Anyone Vape?

XJ-linux · Aug 27, 2012

I've been a cigarette smoker for 25 years. It was basically the remnants of a former life where everyone either smoked like a chimney or worked out like crazy. Since I worked out enough in that job already, smoking seemed like a nice alternative. Nothing to be proud of (or embarrassed of) but I decided I no longer wished to smoke. The thing is, it can be difficult to quit. For me it was more the habit of smoking than the chemicals - I like the act of smoking. Anyhow, a younger guy at work smokes these e-Cigs and suggested I try them as he was able to quit smoking tobacco using them. I did so and it's been a few days now without a "real" cigarette. I gotta say, they take the edge off to be sure. I'm not too irritable, I'm sleeping well and I'm not scarfing down junk food out like previous quitting attempts. I gotta say, I'm starting to get use to "vapeing" and actually prefer it to tobacco now.

Anyhow, does anyone else vape? If so, do you have any flavors or brands you prefer? Anyone quit smoking via "the e-Cig" method? Just curious and not looking to start a thread to slam smoking/smokers, debate the political aspects of tobacco or otherwise get nasty.

cwa107 · Aug 27, 2012

I was a smoker for quite a few years before I had kids. When my first was born, I quit for about a year, but picked it back up again with the mentality that "I can just have one now and then". When we had our second, I quit again and went about 2 years before picking it back up again in the same exact way.

Both times, I quit cold turkey and it was ****, but I did it by sheer force of will (and gained a lot of weight in the process both times). Now I'm both fat and smoking (although not around my kids, not in the house or car - mostly at work and occasionally outside on the deck once the kids are in bed). I really want to quit again.

A coworker was puffing away on what I thought was some kind of cigar. When I joked with her about it, I found out that she was using some kind of an electronic cigarette, although I'm not sure what brand it was. She seemed very happy with it as well. I was thinking of trying the same thing, but I don't know where to start.

What are you using specifically? Is there a recommended plan for decreasing the frequency, eventually eliminating it entirely?

harryb2448 · Aug 27, 2012

Cold turkey 21 years ago and found the nicotine gum woeful it tasted so bad so cold turkey it had to be,

XJ-linux · Aug 27, 2012

cwa107 said:
What are you using specifically? Is there a recommended plan for decreasing the frequency, eventually eliminating it entirely?

Not sure if there is a recommended plan, but what's worked for me (thus far) is this...

The short version is I invested about $60 in a "starter kit" from a mainstream brand to see if I liked it. The brand I chose was V2, though you'll find that much of the hardware is pretty similar and comes from China. I chose a standard form factor that looks like a cigarette (KR808D-1) so that it feels like a smoke and the flavor/nicotine cartridges from most vendors work with it. V2 was relatively cheap to get started and I got a 15% off referral code from the guy at work. I bought some additional batteries and more flavored nicotine cartridges of varying strength and picked a quit date. I started substituting eCigs every time I wanted to go outside for a poke. Took a week to go from 30 cigs a day to zero cigs a day. The nicotine comes in various strengths from about 24mg down to 0mg. I started with 18mg and the intent is to drop down to 12mg, then 6mg then 0mg cartridges over the next few months. For now, I'm just giving myself license to "vape" 18's as much as I want until it seems "normal" and I've substituted it for whatever need the cigarette filled. My first thought was that 18's were overkill, but reading on their forums I found that eCigs aren't as efficient at delivering nicotine as "real" smokes (nor do they contain the thousands of other chemicals you will be withdrawing from as well). I tried the 0mg "carts" already and they taste the same as the 18mg carts to me so no problem there. They don't however help with irritability, cravings and all the fun bio-chemical stuff you go through immediately after quitting. The goal is to drop down a level every couple of weeks until I'm done. Vapeing is it's own distinct subculture/hobby/scene which I'm not really interested in getting involved in. I can say that even if I never quit vapeing, I'd still be healthier than when smoking and spend about 1/4 what I would have spent on smokes.

RavingMac · Aug 27, 2012

Good luck to you and Chris. Never got that particular habit, but I know how hard it is to kick.

cwa107 · Aug 28, 2012

XJ-linux said:
Not sure if there is a recommended plan, but what's worked for me (thus far) is this...

The short version is I invested about $60 in a "starter kit" from a mainstream brand to see if I liked it. The brand I chose was V2, though you'll find that much of the hardware is pretty similar and comes from China. I chose a standard form factor that looks like a cigarette (KR808D-1) so that it feels like a smoke and the flavor/nicotine cartridges from most vendors work with it. V2 was relatively cheap to get started and I got a 15% off referral code from the guy at work. I bought some additional batteries and more flavored nicotine cartridges of varying strength and picked a quit date. I started substituting eCigs every time I wanted to go outside for a poke. Took a week to go from 30 cigs a day to zero cigs a day. The nicotine comes in various strengths from about 24mg down to 0mg. I started with 18mg and the intent is to drop down to 12mg, then 6mg then 0mg cartridges over the next few months. For now, I'm just giving myself license to "vape" 18's as much as I want until it seems "normal" and I've substituted it for whatever need the cigarette filled. My first thought was that 18's were overkill, but reading on their forums I found that eCigs aren't as efficient at delivering nicotine as "real" smokes (nor do they contain the thousands of other chemicals you will be withdrawing from as well). I tried the 0mg "carts" already and they taste the same as the 18mg carts to me so no problem there. They don't however help with irritability, cravings and all the fun bio-chemical stuff you go through immediately after quitting. The goal is to drop down a level every couple of weeks until I'm done. Vapeing is it's own distinct subculture/hobby/scene which I'm not really interested in getting involved in. I can say that even if I never quit vapeing, I'd still be healthier than when smoking and spend about 1/4 what I would have spent on smokes.

It sounds like your experience is a lot like what my coworker was doing, although I think she was using a company called "Green Smokes" or something to that effect, for supplies.

Thanks for all the detailed info. I think I'm going to switch over ASAP.

bobtomay · Aug 28, 2012

You can also purchase the liquid and refill your own carts a lot cheaper than purchasing pre-filled carts if you haven't done that yet. There are some nice flavors out there, though I preferred the tobacco flavored ones primarily. You can also purchase the material 'stuffing' for the carts.

I tried it a year or two ago for several months. I've purchased from a few companies - would have to go back and check to see which ones I liked the best. Finally gave up on it as my wife (the one that sits there on the couch with a cig in her mouth telling me I need to quit and that she can quit at anytime) basically refused to quit and the smell of a fresh lit cig all the time was just too much.

XJ-linux · Aug 28, 2012

cwa107 said:
It sounds like your experience is a lot like what my coworker was doing, although I think she was using a company called "Green Smokes" or something to that effect, for supplies.

Thanks for all the detailed info. I think I'm going to switch over ASAP.

Good luck Chris! Greensmoke is one of the big ones and has a pretty good reputation from what I have read. Their stuff seems to cost about 5-10% more than others, but from what I can tell it's good stuff. I think they have discount codes on Facebook or the like.

XJ-linux · Aug 28, 2012

bobtomay said:
...the smell of a fresh lit cig all the time was just too much.

That's brutal. I'm not sure I could stick to my guns either.

bobtomay · Aug 28, 2012

One of the better forums I joined back then with lots of reviews and a section with suppliers and unedited user reviews of their products & customer service:

E-Cigarette Forum

A U.S. maker of the juice:

Johnson Creek Original Smoke Juice - The Best E-Liquid in the World - Made Right Here in America

Maybe time to talk to the wife and see if she's ready to try quitting yet since we have our first grandkid coming in a couple months.

xdunlapx · Aug 29, 2012

I vape! I've vaped for 2.5 years. I love it! I just bought 2 ego twists to replace my old stick batteries. I love the twists! I'm so happy that I quit smoking. I no longer stink, have smokers cough, nor bad asthma. It's great! I only wish more people would switch to vaping. It would save lives I'm sure!

hugtheslug · Aug 29, 2012

We both gave up real smoking in December last year and started using e-cigs, but whereas my wife takes over a week to use 5 carts, I'm still using 3-4 a day. So much for giving up, but I've found the benefits of being cleaner all round.
I have the E-Lites cigs (which are available to the States as well as the UK), as I've found the batteries last much longer, but like bobtomay I flick the end off the carts and refill them with Liberro liquid. Currently I am down to the lowest strength of juice.
The cost has greatly reduced as well as the smell and mess.

Cheers

Hugh

XJ-linux · Sep 9, 2012

So far, so good. Vaping for 3 weeks now - 2 weeks without smoking a "real" cigarette. I can actually smell things like leaves, lakes and cut grass. I'm fortunate that my boss (and his boss' boss) don't mind my vaping at my desk so I don't have to hang out in the parking garage with people smoking real cigs. Best of all, I haven't ripped anyone's head off thus far. I will say that these things can dehydrate you so make sure you drink plenty of water if you ever use them with any frequency.

xdunlapx · Sep 9, 2012

XJ-linux said:
So far, so good. Vaping for 3 weeks now - 2 weeks without smoking a "real" cigarette. I can actually smell things like leaves, lakes and cut grass. I'm fortunate that my boss (and his boss' boss) don't mind my vaping at my desk so I don't have to hang out in the parking garage with people smoking real cigs. Best of all, I haven't ripped anyone's head off thus far. I will say that these things can dehydrate you so make sure you drink plenty of water if you ever use them with any frequency.

Congrats!! I am proud of you for quitting smoking! It took me about a little over a month to quit smoking completely. But I had to make the conscious decision to quit, otherwise it wasn't working for me. But I had trouble finding good e-cigs to use so that was my problem at first.

That's great that your bosses don't mind you vaping at your desk! I hope when I start working again that I won't have a problem in that area. I really don't want to be around cigarette smoke - it smells horrible - now that I can smell again! LOL

Now after 2.5 years of using only a pass through connected to my computer I have 2 eGo Twists and I love them! Great little batteries. I use about 2 per day, the 1000mah batteries. But I'm home all the time and always at my computer so I vape a lot.

I just started making my own eliquid from scratch. I'm cutting down from 36mg to 24mg. I will do that for a few months then go down to 18mg. Hopefully eventually I'll be vaping 0mg and then I hope to quit but I enjoy vaping so I don't know if I will ever quit - that is until the government makes it illegal OR adds a huge tax on nicotine liquid. Those might be the only reasons I'd quit vaping.

Anyway - congrats!!

XJ-linux · Sep 9, 2012

xdunlapx said:
Congrats!! I am proud of you for quitting smoking! It took me about a little over a month to quit smoking completely. But I had to make the conscious decision to quit, otherwise it wasn't working for me. But I had trouble finding good e-cigs to use so that was my problem at first.

That's great that your bosses don't mind you vaping at your desk! I hope when I start working again that I won't have a problem in that area. I really don't want to be around cigarette smoke - it smells horrible - now that I can smell again! LOL

Now after 2.5 years of using only a pass through connected to my computer I have 2 eGo Twists and I love them! Great little batteries. I use about 2 per day, the 1000mah batteries. But I'm home all the time and always at my computer so I vape a lot.

I just started making my own eliquid from scratch. I'm cutting down from 36mg to 24mg. I will do that for a few months then go down to 18mg. Hopefully eventually I'll be vaping 0mg and then I hope to quit but I enjoy vaping so I don't know if I will ever quit - that is until the government makes it illegal OR adds a huge tax on nicotine liquid. Those might be the only reasons I'd quit vaping.

Anyway - congrats!!

Much appreciated. Thank you. I'm on 18mg V2 "Red" right now. It seems to work well enough. I bought a box of 40x 18mg carts and 40x 12mg carts. I also have a few boxes of 6mg and 0mg laying around and tried one of each, which did nothing for me - no throat hit. I think I'm a bit too early on to try going straight to 6 or 0.
As far as taxes... I'm sure they will be banned or taxed at some point. I'm betting on taxed since the country and many states are short on cash. Once that happens, I'll drop them as .gov gets enough of my money as it is. Hopefully, these useful devices stay under the radar long enough for a few more folks to quit on the cheap and easy. I cringe every time is read an article or view a news clip on them lest politicians get any ideas!

xdunlapx · Sep 9, 2012

Yeah, when that happens it'll be sad. Have you joined CASAA? i think the site is casaa.org. They fight for our right to have ecigs. I joined not long ago. They send you email updates with info about the cause and any meetings they have, etc. Have you joined e-cigarette-forum.com? It's a great place to find info about legislation banning ecigs from all over the world.

cwa107 · Sep 9, 2012

XJ-linux said:
Much appreciated. Thank you. I'm on 18mg V2 "Red" right now. It seems to work well enough. I bought a box of 40x 18mg carts and 40x 12mg carts. I also have a few boxes of 6mg and 0mg laying around and tried one of each, which did nothing for me - no throat hit. I think I'm a bit too early on to try going straight to 6 or 0.
As far as taxes... I'm sure they will be banned or taxed at some point. I'm betting on taxed since the country and many states are short on cash. Once that happens, I'll drop them as .gov gets enough of my money as it is. Hopefully, these useful devices stay under the radar long enough for a few more folks to quit on the cheap and easy. I cringe every time is read an article or view a news clip on them lest politicians get any ideas!

Congrats!

I actually did pick up a "starter kit" at a local convenience store chain. The brand name is Cigarex. It came with two 16mg cartridges (which I believe are the equivalent of about 30 cigarettes... or so says the box) as well as the e-cigarette itself and a USB charger. I have taken a few hits of it, just to see what it's like - and I get a bit of the sensation and taste, but it's distinctive and not quite the same kind of experience as a real cigarette.

That's OK for me though (I think), because really, I just need some kind of a substitute for lighting up. I will typically go through a carton in about a week and a half - and am about mid-way through my current one. The plan is to get down to one pack left, try to only smoke cigarettes a couple of times a day and substitute the eCigarette throughout the day at work.

It should be easier to quit this time, more so than in the past, because I don't smoke in the car - have never smoked in the house, and with the cold weather coming, I'll be less apt to want to go on the deck. Fingers crossed.

Anyone Vape?

XJ-linux

cwa107

harryb2448

XJ-linux

RavingMac

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cwa107

bobtomay

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XJ-linux

XJ-linux

bobtomay

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xdunlapx

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XJ-linux

xdunlapx

XJ-linux

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