[2500cc]

Came across this article, looks interesting anyone tried ?
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/56585758.cms

[promit]

So, I got this around christmas last year. I wasn't looking to quit at that point to be honest. I wanted to try vaping and possibly reduce analogs. Happy to report, that with 'alot' of will power and exercise/gym it is very possible to do without analogs and vape whenever you have an urge to smoke.

I barely smoked cigarettes in January this year. Now I use both, but daily cigarettes is maybe 2 or 3 now on a normal day. I don't smoke by myself or in the car anymore, only socially or with colleagues and with drinks a couple of times a week.

I initially started out with tobacco/marlboro flavours in 6 Mg(suitable for people who smoke light cigarettes). It was unbearable. Found out that the 3 Mg variants of coffee, blueberry etc are much better. They are some 30+ flavours. There are some tasks associated with the upkeep of the device such as refilling the liquid almost everyday, charging it and replacing the coil every fortnight etc. But it is manageable. I think the idea is to vape till you quit smoking analogs and slowly reduce your vaping too.

I'd honestly say, give vaping a shot if you want to reduce smoking or attempting to quit altogether.

I am no way related to this commercially.

Best,
Promit

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by promit

So,----SNIP----
Best,
Promit

Tobacco flavors, especially from evolve are quite harsh.
I would suggest you try a couple of day without any analogs. One, you will get much better flavor from your liquids. Two, your throat and lungs will start clearing up. You'll feel that. Should increase your drive to not touch another analog.
If you are looking for the tobacco feel, give a shot to ciggalicious from epuffs, and Smokin' aces from Anarchist. Also, get hold of some unflavored OG/VG nic mix to help yo uwater down bad juices.
Once you move to coiling and wicking RTAs/RDAs, you'll find it a very satisfying, albeit expensive hobby.

[noopster]

"Analogs", "tobacco/Marlboro flavours", "3mg/6mg"- has it really been that long since I quit? All these terms are completely alien to me!

Seriously though- it does look from the last few posts as though vaping is offering an easy out to those who don't want to quit completely. In which case let me tell you flat out- don't quit! Wait till the time is better and then quit. Cold turkey. Because there is no other way, no matter what the shiny packaging and PR material tells you.

There are several tell-tales that a recovering smoker recognises and identifies with. One is the point at which you start hobnobbing with/hanging around smokers, confident in your ability to resist that "one puff". Another is the eagerness to count anniversaries and advertise it, which ebbs with time. Almost certainly every recovering smoker will reach out to a friend, acquaintance and occasionally a stranger to offer advice on how to quit. After a while this zeal wanes from evangelical to well-meaning and eventually indifference ("He'll realise it sooner or later- can't rush it!")

But like Thad keeps warning on the thread (and he's been quit 20-something years), it's a dark seductive monster that can creep back in any moment and you need to be tremendously alert and make that positive effort to NOT smoke, ever.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by noopster

it's a dark seductive monster that can creep back in any moment and you need to be tremendously alert and make that positive effort to NOT smoke, ever.

This in one sentence sums up how I have avoided smoking since that September in 2008.
Don't ever forget that the smoking devil waits with infinite patience to drag you down.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by noopster

"Analogs", "tobacco/Marlboro flavours", "3mg/6mg"- has it really been that long since I quit? All these terms are completely alien to me!

Quitting is difficult. I quit a thousand times, but never lasted for more than 2 days. As of now, I have not lit up for about a month now. What is different is I dont even want to., No "talab", so to speak.
Cold turkey is not for everyone. You can check up on some research on vaping, and what a person is inhaling. Just dont advise someone flat out to keep going on normal cigarettes just because they vape. It looks the same but it is much different.
The real devil of vaping is the younger folk who take it up as the first step to smoking. For folks like us, its the other way around, which is why its suggested when the mind is willing but the addiction is stronger.
Howver, if this is in any way contravening the purpose of the thread, to help members quit ,all references to it ought to be deleted.
But yes, it helps, for sure.

[R2D2]

As an ex-smoker who quit after 16 years of smoking (1-2 cigarettes a day that ramped up to 15-16/day) let me tell you quitting is the best thing a smoker could do for him/herself.

I quit in June 2004 so it'll be 13 years in a few months. And guess what? The ability to have quit such a debilitating and expensive addiction makes you want to pat yourself on the back for once.

Over these years I have faced my share of life's ups and downs but NEVER felt the need to smoke. It cannot and will not solve ANY of my problems.

Based on my experiences here are a few words of advice to smokers:

• You owe it your family to be there for them. Not to mention the risk of cancer due to 2nd hand smoke is scary.
• There is no such thing as 'reducing' smoking and hoping to quit
• Only the "cold turkey" method works (it worked with me)
• Every time you quit and restart it becomes more challenging to quit the next time around.
• The first few days are torture and withdrawal symptoms at their peak. Be careful you don't go back to smoking.
• I've been told cancer cures smoking! Don't quit when it may be too late.
• Giving up is all in the mind. It is sheer willpower!
• Some people utilise nicotine patches or gums to gradually reduce and quit. It works for some and not for others.
• You will feel the difference in your lungs within a few weeks. They will thank you for quitting.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by noopster

... But like Thad keeps warning on the thread (and he's been quit 20-something years), it's a dark seductive monster that can creep back in any moment and you need to be tremendously alert and make that positive effort to NOT smoke, ever.

Nearly twenty-five years.

But bringing this down to earth, I was told by a doc recently that it takes twenty years to clear the effects from the body. Twenty years just to get back to where we started!

It may be offered with the best of intentions, and sorry if my response seems harsh, but this is a thread about giving up, not about finding alternative ways to go on being a nicotine addict. People who want to talk about vaping should do so in a vaping thread, please.

Sure, it is not my thread to tell others what not to say, but the mods have supported this view in the past.

Some people never get actually physically addicted to nicotine, but for many of us, giving up was, to say the least, difficult. For some it is really a period of hell like giving up "hard" drugs (it is a hard drug: only the legality is different). For some, of course, giving up proves to impossible.

I request that people respect those who are trying to give up. Not to come here with alternative methods of consuming nicotine: hey, this is not quite as bad for you as as actual smoking, etc.

Alternatives can be used as part of a strict giving-up plan. A friend used gum, which did not work for me. I used patches, which really, really eased the pain. I don't think I would recommend vaping: for starters, it requires investment, and is then going to become just another habit-supporting personal ritual.

The need to suck on something can be very real. Go suck on a pencil! Seriously: I'm not joking. I used to roll up till receipts and suck them. Especially when it was for a cup of tea in the cafe; something that would previously have been accompanied by a cigarette.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by mayankk

if this is in any way contravening the purpose of the thread, to help members quit ,all references to it ought to be deleted.
But yes, it helps, for sure.

Don't get me wrong. I have no intention of thought policing you or anyone else who thinks this is a legitimate way to quit smoking. What I am addressing is a more fundamental point. You CANNOT quit by replacing one vice with another.

I have heard so many people complain that they grew fat after quitting smoking. Which is not that difficult to explain rationally: obviously, you have more time on your hands, you taste food better, your appetite increases and you start eating more! If you don't monitor your diet, you're going to end up fat.

To me, vaping seems like an extension of the behaviour so typical of smokers (you will recognise this): I will smoke only socially, I will not smoke at home, I will not smoke in office, I will smoke only on weekends, I will smoke only when I meet my friends at the pub, I will smoke only 1 cigarette a day. I will go for a run whenever I feel like smoking. I will call my Mom whenever I feel like smoking, etc. etc.

It doesn't work. If you are serious about quitting- and I mean QUITTING, not cutting down, not replacing with a less harmful alternative- do it now. Rest all is delaying the inevitable, which is lighting up your next smoke.

Sorry to sound harsh. I don't have a dog in this fight- every smoker's battle is his own. Best one can do is pass on something you have learnt along the way.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

It may be offered with the best of intentions, and sorry if my response seems harsh, but this is a thread about giving up, not about finding alternative ways to go on being a nicotine addict. People who want to talk about vaping should do so in a vaping thread, please.

Sure, it is not my thread to tell others what not to say, but the mods have supported this view in the past.

Great. Understood.
One thing, though. The addiction is for nicotine. The harm is from the smoke. Nicotine patches deliver the same as vaping. You may have had the will power right from the starting block, but not many do. Consider that. And, do read up on vapes. As per this view, the thread ought to be Go Cold turkey or go home.

Originally Posted by noopster

You CANNOT quit by replacing one vice with another.

It really is not a vice.

Originally Posted by noopster

Don't get me wrong. I have no intention of thought policing you or anyone else who thinks this is a legitimate way to quit smoking.

Dont worry, that happened earlier in the thread today.

Originally Posted by noopster

To me, vaping seems like an extension of the behaviour so typical of smokers (you will recognise this): I will smoke only socially, I will not smoke at home, I will not smoke in office, I will smoke only on weekends, I will smoke only when I meet my friends at the pub, I will smoke only 1 cigarette a day. I will go for a run whenever I feel like smoking. I will call my Mom whenever I feel like smoking, etc. etc.

How about, I will gladly not smoke at all? Thats a good outcome. Presumably, you also managed to quit flat out. Maybe you'd have stopped earlier if you had a harmless alternative.

Originally Posted by noopster

Best one can do is pass on something you have learnt along the way.

. Yup.

PS: I am not selling hardware, juices, and nor am I Vape-Nazi. It just looked a little myopic that an option was being dissed by everybody with no prior experience into it.

Out of this for now. As I said, and now have been made aware that mods support that view, do empty out the thread.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Great. Understood.
One thing, though. The addiction is for nicotine. The harm is from the smoke. Nicotine patches deliver the same as vaping.

I don't think that nicotine is harmless.

You may have had the will power right from the starting block, but not many do.

What takes the willpower is the decision to quit. I finally got that one together after many false starts.

As per this view, the thread ought to be Go Cold turkey or go home.

Absolutely not. Some believe it, but I don't. As I said before, I used patches. Having quit, one still needs to deal with the symptoms. it is certainly ok to make that easier.

It really is not a vice.

Maybe Noopster's word was ill chosen, because vice implies a moral judgement. I would have preferred habit.

Maybe you'd have stopped earlier if you had a harmless alternative.

... ... ... It just looked a little myopic that an option was being dissed by everybody with no prior experience into it.

If you are still an addict, then addiction is talking. You may understand that when you cease to be one. Mind tricks, but very effective ones. Nicotine knows how to fight for its life!

[noopster]

Originally Posted by mayankk

As per this view, the thread ought to be Go Cold turkey or go home.

Dont worry, that happened earlier in the thread today.

Hmmm...am not quite sure why you're so angry at me. Am only pointing out the obvious. Nicotine may not be the harmful component but it's almost certainly the most addictive. If you continue to pump nicotine into your system, you're not really managing the root cause, are you?

Presumably, you also managed to quit flat out.

Yes I quit cold turkey. It wasn't my first time either. When my first kid was born I "quit" but it ended up only being a transition from regular to occasional smoker. That continued for maybe 5 years till I said enough is enough and kicked it for good. Do read through my earlier posts on this thread for the full story, if interested.

Maybe you'd have stopped earlier if you had a harmless alternative.

That's an interesting choice of words. By the time I quit, I was convinced there were no harmless alternatives. Gum, patches, even shisha (hookah) essentially feed the same demon of addiction, in my book.

PS: I am not selling hardware, juices, and nor am I Vape-Nazi. It just looked a little myopic that an option was being dissed by everybody with no prior experience into it.

If vaping helps you quit, by all means go for it. My fear (not completely unfounded) is that as long as the nicotine is in your system you will still crave it. Maybe some time you run out of vapes and succumb to the lure of an offered cigarette. That's a real possibility isn't it?

Out of this for now. As I said, and now have been made aware that mods support that view, do empty out the thread.

We sure as hell aren't going to start another thread for vaping, so 'fraid this stays here!

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Maybe Noopster's word was ill chosen, because vice implies a moral judgement. I would have preferred habit.

"Addiction" was probably have been a better choice, yes.

If you are still an addict, then addiction is talking. You may understand that when you cease to be one. Mind tricks, but very effective ones. Nicotine knows how to fight for its life!

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by noopster

Hmmm...am not quite sure why you're so angry at me. Am only pointing out the obvious.

That was not for you, sirji.
But anyway. These are very disparate schools of thought. What works, works. Where it doesn't, its literally their funeral.
No vaping on this thread.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by noopster

That's an interesting choice of words. By the time I quit, I was convinced there were no harmless alternatives. Gum, patches, even shisha (hookah) essentially feed the same demon of addiction, in my book.

Did you want to quit smoking because smoking is harmful or did you want to quit smoking because smoking is addictive? A lot of people want to quit because it's harmful.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

If you are still an addict, then addiction is talking. You may understand that when you cease to be one. Mind tricks, but very effective ones. Nicotine knows how to fight for its life!

In the interest of credibility:
This addict stopped smoking/nicotine cold turkey in 1992 on a 2 packs a day habit, and started again in 2008. Stopped again on a 1 pack habit in March 2015, and remains stopped.

That said, all the research teaches that one never ceases to be an addict, addiction is for life but can be kept dormant. All it takes is one cigarette to breathe life back into the addiction, even one puff is high risk.

As in many other places, the title of the thread is inadequate in its scope - it ought to talk of quitting tobacco. Smoking is just one route the addiction takes to run/ruin your life.

And I have done this recommending in other places: what worked brilliantly for me in 2015 is the Allen Carr book on quitting. It is probably available for free on the net, and isn't expensive if bought. Two things that are useful for the book to work - the decision to stop needs to have been made. And the instructions in the book, down to smoking while reading it if the urge to smoke arises, need to be strictly followed.

There is an element of self hypnosis in the book, hence the above, down to keeping at it even when it seems repetitive reading.

As to why I stopped the second time - it wasn't to live a longer life. With so many uncertainties all around us, that can be a futile objective. But if one gets a smoking related serious illness, life and usually the death that follows is long drawn out and extremely painful. Avoiding one avenue that has that at its end was my sole motivation.