E-Cigarettes anyone?

[Kooshdakhaa]

I quit smoking on January 2, 2002. Cold turkey. No nicotine patches, no nicotine gum. I read a book call "The American Cancer Society's Fresh Start: 21 Days to Stop Smoking." You quit on Day One and read a chapter a day. Each chapter is filled with all kinds of helpful information and encouragement to help you quit.

I had smoked for 31 years, over a pack a day. One of the things I learned in the book is there are three hooks to smoking. The actual nicotine addiction, the habit, and the psychological addiction. The nicotine addiction is the easiest hook to beat. That's why you don't really need nicotine gum and patches and inhalers. It's the sheer habit of smoking and the psychologial addiction that are the tough ones.

Here's an example of a helpful tidbit I remember from the book. Did you know that a craving only lasts 20 seconds? Try it, next time you get a craving...look at a clock and see what happens in 20 seconds. The craving goes away. Another one might follow close on its heels, though.

Anyway, it was not easy. I was the kind of smoker who would light a cigarette in the morning while still in bed. Had an ashtray on my nightstand. That's horrifying to me now! Part of the program was to set a quit date, and I had set mine about four months out. The night before quit day I couldn't believe I would really quit. But psychologically I had been preparing for it for months, you know? That morning I woke up and I wouldn't smoke. I had to curl up in a fetal position and stay in bed a while longer, by I by God didn't smoke. And that was just over 12 years ago. Best damn thing I ever did.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Partly because herewegoagain's suggestion that Kanger was good, I got a Kanger dual coil protank 3 and let them sell me variable voltage battery. Wooo Hoo. That was good. It was also suggested at the store that I get strong flavored zero nic juice. I got menthol and tropical fruit fizz. I can use the zero nic and only my usual when I really want a smoke.

I quit cigarettes once for six years. After not seeing one single benefit after six years. I chucked it and went back to my enjoyable two plus pack a day.

Hey Katz.
Glad you're having success with the Kanger.
I've picked up a Z-atty Pro,Trident V2 and I have an eBaron Dripper Pro on the way since the last time we talked.
The Z-atty is a genesis type atomizer and works well for an "on the go" atomizer while the dripper atomizers are great when sitting around the house. The drippers produce flavor and vapor like nothing else,but as their name implies you have to add e-liquid directly to the wicking material which makes em a pain in the ass to carry around but the flavor is unmatched. Plus you can change flavors at will with the drippers. I really like grabbing three or four favorites and kicking back with an adult beverage.
The only draw back with all three of these devices is you have to learn to make coils.
And while it's not really difficult,it requires a small investment in time and money to get started.

 

[Katzndogz]

Ahhh, the mods! I can't go that far, maybe someday, but not yet. The vape store has a repairman now that will custom build and repair atomizers and drippers. Some of those suckers are HUGE, with batteries that look like a whole flashlight. He was testing one that he had built, he looked like a dragon! That sucka put out enough vapor, it was like a smoke machine. Although it dissipated almost immediately being vapor instead of smoke.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Hey Koosh.
I know exactly what your talking about when it comes to the actual act of smoking being the addiction.
I've found it's the "throat hit" you feel when you take a drag on a cig is what I really missed and the E-cig provides that.
I've cut my nicotine levels in half in less then a month and I really cant tell a difference as far as cravings go.
Think I'll take a page from Katz's book and try some zero nicotine e-juice next time around.

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

Hey Koosh.
I know exactly what your talking about when it comes to the actual act of smoking being the addiction.
I've found it's the "throat hit" you feel when you take a drag on a cig is what I really missed and the E-cig provides that.
I've cut my nicotine levels in half in less then a month and I really cant tell a difference as far as cravings go.
Think I'll take a page from Katz's book and try some zero nicotine e-juice next time around.

Yep, after I had quit I would find myself reaching for my pack of cigarettes...not even consciously, just the habit was so great my right hand would reach out, looking for the pack...the habit was so ingrained.

They didn't have E-cigs around when i quit or I probably would have tried them. Unfortunately my husband still smokes. A couple of Christmases ago, on his request, I got him some E-cigs, a couple different kinds. He tried them for a while but then went back to smoking regular cigarettes, damn it! I'm in Alaska and cigarettes are $92.09 a carton, that's over $9 a pack! And that's a good price, at some stores they are more. He goes through a carton a week.

Maybe I'll talk to him tonight about this thread and how people are having good success and ask him why he didn't stick with them.

By the way, I know what you mean about the throat hit...I remember. Also, for me, cigarettes were just always there to comfort me or give me something to do, or fill in a gap of time while waiting, etc. I couldn't imagine not smoking. But it's amazing, I don't even miss them now. There was a time I never would have believed that would be possible.

But it is possible...BELIEVE!

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

But, hey, I'd say if E-cigs can get you off tobacco cigarettes, go for it! At least you're helping your lungs. The nicotine is what's bad for the heart. But, sure, use the E-cigs to get off tobacco cigarettes right away...and then work on reducing the nicotine and then finally quitting the E-cigs altogether.

When I quit I chose to go cold turkey because the book I was reading (American Cancer Society's Fresh Start: 21 Days to Stop Smoking) said that statistics showed that people who quit cold turkey were more successful at quitting than those who tried to gradually reduce.

I should mention...before I quit for good I quit once for two months and then again for four months and started smoking again both times. But the book addressed that also...it said that most people who quit for good don't quit on the first try. So each time you quit and fail, you're just getting closer to quitting for good.

That darn book had an answer for everything! It was great!!

P.S. The book is out of print, but you can find copies online or at used bookstores, etc. The reason it's out of print is that they developed a smoking cessation program based on the principles in the book, and made it so you join a program/group instead of just reading a book. But for me it worked fine just reading the book and quitting alone without joining a group!

 

[Mudflap]

How about an update? Has everyone who stopped smoking still stopped?

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

How about an update? Has everyone who stopped smoking still stopped?

I slip on occasion. Then I kick myself in the ass and go back to the e-cigg.

 

[asterism]

How about an update? Has everyone who stopped smoking still stopped?

I haven't had anything but e-cigs in over 2 years.

 

[Mudflap]

 

[B. Kidd]

I started E-cigs today. I've beat all the hardcore drugs decades ago but have never been able to stop smoking. I've smoked for a long F'in time, tried all the other stuff (patches, wellbutrin, etc.) and constantly failed for the last 11 years. I'm age 61 and gotta stop. My primary care pysician told me he had other patients tell him they quit with E-cigs. A specialist who ran a test on me told me that I gotta quit 2 weeks ago. So, here I go..........

 

[skye]

I started E-cigs today. I've beat all the hardcore drugs decades ago but have never been able to stop smoking. I've smoked for a long F'in time, tried all the other stuff (patches, wellbutrin, etc.) and constantly failed for the last 11 years. I'm age 61 and gotta stop. My primary care pysician told me he had other patients tell him they quit with E-cigs. A specialist who ran a test on me told me that I gotta quit 2 weeks ago. So, here I go..........

I wish you all the luck in the world!!!

E-cigs worked for me! I DO NOT use nicotine, I only use the juice with NO nicotine!

Again I wish you all the best!

 

[Nutz]

I started E-cigs today. I've beat all the hardcore drugs decades ago but have never been able to stop smoking. I've smoked for a long F'in time, tried all the other stuff (patches, wellbutrin, etc.) and constantly failed for the last 11 years. I'm age 61 and gotta stop. My primary care pysician told me he had other patients tell him they quit with E-cigs. A specialist who ran a test on me told me that I gotta quit 2 weeks ago. So, here I go..........

I wish you all the luck in the world!!!

E-cigs worked for me! I DO NOT use nicotine, I only use the juice with NO nicotine!

Again I wish you all the best!

SKYE!

 

[Nutz]

skye...you know...it is 4.20. I can hop on my private jet and we can burn one together. All I need is the nod! Best thing...no nicotine! (I won't comment on the juice though).

 

[MikeK]

Yep, after I had quit I would find myself reaching for my pack of cigarettes...not even consciously, just the habit was so great my right hand would reach out, looking for the pack...the habit was so ingrained.

While the biochemical effect of nicotine on the brain is the main component of the cigarette addiction it is by no means the only captivating element of the smoking habit.

As mentioned earlier, I smoked cigarettes from 1950 (age 15) to 1985 -- thirty five years. The motivation to quit was the sight of two laboratory jars containing bisected lungs of a long-term smoker compared with those of a man of the same age who didn't smoke. The sight of the hardened brownish-green ugliness of the inside of the smoker's lungs was a stunning conclusion to an incredibly effective 15 minute anti-smoking seminar conducted at Columbia University Medical School in May, 1985, which I am sure would compel at least one of every two who attended to quit smoking.

I was given a prescription (required back then) for Nicorette gum on the way out of the seminar hall. I picked up the Nicorette gum at Walgreen's on the way home and never smoked another cigarette.

On the advice of the lecturer I also picked up two bags of Tootsie Roll lollipops which helped tremendously in satisfying the need for hand and mouth activity, which is an extremely compelling component of the cigarette habit -- as is reaching for (and feeling) the cigarette pack, as in your example.

One component of the habit I could not replicate was the sight and feeling of the tobacco smoke as I expelled it from my lungs and through my mouth. But being conscious of and understanding the compulsive nature of each of the habitual components does make it much easier to control the urge by assigning and performing substitute actions.

Also, avoiding any activity which is strongly associated with smoking is very important, such as morning coffee, after meals, after sex, etc. One of the strongest triggers is watching a smoker light up and take the first drag on a cigarette. This must be diligently avoided.

Using Nicorette gum for about three months, the first two weeks of my withdrawal were the hardest. After that, quitting became gradually easier. After the first year the constant nature of the urge was dissipated but occasionally a strong impulse would occur and would last about five or ten minutes. This occasional surge continued at a decreasing rate for about ten or twelve years but became increasingly easier to resist and ignore.

I can say for about the past twenty years I have been completely free of the smoking habit and the smell of cigarette smoke is very offensive to me (but marijuana smoke is rather pleasant). My doctor says my lungs are perfectly clear and healthy. So quitting, even after a thirty-five year addiction, is worth the strenuous effort.

 

[MikeK]

I started E-cigs today. I've beat all the hardcore drugs decades ago but have never been able to stop smoking. I've smoked for a long F'in time, tried all the other stuff (patches, wellbutrin, etc.) and constantly failed for the last 11 years. I'm age 61 and gotta stop. My primary care pysician told me he had other patients tell him they quit with E-cigs. A specialist who ran a test on me told me that I gotta quit 2 weeks ago. So, here I go..........

In addition to the substitute nicotine source you need diversion from each of the other components of the smoking habit -- such as the associated hand and mouth activity. As funny as it might seem, try sucking on Tootsie Roll lollipops whenever the urge to light up occurs. And keep a pack of them in a pocket. Also, I would recommend Nicorette gum and patches to you.

Above all, avoid watching a smoker light up. Turn away from that. Leave! And remain strongly conscious of the need to resist the urge after meals, with morning coffee, etc. You must concentrate on the need to resist.

Understand that cigarettes are poisoning your body!

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Gonna be amusing when all the people who avoided smoking or quit get cancer anyway.

So many carcinogens in US society that eliminating one is no guarantee or avoiding cancer and premature death.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

CDC estimates over 40% of Americans will die from some kind of cancer. Only a few percent of Americans today use tobacco.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Important to remember too that the Nazis started the whole anti-smoking movement.

Anti-tobacco movement in Nazi Germany - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Yes, there's a link between tobacco use and cancer. But then there's an even bigger link between the chemicals used to make flame retardant clothes, furniture, and bedding too. To say nothing of all the petroleum based goops we use as shampoos, body washes, etc. Add all the risk factors up and the result is cancer. Determining which one was the straw that broke the camel's back is impossible. So blaming smoking for cancer is both scientifically invalid and unfair. People still going to get cancer because they're still getting exposed to carcinogens en masse'.

 

[B. Kidd]

Important to remember too that the Nazis started the whole anti-smoking movement.

Anti-tobacco movement in Nazi Germany - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Yes, there's a link between tobacco use and cancer. But then there's an even bigger link between the chemicals used to make flame retardant clothes, furniture, and bedding too. To say nothing of all the petroleum based goops we use as shampoos, body washes, etc. Add all the risk factors up and the result is cancer. Determining which one was the straw that broke the camel's back is impossible. So blaming smoking for cancer is both scientifically invalid and unfair. People still going to get cancer because they're still getting exposed to carcinogens en masse'.

Listen up Mr. F'in Know-it-all. I've been smoking for over 40 F'in years, one pack a day, no history of cancer in both sides of my family. I had a colonoscopy 2 weeks ago, got the results, they took one larger polyp out for a biopsy; it came back neg for cancer but it was a 'serrated polyp' which as explained to me by my specialist, is non-cancerous, but a mid-stage polyp on the course towards cancer, and most likely caused by my cumulative smoking affecting my cells.
So shove all your clothes, furniture, bedding up yer' ass sideways as you're no specialist.

If just one longer term smoker like me can benefit from this info, then, thatz good enuff for me. I should have had a colonoscopy in my early fifties according to the experts, but waited a decade longer (didn't want no one up my ass!), so, I consider myself lucky.