What made the transition off analogues easier for you?

[Kelemvor]

hey Anonomo, did you get sideeffects from the cyban ? i got the "hives" (Nesselsucht)
after 3 weeks and had to stop, i wanted to scratch me like R.Williams in RockDJ.

it was really nasty and lasts for 3 weeks after i stopped using cyban.

i never will try that again.

 

[manc]

I find that I crave an analog most first thing in the morning, and after meals... Somehow, vapor doesn't seem like an adequate substitute at those times... But I'm happy to vape the rest of the day... Perhaps I should use 36mg for those times when I crave an analog the most. Right now, I'm alternating between 18mg and 24mg.

When I do smoke, I'm starting to find the experience somewhat revolting... Not only the taste, but the way it makes me feel... Like I can literally feel the effects of all the poison in the smoke... It's like a dirty buzz... if that makes any sense.

I have my strongest cravings after meals too. Something about a full stomach makes me want to grab an analogue. I think once I start disliking the experience of smoking analogues, quitting will be that much easier.

now the kissbox is not alone anymore, i got a few friends for her.

lol, I'm thinking my 401 needs some friends to keep her company as well.

 

[JohnR]

Interest/desire - Ya gotta wanna, or need to, or have some strong personal motivation. I'd been looking to cut back and/or quit but couldn't/wouldn't do it. I smoked generic ultra lights for many years and in the last year or so had started poking small holes in the cigs, next to the filter, to waft out some of the strength, doing that kind of stuff. e-cig's provided an acceptable middle ground. On a very granular level the similiarities were strong enough to run with. The differences I looked at as clearly as I could to determine - is this working and if it is/isn't, what's going on? I'm still doing that, but I think I past Hump Day of the transition this week.

Weighing the Tradeoffs - I had smoke, smell, ashes, garbage, mess, hassles up the ying yang smoking cigarettes. The process is a train wreck for anyone but the most casual smoker and even then you're at risk of accidentally setting yourself on fire. Oh, and it will be an expensive fire, as costs are constantly going up - smokers have become the Well Of First Choice for government to dip into -after all, if you're going to kill yourself smoking you might as well fund a school somewhere doing it.

Plus, you're hated by nearly everyone and reviled by Health Services who prefer to help people that don't smoke as anyone who can read a label knows it's bad for you. Make room in line for those who aren't actively sticking rusty nails into their hearts.

Where's the "win" in that? It's expensive, I don't like it, no one else does and if I die from it the Obit will probably read "We Told Him But He Wouldn't Listen...We Loved Him Anyway!".

So I weigh the tradeoff - now I've got chargers, batteries, atomizers and stuff yeah - but its' interesting stuff, with little lights and instructions in weird Chinese/English. I feel very global and even slightly European doing the e-cig's.

And it's Cheaper Stuff, that isn't delivering clouds of brown smoke into my lungs and the world around me. I can Vape on the run, quickie and put it in my pocket. No Toxic Mushroom Clouds. Now I've got sweet little whiffs of air that's ... gone almost as soon as I produce it. It may not be a win-win but at least it's a win. I got one win, at least. Score = "1!" to "-1000"

Tangible Stuff That Helped - I use the RN 4081, and like it. I can get a hit from my li'l Nic' Bic and I'm good to go. And this board. It's a veritable Reading Room of Hope.

This is the stuff that's helped me and I'm still running it all down as I go. Good luck in abundance and best wishes for a successful tomorrow and a prosperous today!

 

[pspin69]

I purchased my 510 smoked it alone for 1 week and then tried an analog. The taste of the analog was so foul that I purchased some juice and have not had an analog since.

 

[Leita]

I'm another accidental quitter.. after smoking 30+ years I'm now at 21 days with nary an analog as of today. I started out a year ago with a pen style but after a few half-hearted tries it wound up stuck on a shelf in the office.

In early May I saw someone asking about another brand (a super mini) and ordered it. It is not what I'm using now but the size and throat made me wonder.. so I put my analogs on top of the fridge while on the computer and I found I didn't need to dash to the kitchen much at all. After a few days I started to prefer the taste of the e-cig.

Most important, I didn't feel deprived. It didn't feel like quitting. As someone in an earlier post noted, it felt more like changing brands. Going from 30+ years of two packs a day, I didn't consider quitting. It just happened.

I just wanted something I could legally puff in a hotel room when traveling. I wound up not buying any more analogs which really surprised me. If someone set my favorite analog next to my e-cig today I'd pick up the e-cig without thought. I like it better now.

I guess it's mostly a matter of finding a model that fits, whether it's an atomic super dooper vapor machine or a teeny tiny mini. Whatever works for each person.

 

[JoAnna1010]

I don't seem to have any physical cravings.....but there are times like after dinner or when I'm on the phone with a certain person for a "gab session" ..... when all of a sudden, I want a cigarette.

I'm having a little trouble getting past the habit issue and sometimes feeling like I can now "reward myself" with a regular cig.
But.. like you all say, I can't stand the smell and the way I smell for quite a while after I have one. It's disgusting.

I think it's getting easier every day now that I've found a PV and perfected a style that gives me the "physical feedback" I got with analogs.

 

[aspen]

I intentionally searched out for an ecig. I wanted to quit before I die, been smoking 45 years. It was f***ing hard wanted to tear out my hair the first couple of days but just sucked on the ecig until my face resembled a raisin. First week snuck in a couple of the real deals and then realized hey man I can do this. ( i was stunned at the affects of an ecig) So for the next two months fought the battle and yes ,I WON. I don't ever have the urge for a analog in fact more like a disgust. I used 36mg and still do. It was not an easy process for me and it was expensive but worth every dime. I still can't believe it and rejoice about it on a daily basis.

 

[mikea]

I intentionally searched out for an ecig. I wanted to quit before I die, been smoking 45 years. It was f***ing hard wanted to tear out my hair the first couple of days but just sucked on the ecig until my face resembled a raisin. First week snuck in a couple of the real deals and then realized hey man I can do this. ( i was stunned at the affects of an ecig) So for the next two months fought the battle and yes ,I WON. I don't ever have the urge for a analog in fact more like a disgust. I used 36mg and still do. It was not an easy process for me and it was expensive but worth every dime. I still can't believe it and rejoice about it on a daily basis.

I'd love to be quit of the craving for an occasional cigarette. I don't get it. The e-cigs deliver the nicotine the body is insisting upon. So what's with wanting an actual cigarette? I do notice a distinct difference in how vaping feels compared with smoking, but surely it can't be that...or can it? Maybe I need to increase the nic level of the liquid I use. Some just arrived today that's a higher strength than what I've been using...but I have to watch it. I've been noticing some possible symptoms of having too much nicotine and I gotta watch out there...

 

[happily]

I also think if you feel the need to have some analog's nearby, just go ahead and by some disgusting 3rd rate **** smokes.(get the true taste of analogs) It's a whole different ball game when it's not your old trusty favorites.

 

[Al Bundy]

E-Cigs won't prevent all the withdrawal symptoms, I'm sure that the chemicals in analogs either act to buffer the addiction or are addictive themselves, perhaps in some confounding manner.

You know what the trick was for me? Knowing I was no longer paying taxes to the gov't. Society wants to demonize smokers and levy punitive sin taxes on cigarettes, then I refuse to pay them. Go tax something they'll have to pay.

BTW, I don't think the addiction is the hardest part to give up, figuring out what the hell to do with all the time you spend waiting around is.

 

[Mary Kay]

I limited my self to 2 analogs a day after I got my first e-cig, that wasn't working until I got my 901 a week later. 4 days later forgot to go outside for my analogs! Two and 1/2 months later I don't crave the old flavor, just the feeling of real smoke. I'll soon get over that!

 

[Niniane]

I have stepped down to using 12mg juice, but noticed I didn't quite get that satisfied feeling after meals that I used to get from smoking. I ended up trying a few drops of 24mg after meals only, and that took care of the problem for me. On the flip side of that, I was pleasantly surprised to discover I could be satisfied using a few drops of 0mg at other times when I just craved the hand-to-mouth and inhale/exhale action, but wasn't actually craving nicotine just yet. When I smoked, my only options were 1) to smoke additional cigarettes I didn't really enjoy in order to up nicotine intake or to feed my need for the activity (this one seriously used to lead to making myself sick when my insomnia flared up or when I had extra anxiety and used the act of smoking to calm it - ick) or 2) not smoke a cigarette for a while, which just plain never went well. I like this system much much better.

 

[Kent C]

What made the transition off analogues easier for you?


I wasn't trying, but the 510 and RY4 did it.

Having the ecig nearer to you than the analogs helps. I inadvertantly smoked a few of my analogs by just having them in my pocket, grabbing and finishing them. They're on the counter now - still as many there from last Saturday night.

 

[mikea]

You know what the trick was for me? Knowing I was no longer paying taxes to the gov't. Society wants to demonize smokers and levy punitive sin taxes on cigarettes, then I refuse to pay them. Go tax something they'll have to pay.

Hear you loud and clear on that one. But if this technology is not simply destroyed by the FDA, believe me: it's got nicotine in it. They'll figure out a way to tax it.

BTW, I don't think the addiction is the hardest part to give up, figuring out what the hell to do with all the time you spend waiting around is.

There are a bunch of "triggers" having to do with when people want cigarettes -- idle time appears to be one of them. And you know how the saying goes: "Idle hands...reach for a smoke."

 

[kathyst]

For the first 3 months I used both e cig and analog..than I found this site and got encouraged by others..once I found a juice I liked (555 and coffee) it was super easy! Now its just fun trying all the new flavors!

I have to say that I also am so inspired and encouraged by everyone here who has quit analogs. It defintely makes this a much more doable thing, quitting analogs. I love reading everyone's stories, and seeing how long they've been off tobacco.

I totally love vaping my e-cig, but still smoke some analogs every day, though about half of what I was smoking. But I am positive I will get there. As I've said, I had a carton to finish (which actually takes me a long time, at 10 or fewer analogs a day). Once I have to make a conscious decision to buy a pack of analogs, that will be different.

kathy

 

[kathyst]

I seriously believe a step up in nicotine will do you wonders, even if its just some puffs of the strong stuff on occasion. The feeling I got when I stepped up to 36mg from 18mg was the equilavant of satisfying my hunger by stuffing myself. After a couple of days I went down to 24mg. Now I just hit 36mg at various times.

When you get enough that you have to put the vaporizer down I promise you won't be looking for an analog. The trick is low stuff for when you really want to vape like crazy and high stuff for when you can't satisfy the cravings. I also placed my vaporizer outside for a few days so instead of walking out and picking up a smoke. I could grab it and make it my smoke break. Although I vape constantly, I get cigarette type enjoyment when I have to make an effort to take a vape break.

good luck

also if you haven't done a straw mod on your carts I highly recommend you try it. It's been blowing my mind with nic the last 3 days since I tried it.

You know, now that you mention this -- and others have also -- about higher nicotine... Since I'm kind of a light smoker, and more addicted to the hand-to-mouth/ritual thing than the nicotine (or so I think), I've only bought low mg nicotine so far. Maybe I should try a higher strength.

Thanks for this , Happily-- an interesting aspect I hadn't considered might pertain to my situation with phasing off analogs.

kathy

 

[kathyst]

I'm an accidental quitter, and I feel great!! I just started because of my children, I promissed them that I would quit by the tim ethey were back from vacations, but really did not know how, until I ran into the Smoking Everywhere stand, it certainly is not the best e-cig, but it made me start, now I have a 501 and I love it, I've started trying out new flavors.

My last analog was on June 15th, 2009 I really think that is possible now, after 21 years of smoking

Big congratulations to you, miragorri. Children are certainly an instigation to quit. I don't have anyone here to actively bug me, except myself

My best friend, though she doesn't live in same city, just sent me a Smoking Everywhere kit. Just got it today I had been with her when we both saw a mall kiosk for the first time. We didn't stop, but we talked about it. (She quit years ago when she had uterine cancer.) But seeing that kiosk is what led me to google e-cigs the next day, which led me here, and to my 510 and vaping pleasure!

She didn't yet know I had gotten into e-cigs and surprised me by getting me this. I wouldn't have chosen to get this brand, but I'll be interested to try it (charging the battery right now). I don't want an e-cig that looks like an analog, for one thing. And this has supposedly disposable cartridges, and they're all some "tobacco" flavor, high strength. I vape menthol (and coffee and chocolate) at low strength.

Well, I peered into the cartridge with magnifying glass and realized I could pull the filling out and replace it with my own, either poly-fill or the teabag paper I've been using. So that's what I did. So they're not "disposable." Ha! The poly-fill material is kind of stuck in there with tiny bits of double-sided tape or something along the length on the sides, but it's easy to pull out.

So anyway, good for you, and happy vaping.

kathy

 

[kathyst]

I think I'm an "accidental quitter" as well. What did it for me was a new PV. I got my first PV and was still smoking analogs and vaping, but that PV just wasn't enough for me to give up the analogs.

Then I got a different PV that really just satisfied everything I needed from an analog right from the start so I said to myself "Just don't buy any more cigarettes and see how long you can go." I figured I might last a half a day, a whole day at the most, before I would be tearing outta here to get a pack. I told myself I would take it hour by hour, and if it got that bad, I would go buy a pack of cigarettes, but it never got THAT BAD.

So after 35 years of smoking two packs per day, I can now say I'm a non-smoker. It is 3 weeks today since I've smoked an analog. I never ever thought I'd live to see the day!

Lots of times I think I still want one or that I miss them, but I just ignore those thoughts.

I did have to make a conscious decision that I was really going to try and I acknowledged that it wasn't going to be easy. If it were easy, everybody would do it, right?

The easiest thing and least painful thing would be to just keep smoking cigarettes. There is no easy painless happy way to quit smoking. We're addicts. It's not pretty.

So, by taking it literally an hour at a time, I can't say it was a piece of cake, but I will say it wasn't 1/10th as bad as I thought it would be once I had the right equipment and juice that I liked. Now I worry about how I'll ever quit vaping. It's always somethin'.

I just love your story, Speedi. Very happy for you, that you keep making the conscious decision. An hour at a time!

Yes, it's true, that it may not be easy and painless...but vaping e-cigs is sure the most easy and painless way that's ever come along! I absolutely do feel I can do it this time! I am amazed...and will be even more amazed when I can say, I haven't had an analog for _____ days.

kathy

 

[kathyst]

The short answer is: going from an underpowered PV to one with much better battery life, and that can work with a passthrough.

My story seems very much like several others in this thread. I was angry about the tax increase and vowed: that's it. I'm going to stop buying the things and start making them. At least I'll save some money.

I got a cigarette 'injector' machine and some tubes and bulk tobacco. I wasn't saving what I'd hoped for, but still it was cheaper, and no more middle of the night oh, no -- what store is open nearby? panics. Then someone turned me on to a kind of anti-tar filter where I could see how much tar was being trapped inside the filter with each cigarette. And I think that was when it hit me: how dumb is this, anyway, and how long have I been dumb enough to put that much horrible looking stuff into my lungs? WAY too long.

At about that time -- I can't even remember how now -- I discovered the whole PV 'thing'. I was immediately smitten with the idea. There are a lot of really badly designed vendor web sites; I 'imprinted' on the first one I saw that wasn't badly designed...and bought the wrong thing -- a 'micro' type of e-cig that has a tiny cartridge and whose battery runs out right quick. Tickd me off how much more I spent on it than I should have. Wish I'd known about this forum then. BUT...

... on the first day I used the thing I smoked half what I usually smoke. Later I ordered better PVs and although I haven't kicked King Tobacco yet, today I smoked only four (out of a usual 25 or so). I'm stunned by this. I can't believe it could be this effective. To cut down that much was unthinkable only a couple of weeks ago.

Now to deal with what is it that's causing the occasional craving for an actual cigarette. I'm probably getting "enough" nicotine. So I'm not sure what it is that keeps me wanting to smoke a few times a day. I'm sure I'll get past it. Then King Tobacco is a thing of the past (unless Obama's FDA decides to destroy the e-cig industry. Then I'm damned if I know what I'll do...)

Love your story, too, Mikea!! I am glad to be in the company of all of you, going through this together. Our non-smoking people do not understand that you could be stunned by smoking only four cigs in a day. But I understand! Glad for you!

And then we'll figure out the last little piece of the puzzle that makes us want to inhale burning tobacco (it's probably something primal)...

kathy

 

[kathyst]

Oh YES! that is VERY true..I had to go outside in the beginning and use my ECIG outside b/c of the routine part..and it helped a lot..I forgot about that.

I finally understand what you mean by this, you who have mentioned it. Go outside like you are used to going outside, to get your fix in the accustomed way. Good idea.

kathy