Have You Lowered Your Nicotine Level? What Was Your Experience?

[jamesbeat]

DC2, that cotinine thread has sucked me in - I'm going to go read it all the way through now.

Some interesting comments so far.
After five days on 10mg (down from 11) I can feel myself stabilizing and going back to my usual routine.
I too vape like I used to smoke, and as mentioned above, I find that the restriction of specified breaks at work helps me to not go crazy.
Going down by 1mg per month seems to he working ok for me right now, but it's interesting to note all the comments from people who have taken much larger steps and still been ok.
I guess that, unless you DIY, you don't have many options for fine tuning your nicotine level, though you could start mixing liquids of different strengths to get in-between levels.

I also find it interesting that some people seem to have had more trouble as they approached lower strengths.

Maybe when I get that low I'll start going down by 0.5mg per month.

 

[corn flakes]

Started at 24mg dropped to 18 after about 6 months. Stepping down to 12 now. The first half if the day at 18 then switch to 12. Will do this for a while. I haven't changed my setup since I quit smoking.

 

[Eskie]

I went from 24 mg to 12 mg by accident after ordering the wrong strength. Seemed the same, so I've stayed at that. For my DL tank, I mixed up some 6 mg juice, but with the Limitless Plus that just arrived, I might have to cut even that back.

 

[gadgetkeith]

Cutting down your nicotine is easy if you do it slowly and over time

The key is dont rush take your time and you will hardly notice the drop each time

I started vaping over a year ago and started on a kanger subtank, so sub-ohm from day one pretty much and started at around 6-9 mg nic ,have progressed to bigger better MODS and TANKS etc,just cutting my nic slow and steady over about 9 months to zero ,have been @ zero for the last few months and its great, I have no plan on quitting vaping as i smoked for 35+ yrs and the hand to mouth and inhale exhale is conditioned into me . I enjoy my vape and everything that goes into it ie building making juice and all the other stuff so I will keep vaping my zero nic DIY juice for as long as I feel the need .

It is a great feeling knowing I have broke a 35+ yr nicotine habit and have no withdrawals and not feel the need for it anymore .

I had tried quitting smoking many times in the past and FAILED

Vaping for me was the BEST thing ever to happen .

Will i ever give up vaping we shall see , the hardest part is done I no longer need nicotine in my life. so will take it one day at a time and see where I go from here .

 

[phonedude]

Over the years my nicotine usage has been all over the place. This will probably sound strange to most but I can vape 36mg or 0mg and be equally satisfied. When I started vaping I usually choose the 18 - 24mg range. Lately I have been vaping mostly in the 2 - 3mg range. I like a little peppery taste.

When nicotine becomes unavailable thanks to the FDA or my State I will continue to vape pure VG. I have been vaping unflavored for several years now so that's no problem.

I realized a long time ago it's the "hand to mouth" I was so addicted to and not so much the nicotine.

 

[sorrynomore]

I started vaping in 2014 and have dropped from 24mg to 4mg.My mod has changed but I still vape MTL at ~6 watts.

 

[Burnie]

I am a MTL Tootle Puffer. When I went cig free in Sept 2013 I was vaping 36mg/ml, after a few months I went to 24mg/ml, after about 6 months went to 18mg/ml, stayed there for a while. Then went to 12 mg/ml and did not notice any difference, after a couple of months dropped it to 6mg/ml, still noticed no difference, that is where I am at now. Through the whole last 3 years with all the drops, I am still doing 3 to 4 ml per day at around 6 watts. I do delve into the occasional couple of hits at higher watts with 0mg or 3mg liquid, but that is just playing and not my ADV. YMMV

 

[mcol]

I'm not into high power or sub ohming.
I started 3.5 years ago at 54 mg in cigalikes (White Cloud).
Switched to ego and spinner stuff first at 24mg, then 18mg,
then 12 mg (my favorite strength). The past year it's been
a little more difficult settling on a strength as I went down to
9 mg, then 8 mg, then 6 for several months before deciding
I'm happier at 8mg. I'm using Coolfire 4's at 4 volts most of
the time.

 

[mcclintock]

To me, pure nicotine was maybe half the chemical effect of cigarettes, and sometimes cigs provided too much of it. I still smoke a couple cigs a month if/when I really need the effect and have the time to space out for a few minutes afterword. Transition took me 9 months, WTA would have helped but I found out late and it's expensive. Currently vape about 9 mL's a day, mostly at 1.8 mg/mL and 14.2 watts, nic gives more substance and lets me know when to stop.

 

[bnrkwest]

I started at 11-12 mg years ago then dropped to 6, too drastic, went to 9 for several years, then dropped to 6mg again and did fine. I just dropped to 3.5 mg to make my Nic supply last longer and didn't even notice it. So may drop a bit more as time goes on.

 

[orion7319]

I started vaping in 2009. Back then the devices weren't very good and it was hard to adjust to the MTL thing coming from cigs. I had to vape 36MG at that time, but when the variable voltage devices came along I discovered that I could save money by cutting my 36mg liquid in half with VG to 18mg, and feel just as satisfied if not more so then I was with the older unregulated low power devices. When subohming came along I was already used to vaping 1.5ohm coils at 8watts, and going though all that juice at that point made no sense at all to me, and I just viewed it as a waste of money. With the regs coming along, I'm not planning on stocking up on nic, I plan to be at around 6mg here soon and if things don't work out, then I'll just vape plain unflavored VG at that point. I'm down to 11mg at the moment and I was only really feeling some withdrawals for less than a week, and they weren't all that bad. The hard part was coming off the three packs of cigs a day to the 36mg Juice with bouge cartos and a screwdriver MKII

 

[Completely Average]

I started vaping 24mg in 2013. I'm down to vaping just 2mg now.

My wife was vaping 18mg when she started and she's now vaping 10mg. The funny part about her is she's not even aware that I've been gradually reducing her nicotine levels. I DIY our juice and every new batch I make for her I drop the nic by 1mg.

 

[darkangel07760]

I've been reading a lot about reducing nicotine intake recently.

Most of the stuff I have read about people reducing their nicotine intake is misleading.
It appears that a lot of people seem to decrease the strength of their liquid when they move to more powerful devices, but they are probably getting the same (if not more) nicotine than they were before, despite the mg strength of the liquid.
This seems to be especially the case for people who switch from MTL to subohming.

When I started vaping, I was on 12mg liquid, but over the last two months, I have reduced this to 10mg.
I guess I have the FDA to thank, because the deeming regs forced me into DIY, and I am thus able to precisely control the nicotine content of my liquid.

I'm still using the same amount of liquid in the same devices, it just has less nicotine in it.

I don't necessarily want to quit vaping (at least not in the immediate future) but I would like to reduce my addiction to nicotine somewhat, even if just to make my stash of nicotine last longer.

I'd like to hear the experiences of people who have truly stepped down their nicotine concentration, in other words reduced the strength of their liquid but continued to use the same (or similar) devices, the same vaping style and the same amount of liquid.

For me, switching from 12mg to 11mg was barely noticeable. I did find that I vaped a little more to begin with, but then I settled back into my old routine after a week or so.
I did notice the switch from 11mg to 10mg a little more, but I'm expecting that to pass eventually too.
I'm not going to rush myself, I'm waiting until I'm absolutely comfortable each time before moving down again.

I started out on 18mg, and right now I am vaping 9-12mg. I am a MTL vaper, I tried sub ohming but it never stuck with me. I have been vaping for a bit over a year now, and six months in I was able to go down to my current level. If I go lower, I tend to vape a lot more, and I already vape quite a bit! I am hoping to eventually go down to 6mg, but for now I am happy with my current level.

 

[sofarsogood]

My nic went from 24 to 18 to 12 and lately is 10mg. I care more about reducing daily ml's than daily nic. I do 7 ml per day and wish it was half that. I'm interested in reducing nic only so my stash might last longer in case of government interference. Otherwise I might increase nic to see if that reduces daily ml's.

 

[Opinionated]

I started vaping 24mg in 2013. I'm down to vaping just 2mg now.

My wife was vaping 18mg when she started and she's now vaping 10mg. The funny part about her is she's not even aware that I've been gradually reducing her nicotine levels. I DIY our juice and every new batch I make for her I drop the nic by 1mg.

And this is what I was wondering - how mental is it really? I think you answered that for me.

I know when I quit smoking and went to vaping, the withdrawals were harsh for me. Some people don't seem to go through those withdrawals as much, but I really did.

I vape at 18mg, have since the beginning and have never tried to lower it, but at the same time, I have been wondering lately if I need it at all, because whatever I was addicted to in cigarettes seem to have been a combination of whatever is in them besides the nic, or my withdrawals would never have been that bad,and the hand to mouth habit, almost like a security blanket I guess.. lol..

I have been thinking about just getting into the right mentality, and dropping to zero just to see what happens. I might just to see what happens..

 

[Alien Traveler]

For 2.5 years I vaped 5 ml/day. Went from 24 mg to 5 mg. Recently I accidentally changed my vaping style and went from 5 ml to 10 ml/day. Diluted all my juices in half, to 2.5 mg, so daily nicotine intake stays the same. Now I am trying to go back to 5 ml/day, or as close to it as I can.

 

[Completely Average]

And this is what I was wondering - how mental is it really? I think you answered that for me.

I know when I quit smoking and went to vaping, the withdrawals were harsh for me. Some people don't seem to go through those withdrawals as much, but I really did.

I vape at 18mg, have since the beginning and have never tried to lower it, but at the same time, I have been wondering lately if I need it at all, because whatever I was addicted to in cigarettes seem to have been a combination of whatever is in them besides the nic, or my withdrawals would never have been that bad,and the hand to mouth habit, almost like a security blanket I guess.. lol..

I have been thinking about just getting into the right mentality, and dropping to zero just to see what happens. I might just to see what happens..

There is definitely some mental influences to nicotine addiction, but there is also a real physical addiction.

You can try dropping straight to zero but don't be surprised if you're running back to your 18mg juice within an hour or two.

For both me and my wife the key to lowering nicotine level was to make tiny changes and have a large amount of adjustment time between each change. I've dropped my nicotine levels by 2mg with each new batch of juice that I make, but I make 250ml batches. For my wife I've been dropping hers by 1mg with each new batch which is why she's still up at 10mg while I'm down at 2mg. She's also a tootle puffer so 250ml lasts here a couple of months where I go through it twice as fast because I subohm.

Dropping 1-2mg per month or once every 2 months is really easy. You barely notice the tiny drop and you give your body a good long time to adjust to the lower level. It's a lot easier to do that than it is to make big drops or lots of drops in a small period of time.

 

[DC2]

I have been thinking about just getting into the right mentality, and dropping to zero just to see what happens. I might just to see what happens..

I'd be willing to be that a good percentage of people can do just that and not miss it.
And I'd also bet that a good percentage couldn't do it.


I've seen people post who forgot to put the nicotine in the juice.
Many of them never realized until later that they had been vaping zero nicotine.

If you've been vaping long enough, it might be worth a shot.
Can't hurt to try.

 

[RoseJ]

Just as an aside - today I had to have some medical tests that required I not have caffeine for 24 hours, and no nicotine for 6 hours. Given that the tests were at 10am, I had gone without nicotine since about 11pm last night, so I hadn't had any for over 12 hours by the time I got some.

Honestly, I was so happy that I had stepped down to 1.5 mg, because I felt the dry spell not at all. I can't say the same for the caffeine though!