since my last cigarette. I haven't been posting in recent months, I have been keeping up on the treadmill of life.
Thanks to ECF for being here, to the mods for keeping it sane, CASAA for working so that we can have a future, and all of you for helping each other and yourselves!
Like most of you, I spent too large a percentage of my life killing myself slowly, and eventually spending a lot of money to do so. In my particular case, I still loved smoking, but grew disgruntled over the health realities, BT, and the taxation of cigs. I have quit many times, in many ways, but never for more than a few months. During those few months, I was never pleasant to be around.
It's easy to make excuses to keep smoking, I made them all.
I am *not* an expert, and nobody asked me, but since I am waxing eloquent I will make suggestions about how it worked for me. YMMV
1. To quit smoking, you really only need two things. A device that works for you (charging, form factor, blahblah) and juice that you like.
2. Don't feel obligated to stop smoking immediately. I was an accidental quitter. Initially I wanted to smoke some and vape some. I could save some money, and not have to stand outside in the rain. It's OK to smoke while you are learning what works for you. You can do that for the rest of your life, if you want to.
2b. Keep an idea of where you are on supplies. You need backups of everything (home, work, car). After I decided to actually quit smoking, two weeks in I had two battery deaths in two days. I only had two batteries. After 12 hours of crazy, I had to smoke.
3. Learn your device well, before you start collecting more and more! It can be convenient to wind up with a couple of different styles that work for different life situations. If you buy one every week, you will spend a lot of money and could still be deep down unhappy that "it's not working like I thought it would". Many of us as smokers can be a wee bit OCD anyway. Don't let collecting get in the way of Not Smoking (tm)
4. Don't buy a gallon of the first juice that you like. It will take a month or more before your damaged sense of taste/smell start regenerating. What you loved initially you may hate in a month. Buy lots of small samplers, to discover what you like.
5. Yes, you will save money, lots of it. See #3 and #4 above.
6. At the end of the day, all PVs are just batteries. How long they last, charging, the form factor, the ability to adjust them during use are all just variations on a theme. Some of the cig-a-likes have a lifetime of 30 charge cycles. Some larger ones can be charged 500 times. Find the balance that works for you. What *does* matter, is the actual vaping end of it. Explore attys, cartos, tanks, RBA. Try them all, this is what determines the taste and vapor production.
7. Support your local vape shop. I know you can get this stuff from China for cheap. Your local B&M is spending a lot of money for rent and employees, and the ability to sample juice is not possible on AliBaba. They are also providing a valuable service in being a first exposure to vaping for many. Go in and hang out. If nothing else, buy some drip tips, juice, attys or doo-dads. Check out the new PVs.
8. With few exceptions, the kiosk at the mall is not a good deal, nor a good idea. Free trials online or from radio ads are always a ripoff. You will spend a lot more on much inferior equipment and then have a hard time getting it off of your credit card.
9. Don't be arrogant about vaping in public. They don't know that you are not smoking from 10 feet away.
10. Don't get in flamewars on ECF about your favorite PV. Yes, there are idiots here, don't be one. If it works for you, that is the best one for you.
11. Once you get comfortable with vaping, consider DIY. Juice is what costs the most in the long run. Start small, measure with precision, keep detailed notes, be safe. You know what you like better than any description on a web page.
12. Join CASAA, and do things.
13. ECF is great for support. Don't be afraid to bare your soul to kindred spirits here in a hard time, you can find a lot of strength.
I am somewhat curious why vape shops don't carry supplies to make your own e juice. I understand they make good money on their juices but for the people that do make their own, the shops are losing that sale all-together. Brew shops carry supplies to make beer and they also make good money; why then, can't vape shops do the same with juice?
I have no quarrel with those that cloud chase or those that do not. I do think cloud chasing should be avoided in a crowed area as I dislike someone blowing a huge cloud in my face same way I disliked someone blowing smoke in my face. Moving on, after no significant cloud chasing and no new gear for almost a year I decided it was time for a toy. Grabbed a IPv4 and a little boy rda. Once I adjusted my coil build technique to accommodate so much extra power gotta say I'm really enjoying it. So the point of my rambling, besides the fact I can, is I have always hated 0nic liquid. Seemed so depressing and missing my TH which is important. But with the right build a 0nic liquid has just enough TH to make me think it's possible to go to 0. Not saying I want to go to zero but it was never an options before due to it being unsatisfying. So to anyone who does want to give up nicotine you may want to consider a setup that chucks out more vapor.
I would like to clear up the terminology used among those who vape. A vapor is the cloud of vaporized e-liquid heated by the coil. A Vaper is the person who vapes. The issue with this is that if we as a community should speak or write intelligently on this subject, we should all agree to our patterns of speech. I understand that to many people this will appear like a waste of time but we are at a time in which t's must be crossed and i's dotted. If we can't convince others that vaping is a healthier choice, we will be spending $50 for 15ml of juice and hundreds of dollars for gear. Some of us already spend exorbitant amounts of money already but I for one want the choice, not because some bureaucrat decided it for me. I've said my piece so have at me but I just got tired of people writing "I'm a vapor who likes tasty vapers".
hey All,
I joined here several months ago. Posted that I had done e-cigs for march to about June and then switched back to traditional and came back here for support and knowledge which I have received in spades here.thanks.
32 days ago I came down with low grade fever, 100.5 at most slights aches and fatigue..nothing major but certainly not ordinary. At the time I was back to 10-15 traditional cigs per day. But with the fever and fatigue I immediately stopped tradtional cigs--as I thought it could be Covid and honestly had no desire.
Turns out it was NOT Covid and in the 32 days I have had a total of 3 puffs from an e-cig in my desk drawer. I'm otherwise back to normal and only slightly crave a hit of e-cig and I know can use it I need it but the cravings only are short.
I think one part of this is with Covid and being in NYC--I'm not on the streets as much and I never see hardly anyone smoke or even vape. I do go to an office 4 days a week and the walk to the office is 12 minutes. And like a normal city--pre covid you'd always see people outside having a smoke or a vape and enjoying themselves and for me that's what kind of drove the cravings and addiction. now when I come home from work, I don't have a craving need.
After 32 days without a traditional cig and only 3 puffs of an e-cig --does that happen to people? In my head I have committed that I will be a non traditional cig smoker and if I need the e-cigs I'm fine with that. There is a slight concern that if we ever get back to normal and I " see" people smoke that might bring it back..who knows? Hopefully I am far along enough now that it wont' effect me. In fact I saw a bke messenger smoking at a stop light yesterday and just looking at the traditional cig kind of grossed me out. so maybe that's a good sign?
The benefits so far a my apartment and clothes smell normal. I have more energy and can breath better.
Maybe for me (and others) the visual appeal or or just seeing others enjoy a cigarette was part of the addiction?
I keep posting the same old thing, every year. Adjust to suit!
It has been 10 years recently, since my last cigarette. I haven't been posting in recent months/years, I have been keeping up on the treadmill of life. For the last couple of years, I have been pasting this exact same thing on my anniversary. I think it still works.
Thanks to ECF for being here, to the mods for keeping it sane, CASAA for working so that we can have a future, and all of you for helping each other and yourselves!
Like most of you, I spent too large a percentage of my life killing myself slowly, and eventually spending a lot of money to do so. In my particular case, I still loved smoking, but grew disgruntled over the health realities, Big Tobacco, and the taxation of cigs. I have quit many times, in many ways, but never for more than a few months. During those few months, I was never pleasant to be around.
It's easy to make excuses to keep smoking, I made them all.
I am *not* an expert, and nobody asked me, but since I am waxing eloquent I will make suggestions about how it worked for me. YMMV
1. To quit smoking, you really only need two things. A device that works for you (charging, form factor, blahblah) and juice that you like. Three things. The desire to quit.
2. Don't feel obligated to stop smoking immediately. I was an accidental quitter. Initially I wanted to smoke some and vape some. I could save some money, and not have to stand outside in the rain. It's OK to smoke while you are learning what works for you. You can do that for the rest of your life, if you want to.
2b. Keep an idea of where you are on supplies. You need backups of everything (home, work, car). After I decided to actually quit smoking, two weeks in I had two battery deaths in two days. I only had two batteries. After 12 hours of crazy, I had to smoke.
3. Learn your device well, before you start collecting more and more! It can be convenient to wind up with a couple of different styles that work for different life situations. If you buy one every week, you will spend a lot of money and could still be deep down unhappy that "it's not working like I thought it would". Many of us as smokers can be a wee bit OCD anyway. Don't let collecting get in the way of Not Smoking (tm)
4. Don't buy a gallon of the first juice that you like. It will take a month or more before your damaged sense of taste/smell start regenerating. What you loved initially you may hate in a month. Buy lots of small samplers, to discover what you like.
5. Yes, you will save money, lots of it. See #3 and #4 above.
6. At the end of the day, all these devices are just batteries and heaters. How long they last, charging, the form factor, the ability to adjust them during use are all just variations on a theme. Some of the cig-a-likes have a lifetime of 30 charge cycles. Some larger ones can be charged 500 times. Find the balance that works for you. What *does* matter, is the actual vaping end of it. Explore attys, cartos, tanks, RBA. Try them all, this is what determines the taste and vapor production.
7. Support your local vape shop. I know you can get this stuff from China for cheap. Your local brick and mortar shop is spending a lot of money for rent and employees, and the ability to sample juice is not possible on AliBaba. They are also providing a valuable service in being a first exposure to vaping for many. Go in and hang out. If nothing else, buy some drip tips, juice, attys or doo-dads. Check out the new PVs.
8. With few exceptions, the kiosk at the mall is not a good deal, nor a good idea. Free trials online or from radio ads are always a ripoff. You will spend a lot more on much inferior equipment and then have a hard time getting it off of your credit card.
9. Don't be arrogant about vaping in public. They don't know that you are not smoking from 10 feet away. My area has illegalized vaping. With low VG juice, I can discreetly vape after a meal. It beats standing outside in the rain.
10. Don't get in flamewars on ECF about your favorite device. Yes, there are idiots here, don't be one. If it works for you, that is the best one for you.
11. Once you get comfortable with vaping, consider DIY. Juice is what costs the most in the long run. Start small, measure with precision, keep detailed notes, be safe. You know what you like better than any description on a web page.
12. Join CASAA, and do things.
13. ECF is great for support. Don't be afraid to bare your soul to kindred spirits here in a hard time, you can find a lot of strength.
#14 for 2017. Consider a banner. I forgot about mine here. For several years, I kept one going on my phone. It was a good motivator for me. I would await milestones. When I had a hard time quitting, my banner helped me. "Only two more days until <whatever exciting increment is coming up>".
#15 for 2017. Reward yourself with the money you save. I am not wealthy, but after a few months of not smoking, I realized I was not as broke before payday. Buy something fun. Take your significant other out. Buy those tires you have been needing. If you are not inclined to buy 'things', invest in something risky. Or in something conservative.
#16 for 2019. Now? I find myself mixing juice with zero flavor, a few mg/ml of nic. It's mostly ritual now. But I like it!
#17 for 2021. I missed posting last year, Covid-Crazy. My devices have all died. My beat-to-sheeit Vaporshark 40 has finally quit functioning completely a few weeks after my 10th anniversary. It has been disassembled *many* times, cleaned the switches/contact points with rubbing alcohol, that always brought it back. I never got into the high-wattage 'cloud machine' aspect. The Vaporshark/DNA/Evolv devices run at about 12-20 watts was fine. I'm 66, just retired, don't think I will replace the vaping devices. I find I miss vaping, I don't miss smoking. Attached is the old 'About' screen of my Vaporshark. It lights up, but the + button for wattage had died (and I've re-soldered the connections). At least it was 'Genuine' and not a fake..
Just sat down this morning and had a quick look at where all my money's been going for the past few months.
Previously, I had smoking down to ~5 a day. Used to get them all from abroad, so roughly £5 for 20 at most. 40/week so £10/week and £520 in a year.
My current ecig spend:
£30 for first ecig
£25 for a Vision Spinner Battery
£15 for replacement tanks
£40 replacement coils (standard coils, then unicoils)
£100+ - Totally Wicked liquids
£50 - iStick
£25 - Subtank mini
£70 - mixing kit and concentrates
£50 - e-sheesha + cartomisers
£50 - premium liquids
£455+ (and that's just about 6 months, started in October)
I know that most if it was invested in the kit, and now that I have my ideal setup I hopefully won't be making those expensive purchases anymore on tanks and batteries. The DIY kit has enough to keep me going, now it's just buying concentrates that I need for recipes. I would have saved a lot more if I'd got the quality kit early on, but at the time I was new to it and wasn't sure if it's something I'd pursue.
It's probably not even that much in comparison what others spend, but I still feel like I've spent way more money than I should have.
Anyone in the same boat?
It's been a while!
I left for a while,,,,,,,I think it's been a year or more,,,,,,I took a break because,,,
1) I thought it was getting too political around here (my opinion) and I wanted a break from it.
2) I got a job (which I LOVE) and it takes a lot of my time,,,,,,,
3) I stopped vaping. Yep, me,,,,,,,,who vaped 20 ml a day at one point,,,,Nope, I didn't go back to smoking,,,,,I didn't plan it,,,,it just,,,,,happened. Mostly due to the job, I think,,,,,,I just vaped less and less and less until I wasn't vaping at all,,,,,,,,
then WHAMMO,,,,,,,,the urge for cigarettes hit,,,,,like 9 months after I stopped vaping and almost 3 years after quitting smoking, and it hit like a ton of bricks. It kind of surprised me to be honest. Well, there was no freaking WAY after THREE YEARS that I was going to start smoking (I did that THREE TIMES in the past and it was ALWAYS a disaster),,,,,,so I picked up my provari, charged those batteries, made myself some No Nic juicy peach, and started vaping again.
Thank GOD for my e-cig, because there is NO DOUBT in my mind I'd be smoking again if I hadn't kept it.
Some thoughts,,,,,,,,
1) whoaaaaaaaaaa what the heck happened to this forum???
2) Provari has a VERSION 3??????????
3) Where the heck do I reset my password????????? I forgot mine, I had to have it reset, and I'd like to change it to something I'll remember.
4) It's nice to see everyone
Hello, I have been vaping for years, at 1.8 nic strength. I have some questions.
First of all I think I've made a problem by vaping on (all kangertech devices and coils), at .5 ohms, but I only vape at 20-24 watts. Is this wrong? Anything higher is way too hot, and I just don't enjoy it. I've bought a smok mag and other devices that wont fire under anything 50 watts and it was way too strong so I never use it.
Also, over the past 6 months I've developed some mouth sores I'm pretty sure it is
Tobacco Stomatitis
I know this is from vaping or smoking, the heat I guess is causing this. I've told my dr. about this he never really looked (I was in for something different than this), he replied try to vape point it downwards towards my tongue and I have been doing this for months, but to no avail with the mouth sores going away.
I can't quick vaping. I tried for a few days and I smoked more cigarettes than I ever did. It was actually hotter I noticed. I still smoke cigarettes when I drive, just a weird habit and at work on breaks. I vape all day at work when my boss isn't around.
I'm going to stick to just the unflavored e juice from now on. I'm also cutting the strength back. I also tried cutting it before with 0% percent e juice and to no avail my mouth sores are still there.
Sorry for the diatribe but I just have a few questions.
Does smoking at 22 watts and sometimes below with sub ohm coils, is this bad? I've been doing it for years now. The problem is I bought a ton and I find it hard to find coils now over 1 ohm. It seems all they sell not days is .5 coils. And I've tried nickel and and they just burn in a day, even with the settings they are supposed to be at, so I'm really at a loss as to what to do.
Also has anyone else experienced the tobacco stomatitis as I have?
I'm not proud of this, but I broke down and had a cig this morning (been months since I quit, but still "slip" once in a while)
The next door neighbor came by (she knows I vape) and there I am smoking. She said " just don't vape... it's very dangerous!" It almost killed me... and she didn't seen concerned at all that I was smoking (I think her husband used to smoke and had heart issues... he passed away) I made one of my "bad jokes"... said "it will drive you to smoking again" She didn't even get it. It's called "social engineering" and is very powerful (at least to the "sheeple") We have all discussed this. Your average person doesn't read or listen to the whole story, just knows "vaping is dangerous!" I give up... just can't get through to some people