Using E-cigs to quit nicotine altogether...

[AndriaMarie]

I've got a friend who wants to quit smoking altogether and he's had his e-cig for about 2 weeks now. This is his 3rd day being completely analog free.

Anyone quit nicotine altogether using e-cigs?
Any advice I can give him?

 

[breakfastchef]

Anyone quit nicotine altogether using e-cigs?
Any advice I can give him?

Most quitters gave up smoking, not nicotine.

Read through the forums and you will find a bunch of personal stories about forum members who gave up tobacco using the electronic cigarette. It is important to point out that e-cigs are not a 'magic bullet' to smoking cessation. It can be used sucessfully in a personal harm reduction strategy the same way your friend could use other smokeless tobacco products to the same end.

What kind of advice do you want to pass along to your friend?

 

[laurel099]

Actually I've met quite a few on the boards that have gone to zero nicotine. One local member also then gave up vaping and recently sold off his gear.

I started with the high nicotine and kept gradually weaning down. Yesterday I celebrated 5 months without smoking and now I'm diluting my juice to about 3.5mgs. of nicotine. I am very hopeful to soon be off the nicotine too.

Many folks don't want to get off the nicotine and that is fine. Health-wise I felt WAY better when I got off smoking, nicotine wasn't killing my lungs, etc.

BTW, Howdy neighbor!! I lived in Sarasota for many moons before relocating just a teensy bit to the south!

I'd tell your friend to not stress about how the cessation takes place. Many still sneak a smoke here and there before giving them up. Not everyone 'quits' the same Reading the forums helps with support. We are NOT ALONE LOL!

 

[AndriaMarie]

Most quitters gave up smoking, not nicotine.
What kind of advice do you want to pass along to your friend?

I understand that, but he'd like to use his e-cig to eventually quit nicotine altogether. I was looking for people who have done that or are doing that, and looking for pointers.

 

[AndriaMarie]

I started with the high nicotine and kept gradually weaning down. Yesterday I celebrated 5 months without smoking and now I'm diluting my juice to about 3.5mgs. of nicotine. I am very hopeful to soon be off the nicotine too.

My best wishes to you. How long did it take you to get that low?

BTW, Howdy neighbor!! I lived in Sarasota for many moons before relocating just a teensy bit to the south!

I just moved here for college. I'm originally from Glendale, Arizona.
Been here 4 months though. I love the weather.

 

[Darmeen]

I understand that, but he'd like to use his e-cig to eventually quit nicotine altogether. I was looking for people who have done that or are doing that, and looking for pointers.

If he used the e-cig much like the gum or patch, he could decrease the nicotine over time, at his pace, while still going through the 'act' or process...

The best way to do this would be to buy a level of nic juice to start with, and buy something like a doubler (has all the flavor of the nic juice, without the actual nicotine), then at his pace, he adds more and more doubler to his flavored nic juice...eventually he could use just the doubler if he wanted to continue to vape, and we have vendors that sell the doublers cheap...

It is actually what I am looking to do right now...just put in my order yesterday afternoon...I am vaping at 24MG right now...so I ordered some 48MG to cut with the doublers (since the 48mg was the same price as the 24mg) and I can continue to use the doubler more and more as I want to lower my nic intake.

Keep in mind that the addiction to nicotine is very short (something like 72-96 hours) and it is infact all the other crap in regular cigs that our bodies are addicted to that make quitting cold turkey so hard for some people.

Like others have said, vaping is not some magic bullet...and tell your friend to take it one day at a time, not beat himself up for slipping, and enjoy better health from vaping while he attempts to slip away from nicotine.

Nicotine in and of itself is no worse an addiction than caffeine...but some people have a problem getting away from it none the less.

 

[AndriaMarie]

Thanks Darmeen.
I appreciate it.

Good luck on your journey, as well.

 

[oldlady]

Thanks, Darmeen,

How do we find "doublers"? Would they be listed under this name on DIY supplier sites?

 

[laurel099]

I didn't start lowering my nic until I was off analogs for about 3 months. I guess in the last 2 months I've lowered from 18, 12, 6, 3.5... A little lower each couple weeks.

I don't know about the doublers. I bought some flavorings (LorAnns, Bickfords) some PG and some VG.

I really like Nhalers High Voltage liquids so I'm using that as a base then dilute with PG, VG and add some extra flavoring back in. I've found HV Peanut Butter Cup goes really well with Bickfords Banana I also have unflavored 48mg stuff for my doomsday stash!

 

[VapingRulz]

You can buy doublers from TastyVapor. Alternately, you can just buy your favorite flavors in 0-nic and use them to cut the one with nicotine.

 

[LisaK]

I've been lowering mine gradually. I went from 26 mg to 3 mg in about 12 weeks. I just got some 0 nicotine juice and mixed it with the 26 mg to dilute to the level I wanted. I just mixed up enough for the week. And if I felt like I needed more nic, I just put one drip from the 26 mg into my cart and it took care of the craving. I waited until I smoked the ecig only for a couple weeks before starting to lower the nic.

 

[traderblue]

I've got a friend who wants to quit smoking altogether and he's had his e-cig for about 2 weeks now. This is his 3rd day being completely analog free.

Anyone quit nicotine altogether using e-cigs?
Any advice I can give him?

I used the E-cig since 7 months ago. I had the analog for 20 years @ 10-15 sticks/day prior to e-cig usage, had try to quit several times but all failed within 2 weeks.

Here is my story.

Quit Analog/Tobacco:
Within week-1 using E-cig, totally quit analog/tobacco at the end of day-6. During day-1 to day-5 smoke 3-5 sticks a day.
At Week-4, fell very ill for 5 days due to lungs cleansing (sore-throat, coughs, fever, tar cough-out, flu).

Quit Nicotine:
At week-5, after sickness recovery. For some unknown reasons, I had the urge to lower my e-liquid nic-level to 7mg (low).
At week-8, again fell very ill for 4/5 days due to lungs cleansing (sore-throat, coughs, fever, tar cough-out, flu). This time less serious than the previous.
At week-9, I try 0 nic (Veg-Glycerin) and liked it a lot and progressed to the status of Total Tobacco and Nicotine free. And I began to vape much less than before


Quit E-cig:
At the 6 months mark, I began to vape much much lesser. To my surprise, I now look back, since that point onwards, I think I already need NOT bring the e-cig with me whenever I leave the house. And I vaped once/twice with 3/4 days. I belived it is around this phase of time that I had already quit/kick my Hand-To-Mouth habit, wit is this that still sticked me to E-cig eventhough I had quitted tobacco and nicotine since the 8-week mark after using E-cig.

Verdict:
During the first 2 months on E-cig, I over-stocked myself with almost 1 year plus of e-cig supplies, and now I am overwhelmed with them in my closet! IMHO, not to buy more than 6 months supplies as chances are that you may quit analog or even e-cig faster than you thought you would be!
Also the 2 times that I fell very sick during the 1 month and 2 month time period after quitting analog (while on E-cig usage) also help me to speed up my nicotine and E-cig quitting process.
Now after 7 months since E-cig usage, I am an Ex-smoker and Ex-vaper now! My smell, taste, breathing and lungs are re-junvinated!

 

[the_cold_revolution]

Hi there.

I think the mainstream method of beating nicotine addiction is by gradually weening your body off of it by slowly decreasing (weeks and weeks, not days) the amount of mg/ml of nicotine your body is absorbing. I love the idea that many people gain weight when they try to quit smoking, and this has so far not been true in experience of those around me.

Out of about 20 vapers, 75% have quit smoking analogs all together. This in itself is a huge triumph to any long-term, serious smoker. They all have gone through withdrawals within one week. (2-3 weeks for the people who cut down signifigantly in analogs) These could be withdrawals from their body balencing this new method of intake, or withdrawals from the hundreds of other byproducts of burning cigarettes they have become used to and even dependant upon.

Out of the 15 people who quit only 3 of them quit nicotine. The thing is, is that they were not succesfull with this method when they tried.

I suggested they vape on 0mg all day long for the bulk of their vaping. Many of them were 1-2 pack a day smokers and all vaped more than they smoked. That would mean that they are vaping all day long from sun up to sun down. Sticking with powerfull 24 mg e-juice, they would bring a few carts of 0 and a few of 24. Basically, not knowing which cart was filled with which juice, they survived off the placebo effect vaping gave them and not the amount of nicotine they were getting. One of them quit by vaping 0 all day, and then switching to a marked 24mg for their ritural of smoking an analog, and then switch back to 0 to keep their mind off of the craving. Eventually he felt the need to swap out the carts less and less until he stopped buying nicotine juice altogether without much of a problem.

I can definately tell the difference in such a high dose change in the throat hit, but others swear they can not. It is a gradual change though if you are using the same attys.

Not saying this method is better than any other, but it has worked for a few people. Most do not feel the need to quit nicotine and are satisfied with the benefits of replacement. I tell people reduce, replace, relive.

 

[redraven]

Hi all-

Well, I've quit smoking several times. (Bet no one has heard that before.) My issue is mainly a hand-to-mouth thing. I smoke ultra-lights & if I'm occupied with something physical I can go hours without a smoke.

However, when I'm sort of idle - at the computer, driving, reading, etc., I chain smoke. I don't need the nicotine that often- just crave the physical action. (Often I burn half a cig with it sitting in my mouth or hand - rarely inhaling. That actually happened just now. I paused in my typing & my ash fell & I went "Right. I'm smoking. I should take a drag now.") So, I'm definitely someone who needs a "pacifier" when quitting.

I've used herbal cigs to quit in the past. I started by alternating regular smokes & nicotine-free herbals. Eventually got to more herbals than normal cigs. Then I found a couple free days to smoke only herbals & get the nicotine out of my system. After that it was herbals only, getting fewer & fewer, until I was able to quit those as well. I did keep some around for "emergencies." (Drinking with smokers & running out of herbals at the wrong time was how I got started smoking again after a year-and-a half off. )

Herbals weren't ideal, for many reasons. But the big factor was that I just didn't like them. I think it delayed my quitting & staying quit because I'd end up going "Oh, ugh. Time for an herbal. Yuck." and just grab a regular cig.

So, now I'm vaping & it's the perfect solution. Right now I'm in the alternating 0 mg carts/juice with regular cigs phase.

My problem is, I'm enjoying vaping too much.

All my juices are 0 mg nicotine. Planned to alternate with regular cigs like I did with herbals. However I enjoy my PV so much that alternating is becoming difficult. I can happily vape my 0 mg for quite a while, but eventually I do need a little nic hit. So I grab an analog and... yuck... they are already starting to taste gross. However, I'm still at a stage where I do need a little nicotine.

So I'm going to get some low nicotine juice & try to switch to just vaping.

What I'm wondering about is how to balance the 0 mg "pacifiers" with the nicotine version. So... If I have carts ready for both strengths, how & when should I alternate them? That may sound like a silly question, but waiting to get a headache & become grumpy as a hint I need a little nicotine isn't ideal.

Has anyone else used this type of process to quit and, if so, how did you handle that aspect? Should I actually time it? Like, I can only use my low nicotine carts for 10 minutes every 4 hours & otherwise have to use the 0 mg? That seems kind of odd, annoying, & like something I would probably end up ignoring. Also, did you have problems remembering to switch carts? If you were happily vaping a low nicotine cart, did you forget or procrastinate about swapping to a 0 mg? (Oh, I'll go swap in a minute 3 hours).

Not sure what else to ask. I'm having trouble putting the question clearly. But if anyone has used a similar method to quit & can share experiences & tips, that would really help!

Thanks much- RR

Edit: Just read the above post more carefully & saw the idea of making carts of both strengths & mixing them up so you can't tell which is which. With a low nicotine juice I doubt I'd notice the difference in taste or throat hit. That might just work perfectly. Going to have to get some low nic juice now & try it. Thanks for that idea!

Edit Again: I guess I should have read this thread more carefully before posting, instead of just scanning it. I'm seeing some good answers to my questions already here. Sorry about that. I'm going to leave this post though, if anyone else has comments on my specific case or just wants to share more general info.

 

[Iris]

I've got a friend who wants to quit smoking altogether and he's had his e-cig for about 2 weeks now. This is his 3rd day being completely analog free.

Anyone quit nicotine altogether using e-cigs?
Any advice I can give him?

I hope your friend is still analog free!

I bought my e-cig for the express purpose of quitting smoking. I smoked a pack a day of Virginia Slims Superslims menthol. I ordered my e-cig with 4mg cartomizers (Vapor King!) which seems to be enough to satisfy my nic craving. This is my 4th day off analogs and my body is starting to get serious about expelling the gunk in my lungs and sinuses.

At this point, my ONLY goal is to not smoke analogs any more. I will vape my 4mg cartos for as long as it takes to not ever smoke again. And I will always keep the e-cig around and charged and ready to go in case I need a nic fix at any point down the road so I NEVER buy another pack of cigarettes, EVER.

I guess I'm ok with my nic addiction and I don't care if I ever give that up, but the analogs with their stench and foulness have got to be gone for good.

Oddly, this morning, my first move on waking wasn't to get a nic fix. I puttered around the kitchen for a good 20 minutes before my first vape. I think that's a good sign

 

[Katmar]

That's excellent, Iris. Keep it up!!!

 

[rlw]

Im a recent quiter (12 days) - used to smoke 20 marlbough red a day.

I'm using an e-cig with zero nicotene and using conventional NRT
To be honest I'm a bit worried that I'll simply swap on dependancy for another - thats why I'm not using ecigs with nicotene !

Anyway only problem is I dont get a throat hit at all - Ive ordered some menthol cartridges with zero nicotene now - so hopefully they will be better.
It seems most people aim to reduce nicotene to zero - so I figure - if I start with zero and use another means of getting the nicotene in the short term - then my chances of quiting are the best.

If I ever feel a craving to smoke I'll use the ecig with zero nicotene ... well thats my theory anyways !

 

[Iris]

rlw, the important thing is to get off cigarettes. If the NRT combined with your e-cig doesn't work for you, by all means get off the NRT and get some 4mg or 8mg for your e-cig. Just don't ever pick up a cigarette again. Do what ever it takes! I'm reading posts from other folks that are sort of naturally weaning off the e-cig after 6 months to a year, anyway.

 

[Scooter Bob]

I've been using zero nic, cinnamon flavored juice since about a month after beginning vaping. Before, I smoked 2 packs a day, but I figure much of it was habitual chaining in front of the computer, and not really solid lung hits. I was inspired to go zero after an ex-GF, who was a serious smoker since age 11 or 12, went zero after a couple of months, and it is now a year off nic for her. Believe me, she'd tried everything to quit the cancer sticks over time, but the e-cigs did it right away. I guess I considered zero nic pretty easy since I'd only smoked for maybe 7-8 years myself. Why I started at my age, I don't know. Vaping is kinda cool, and I'm getting no tars, nicotine, or any of the junk.

Anyway, those are two examples I know, she and I. I think smoking is more of a physical addiction than anything, with some social value added in. The e-gig mimics those facets very well. Here's an admission, but it points out the ease of going zero nic. About once every 6 weeks, I've actually bought a pack of analogs, and smoked them all in a long 12 day playing pool. The next day, I've gone directly back to zero nic vaping, and the urge for another analog is gone. I call that recreational smoking, like I did in the 30 years leading up to my beginning as a full time smoker. Vaping, IMSO, makes it a gimme for anyone to quit nicotine totally in short order. Bob

 

[traderblue]

I've got a friend who wants to quit smoking altogether and he's had his e-cig for about 2 weeks now. This is his 3rd day being completely analog free.

Anyone quit nicotine altogether using e-cigs?
Any advice I can give him?

I quit nic using e-cig. Too be exact HV-PV (High Voltage PV) @ 7.2v.
I lowered my nic-level from 24 to 12 to 6 to 0 gradually within 4 months after vaping.
After 8 months of vaping. I quit e-cig. I am 39 with 22 years old smoking habit.
The aftermath of quitting so fast? Overwhelmed with more than 6 months of e-cig supplies (e-liquid, atties, batteries, chargers, e-magnum, e-cherry, e-pipe, e-cigar, carrying-pouch, usb-pass thru, eye-droppers, glycerin, flavors-essence bottles, etc...the list goes on) Fortunately, I managed to sold all these to another new-vaper locally just few days ago, my loss is his gain.
Yes. Your friend can do it! Just stocked enough of e-cig supplies such that there will not be a break when he/she might go back to analogs as stop-fix when waiting for supplies to arrive. Remember e-cig need time (weeks) to order, wait , wait, wait... and then arrived at your door. Unlike analog when you could walk out and get them....