So apparently I need to quit vaping

[bombastinator2]

While not really a success story this seemed liked the least bad place to put this. It was that or off-topic.
I originally started because I heard that nicotine was a powerful and exceptionally fast acting anti-anxiety drug, and since they were all addictive anyway I thought “well I’ll just do that then”. Talked to my doctor today and it seems that while it is in fact fast acting, as an anti-anxiety it is not particularly powerful. Just really really addictive. So I will be titrating down. The lowest I’ve been able to go in the past is 18mg. I will use up what juice I’ve got, then pull out my scale and figure out what 18 mg is volume wise. I’ll do that for a while, get a real anti-anxiety med, and go to 12mg. Then titrate down further. Watching other people do it here, I suspect the transition from 20+mg to 0mg will take about 2.5 years. At which point I will likely stop vaping and put my gear (of which there is a whole mess of) in the for-sale section. So I’ll still be around for a while. Not for ever though.
I’ll post in this section again when I manage it.

 

[DPLongo22]

While not really a success story this seemed liked the least bad place to put this. It was that or off-topic.
I originally started because I heard that nicotine was a powerful and exceptionally fast acting anti-anxiety drug, and since they were all addictive anyway I thought “well I’ll just do that then”. Talked to my doctor today and it seems that while it is in fact fast acting, as an anti-anxiety it is not particularly powerful. Just really really addictive. So I will be titrating down. The lowest I’ve been able to go in the past is 18mg. I will use up what juice I’ve got, then pull out my scale and figure out what 18 mg is volume wise. I’ll do that for a while, get a real anti-anxiety med, and go to 12mg. Then titrate down further. Watching other people do it here, I suspect the transition from 20+mg to 0mg will take about 2.5 years. At which point I will likely stop vaping and put my gear (of which there is a whole mess of) in the for-sale section. So I’ll still be around for a while. Not for ever though.
I’ll post in this section again when I manage it.

Good luck with the cutdown and it's worked for many, so I'm confident that it will for you too.

If it helps, "18mg" is actually 1.8% nic. 15 mg is 1.5% nic (and so on). It was never really about "mg", but they used that verbiage to help smokers relate to cigs, where one cig = approx. 1mg of nic.

Work down the percentages and you'll be good to go. My wife vape "3mg" (.3%), down from 18mg (12 years ago). She could stop without even noticing it now.

I'm still up around 1.5% but that's by choice. I don't know that there's a better option to cut down and quit than vaping. Many have used it to quit completely, so I'm confident you will be able to do the same.

 

[bombastinator2]

<this was supposed to be a reply so I’m making it one. Nothing to see here, move along move along>

 

[bombastinator2]

Good luck with the cutdown and it's worked for many, so I'm confident that it will for you too.

If it helps, "18mg" is actually 1.8% nic. 15 mg is 1.5% nic (and so on). It was never really about "mg", but they used that verbiage to help smokers relate to cigs, where one cig = approx. 1mg of nic.

Work down the percentages and you'll be good to go. My wife vape "3mg" (.3%), down from 18mg (12 years ago). She could stop without even noticing it now.

I'm still up around 1.5% but that's by choice. I don't know that there's a better option to cut down and quit than vaping. Many have used it to quit completely, so I'm confident you will be able to do the same.

Interesting. The way it was told in 2008 when I started was that around 20mg was the average cigarette, and that 24 was equivelant to a filterless and 18 was a light. The mg was literally how many mgs of nicotine per ml of liquid there was. Pure nic was a very dangerous crystal. A step step fall poison. Like some of the most venomous snakes. It was heavy, but not wildly so. Pure nic” liquid was close to 1100mg (so a bit heavier than water) so 100mg liquid nic, which was more or less safe to use and sell and the highest strength easily available (higher than that and protective gear had to be worn) there was. It was around a 10% mix. (Peroxide can be used as a rocket fuel and is just as dangerous but at the concentrations commonly sold it’s a mild anti bacterial). Had something to do with blood concentrations too. Which was more complicated and I’m not sure I understand. “Salt nic” was protonated. “Freebase nic” was unprotonated. The way salt nic is made is because nicotine is a weak acid they take a weak base and mix them together. The result can have various weights depending on what it’s mixed with. It could also react very differently depending on what the mixing ingredient was. JUUL first popularized the term “salt nic”, though nicotine gum was a salt nic too and much older. It used a different mixing ingredient. JUUL’s formulation moved through the system very fast. A spike on a blood level graph vs a gentle hump. This made it even more addictive. (Like crack vs ....... which also does that. Crack was described to me once and it sounded like a ....... lake, rather than a salt)
This is very different from what you said. I suspect At least one of us was given bad info. Possibly both

 

[flearider]

GOOD LUCK .. i'm on 11 yrs nearly .. started at 32mg i'm now on 10mg.. it's not killing me so another 2-3 yrs i'll be down to 6mg .. maybe...lol

 

[DPLongo22]

Interesting. The way it was told in 2008 when I started was that around 20mg was the average cigarette, and that 24 was equivelant to a filterless and 18 was a light. The mg was literally how many mgs of nicotine per ml of liquid there was. Pure nic was a very dangerous crystal. A step step fall poison. Like some of the most venomous snakes. It was heavy, but not wildly so. Pure nic” liquid was close to 1100mg (so a bit heavier than water) so 100mg liquid nic, which was more or less safe to use and sell and the highest strength easily available (higher than that and protective gear had to be worn) there was. It was around a 10% mix. (Peroxide can be used as a rocket fuel and is just as dangerous but at the concentrations commonly sold it’s a mild anti bacterial). Had something to do with blood concentrations too. Which was more complicated and I’m not sure I understand. “Salt nic” was protonated. “Freebase nic” was unprotonated. The way salt nic is made is because nicotine is a weak acid they take a weak base and mix them together. The result can have various weights depending on what it’s mixed with. It could also react very differently depending on what the mixing ingredient was. JUUL first popularized the term “salt nic”, though nicotine gum was a salt nic too and much older. It used a different mixing ingredient. JUUL’s formulation moved through the system very fast. A spike on a blood level graph vs a gentle hump. This made it even more addictive. (Like crack vs ....... which also does that. Crack was described to me once and it sounded like a ....... lake, rather than a salt)
This is very different from what you said. I suspect At least one of us was given bad info. Possibly both

Not really, actually. What I said results in the same in that "100mg" = 10% nic (very true). I use it all the time - very safe.

What your folks got wrong, or you misunderstood, is that 20mg = a PACK of cigs, not a single one. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, ecigs were marketed as equal to a pack of cigs, hence the "18-24mg" ratings (per ecig). They led us to believe that a single Blu disposable was equal to a full pack of cigs.

For the record, and not breaking news, it was not equal (nor close). No cigalikes were close, in fact, and most of us stopped trying to mentally equate the two very early into our "ecig" journeys. "Vape" was not a word back then. It arrived later.

 

[DPLongo22]

Not really, actually. What I said results in the same in that "100mg" = 10% nic (very true). I use it all the time - very safe.

What your folks got wrong, or you misunderstood, is that 20mg = a PACK of cigs, not a single one. Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, ecigs were marketed as equal to a pack of cigs, hence the "18-24mg" ratings (per ecig). They led us to believe that a single Blu disposable was equal to a full pack of cigs.

For the record, and not breaking news, it was not equal (nor close). No cigalikes were close, in fact, and most of us stopped trying to mentally equate the two very early into our "ecig" journeys. "Vape" was not a word back then. It arrived later.

I realized that I erred in not stating clearly that 100mg nic, while safe to use for mixing, could definitely still do damage. If a new vaper read that, it could be misleading (and that was not my intent).

1. Don't swig it
2. Use eye protection (to be safe)

Gloves are optional, but I think most people recommend using them. Being candid, I usually don't use them, other than when I'm pouring out an entire liter (from freezer) into eight 125ml bottles.

So, "very safe" was not the best choice of words, and that's on me. Always use some caution with any strength of nic.

 

[somdcomputerguy]

the nicotine content in a cigarette can vary.

• on the low end a single cigarette may contain about 6 milligrams of nicotine, on the high end about 28 milligrams.
• you don't inhale every milligram of nicotine as it burns. you'll probably inhale about 1.1 to 1.8 mg of nicotine by the end of each cigarette. for a pack of 20 cigarettes, you'll likely inhale between 22 to 36 mg of nicotine.
• even though that might be the amount of nicotine that one inhales, the amount that is actually absorbed, whether by smoking or vaping, is about 30% to 40%.

I copy/pasted that from my vape page. It's a culmination of data from several different pages I found thru several different key word/phrase searches.

 

[bombastinator2]

Ok. So I’ve been vaping about 20mg/ml nice for many years, under the impression that it was similar to a cigarette. Youre saying it’s actually much more potent than a cigarette?

 

[DPLongo22]

No

Ok. So I’ve been vaping about 20mg/ml nice for many years, under the impression that it was similar to a cigarette. Youre saying it’s actually much more potent than a cigarette?

No.

Most smokers start in the 18-24mg area. I'm still at 15-18mg, 12 years later. I had/have no desire to cut down.

If you start sweating when you vape, vape less or lower your nic. Since you're planning on cutting it anyway, that probably won't be an issue for you.

 

[bombastinator2]

So my plan to cut from 20-18 is reasonable. I tried cutting down once before. I could make 18mg fine, but 12 was a struggle. So I plan to get an anti-anxiety going before I attempt lower than 18

 

[DPLongo22]

So my plan to cut from 20-18 is reasonable. I tried cutting down once before. I could make 18mg fine, but 12 was a struggle. So I plan to get an anti-anxiety going before I attempt lower than 18

Yes, very.

When my wife wanted to drop, I had her lower just 2-3mg at a time. I'd hold her there for a month or three, then do it again. It was a slow drop to where she is now (approx. 3mg).

Take it slow and you'll be fine. 18-12 is too large of a drop (in my opinion). Small drops and you won't even notice it.

Do you mix your own or buy pre-bought? If the latter, just grab some PG & VG so you can lower it yourself, to whatever levels you like.

 

[bombastinator2]

I mix my own. I was going to depart from the “standard” when I go below 12 and go even slower, as I think the lower numbers drop too fast. 12, 10, 8.5, 7.5 5.75 or 6 if measurement gets hard, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.75, 3.5 3.25, 3, 2.75, 2.5, 2.25, 2, then possibly by tenths till I hit zero. That “nothing lower than 3” thing is waaaay too high from what I’ve seen. Not for everyone, but for enough. If it turns out to be easier than expected I’ll go faster.

 

[DPLongo22]

I mix my own. I was going to depart from the “standard” when I go below 12 and go even slower, as I think the lower numbers drop too fast. 12, 10, 8.5, 7.5 5.75 or 6 if measurement gets hard, 5, 4.5, 4, 3.75, 3.5 3.25, 3, 2.75, 2.5, 2, then possibly by tenths till I hit zero. That “nothing lower than 3” thing is waaaay too high from what I’ve seen. Not for everyone, but for enough. If it turns out to be easier than expected I’ll go faster.

I haven't heard the "nothing lower than 3", but everyone has their own ideas and opinions. I use a spreadsheet I created back when I started vaping, but there are some good online tools for calculating too.

Well, I knew there were online tools, anyway. I expect they're still out there.

 

[bombastinator2]

I haven't heard the "nothing lower than 3", but everyone has their own ideas and opinions. I use a spreadsheet I created back when I started vaping, but there are some good online tools for calculating too.

Well, I knew there were online tools, anyway. I expect they're still out there.

It wasn’t a said thing it was a done thing. The lowest level premix that could be bought was 3. Then it went right to zero. Seen a LOT of people fail there. Lowest number needs to be lower than 3. I don’t know how much lower, but lower. It used to be you could do fractions by mixing zero mg premade juice with low mg juice to get lower numbers. The idea is to make something so gradual that one can effectively get to the higher blood level by vaping more, then once vaping level reached standard lower it again a little. Puff counter becomes important then. If you’re not trying to quit the puff counter has no value.

 

[DPLongo22]

It wasn’t a said thing it was a done thing. The lowest level premix that could be bought was 3. Then it went right to zero. Seen a LOT of people fail there. Lowest number needs to be lower than 3. I don’t know how much lower, but lower. It used to be you could do fractions by mixing zero mg premade juice with low mg juice to get lower numbers. The idea is to make something so gradual that one can effectively get to the higher blood level by vaping more, then once vaping level reached standard lower it again a little. Puff counter becomes important then. If you’re not trying to quit the puff counter has no value.

Copy that. You can add PH or VG too. Most juices have enough flavor that I've barely noticed the difference. Some older juices I was able to cut up to 50% and they still tasted great.

Experiment some, if you wish. Assume nothing until you give something a try.

 

[bombastinator2]

Copy that. You can add PH or VG too. Most juices have enough flavor that I've barely noticed the difference. Some older juices I was able to cut up to 50% and they still tasted great.

Experiment some, if you wish. Assume nothing until you give something a try.

I do almost entirely vg right now. The only pg is from the flavoring base. This would mean for me at least that the pg/vg ratio would stay the same for a vg based nic, or actually go lower with a pg based nic.

 

[dog man]

I'm actually a proponent of intaking Nic in one form or another.
I can't speak for anxiety, and the use of prescription drugs but i would rather trust Nic than some Dr 's opinion on that issue Seems these Med Brainiac's normally are off base on that. but as said I can't speak for that.
My reason is for cognitive purposes. Nic is good in that respect.
I watched my Mom go from Alzheimers. It wasn't pretty. She smoked until age 72ish. at age 74ish She was diagnosed.
Now the unanswered question is Did Her Smoking slow the progression and when she quit , did it trigger the disease?
No way of knowing.
All I know is for cognitive reasons and other positive health effects related to Nic, I'm sticking with it.
It even (as I've read) fights long covid.

 

[bombastinator2]

This is what I originally thought more or less in 2008. Referring to a doctor as a “brainiac” doesn’t help though. They read. That is all. I can read too. And while nicotine is a very very fast acting anti anxiety, it is apparently not a particularly powerful one, or at least neither I, nor the doctor in question, could find any evidence that it is. There are no miracle substances. There just aren’t. The ones that do SEEM like miracle substances generally have downsides. Radium was marketed for just about everything soon after it was discovered till one guy taking it for erectile dysfunction had his jaw fall off because of radiation poisoning.
Not understanding how something works does not make it more effective. That’s not how physics works. Thats how magic works. It is possible that nicotine is massively misunderstood. That’s a different thing though. It needs to BE better understood, But the whole “we don’t know so it must be awesome” thing I see repeated over and over is the preview of mountebanks not scientists. There is a large tax stream, but it is not spent on research to find out what is actually going on, it is spent on marketing which imho is (and which so far also seems to be proven to be) worse than useless

 

[dog man]

Your last statement about sez it....Bomb.
The research on many lesser expensive things are may times stopped in the middle of the trials, or overlooked altogether.
These Drug Co's in Collusion with the FDA opt for the "expensive methods" Very true in Cancer Research, Covid and other issues of importance.
I'm taking 24mg of Ivermectin...Yeah it's called the animal dewormer. It's 16 cents per pill..However it is now known to kill many start up cancers, thus preventing it... Also Covid and many other viruses are dead when taking it. Add to that, the reporting that Smokers are less susceptable to long covid (the Nic?).
Note: I've never had covid take no shots for it and do not wear a mask and am around the Public on a regular basis.
Point being I don't trust Big Pharma, FDA or the Gov't for much of anything.
It's the same ole phrase..."Follow the Money!"