It was easy because of how gradual it was and that I was still able to satisfy the oral habit of smoking while kicking the chemical dependency. Smoking while driving was a huge hangup.
As a side note - if you buy good hardware and good quality liquid, the whole experiene is better than smoking as well. Forget the vape "culture". IMO ecigs are more convenient, taste better, feel better, and so on.
So that's what I did. I took my carton money for the month and invested in a proper setup after doing my research. I spent time trying different juices until I found one I could use all day, every day.
That was 2 years ago. Everyone around me still smokes, but I've never even been tempted to go back. I smoked for 10 years as well.
I always make a point of sticking at each level for at least 2-3 months. This way I can be sure I've grown fully accustomed to one step before taking the next. In my view, reducing the nicotine content too quickly would increase chances of a relapse.
Congratulations!
But being a non-smoker, I don't understand. Can you explain why you couldn't have cut down on nicotine by just smoking fewer cigarettes per day?
E-cig nicotine delivery happens slower and you avoid both the highs and the crashing lows. That makes it a lot easier to cut down to insignificant amounts of nicotine over a few months.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024320506... http://jneurosci.org/content/25/38/8593.long http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091305703...
Cigarettes do give a more immediate and intense nicotine 'hit'. Ammonia compounds are added to cigarette tobacco, which increase the proportion of freebase nicotine to nicotine salts. Cigarettes are, in a very literal sense, the crack cocaine of nicotine delivery.
[1] http://www.dddmag.com/article/2009/07/question-opioid-euphor...
PLUS To change your dose you have to change your habit. With Ecig, to change the dose you just buy a different product, but your day to day (hour to hour) habits are the same as always.
you can get a good setup for ~$50 then the heaviest users will spend like $30/month on juice (most users will spend a fraction of that)
If you mix your own juice you're approaching savings that are better on an order of magnitude.
Three 120ml bottles last me close to an entire month. Local stores around here are also a rip-off (near Austin, Texas).
Vaping is something I do A LOT of while post-processing photos! Do you perhaps have a photographic interest?
That's more than 10ml a day! I know you're going to disagree and try to convince me otherwise, but that is an INSANE amount of liquid.
I should try and cut back some and reduce my nicotine dosage of 1.5mg down to 0mg but I don't mind the nicotine.
I'm also addicted to coffee so about 2-3 full Yeti cups a day. Woe is me!
once i found some diy recipes that i enjoyed, i made a pair of 120ml, and the cost savings from those two bottles alone covered all the ingredients and equipment (beakers, stirring rods, scale, bottles, etc). diy is especially worthwhile if your device guzzles juice like my geekvape griffin tank does.
diy or die on youtube is a great resource, here's one of the recipes i make regularly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlI8CvT8SCA
If you're buying domestic juice you pay a premium for nothing special, from what I can tell. Also, the chances of it being made in a proper factory are basically nil. It's often someone else's DIY garage juice at a 10000% markup.
I haven't kept up with the new FDA guidelines since starting DIY about a year ago, but from what I remember a lot of the little garage brands are going to be in trouble. My buddy used to work at Apollo out in Concord and I know they take their juice seriously. I think it's shitty, but it's not because the line is dirty haha. Molecule Labs out in Benicia has a pretty cool facility as well.
Sigelei 50W Watt Box Mod Kanger-subtank with OCC Vertical coil. 0.5 ohm
liquids: Ultimate Kringle (every day juice) Castle Long (every now and then)
As others have replied and as might know, the world of ecigs is rather large, poorly detailed (mostly), and can be expensive to start. That equipment worked really well for me at the time. But the "go to" gear may be different by now - I would stress that you research before you buy.
I have learned everything i know about ecigs from friends, ecigforums, youtube rewviews, and buying a lot of crappy equipment.
best of luck.
These anti-vape ads infuriate me. I don't even use one anymore, haven't for over a year, and every time I see one of those ads I think there might go another person who had a real chance to quit smoking cigarettes.
>This has raised concerns that the use of electronic cigarettes could lead to the ‘renormalisation’ of smoking and provide a gateway to smoking for young people. Yet so far there is little evidence that this is happening. The use of electronic cigarettes by people who have never smoked has been, and remains, negligible.
>If electronic cigarettes are a gateway, they currently appear to be a gateway out of smoking.
Hardcore coffee addicts don't usually end up smoking coffee with 4000 other random addictive chemicals mixed in.
And wrt your question, who knows what other chemicals are in ecig juice, as the ingredients seem to be completely unregulated.
To neotek: No problem, it's easy to misunderstand people on the internet.
I do appreciate that vaping is probably safer than cigarettes, but that's a very low bar indeed...
Just because it may be (and who knows until there are long term studies), doesn't mean as a society we should be encouraging, or even allowing vaping.
At the very least I think there should be some kind of regulation around the ingredients, otherwise how can anybody say the vapor is safe for the inhaler and the people around them?
http://ash.org.uk/information-and-resources/reports-submissi...
Even if they were having a nic fit they'd still vape - you can get stronger fluid and vape more than you can get via smoking without feeling sick.
> I do appreciate that vaping is probably safer than cigarettes, but that's a very low bar indeed...
There's no probably about it. Smoking kills, and we don't see Vaping doing that.
> Just because it may be (and who knows until there are long term studies), doesn't mean as a society we should be encouraging, or even allowing vaping.
So you'd recommend we pursue measures known to kill tens of thousands of people just because there's a vanishingly small chance of harm sometime in the distant future?
You're mainly just demonstrating the problems with democracy.
Disallowing vaping is not the same thing as recommending cigarettes.
If you asked me to make a recommendation, it would be to make smoking illegal immediately. It's ridiculous that it's allowed at all, when it kills so many people for no good reason other than "it's not illegal, so get over it". It's so dangerous that it kills thousands of people that don't even do it!
I just don't want to see the horse bolt like it did with smoking. If it's safe, then it's safe. But nobody knows yet so don't insinuate that has been proven.
Like I said, if the threshold for safety is that things must be safer than cigarettes, then that's a very low bar indeed.
> You're mainly just demonstrating the problems with democracy.
It's a problem with democracy that I want a new drug delivery system to be proven safe before being allowed/recommended?
I find you rude.
100%.
> if the threshold for safety is that things must be safer than cigarettes, then [...]
That's not the threshold for playground equipment, or shampoo, but for a smoking replacement.
> If it's safe, then it's safe. But nobody knows yet
Oh yes, we do. I don't have to say rock climbing is safe to know that shark-taunting is unsafe. We have a really good idea how many people die from smoking and we aren't seeing vape users have that issues, or at least not 1/50th as much.
The open questions isn't "is vaping unsafe" but "which fluids are unsafe to breathe the vapors from?" Even if we discovered that propylene glycol is unsafe that doesn't mean the idea of atomizing nicotine is a bad one.
> Disallowing vaping is not the same thing as recommending cigarettes.
Actually, it is exactly that. This isn't a thought problem of "Which drug would you want your citizens to be hooked on," the question is "given that they are already hooked on cigarettes, ...".
> I find you rude.
Another typical liberal thug. Willing to use the might of the government to kill people in the guise of helping, and whose greatest insults are "You hurt my feelings."
I'm sure you do find me rude, but I'd rather hurt the feelings of a few uninvolved busybodies than let the millions of innocent people who got hooked on cigarettes die from cancer.
We should immediately reject all governmental proposals that aren't backed up by rigorous science. Not only would this stop a ton of abuse, but we'd save a fortune in tax money that could then be spent on initiatives that actually save lives.
Sometimes I wish kids were forced to truly grok some of the basics of economic theory before getting to high school. I wonder how different the world would be if even a few percent more people didn't take some of the actions they do that are clearly counterproductive.
In this case, legalisation and regulation of a different drug—kratom—could help users self-rehabilitate. Kratom is to opiates much as e-cigs are to cigarettes—some of the effects, but far milder, more manageable, and easier to quit. The DEA announced their intent to schedule it, but (thankfully) has since backpedaled a bit due to public objection.
Do you happen to know of credible sources or studies which have looked at this?
(Couldn't say from my own experience, though, unless you count my addiction to chocolate.)
Vaping may remove the smell triggers, but having smoked for a long time, and having vaped a fair amount as well, I suspect that while vaping may be much healthier, it could end up being more addictive due to the way it tends to be used along with differences in the way it's inhaled.
When light cigarettes were first introduced, they also thought they would be healthier, but many people actually tended to pull harder on a light cigarette than the regular cigarettes, resulting in smoke being pulled more deeply into the lungs actually doing more damage.
diluting drugs is not hard. many dealers dilute the drugs for you!
She had an infarctus (not myocard it seems though) last month, obviously cardio told her no more cigarettes. She was worried about nicotine addiction, I mentioned e-cig, I got angry eyes, borderline saying it was worth than cigs.
I understand their concerns about untested liquids turning into other kinds of carcinogens, but I'm still surprised about the reaction. I expected that some doctors would be able to either mention calmly "no vaporized liquids is free of dangerous particles" or redirect to well tested brand and suppliers. I guess it's just hurried scare tactics.
In the mean time, it's nicotine gums diet.
Of course, they won't recommend them to patients because the science has yet to fully establish their safety, but what science HAS come in is promising and the anecdotal evidence from countless users is also promising. Even so, doctors want to promote quitting altogether, not crutches or replacements, as it simplies treatment plans and eliminates variables. Plus, many of them have never been smokers, so they just don't understand what it's like to be a smoker, depending upon both nicotine and the comforting ritual of smoking in a society flush with stress.
"E-cigarettes are not risk free, but based on current evidence they carry a fraction of the risk of cigarettes. Public Health England’s independent review of the latest evidence found that using an e-cigarette (known as ‘vaping’) is around 95% safer than smoking."
and
"If you are a smoker, the best thing you can do is stop smoking now and e-cigarettes can help people to quit."
I wanted to cross check with ecigs "nerd" communities, who are fine grained in their approach of products and spend time discussing issues and qualities of liquids, and devices (combustion properties control matters).
I'm still looking for data about vaporizers (be it water + nicotine, or even THC).
In any case, I followed much the same road once I switched; I stepped down from 18mg (headaches!) to 12mg, and now I'm at 6mg or 3mg depending on the liquid I have. I can't describe just how much my health has improved over that span as a result.
Also, devices and liquids have _vastly_ improved in the past 4 years, to the point where when I give recommendations to others looking to transition, I don't get cold stares back from failed attempts and cheap devices that kept them from ditching cigarettes.
https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine is interesting reading.
Of course, e-cigarette liquid is not only nicotine, so who knows what the long term effect of that is. The chromium in the heating coils worries me personally. (Kanthal and stainless steel both contain chromium. Obviously stainless steel is designed to be relatively inert, so maybe it's OK. Titanium is another option, and is implanted in the body regularly. But things are different at high temperatures.)
(I actually used Kanthal wire sold for DIY vaping things professionally at one point, in a ~1200C heater in vacuum. It's not inert enough in those conditions, sadly)
Stainless steel coils facilitate temperature-controlled vaporisation, which is a crucial advance in harm reduction. Controlling the temperature of vaporisation significantly reduces the production of aldehydes and aromatic hydrocarbons, which are created by the thermal decomposition of propylene glycol and glycerine; these decomposition products are by far the most dangerous components of e-cigarette vapour.
http://www.ecigarette-research.org/research/index.php/resear... http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.12942/abstrac...
Stainless or Kanthal at 500C or something should indeed be quite inert, it's just not that hot.
Power-controlled devices rarely exceed 300C in normal use, because there is considerable airflow over the coil combined with evaporative cooling. Excessive temperatures can be reached if the device is inadvertently activated, or if the liquid flow to the coil is inadequate.
As you say, kanthal and stainless steel should be very stable at these temperatures. Pure titanium wire also works with temperature control and completely avoids the issue of chromium, but there is some debate over the potential risks of titanium dioxide nanoparticles.
More than that, you'll know immediately it's happened because it tastes awful.
Same thing with formaldehyde - nobody is ever going to willingly inhale it, since its presence means your vape is going to taste awful.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/03/05/formaldehyde-fears-used-to...
Agreed, it's tobacco that is the primary issue.
I've been curious to adopt the e-cig for the stimulant aspect. I likely won't, but will admit to being curious if it would be a productivity boost. I'd bet the e-cig companies could gain a whole new market if they published some quasi-scientific material on the productivity benefits of nicotine.
Did you read the instructions? You're supposed to chew on it for a bit, than 'park' the gum between your gum and teeth, let it sit for a minute or two, rinse, repeat. If you chew continuously you get the whole dose quickly, which can be a bit unpleasant if you don't like the nicotine buzz.
That's a big part of the cigarettes many persons (anecdota) have trouble with quitting outside of the addictive properties: the learned habits.
I think the idea is that when vaping, you are able adjust the level of nicotine you are consuming without having to adjust how often you engage in the physical act of vaping/smoking. The act is a comfortable ritual, a chance to take a break, step away, relax for a few moments, whatever. It's a habit itself, distinct from the nicotine dependency. Quitting smoking is doubly painful if you are craving both the chemical and the act. Vaping gives you the act without the chemical.
This doesn't even touch the fact that nicotine is not particularly harmful - simply a habit-forming stimulant like caffeine, adderall or modafinil. Vaping delivers the nicotine without the tar, and the tar is what kills. The thing that makes people nervous about vaping is not the nicotine, but the behavior of the (largely unstudied and unregulated) substances in the vapor being inhaled.
A cigarette has become a somewhat expensive object. When I light it up I would finish it, or at least try to. If the time I had for my smoke break was short I would puff that thing hard to get it done in the time I had allotted. An e-cig can be used for a few puffs and then dropped back into my pocket with nothing wasted. I could be much lazier about how I smoked and as a consequence I tended to smoke less.
Vaping just didn't fill that void and I think that's part of the reason I gave up (the other being that I just couldn't find a flavour I actually liked, no matter how close the name of it is to 'golden virginia', it never tasted remotely as close)
I'm creeped out by whatever's in e-cigs. I'm don't know why everyone is so sure that constantly inhaling propylene glycol for years on end is safe, or that all that's in that mystery imported off-brand liquid is propylene glycol. I of course find it extremely likely that it's less unhealthy than smoking.
I quit through using Swedish snus. I think it was crucial that snus isn't fun, and gives you nothing to do with your hands. To gradually wean off nicotene, just leave the portions in longer. Twenty-year smoker, two-year snuser, four years tobacco-free.
I think the older generation is just generally more accepting of discomfort than todays cream-puffs.
I'm not countering your point of it being addictive. I was so, so so lucky not to have been hooked by that at all. I don't know if i just didn't smoke enough, or what... but it's one of the few points in my life i feel like i made the right choice. Weirder yet, it wasn't even a choice.. i just sort of stopped.
It's probably genetic
Also it seems to correlate with risk of Parkinson's http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/832391
( huh that seems to be paywalled? Google "Ease of Quitting Smoking May Be Early Sign of Parkinson's")
https://www.hri.global/files/2011/07/13/Benowitz_-_Nicotine_...
The nicotine delivery is less immediate and not as strong so for someone used to the immediate dose delivered by smoking, it sort of left me wanting more but at the same time, it was a much less intense "craving" than a smoker would feel when forced to abstain.
A big part of it for me was adjusting to this. Smoking delivers a large, immediate dose of nicotine which then drops off in your bloodstream over the course of the next half hour or hour, when (predictably) you sort of want another cig. With the vaporized nicotine solution, I had to get used to just having a puff every so often throughout the day (more like hookah I guess) and maintaining a more constant but lower blood level.
Anyway, maybe I'm overanalyzing it. The results were the same though. It was as much getting off the roller coaster of "dose, levels drop, crave, redose" and onto a more sustained but lower level. It made it much easier to go without and it made it easier to lower the nicotine in the liquid to the point where I keep some 3mg/ml stuff around for the occasional desire for a mild stimulant but otherwise, it was practically effortless to wean off.
Aside from just lowering my nicotine intake and habituation to something more along the lines of how I really could go for a coffee some mornings, stopping the constant deposit of tars and particulates into my respiratory system has made a huge impact on my general health. No more lingering colds and honestly I haven't had a major cold or other respiratory infection in years now. I used to get them all the time thanks to the constant irritation and level of crap I was inhaling.
And another cool thing is that I know exactly what's in the stuff I'm inhaling occasionally now. I can get MSDS sheets for the flavorings and the rest is just nicotine and a couple types of glycerine (like you'd use in a fog machine or asthma inhaler). The levels of anything potentially harmful are a miniscule fraction of what they'd be if I was smoking cigs still and I'm no longer getting the vast majority of harmful compounds or carbon monoxide at all.
I really hate to come off as a "booster" and I try not to be the guy who just has to tell you about "his vape" but I think this sort of anecdotal experience is appropriate and on-topic in threads like this. I think it's a real shame that something with maybe 1-2% of the risk of smoking has been so demonized and lobbied against when it's a bigger improvement than methadone for heroin addicts or AA for alcoholics.
I acknowledge that not everyone will agree with me, but this is my opinion on the matter.
The key is to steadily reduce the amount of nicotine in the liquid you're using. Once you aren't using nicotine any longer all that is left is the social ritual and habit of going out for a smoke, which isn't a very convincing reason after a while. Soon you'll forgot to take your e-cigarette with you one day - you'll use it less and less. Until it simply doesn't matter any longer.