weird existential questions about subohming and 0mg nic

[yinsen]

this is going to sound positively insane but bear with me! sort of a downer in a couple of ways so read at your discretion.

while waiting for my first reo in the mail i've started wrapping a few coils on my stillare to get used to dripper coils (i usually wrap for my kayfun).

i'm sitting here vaping 0mg spliced lime with a twisted kanthal 28g 0.5ohm dual coil, and feeling... pretty damn guilty?

part of it is the fact that i vape zero nicotine (100%VG) juices. the reason for this is that smoking was never a physical addiction for me, just a psychological thing that seemed to help a great deal with anxiety. i'm fairly resistant to addiction and i haven't had a cigarette since i quit cold turkey in a day as i placed an order for an innokin battery 6months ago with no issues other than feeling super hungry for a few days (i'm always hungry anyway) - so i figure i should just avoid dependence while i can.
because of that... i somehow feel like my vaping habit is less valid than other peoples? i don't "NEED" to vape, but it makes me feel more comfortable in social situations, and filling my room with clouds and tinkering with coils and wicks is fun - but because it's not an essential medical tool for me while it is for many, i feel somewhat ashamed, almost like i'm getting around in a wheelchair when my legs are fine. does that make sense?

the other part is that i'm subohming. my build has no hotlegs or shorts, i'm using a quality stillare with fairly recently purchased AW 18500 batteries, and some people vape below 0.1ohms for cloud comps while i'm at a seemingly reasonable 0.5ohm - but theres still some weird vibe here that i can't really shake.
i guess what i'm saying is even though i know my build is safe (or as safe a an 0.5ohm build can be without being in a regulated mod), my head tells me there's something wrong with me for vaping it. i'm not incredibly concerned about my personal safety (not that i don't take every precaution to vape safe), i just generally feel oddly bad about the whole thang.

i'm not even sure what i'm asking here - can you relate? put my mind at ease? any thoughts?
thanks for listening to my rant chaps


(P.S. i know certain juices give off measurable quantities of aldehydes and other things at super high wattages - i don't subohm these and i don't think this aspect is a factor in my weirdness)

 

[Papa_Lazarou]

You're an adult, no? Adults make choices.

You did smoke, so it's not like you took up the vape as a tabula rasa. That you can/have quit any of this without symptoms (hunger doesn't count in my book) is cool beans. Gravy, not the main dish, though (see, now you got me hungry). You vape, therefore you are, irrespective of need or dependancy - doesn't make you any less a vaper.

Subohming? Why you little... kidding, I'm kidding. Again, ur a adult. You choose to subohm, and apparently responsibly. Many of us <holds hand up> subohm (dual coil setup on an RM3, guilty as charged, sir), and cloud chasin', cheese eatin' show-offs we ain't.

Sooo... have a vape (like a sir).

 

[yinsen]

that response was a joy to read! have a bunny eating raspberries.

 

[cracoucax]

I see no problem here, I mean I do use nicotine but most time i take a hit it's to feel this delicious flavor again.
I can't stand being at less than 3mg nic myself though, it feels like drinking non alcoholized beer or something for me.
If i removed the nicotine, i'd certainly be adding lots of menthol. Menthol and fruits makes good juice, gives hit and each hit is a bowl of fresh air.
Try it if you haven't, you might feel it gives a "purpose" to your vaping ?

 

[nerak]

You should not feel guilty at all. It is a well known fact that the hand to mouth and inhalation is in itself a addiction.

I vape at the other end of the spectrum. It takes 30mg of nic to keep me satisfied. It does not "worry" me to need that much. But when most proclaim they use 3-12mg of nic I feel a little needy.

My thoughts are that we are each following what our body is telling us. If it is 0 nic but the act of vaping that gives us satisfaction then so be it.

I will probably lower my nic in the future. But not because I am trying to do so. I will reduce it when my body tells me that 30 is too much.

We all have things in our life that make us happy and content.

Live, love, laugh, and vape!

 

[Filthy-Beast]

The habit of smoking is more than just nicotine. If it was only nicotine then all the gum chewers would have no problem quitting. I love the TH and feeling of vapor filling my lungs. You are an ex-smoker who now vapes plain and simple, what nicotine level you vape has no bearing on those facts. Enjoy your vape. Many people vape 0 nic juice.

 

[vengaman]

vape it like you stole it. then be proud and vape it some more.

validity is in the eye of the beholder - you are not harming anyone and like you, I find the entire, end to end process......somewhat soothing. unlike you I still use some nic, but that's the lesser part of it for me too.

aside from that, it definitely beats jeeves lopping the end off my cigars and now I just get to beat jeeves.

 

[super_X_drifter]

After nearly two years of vaping single coils in the 1.2 to 2 ohm range I recently switched over to dual coils netting .5 ohms.

It's a great cig like vape, not nearly as warm as one would think because the amount of air and wide bore DT is tuned to provide the perfect hit.

Yes I also switch to direct lung hits.

Guilt has never entered my mind. What does is the satisfaction that I've got top grade mech gear with built in protection, the best batteries, I can build coils, understand what causes shorts, can duplicate this build exactly / simply and the vape is amazing.

As for vaping being a crutch - we all got our crutches. I know I got mine and vaping is one of them.

Now get off your knees, stop repenting, get out of church and enjoy your damn vape.

When you get ready for bed, sprinkle some uncooked white rice on the floor, kneel in it and give me 3 our fathers and five Hail Marys you damn sinner

I actually had a girlfriend from Costa Rica back in the day who had do that kneeling in rice deal. Ouch.

 

[Evilocity]

I was a smoker until about 3 months ago, now I enjoy all aspects of vaping. It's fun, it tastes great, there's an amazing community that we are a part of. What's not to like? What's there to be ashamed of? Nothing! Sit back, have a vape and clear your conscience, you are part of the vaping community.

 

[SingedVapor]

Looks like we need to bring out the whips and lashes as we have a dreaded sub ohmer in our presence!

No I'm kidding you're being responsible, you seem to know your stuff... So what's the harm? The biggest problem that you may be worried about is that sub ohmers have only gotten a bad wrap because of the novice vapors coming to this site without any experience in vaping, just looking for "teh cloudz". You are being a responsible adult who made an informed decision. More power to you. Lots of us in reoville subohm, which is why the reo's are automatically shipped with the sub ohming contacts. I subohm because... Mainly it's the only way I've found to have a truly perfect vape. To each thier own

 

[Raynman]

You should not feel guilty at all. It is a well known fact that the hand to mouth and inhalation is in itself a addiction.

I vape at the other end of the spectrum. It takes 30mg of nic to keep me satisfied. It does not "worry" me to need that much. But when most proclaim they use 3-12mg of nic I feel a little needy.

My thoughts are that we are each following what our body is telling us. If it is 0 nic but the act of vaping that gives us satisfaction then so be it.

I will probably lower my nic in the future. But not because I am trying to do so. I will reduce it when my body tells me that 30 is too much.

We all have things in our life that make us happy and content.

Live, love, laugh, and vape!

Somehow I see this on a t-shirt I'll be wearing soon.

 

[Henry Etta]

Another thing to think about is that you could really help people... smokers see you vaping, especially a REO, and who knows- you may get a few converts!
I smoked for 20 years... by the time I quit for good, just about a year ago, I only smoked a few cigs a day. I don't know that I would have considered myself addicted to nicotine at that point, but what I did know, was that I could never actually totally quit smoking. I tried so many times-- would go days, weeks without it, but I always came back. I haven't had one single cigarette in over a year because I started vaping. If there was no nicotine in my juice (I use 5-6 mg) I would still vape and I would still subohm. You belong here just like the rest of us.

 

[JC Okie]

You're an adult. We all have things we do that we just like to do. Some people are addicted to caffeine in coffee, and some people like coffee for the taste and drink decaf. You wouldn't think of a decaf drinker as a poser, would you? The older I get the more I realize that life is short. Grab the gusto. If you like to vape, vape. If you like to sub-ohm, sub-ohm. Whether you use nicotine is irrelevant to anyone but you. Actually, it's cheaper if you don't.

You're not hurting anyone else. What you do is totally, completely, your choice and if you choose vaping as something fun, interesting, pleasurable, and social (think us and this community) then what's the harm? Vaping can be a hobby that you get wrapped up in, spend your money on, spend your time on, meet new friends through just like anything else.

 

[BockinBboy]

Excellent comments, Okie - I say very relatable! When someone asks what would be the point to vaping 0mg nic, I ask them what's the point of decaf coffee?... On occasion I find myself swapping in some 0mg nic flavors for a bottle or two. I don't stick with it long, but I do try to be conscientious of how much nic I get - just as many folks who drink decaf make a conscious decision about caffeine intake. Since joining REOville, I vape 2-3mg daily, 6mg when I need a good fix, and the occasional 0mg when the desire strikes me.

- Bboy

 

[Rickajho]

Existential? I'm in!

Join a convent, contemplate your navel - you'll be fine.

I really don't see a problem here, especially if you bought extra springs and don't try to stretch one out if you collapse it. Seriously, this country has to stop clenching it's collective Puritanical .... cheeks together before we all go over a cliff. Just because you had it easier than most quitting smoking is no reason to feel guilty about enjoying vaping. It doesn't need to be joined at the hip to a 30 year smoking addiction to be valid - or good-er - for you. It can be relaxing, it can be a hobby, it can be social, it can even help some people with over eating issues. Hell it can be altruistic even if your "lack of need" of vaping leads someone with a serious quit smoking problem to find a solution.

Enjoy the bliss and relax the .... cheeks. Om.

 

[ancient puffer]

FWIW, I smoked for almost 50 years to the day (1-2 PAD). Then I quit...cold turkey...and no real withdrawal. I had tried to quit every way out there without success, but I never managed more than 2 weeks.

When my wife discovered she was allergic to cigarette smoke, and quit, the handwriting was on the wall for me as well, and so, the day came that I just put them down.

Fast forward 3 years from that day, and one of my son's friends came by and was vaping a cigalike. I didn't pay much attention, but my wife tried it and guess what? No allergy, no coughing, just 'fun' she said.

So we talked about it, and ordered 2 cigalikes (with zero nic). After about 6 months like that, we talked some more. We had both noticed that the cartos with nic in them gave us a little "kick" that we liked.

So four years later, we're both vaping REOs, me 24mg, her 20mg, and couldn't be happier. We like it, we don't care what anyone else thinks. You shouldn't either, if YOU enjoy it (0mg nic, 36mg nic or anywhere in between), then just do it and be happy. Like Nerak says, life's too short. Take what pleasure you can along the way.

 

[MamaTried]

Reo and Nothingness, An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology

-- Jean-Paul O'Neil

 

[pennysmalls]

Hey I have that book! It's a short one cause nothing does not exist, by definition. Only Reo's exist cause they are something.

 

[freeatlast!]

I say don't borrow trouble! If you're going to feel...guilty or whatever, feel it about something that really IS significant. Many of us here have gone way overboard on acquiring vape gear, flavors, etc., beyond what was needed to stop smoking. Just because we like it, like the devices, enjoy the fiddling, etc. Many of us do not even need the nic anymore. It's no biggie IMO!!

 

[Zealous]

Sorry you're feeling bad about what you're doing. There's really no reason you should.

There are many people who START smoking for the very same reasons you are vaping. They smoke to feel comfortable in social situations. When those people first started doing that they were not "addicted" to smoking either (that comes later if you continue). We call them social smokers & some of them aren't addicted to smoking so it ends up being easy to stop doing it, while others become actual full fledged smokers. My husband was sometimes a social smoker, but he was never addicted to it & most of the time never smokes. Now that I don't smoke any longer he only smokes the occasional cigar with a friend who also smokes them.

My personal feelings: it's much better to be a social vaper than a social smoker. So if that's how you want to use it then don't feel one bit bad about it. It's a much better choice.

...plus you're a grown up so no need to feel like you're doing "naughty" things.