends that smokers-turned-vapers have a cigarette after a month because the taste just reinforces the urge to keep vaping--I have yet to put that to the test).
That said, at about 10 days, I did have the perverse urge to buy a pack of my old brand at a gas station. Fortunately for me, they were out of them, so I walked away empty-handed, with a vape in my pocket.
You can do this... just like me!
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You're doing good.
Maybe you need to keep a high nicotine liquid "just in case" (24mg) to satisfy your craving.
But remember it's mostly in your head, try to ignore the urge for few hours and it should be behind you.
I personally still keeping a pack and a lighter just to know that I have it (usually when I don't have something I want it 10 times more, so for me it is helping).
And also don't be afraid to smoke a cigarette once in a while, your body is addicted to nicotine, not to tar or paper so it's not the end of the world and your body won't come back to your old habits from smoking a cigarette once in a while.
Ah and also I have to say that since I start playing with mods and eliquids and get more excited about the scene, I don't feel any desire for cigarettes, when I just had an ego with tobacco liquid, it was kinda boring and strictly to replace cigarettes so I did felt the need to "break the routine" and smoke a cigarette once in a while.
Maybe you need to keep a high nicotine liquid "just in case" (24mg) to satisfy your craving.
But remember it's mostly in your head, try to ignore the urge for few hours and it should be behind you.
I personally still keeping a pack and a lighter just to know that I have it (usually when I don't have something I want it 10 times more, so for me it is helping).
And also don't be afraid to smoke a cigarette once in a while, your body is addicted to nicotine, not to tar or paper so it's not the end of the world and your body won't come back to your old habits from smoking a cigarette once in a while.
Ah and also I have to say that since I start playing with mods and eliquids and get more excited about the scene, I don't feel any desire for cigarettes, when I just had an ego with tobacco liquid, it was kinda boring and strictly to replace cigarettes so I did felt the need to "break the routine" and smoke a cigarette once in a while.
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It's been almost 8 months for me since I quit. I have had those days too - my mother-in-law was dying and you can imagine the stress... Twice I caved and lit a Camel. I took a puff or two and snuffed it - it was SO nasty! I never thought I'd be one of those people. I have quit in the past, once for over two years, when I had my daughter. And I went right back to it. It tasted so good. Now, with a line up of good juice, who needs smoke? Not me.
After that last puff - which I'm convinced will be my last - I can tell myself I only need a couple extra puffs on the ecig, and remind myself how horrible the analogs are.
Don't feel like a quitter if you light one up - it might just assure you that ecigs are the thing you really prefer. Good luck, either way. You're doing just fine!
After that last puff - which I'm convinced will be my last - I can tell myself I only need a couple extra puffs on the ecig, and remind myself how horrible the analogs are.
Don't feel like a quitter if you light one up - it might just assure you that ecigs are the thing you really prefer. Good luck, either way. You're doing just fine!
Hi! Congrats on 5 weeks; that is no small feat. So don't be hard on yourself for craving.
I'm only at about 3 weeks myself; I didn't smoke much there at the end, but I did smoke for 21 years so this isn't a habit I merely dabbled in. It's ingrained in my brain to smoke (or something similar).
My advice, I hope it helps or encourages you, is to splurge on some new juices at a local B&M or from a vendor that can ship to you quickly. I know when I first started Vaping about two months ago that I knew I would do whatever it took to encourage Vaping instead of smoking.
Also, if you need some more encouragement, check out some YouTube videos about Vaping and how lives have been changed.
I agree with the other posters that having one cig won't be the end of the world. -But- For me, if I immerse myself in learning/researching Vaping and the impact and enjoyment it has brought others, it encourages me to stick with it.
Good luck!
I'm only at about 3 weeks myself; I didn't smoke much there at the end, but I did smoke for 21 years so this isn't a habit I merely dabbled in. It's ingrained in my brain to smoke (or something similar).
My advice, I hope it helps or encourages you, is to splurge on some new juices at a local B&M or from a vendor that can ship to you quickly. I know when I first started Vaping about two months ago that I knew I would do whatever it took to encourage Vaping instead of smoking.
Also, if you need some more encouragement, check out some YouTube videos about Vaping and how lives have been changed.
I agree with the other posters that having one cig won't be the end of the world. -But- For me, if I immerse myself in learning/researching Vaping and the impact and enjoyment it has brought others, it encourages me to stick with it.
Good luck!
Congrats on making it 5 weeks! Just keep up the hard work and if necessary chain vape until your hearts content til that craving for a real cigarette goes away!
You've been doing great and five weeks is awesome. Get ya a higher nic juice for times where you are stressed or thinking about your where not ready. You've made it five weeks so I think you were really ready and just don't realize it. I never had this issue because I did both and just started enjoying vaping more and smoking less. I hope I never forget how bad that last cigarette tasted. But I still keep some "reserve nerve" juice just in case. Good luck to ya and I hope to read about your continued success.
Welcome to ecf. You will not find a better place for information/help and all the support you can handle. Happy vaping.
Welcome to ecf. You will not find a better place for information/help and all the support you can handle.
Happy vaping.- Status
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