Hey kids!
I have been so horribly absent from here over the last 5-6 years. Long story short, quit the stinkers on 8-22-10 and haven’t looked back. Vaping has grown and changed so much during the 11 years I have vaped, I won’t even bore you with the details of what gear was like when I started vaping. You fellow veterans know. It took a whole different level of commitment than it does today, because NOTHING had the power, endurance, or availability it does today.
I have been a 8mg/ml vaper for the last 10 years. I did kick it up to 12mg for a bit when I went through a divorce 5 years ago. There have been so many vape ban scare events that I am stocked up on supplies well. I have made my own juice for 10 years so my stash of nic is good to go. I can decrease the mg/ml if that situation ever arises, but at age 44, I think I have enough to last me at least a good 20-25 years at my current mg level. If I drop the level down, I think I am good to go until the nursing home days come calling.
The biggest part of why I wanted to post here again is:
1. After being a smoker for 16 years, I used smoking for every stressor life threw at me. Since I started vaping, I have survived undergrad, my masters, and my doctorate degree. ZERO temptation to go back to the stinkies. Went through a very unexpected divorce. Never tempted to return to Marlboro. If you commit to the process, it does work. I got remarried a year ago. My husband enjoys the occasional cigar and bourbon on the deck. I can hardly stand to smell him when he enjoys a stogie, which is thankfully only a few times a year. I realize how gross it must have been to be around me when I smoked 1-2 PPD. It does suck in the beginning but giving up the stinkies is worth it.
2. 11 years in, zero health issues. I am a physically fit and busy person anyways. But zero lung issues from my years of smoking or my years of vaping. My current PCP doesn’t even know I vape. I can hike with zero problems. I ride a Harley, and do cross country trips on it, and always stop to hike in places to find rando waterfalls and whatnot. I was in the mountains for a week this spring and zero breathing issues or short of air like I used to have when I smoked stinkies. I did find my vape hit a little harder though and I vaped less! Bonus to vaping is I can vape while I am riding my motorcycle, I don’t have to pull over to smoke lol. The Harley is a new hobby since I quit smoking, so I don’t know what that would have been like, but I see fellow riders pulled over to smoke all the time. Glad that isn’t me!
3. I am a mental health provider. I prescribe meds for depression and anxiety and all the other mental health disorders all day long. And I am a HUGE advocate of vaping to patients who want to discuss it. Many mental health patients have a nicotine dependence. I always tell them I will not be the one barking at them to quit, as it is their choice and whatever consequences result from smoking, they are already aware of those and it isn’t my place to preachy preach about it. But I do tell them I used to smoke, I quit 11 years ago, and I have vaped ever since. I have shown several my device and tank, I refer them to local vape shops that I know are good and helpful, and I refer them all to check out this site. I get pissed when I hear how many reply with their PCP telling them how vaping is so bad. The medical world has been brainwashed pretty good, lemme tell ya. I am an outside the box kind of provider, I don’t buy into all the malarkey the “experts” want to feed us. I won’t go into covid and the current state of affairs in our country, but if more healthcare professionals researched instead of following the masses and “expert rules”, our healthcare world would be a better place. Pharma and the FDA annoy the hell out of me. Anyways, there are more of us “good guys” in healthcare though that do advocate and support than some think, but we are still a minority, with the majority being asleep at the wheel about non FDA approved harm reduction and cessation devices. Every time I see a PCP start Chantix I want to scream. It has about a 2% success rate at best from my personal observations. Anyways, the TLDR here is I support the cause and fight for education about vaping every day in my office.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support and help from so many of you fellow veterans back in the day. I am still in shock at how much this industry has evolved in a relatively short period of time. Nic salts…..who knew that would ever be a thing! The one discouraging thing is seeing how many companies have closed up shop anticipating the regulations. I loved my freedom smokes for my nicotine. But, that is the nature of retail period, some survive and some don’t. With USPS delaying the mail ban, I think most could have hung on a little longer. But I don’t run their business or know their projections and models and revenue, so I have no place to judge. ❤️ Vape on friends! I will try to stop by and visit you all more often. This always has been and will always be a great community!
Last week on a road trip with my motorcycle club, I had to go back to the “ash tray”. It’s to dangerous on the road, on “two wheels” with these constant sneezing attacks. I bummed cigarettes, then bought cigarettes. There’s thousands of road miles planned this summer, I’m leaving again next weekend. I love to ride, hate cigarettes, the taste, smell and cost but vaping will surely kill me!
There isn’t much of anything here or on the WWW about my issue with sneezing attacks. Not just a little sneeze but 4, 5 6 or more with an irritable urge, watery eyes and nose. When I put down my vape for an hour, it goes away, when I hit it, it starts back. Allergy medicine doesn’t stop it and makes me drowsy. This just started about 3 weeks ago, it’s like I’m suddenly allergic to...?
I’ve been vaping since 2013 when my lovely 77 yr old Aunt shared her vape. I had tried everything on the market including prescription drugs and hypnosis to put down my 20 year pack a day stink habit. For 5+ years I’ve been using an RTA and DIY juice. I’ve been using the same DIY products from Nicotine River (fresh frozen) since Dec 2019 as well as same flavors, TFA, LorAnn, Capella and same recipes. using a VG 70/30 @ 8+ Nic.
For 4+ years with zero issues I used the Lemo 2. Yes an oldie, but ya no how it is when you find a good combination. Until last year, I could get all the rebuildable supplies at Fastech. Since 2020 I’ve been buying and using different RTA’s, RDA’s Squonks, mesh coils, etc. searching for a “new love”.
My tanks are Profile Unity, Zeus Dual RTA, Creed RTA, Drop, Brunhilde and Dead Rabbit. JIC it was the new packaged supplied wicks & coils, I went back to my old wicking material which didn’t help. Tried 100% VG with VG Nic Salts, no change. I’m at a dead end, totally out of ideas, I give up, still hate cigarettes but...
Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
I’m curious as to why you shouldn’t do DL when using nic salts. I’ve got an Aegis Hero with a 0.6 coil at 15 watts. Even with the airflow closed off, it’s still to loose for a MTL. I keep reading and hearing I shouldn’t use nic salts for DL. The worst thing I’ve experienced so far is a mild headache. The nic salt is a 30mg.
Thanks in advance. ECF is my only true support group and I’m having a really hard time not smoking the stinkiest. Been back to vaping for about a month, and keep telling myself it’s all about baby steps. Not how many I smoke but how many I don’t smoke. I’ve got to quit for health reasons.
Hi All! Sorry if this is long. This place is a lifesaver. I was a 30 year PAD smoker. Tried all the recommendations to quit. Resigned to smoking forever. I heard of vaping in 2013 and found this site. The day my Ego arrived in the mail on April 15, 2013, I put down the cigs and haven’t had a puff since that day. (I still smoke in my dreams every night.) I started out at 18 mg, and went up to 24 for a while. I vaped way higher nicotine than my cigs had, and much more often. I even took my Ego pen to bed and put it under my pillow to use through the night. No matter how much Nicotine I inhaled, I still went through the same withdrawals that I did when quitting cold turkey, or the gum, or the patch, or setting a timer between smokes. It was obvious I wasn’t withdrawing from nicotine. It’s from whatever chemicals are in the cigarettes.
Over the last 7 years, I’ve gone down from 18mg, to 12, to 6, and now 3. Not by choice. I was happy at 18. I started getting lightheaded, so stepped down the nicotine in levels. Not because I wanted less nicotine, but because my body couldn’t handle it. I’m now at 3mg, and starting to getting lightheaded from it. Next step is 0mg. I’ve no problem going to no nicotine, but after so long, I can’t imagine not having the inhale/exhale/hand to mouth repetition.
Has anyone gotten to 0mg and still vapes, or have you broken the habit?
I joined ECF back in August of 2017. I was sixty-five years old and had been smoking 25-30 cigarettes a day for 40+ years. I began vaping at the same time win the hope I could at least cut down. I dual used for months, continually cutting back on cigarettes. I smoked my last cigarette on May 11, 2018 - I am coming up on my three year anniversary. When I began, I vaped 24mg nicotine. Now I alternate between 3mg and zero nic.
Given how incredibly positive vaping has been for me, I am in shock at recent events. I was down to two working mods. I have ordered four mods, some tanks and a bunch of coils. I am still able to buy some eliquids where I live - but many of my favorites from Halo have been discontinued. I still have some outstanding hardware orders that I hope get delivered.
The treatment of vaping in the media has been a one sided disgrace, and propaganda works. Over the years when I have mentioned to people that I quit by vaping, they respond, ‘so you quit smoking by picking up a habit that is even more dangerous’.
I am set for at least a year. Fortunately I have kicked my addiction to nicotine - I recently vaped zero nic for a month. If I was just starting out, it would truly be panic time, and I would go back to cigarettes for sure. I suspect that many will do just that. Happy I started when I did.
Posting a picture of my set up for today got me thinking as it featured my oldest original well used, worn, scratched and faded iStick 30w which has served me so well and has far outlived its projected lifespan.
A lot changed for me back in October 2015 - my grown up daughter and her husband had switched to vaping as they couldn’t smoke even in the grounds at work and had taken to vaping.
They liked it and gave me an e-pipe, tobacco flavoured vape liquids, a couple of 18350 batteries for it and a Nitecore Charger.
I thanked them, said I’d give it a try - with my fingers crossed and the thought in my mind, “Aye that’ll be right, I’ll stick it in the drawer and phone you in a few weeks saying it broke and I’m really sad about it.”
A week later my conscience got the better of me and I tried it on a Friday morning ( the 17th of October ), was amazed that I got through a day on it without a craving, thought I’d try it over the weekend, did, and have never smoked in the four years plus since. Amazing since I had smoked for more than 50 years previous to that.
I took the e-pipe to Spain with me for the Winter and while there bought a couple of the old style Ego batteries and plastic tanks with their trailing glass fiber wicks “just in case.”
The 18350s need constant charging, the juice soon destroyed the threads of the pipe’s plastic tank and the back up devices gurgled badly and so I went down to Fuengirola where there was a big vape shop and asked could they recommend a better tank - they suggested a Nautilus Mini and when I asked about a battery for it ( I didn’t know they were actually called “Mods” then) they gave me an iStick 30w … and the rest is history.
I joined this Forum about five weeks after I switched to vaping. In those days MTL was THE thing, the setup I’d bought was “flavour of the month” along with the GS Air Tank and one by Kanger. I learned a lot on ECF in a very short time, and I’ll always be grateful for that.
I tend to be a bit of a stick in the mud when I find something I like and my motto tends to be “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!” I’ve experimented with mechs, squonkers, drippers, and coil building over the years but always come back to my old faithful Nautis and iSticks - simply because for me they work and they work well.
Having found kits that worked, I dropped out of the Forum for a few years until in Spain over the Winter gone I thought my Nautis were failing me or giving up the ghost ( in actual fact as I discovered when I got back to the UK I had had a batch of really really bad coils ) and started reading ECF again and found that the new best thing for MTL was the Zenith, so I gave it a whirl.
I was slow to take to the Zenith I have to admit - while it made my batteries last longer for some reason and was super easy to refill on the go, at first it vaped too dry for me, seemed too airy and the drip tip didn’t initially suit me at all but I persevered with it ( them) and now keep a set of seven for use outdoors or for when travelling or for when I simply feel like a change.
Here’s the Old Soldier!
Anyone else still using old kit?
Hey guys,
I’m new to vaping. I have been a heavy 2 pack a day Marlboro light smoker for 20 years. I recently got into vaping and so far it has been an amazing journey!
I started with a small pod device (Caliburn) with 16MG nic salt. I found that I was still not able to quit smoking. I went back to my local Vape shop and got some 20mg nic salt juice, and that was too strong! It made me dizzy and confused and I just felt unwell. Even though @20mg I was getting a lot of nicotine I still wanted to smoke a cigarette.
On a whim I decided to give sub ohm vaping a try. I got myself a Lost Vape Thelema DNA 250c + a Freemax Mesh Pro 2 tank. I opted with 6MG freebase juice at 70/30. And sure enough it worked! I was able to quit smoking and have been smoke free for a week now!
My question though, is 6MG freebase nic @0.2 ohms (dual mesh), 70-80 watts too much? I feel fine for the most part and my cravings for cigarettes are under control. However from what I’ve read (and what the guy at my local Vape shop says) is that for sub ohm vaping you generally should stick to about 3mg of nicotine.
I know everyone is different, and you should do what works for you. But I’m just worried that with the large amount of Vapor I’m producing 6MG might just be a little risky.
I Vape quite a lot (200-250 puffs a day) and probably somewhere around 15-20ml of juice a day (at 0.2 ohms @ 70w the juice burns pretty quick). As mentioned above I generally feel fine. However sometimes I do feel a bit out of breath and like my chest is heavy. This could be gas (perhaps from inhaling so much air?). Or it could just be me adjusting from cigarettes to vaping. I don’t feel nauseous or have headaches.
Please let me know your opinions. Would really appreciate some advice from more experienced vapers!
Thanks!
I "successfully" quit vaping for 2 month. It actually wasn't that bad, I was able to fill the void with music/gum/walks. Right now I have 0 physical temptation to vape.
But there has been many stressful situations and I feel without the vape it made everything harder. To me, it's not that I had to have it, but it was something enjoyed. And taking it away made life a little less fun. It's like saying you can never eat candy or drink coffee again.
The only reason I quit was for the health benefits. I heard vaping can cause COPD but then I also hear it's a lot less harmful than smoking. But here's the thing that really demotivates one from quitting vaping:
We are not sure how harmful is it (if at all)
There are many other things bad for us in life, like air pollution, asbestos, etc. Is it worth giving up something that you enjoy for a marginal health benefit? I vape at a low wattage so I don't think I'm getting lots of formaldehydes.
I'm really thinking about going back to vaping. I think I'll vape a few more years and if news comes out by then that vaping is truly really bad, then I'll quit...
I don't know... it's not like we are going to live forever even if we don't vape/smoke/do anything unhealthy...
Two weeks ago I was rewicking my rta because I wanted a change of flavour and was changing flavour every 2 days as I am using only one mod.Anyway,I am always frustrated when I wicked badly,meaning it leaked or the vape quality is not up to my usual standard.I had wicked this specific rta for hundreds over time the past 3 month as it is my first rta.I learned to wick properly after almost 30 trial...that day after I wicked,it leaked when I am about to go out to play sports with my friends.I thought my wicking had no problem before I leaves but I find that it leaked all over my bag,and I was in a very bad mood because of that...that prompted my gf to asked me to quit and I promised her that I will do it.The next day I passed all my mod to her and started to used nicotine gum,I don’t planned to quit nicotine as I find it really benefits my mental health and make me focus on work better.While using nicotine gum,I started to use lesser and lesser and then wanted completely off it as it was so boring even though I got my nicotine fix well.Yesterday I couldn’t take it anymore,somehow I convinced my gf to return my vape and promised her I will quit in the future if we got married or had babies.
In the meantime,I also ordered a new mod and now a sub ohm tank so that I don’t need to wick everytime I change flavour as I will be switching different coils on different flavour.I am excited, and hoped that this mod and tank will be able to keep me satisfied.I am addicted to vaping,not smoking and to me personally,vaping is harder to quit simply because I enjoy vaping a lot more then smoking.I love vaping,I am also worried if I had to quit someday...
Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch - Part 5
Welcome to the ‘Front Porch’ for Older Folks and Vaping. This thread is a continuation of the original started over 4 years ago by ˇTxtumbleweed’. It grew to over 21,000 posts and the ‘part 2’ continuation thread was begun about a year ago. The ‘part 2’ thread over the next 11 month’s hit 15,000 posts. Part 3 reached its max and now it’s time for part 4.
The original and continuation threads are still around and you can find them he
Original (closed) - Older Folks and Vaping
Older Folks and Vaping
Part 2 (Closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch Part 2
Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch - Part 2
Part 3 (Closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Part Three
Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch - Part Three
Part 4 (Closed - Older Folks and Vaping Part 4
Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch - Part Four
The Porch for Older Folks is dedicated to Txtumbleweed, Randal Fortenbury. He started the ball rolling and helped so many of us when we first started our vaping journey. He offered us encouragement, shared his knowledge and told us great personal stories ranging from riding the rails as a kid, working as a lineman, lumberjack and fishing the cold waters of the Bering Straits.
Randall (Tex) has since passed on and we are honored to continue the Older Folks and Vaping Front Porch in his memory.
The mods have asked us to stay on topic about vaping in this thread. Please adhere to this guideline.
Feel invited to join us in the lounge, on our Back Porch, where we can chat about vaping and any other ‘topic of the day’ that meets your fancy.
original, (closed) - Older People 55 and Up
Older People 55 and Up
Part 2 (closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part 2
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part 2
Part 3 (closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part Three
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Three
Part 4 (Closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part Four
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Four[/QUOTE]
Part 5 (Closed) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part Five
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch - Part Five
Part 6 (Active) - Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch Part Five
Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch-Part Six
Please, don’t be fooled by the old folks in the title. The range of vaping experience and gear spans a wide gap. We’ve got folks content with basic setups using carto tanks and we’ve got folks using temp control mods and the latest RDA/RBAs.
So if you’re just starting out or your more experienced this is the place to be for us older folks. You got a question - we’ve got an answer or three. (And we good at spending other people’s money - so be forewarned). So pull up a rocker and make yourself at home.
And - oh, oh, oh - there’s no age limited or checking done here. Most of us can’t see good enough to read your legal id anyway. The only age criteria is that today your a day older than yesterday.
I going to ‘prime the porch’ with a few posts from the early days. It’s fun to look back just a few years and see not only where we where but were the state of vaping was w/ respect to equipment.
I know this is useless for most of you and if the mods want to delete it please do but I am so frustrated with the media and the politicians and I have no outlet for this, so here we are.
I actually have never smoked or vaped (aside from a trial puff here and there), but my wife and mother both have smoked and do vape. I'm on here because I'm the research and order guy.
They switched from smoking to vaping in 2007 almost at the same time, so it's been 12 years for them.
My mom was a smoker for 50ish years, and as a waitress, she was at about 2 packs a day. She's always had fairly good health because she worked on it, but as she got older you could hear the "smoker's cough" develop and just see the symptoms of aging and the early signs of lung issues. One of her sisters has COPD and another died of lung cancer. She swapped to e-cigs and never had a relapse to cigarettes. Within a year the cough was gone. She is 75 and most people think she is in her 50s. She is active and in great health with only mild diabetes (controlled with diet and I think the minimum dose of a pill, no insulin). She has had chest x-rays and a few other exams and they doubt her when she tells them she is an ex-smoker.
My wife has a similar story. Lighter smoker for a shorter time, but same results. Better health, lungs fully healed from smoking. No side effects from vaping.
Oh and my wife's father was a huge smoker and used e-cigs to completely quit smoking/vaping altogether when the pills/patches/gum wouldn't work at all.
Now, they both utilize products from vapor4life.com that resemble cigarettes and use the "light or ultralight" (I wanna say 1.8% or 1.1%... something like that) equivalent nicotine level. They don't have the giant boxes the "kids" use that produce a room full of vape smoke to be edgy and cool. They vape pretty much the same times they'd take a smoke break though I think less often really... I think they take fewer puffs maybe a little more often? I dunno, it's hard to remember since they haven't smoked in 12 years. My wife will hold hers casually hidden in her hand and get a couple puffs during movies and slowly let the vapor escape and NOBODY knows. Not even me sitting next to her.
Their health is so much better. My mom uses a plain nicotine flavor that tastes like her Winston lights did and my wife has a Menthol that tastes close to her Salem Slim Light 100s. Neither were fond of the fun flavors. I got some 0 nicotine grape the first year and puffed on it once in a while and it was neat (not really inhaling, more like a cigar or a pipe) and that was that.
I am so pissed off at the Trumps and the media for their generalized reporting and the banning of products. I'm pissed at the people/kids who use vaping like its a toy and fun hipster trend and got it banned from airplanes and restaurants. I look at my mom who most likely would have died of lung cancer or be on oxygen by now if not for vaping and I just want to punch these people in the face. How can single digit deaths, which I understand was using sketchy products anyway, trigger fear and a ban when the cigarette companies kill MILLIONS and cause cancer (to smokers and people who are adjacent to smokers via 2nd hand smoke) just have to put a warning label on their product?
Anyway, I'm rambling. I don't know where this goes. Maybe it'll spark discussion. Maybe it'll be deleted and I'll be told I'm an idiot. Maybe someone who isn't sure if vaping will help them quit smoking will see three success stories and take a step in the right direction. I dunno...
Fight the good fight people.