Hi everyone, Im new and Im finally one full day free of cigarettes! Woohoo! I know, probably nothing to really hoot about, its only ONE day, but Ive got a feeling that this method is going to stick. Why? Well there are many reasons as to why, but the thing is, this was easily the most painless way to cut the burning tobacco from my life. Well not fully painless as there was a learning curve I had to go through, but it wasnt long and drawn out as I thought it might be. So why come here? I was a lurker, scouring the internet for information about e-cigarettes which I later figured out they are also called vapor pens. I poured over post after post reading trying to learn the pros and cons of using these devices. So I figured, my turn! You all helped me so hopefully my story can now help someone else who is lurking while thinking about quitting themselves.
Like many long term smoking stories, Ive been smoking for over 30 years. Holy crap! Its been that long? Where did all those years go? Oh right living. Ive tried many ways to quit, one that I wouldnt touch with a ten foot pole and one that worked for a few years. Cold Turkey nearly drove me insane. The patch couldnt stop the physical part of the addiction, the gum tasted horrible for the short time the flavor lasted. The pill, forget it, I like living and didnt want to risk the idea that I could develop suicidal thoughts. I did the slow draw down, weaning myself off of cigarettes because I was having children. It worked for a few years, but I missed the benefits of smoking (oxymoronic I know!) and stress of my life at that time drove me back to smoking.
Fast forward about ten years, my kids have been suggesting for many years, more like MOM stop smoking! It smells horrible! They have pleaded with me in several ways about quitting. We would talk about addiction and how addiction is not easy to break, using myself as an example. They would tell me why its bad for me and sometimes even come to me with drawings! But I always told them, I will work on it. In reality, that was probably a side step, dodge and evade tactic to avoid taking action and to avoid going into another long drawn out explanation of addiction and why my kids should never start with cigarettes! But nonetheless, I wasnt ready to quit.
Little over a week ago I read an article that piqued my interest, how e-cigarettes could be as effective as a patch in helping smokers kick the habit. Well the article was actually pretty lackluster. Already the patch had a dismal success rate for people who have tried it, but obviously it worked for some people. The e-cigarettes, in the article, were given marginally better odds at helping people quit, nothing to write home about. What really got my attention were the responses in the comment section. Success story after success story of people were smoked longer than I have, smoked more packs of cigarettes a day and accidental quitters. Accidental quitters??? That was a new one on me, but there were multiple stories of people not wanting to quit but ended up doing so, all because of these devices. I had to know more and I immersed myself into learning all I could and found myself here, lurking, reading and absorbing all I could learn. Trust me, there are some things on this site that everyone talks about that are still way above me, but Im sure Ill figure it out eventually.
I had formulated a plan; I was going to give this a try. I kind of already knew that the startup costs were going to be high just by the research I have done. I could have avoided one costly mishap if I had paid attention to suggestions of what would be a good starter kit for beginners like me. I dont know what a mod is (still dont) or atomizers, voltages, ohms (Im pretty sure this has nothing to do with meditating) is or what they mean! This is like learning a new foreign language. Still more intimidating are the images of the set ups some people have! I was looking at light saber hilt after light saber hilt that could be more impressive than the ones carried by the darkest of Sith lords or the wisest of Jedi. All I could think was may the force be with me that this works! But all I really wanted was one that looked like a cigarette!
So I told my kids what I was thinking. I swear you would have thought Christmas had arrived early by the looks on their faces. The darndest thing was they knew what I was talking about! What, have I been living under a rock? They knew about these things apparently way longer than I have and dragged me to the mall towards one of the Kiosks that sold ecigarettes. They stood there grinning like a pair of Cheshire Cats as I spoke to the guy. It was a very odd and unsettling feeling as he had me try smoking one in the mall, awkward! I kept thinking I should be doing this outside! He set me up with kit and $55 later I was giving these a try. Sadly this was the kit that was my mistake and a very valuable learning tool. First thing I learned, just because it looks like a cigarette doesnt mean it will smoke like one. Second thing, vapor is king! If you feel like you are only sucking on air with the faintest of vapor, it isnt going to convince you to quit, at least not me anyways. I found myself using these things and right in the middle, just lighting a real one because I was craving a cigarette! Not good, back to the drawing board and back to lurking for a solution.
No wasnt going to give up that easily. I told my kids and myself I was going to give this a good try, the success stories that keep piling up had to have something to them. I needed to try again and find something that worked. I found the Halo site and looked over it. I went to YouTube and watched videos on it and decided to give that a go. Another $50 some odd dollars later I had a kit being mailed to me. Meanwhile, I continued to use the mall versions with lackluster results and ended up smoking more cigarettes than I would normally! YIKES!
This was no good, so I decided I needed to find a local vapor shop. Maybe I should have just smoked real cigarettes while waiting for the Halo G6s to show up, but when Im on a mission, Im on a mission! The guys there were really knowledgeable and helped me choose another starter kit, $95! Holy Hannah! I havent even really started vaping and my collection was already growing! But these were vapor pens with tanks, the Kanger EVOD starter kit. We discussed why my mall bought ecigarettes were not working for me, the nicotine levels were probably too low for me that it wasnt curbing the nicotine addiction part as well as the vapor production did not mimic the feeling that I was smoking. I chose a tobacco flavor and another flavor, Cinnamon both at 18mg. He showed me how to fill the tanks and I took them home to try.
What a difference a good kit makes! Unfortunately he didnt tell me that cinnamon may crack my tank so Im a bit nervous about that. So much so that now Im looking at a glass tank since it appears that half of all the flavors out there have been known to crack plastic tanks. And I want to be able to try any flavor without fear of breaking my tanks due to the liquid.
Another day passes and my Halo kit arrived! It came with five pre-filled thingy-ma-jigs with Tribeca 24mg. Not sure if Im fond of the flavor but the vapor it produces and the smoking action is really close to having a real cigarette. It ended up being my savior one night when I was at a bar surrounded by smokers, temptation all around me that I puffed on that Halo like it was my pacifier, it did the trick and I didnt light up once.
Now, for the first two days of having kits that actually worked, I did light up two cigarettes more out of habit. When I realized what I was doing I put them out and picked up my vapor pen. Now it has been over 24 hours since I had my last cigarette! Woot! The cravings are just not there! Double Yay! Sure Im trading one action for another, but the benefits are already noticeable at least with me and my kids. They say I now smell like cinnamon and not smoke. Im breathing in mostly water vapor and not everything else thats in cigarette smoke. I already notice that Im not coughing as much in the morning.
The downsides (or is it an upside?), Im drinking a ton of water! I seem to be thirsty a lot more. I feel like the vapor pen or Halo G6 is glued to my lips, Im always puffing on them! I hope this desire goes down soon as the newness of this wears off and I vape less frequently. Finding a tobacco flavor that closely resembles the taste of smoke. So far everything is so sweet! So Im looking for suggestions for a tobacco flavor that doesnt end like Ive sucked on candy.
You still with me? OMG! You just read 1,650 words of my rambling! Yes I counted as I checked the word counter on my document. What I hope is that my story inspires someone else who is thinking about giving this a try. Yes also another reason for me writing this is to encourage myself to continue this process. So far painless with the exception of the learning curve on the type of devices and how much nicotine a smoker should start with. Would I recommend giving this method a try! Heck yes! If for nothing else, there seems to be a taste for everyone.
Okay so back to lurking, or else I will probably hit you all with a bunch of questions! Thanks for letting me ramble! More than likely, any future posts will not be this long!
Like many long term smoking stories, Ive been smoking for over 30 years. Holy crap! Its been that long? Where did all those years go? Oh right living. Ive tried many ways to quit, one that I wouldnt touch with a ten foot pole and one that worked for a few years. Cold Turkey nearly drove me insane. The patch couldnt stop the physical part of the addiction, the gum tasted horrible for the short time the flavor lasted. The pill, forget it, I like living and didnt want to risk the idea that I could develop suicidal thoughts. I did the slow draw down, weaning myself off of cigarettes because I was having children. It worked for a few years, but I missed the benefits of smoking (oxymoronic I know!) and stress of my life at that time drove me back to smoking.
Fast forward about ten years, my kids have been suggesting for many years, more like MOM stop smoking! It smells horrible! They have pleaded with me in several ways about quitting. We would talk about addiction and how addiction is not easy to break, using myself as an example. They would tell me why its bad for me and sometimes even come to me with drawings! But I always told them, I will work on it. In reality, that was probably a side step, dodge and evade tactic to avoid taking action and to avoid going into another long drawn out explanation of addiction and why my kids should never start with cigarettes! But nonetheless, I wasnt ready to quit.
Little over a week ago I read an article that piqued my interest, how e-cigarettes could be as effective as a patch in helping smokers kick the habit. Well the article was actually pretty lackluster. Already the patch had a dismal success rate for people who have tried it, but obviously it worked for some people. The e-cigarettes, in the article, were given marginally better odds at helping people quit, nothing to write home about. What really got my attention were the responses in the comment section. Success story after success story of people were smoked longer than I have, smoked more packs of cigarettes a day and accidental quitters. Accidental quitters??? That was a new one on me, but there were multiple stories of people not wanting to quit but ended up doing so, all because of these devices. I had to know more and I immersed myself into learning all I could and found myself here, lurking, reading and absorbing all I could learn. Trust me, there are some things on this site that everyone talks about that are still way above me, but Im sure Ill figure it out eventually.
I had formulated a plan; I was going to give this a try. I kind of already knew that the startup costs were going to be high just by the research I have done. I could have avoided one costly mishap if I had paid attention to suggestions of what would be a good starter kit for beginners like me. I dont know what a mod is (still dont) or atomizers, voltages, ohms (Im pretty sure this has nothing to do with meditating) is or what they mean! This is like learning a new foreign language. Still more intimidating are the images of the set ups some people have! I was looking at light saber hilt after light saber hilt that could be more impressive than the ones carried by the darkest of Sith lords or the wisest of Jedi. All I could think was may the force be with me that this works! But all I really wanted was one that looked like a cigarette!
So I told my kids what I was thinking. I swear you would have thought Christmas had arrived early by the looks on their faces. The darndest thing was they knew what I was talking about! What, have I been living under a rock? They knew about these things apparently way longer than I have and dragged me to the mall towards one of the Kiosks that sold ecigarettes. They stood there grinning like a pair of Cheshire Cats as I spoke to the guy. It was a very odd and unsettling feeling as he had me try smoking one in the mall, awkward! I kept thinking I should be doing this outside! He set me up with kit and $55 later I was giving these a try. Sadly this was the kit that was my mistake and a very valuable learning tool. First thing I learned, just because it looks like a cigarette doesnt mean it will smoke like one. Second thing, vapor is king! If you feel like you are only sucking on air with the faintest of vapor, it isnt going to convince you to quit, at least not me anyways. I found myself using these things and right in the middle, just lighting a real one because I was craving a cigarette! Not good, back to the drawing board and back to lurking for a solution.
No wasnt going to give up that easily. I told my kids and myself I was going to give this a good try, the success stories that keep piling up had to have something to them. I needed to try again and find something that worked. I found the Halo site and looked over it. I went to YouTube and watched videos on it and decided to give that a go. Another $50 some odd dollars later I had a kit being mailed to me. Meanwhile, I continued to use the mall versions with lackluster results and ended up smoking more cigarettes than I would normally! YIKES!
This was no good, so I decided I needed to find a local vapor shop. Maybe I should have just smoked real cigarettes while waiting for the Halo G6s to show up, but when Im on a mission, Im on a mission! The guys there were really knowledgeable and helped me choose another starter kit, $95! Holy Hannah! I havent even really started vaping and my collection was already growing! But these were vapor pens with tanks, the Kanger EVOD starter kit. We discussed why my mall bought ecigarettes were not working for me, the nicotine levels were probably too low for me that it wasnt curbing the nicotine addiction part as well as the vapor production did not mimic the feeling that I was smoking. I chose a tobacco flavor and another flavor, Cinnamon both at 18mg. He showed me how to fill the tanks and I took them home to try.
What a difference a good kit makes! Unfortunately he didnt tell me that cinnamon may crack my tank so Im a bit nervous about that. So much so that now Im looking at a glass tank since it appears that half of all the flavors out there have been known to crack plastic tanks. And I want to be able to try any flavor without fear of breaking my tanks due to the liquid.
Another day passes and my Halo kit arrived! It came with five pre-filled thingy-ma-jigs with Tribeca 24mg. Not sure if Im fond of the flavor but the vapor it produces and the smoking action is really close to having a real cigarette. It ended up being my savior one night when I was at a bar surrounded by smokers, temptation all around me that I puffed on that Halo like it was my pacifier, it did the trick and I didnt light up once.
Now, for the first two days of having kits that actually worked, I did light up two cigarettes more out of habit. When I realized what I was doing I put them out and picked up my vapor pen. Now it has been over 24 hours since I had my last cigarette! Woot! The cravings are just not there! Double Yay! Sure Im trading one action for another, but the benefits are already noticeable at least with me and my kids. They say I now smell like cinnamon and not smoke. Im breathing in mostly water vapor and not everything else thats in cigarette smoke. I already notice that Im not coughing as much in the morning.
The downsides (or is it an upside?), Im drinking a ton of water! I seem to be thirsty a lot more. I feel like the vapor pen or Halo G6 is glued to my lips, Im always puffing on them! I hope this desire goes down soon as the newness of this wears off and I vape less frequently. Finding a tobacco flavor that closely resembles the taste of smoke. So far everything is so sweet! So Im looking for suggestions for a tobacco flavor that doesnt end like Ive sucked on candy.
You still with me? OMG! You just read 1,650 words of my rambling! Yes I counted as I checked the word counter on my document. What I hope is that my story inspires someone else who is thinking about giving this a try. Yes also another reason for me writing this is to encourage myself to continue this process. So far painless with the exception of the learning curve on the type of devices and how much nicotine a smoker should start with. Would I recommend giving this method a try! Heck yes! If for nothing else, there seems to be a taste for everyone.
Okay so back to lurking, or else I will probably hit you all with a bunch of questions! Thanks for letting me ramble! More than likely, any future posts will not be this long!
Welcome to the forums and feel free to ask away. I can not help with a tobacco flavor as I found out after 3 days of vapeing I hate tobacco...now vape deserts,coffees,teas,candies and florals...gave that bottle of tobacco flavored away and never looked back
) My entire family has been nothing but smiles for almost 3 months now, since no one expected me to quit after 30 years of diehard smoking. And, I was one of those accidental quitters - I can't thank my friends enough for trying out ecigs!
