What made you decide to take the plunge and give up smoking?

[stealthmayhem]

I have read thousands of threads about how people quit smoking, and started vaping. What I want to know is.... Why. Health concerns, smell, burnt hols in clothing, etc. are all just general statements. I want to know what was going on when you decided to pick up vaping and put down the stinkies. Specifics, everyone.

For me it was a stupid commercial(guilt trip anyone), about Terri getting ready in the morning (CDC: Tips from Former Smokers - Terrie's Ad - YouTube). For some some reason, it just hit home. I saw that commercial and said to myself. "That's it, I'm done" I could see myself in that situation, and it scared the crap out of me.

So, what was it that made you decide to quit.....specifics, please?

 

[Ken_A]

for me it was shortness of breath, wheezing waking me up at night and I was getting tired of the ashy taste. I smoked a pipe for 30 years and spent the last 5 of those waiting for an e-pipe that was inexpensive enough for me to try it out. given that due to trying to get other people to try vaping I now use tube PVs, I could have started vaping 5.5 years ago! But smokers are stubborn people and I wanted something that I was comfortable with.

 

[Johnny Vonce]

It was pretty simple for me. My girlfriend hated it and I just got to tired of listening to her complain about it. One day a friend from work had one and the rest was history.

 

[scalewiz]

I knew smoking would kill me. I did it for 39 years. Problem was it was taking too long. Made me miserable in the meantime by not breathing well, coughing and choking, stinking............ Couldn't quit though. I started just to keep from feeling so bad while I did it. Now that I'm vaping, feeling better takes on a whole new meaning.

 

[cocacola31173]

For me it was by accident! My non smoking hubby was constantly complaining so I decided to vape at home and n the car and smoke at work. It got to where I was vaping more and more at work cause I prefered it and then I finally just quit buying cigarettes. Hadn't had one since October.

 

[vernhall]

I have read thousands of threads about how people quit smoking, and started vaping. What I want to know is.... Why. Health concerns, smell, burnt hols in clothing, etc. are all just general statements. I want to know what was going on when you decided to pick up vaping and put down the stinkies. Specifics, everyone....So, what was it that made you decide to quit.....specifics, please?

Pretty much all of the above... But, shortly after my wife and I had come to the decision it was time (mainly for health personal reasons) to stop we found out our first grand-baby was on its way..and..that news really cinched the decision... Didn't want Grandma and Grandpa to be stinky Grandma and Grandpa and, especially, did not want to have him exposed to all the smoke and stuff if we kept it up...

 

[JoJoVa]

For me, it was a combo of a lot of things...mainly I became annoyed with the feeling that so many aspects of my life were controlled by smoking. I would go to such lengths to hide the fact that I smoked: carrying sprays to cover the smell, when I was on a business trip I would get up extra early to scout out a smoking area outside the hotel to do my morning coffee and cigs routine, defumigating and de-ashing my car...the list goes on! I hadn't felt the health effects of smoking, but then again I never attempted to pick up running as a hobby.

The new year is always a good excuse to make changes and the decision to "check out was ecigs are all about" was probably the best change I have made in years. Positive effects on my health, living and wallet- as seen in my sig below!

 

[LadyG]

I started with the ecigs because of the cigarette bans in restaurants and pretty much everywhere else here in Illinois. I thought I would just use them to tide me over when out and about. But then I started enjoying the flavors and the added health benefits. It took me over two years to make the switch completely. I guess it happened by accident!

 

[boomhower1820]

For me it was lung/cardiovascular function. I had gotten to the point I couldn't hardly run and had no endurance. For my line if work that's a big safety issue and will get me killed quicker than the long term effects of smoking. That plus my daughter begging me to quite.


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[kuritaro9]

what got me into it was a guy i know at work, brought his in and was taking some rips off of it. after the initial "crack/methpipe" jokes, i found myself standing in the middle of a frozen flightline trying to light a smoke up in 60knot winds. all the while, suffering from severe bronchitis, and coming off the tail end of the flu...i asked myself why i was being such a dumbass, and continuing to do something, that was preventing me from getting over my current ailments. i borrowed an extra device that same guy had, and he passed off some buisiness cards he had from his last order. that ended my 25 year, pack a day reds habit instantly, but started me down a road to a RY4 habit.
didnt end up buying from that vender, i ended up going with apollo(slightly cheaper at the time) and got a ego kit with some ry4. now i am the .... of the crackpipe jokes, but then again, im not outside trying to light up when its raining sideways either. if i need a rip, i take one and noone knows any different. got me a little 400 mAh batt & carto setup with flavourless 24mg in there.
but, if i wanted to vape some of the regular stuff, my coworkers all dont seem to mind if do indoors either. they are all pretty stoked that i actually am fully off analogs now, and see my enthusiasm with trying different juices. they also act as an outside smell tester for me at times, since i dont know how much damage i have done to my senses smoking for all of those years.

 

[sbc83]

Smell and cost did it for me.

I didn't smoke enough to make me wheezy or cough up junk, so that wasn't a big player in my decision. But for my long term health, yes.

 

[retired soldier]

I smoked for 66 years, and wanted to quit for most of that time, I tried to quit many times, but just couldn't make it stick. Three weeks ago I was having a coughing fit, wheezing, and my chest was gurgling and knew I had to do something. I had been vaping for several months trying to cut down, but couldn't make the transition not smoking as I could not inhale vapor comfortably. I made the decision to quit smoking and vape exclusively that day, and found that after quitting, I could inhale the vapor comfortably. Now I vape heavily but have no desire to smoke, so I am confident that I am off cigarettes for good. I live at 6600 ft elevation, and I can't believe how much easier it is to breathe now. I am thankful for the information and advice on this site, It has helped me immensely.

 

[metrabolic]

I had wanted to quit for a long time. Hated the smell, the constant congestion, and coughing. I hated that every time i got a cold it would turn into bronchitis. I had tried a cheap e-cig years ago and didn't like it. So I sent to a shop that sold different kinds of e-cigs and the lady told me that she had used a rechargeable cig-alike and was pretty happy with it and actually talked me out of the ego style. (not sure why) I really liked the cig-alike and my husband went back to the shop and bought the ego. We haven't smoked since and actually didn't really think we would quit, just thought we would use it as a substitute every once in a while. I'm so glad I made the switch and enjoy reading others success stories about quitting.

 

[sbc83]

Smell and cost did it for me.

I didn't smoke enough (7-10 pd, 29yo) to make me wheezy or cough up junk, so that wasn't a big player in my decision. But for my long term health, yes.

I almost forgot....

Dental health too! Looking forward to going in for my 6 month checkup (Ok, 9 month checkup) next month. Give my gums some time to get back to normal. Over the last 6 months i've had a decent amount of work done so there shouldn't be any huge surprises.

 

[Kenny Young]

I smoked a PAD for the last 25 years, and have wanted to quit for ages.

The thing that bothered me the most (besides the possible health consequences) was how much a slave to my habit I was. I couldn't go the length of a movie without having to pause it (a great pain in the a** to my partner) twice to go outside to smoke. I couldn't just sit at the end of a meal and relax, I was the first one done eating so I could get outside and smoke a cigarette. In the morning, I HAD to have a cigarette with my coffee, rain or shine (or in my case, 100 degree heat at 8 am here in Arizona).

I smoked in my car, was ALWAYS out on the patio if we ever went to bars, the late night trips to the gas station to buy cigarettes because I had ran out and NEEDED one first thing in the morning. The anxiety I felt if I knew I had to go any length of time without being able to smoke (airplane, anybody?).

Another thing that bothered me is the reaction of most of the public to smokers. Dirty looks and comments within earshot about how much my smoke (OUTSIDE!?!) was bothering them. My partner has never smoked, bless his heart for putting up with my smoking for a year. Now, after 8 days quit, I can smell a smoker and let me tell ya (shame), it's not pretty.

I smelled like that. I wasted all that time on a habit that was killing me. I paid all that money to an industry that puts their bottom line over public health and safety. I paid all that tax to a government that is clearly run by the same group of money hungry .......s that Big Tobacco and Big Pharma and Big Oil are run by.

I'm so glad I quit, and thanks to vaping, I am confident that I'll never go back.

 

[beazy]

I didn't want to quit smoking. Vaping is the only thing that made me stop smoking yet is still as enjoyable.

 

[mcandlish]

Cost and the smell for me, and my 8 yr old bugging me to stop

 

[stealthmayhem]

I didn't want to quit smoking. Vaping is the only thing that made me stop smoking yet is still as enjoyable.

that was part of my problem, too. I knew that smoking was bad for me, but it just felt so good. I loved smoking, when you take that first hit and.............ahhhh! The nicotine hits you, you can relax, the world seems brighter, more calm.

That is the reason I put up with all the smells, the dirty looks, the drain on my wallet.

 

[The Sun King]

One word. Emphysema. I had a friend who's grandfather died of it. He was a chain smoker. It would be scary as hell. Always being short of breath, not being able to climb a set of stairs, feeling like you are suffocating, living with an iron lung. My younger brothers fiancee is a nurse and says you can see the fear in the eyes of a patient who has emphysema. That was enough to make me want to quit.

 

[LuckyCat]

For me, it was a combination of things. Some of the motivating factors were purely superficial and some more meaningful. I had been smoking for 20 years. Heavily for 15. Most people are shocked to learn I'm not in my 20's, much less that I'm 35. I invested/cared for myself in just about every way except smoking. I have avoided the sun most of my life, buy organic foods, exercised sometimes as often as twice a day, and went for annual botox/Juvederm injections to address the tell tale signs of aging creeping up on me. But....none of it made any sense at all if I was slowly killing myself. It seems to ridiculous to me now, in fact, to have spent so much money reversing the aging process while smoking a pack a day. My boyfriend and son HATED my smoking habit and worried for my health, but I was actually afraid of quitting. I felt as if I was too far gone and it was literally out of my control at that point. The fear of cancerous cells growing in my body actually began to keep me awake at night. For several months leading up to ordering my first ecig kit, I would suffer from insomnia just wondering how much damage the last pack of cigarettes had done to my lungs. I would just toss and turn in bed until 4:00am, worrying about my son. Would he become a smoker? How would his life suffer if I was too sick or dying from cancer to be available for him? How could I keep smoking, knowing that I would be shortening my time with him? My thinking was definitely becoming obsessive and I felt completely consumed with dread and guilt.

As a last ditch effort, I decided to order a 510 kit, with no prior experience with disposable models. I had done my research and just knew they wouldn't cut it. My expectations were low, but felt as if I had to show my loved ones I was willing to make some sort of effort to help myself. Honestly, I fully intended to supplement my new found vaping with analogs when there was no one around to complain. Long story short....from the first puff off an ecig I knew I could quit. I knew it would be enough. After 24 hours of steady vaping, I tried an analog just for comparison, felt nauseated, stamped it out and haven't touched one since more than two years later.

So. My reasons were about 20/80 vanity and absurd contradictions/anxiety and guilt regarding parenting.