Long term vapers, what's your exit strategy if any?

gebbel

Just wondering, I have been using e-cigs of all shapes, sizes and denominations for 18 months. I now consume 3.5ml of juice per day in a vision stv nova tank. In other words its hardly ever out of my mouth. So in substituting a harmful addiction from my 20+ cigarettes per day, to this less harmful (or possibly/hopefully not harmful at all) one....can I ask other users what is their plan to be addicted to fresh air only?

It's also a question I get asked a lot by those around me by the way,

Cheers

grindle

No exit strategy unless they make it impossible to continue bar going the pharmaceutical route, in which case drug dealers will sadly be receiving my money.
ECITA's latest rummage through legal frameworks has apparently uncovered that it's illegal for them to medicate a non-disease (smoking isn't a disease, it causes diseases), and this was decided by the EU many years back (2005).
Glad to see they finally decided to fight the actual route of the alternative.
If you feel the need to give up, wean yourself slowly off the nicotine, once you get to the lower concentrations of nic (6-10mg) add 5% vodka, gives a bit of throathit, wean yourself off that if you want... After that you'll be vaping fresh air and you just have to wean yourself off the hand-mouth thing.
It's easier to wean off the hand-mouth thing if you're vaping less juice which means using a higher nic concentration...
Six of one, half-dozen of the other.

gebbel

Grindle, it's weird. I got into all of this believing that it was short term. Started off using high strength juice for probably 4 months. Then regular strength and now I'm using the light stuff for the last few months. I have also been upgrading the kit regularly.....and I'm thinking the upgrades burn more juice but yes, I am vaping now more than ever. Probably because I'm getting less nicotine and can't wean myself off it.

I'm not here to put the product down by the way, I've never felt better and haven't coughed up any black gunk in well over 1 year....wouldn't change a thing but getting fed up with how hooked I still am, and friends/family questioning me about it.

grindle

Dunno what to say to you about that really... I love the effects of whatever drugs I like and unless they cause serious harm to me I'd be on them all day every day.

Vaping is a lesser harm. If you want to give up vaping, you're gonna have to wean slowly. Set yourself allowances that you can keep from week to week.
Drop from 3.5ml a day to 3ml a day (buy some empty bottles and a cheap syringe from Boots - only 15c!).
3 to 2.5, etc etc... You'll probably notice yourself really struggling around the 1.5-2ml zone as that'd be around the same amount of time vaping as a 10 a day smoker... You'll notice the difference coming from 20 a day.

Nobody said this was a painless way to quit nicotine (though many have managed to), it's just a fairly painless way to quit cigarettes and continue a habit that isn't life-threatening.

gebbel

I hear you, I love the effects of many substances myself. Most of these were consumed in earlier years however, when real responsibilities were few and far between. Of course there is no magic formula to purge an addiction as strong as nicotine. It's just I feel like a complete slave to this one! Now where is my spare battery, I'm out!

grindle

To feel less like a time-slave, up the nic level and ignore all you can about anything but the simplest rebuildables.

Time saved not vaping, time saved not "hobbying". Do it.
The headspins the first couple of times with high-nic juice can be a bit much, but the pay-off is that you just don't think about vaping it for a while again, your body just says "No.".
Or mine does (unless I'm out of my gourd).
All subjective blahblahblah.

Granted, that won't win the family or friends over (I get asked the same by family and acquaintances a LOT) but why people give a shít about what know-nothing's think escapes me. If you want to quit, wean. WEEEEEAN!

gebbel

So it's back to the high strength nicotine again?! Thank christ it's not the heroin I'm on!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

sell my **** to the americans
be cranky for a few weeks
continue as normal

Thecageyone

I think half the habit is the actual action of it, having something to puff on, the satisfaction of seeing 'smoke'/vapour. Sure, it's the Nic too, but also the habit of many years. Feeling the need to have that device to puff on at certain times. I wonder if trying some 0mg juices in between the Nic ones, then work towards only buying zero for a bit, might help ween off the nic? Get strong flavoured 0mg juices, like a good menthol. Might fool the brain into thinking you're still getting what you need.

I'm happy for now vaping, it's cheaper than smoking by far, [so long as you don't get shinyitis and buy everything going!] and obviously healthier.

jakdublin

Vaping for about ten months and I don't have an exit strategy. At the beginning I thought I'd be on them for a few months and then somewhere along the way the thoughts of quitting just vanished. I'd be happy enough to continue as I am but I'll be cutting down on the strength of my juice the next time I order. I'll be down to the 12mg then and I suppose if the mood takes me I'd lower that again, possibly until I was just vaping nic-free juice. It's not something I think about, but those around me do. I think it's just conditioning. We've been conditioned to believe that when we quit smoking, we have to go on some type of programme that will eventually see you nicotine free. I guess that's what makes vaping a game-changer.

P.I.T.A

jakdublin wrote: »

I'll be down to the 12mg then and I suppose if the mood takes me I'd lower that again, possibly until I was just vaping nic-free juice. It's not something I think about, but those around me do. I think it's just conditioning. We've been conditioned to believe that when we quit smoking, we have to go on some type of programme that will eventually see you nicotine free. I guess that's what makes vaping a game-changer.

Been there tried zero nic juices and what a bummer, no sensation, thrill, kick or nothing, I would try and quit vaping before vaping zero juice as I just don't see the point in vaping fresh air. As soon as I had put down my device puffing zero I straight away wanted to vape a juice with nic in it, it's just a tease. Some might be able to do it but not me, no way no how.

I have gone down from 24 to 5 & 6mg but am starting to feel confident the EU will be blocked in court if it gets that far now as countries are ganging up on Borg, and I have now gone back up to 12mg on the strength of that confidence and the fact that new juices I'm into only start at 12mg, 6mg is very doable but 12 is nicer given a long term choice. And who knows when the sh.it is done and dusted might go back up to 16, 18 or 20mg.

Never even considered quiting vaping as I love my nicotine habit of a lifetime and not doing any damage to myself?, as I never ever considered quiting smoking (thanks to the wife for me vaping - bless her) there is not even an incentive of cheaper costs as zero nic is the same price as juice with nic in it.
so whats the point?

grindle

P.I.T.A wrote: »

...there is not even an incentive of cheaper costs as zero nic is the same price as juice with nic in it.

That's just to reduce the hassle for vendors, zero nic juice costs a few euro less to make per 30ml bottle.

P.I.T.A

grindle wrote: »

That's just to reduce the hassle for vendors, zero nic juice costs a few euro less to make per 30ml bottle.

True Grinds, but we don't/won't see the benefit.

grindle

Yeah, and it's such a rarely asked-for thing it should probably stay the same price just cos it means it has to be made relatively fresh, which is a pain in the hole.

Should be considered a pain in the hole tax.

P.I.T.A

grindle wrote: »

Yeah, and it's such a rarely asked-for thing it should probably stay the same price just cos it means it has to be made relatively fresh, which is a pain in the hole.

Should be considered a pain in the hole tax.

But when you compare our juice prices with that of the UK and others, I think we do pretty well TBH.

grindle

Oh yeah, we definitely do. I'm not saying anything bad about juice prices at all, just figuring out the economics of selling zero-nic juice in real-time on a forum.

Unless there's a serious uptake in shisha-style vaping bars in the future, zero-nic juice should stay at the same price as normal juice.

csi vegas

Almost three months vaping now (and haven't touched a cigarette since).

I have no plans to stop, I didn't get in to it with any intention to but I was very surprised to learn that my OH's friend has been vaping 0% juice in conjunction with nicotine patches with great success, which gives me a very viable strategy should I ever want to stop. Which I don't
This could be an effective alternative should the worse come to the worst and nicotine containing juices were banned.

I must tell him about adding vodka to his mix which ya'll talk about up in here he'll be extatic

ron jambo

2 weeks new to this vaping lark myself.Heavy smoker for 25 years,
Thanks to reading all the posts on boards decided to give this a go.
Not saying its easy but it nearly feels like cheating,have no exit plan,
feel happy enough to go on like this for awhile

jsabina

When I started with ecig my idea was to stop cigarettes.
Because I hate the addiction.
Now I am addicted to e-cig.
If I stop vaping I will be back to cigarettes...

I still hope one day I will be able to quit everything... or just be able to vape once in a while to enjoy it, not because I need it as a drug.

StickyIcky

Vaping for.. I dunno... six months now. I quit smoking cigarettes years ago. However after I realised I could control my usage of nicotine I would smoke while out drinking, the next day I wouldn't smoke, nor would I smoke again until I would usually out in town or with the lads a week or two or three weeks later drinking and smoking again.

I decided to substitute smoking with vaping while I was out drinking to cut back on the adverse health effects from my occassional smoking.

Perhaps this occassional smoking routine I had is the reason why I could take or leave vaping. I enjoy vaping the really tasty flavours. A load of the time I go all day and realise I haven't had a vape. If I get a bit ill or sick I don't vape cus I just don't feel like it. If I'm really busy I wont' vape. If run out of juice or cartomisers or my battery dies I wouldn't panic. If I have a few drinkings I'm vaping a lot. If I go out drinking then yes I really really want a vape It makes drinking much more enjoyable for me.

For me I'm not addicted to vaping. I don't think you're addicted if you can put something down for several days or weeks even. However I enjoy it and unless I discover it's definitely rather unhealthy I don't plan on quitting it. Maybe one day I'll get bored of it gradually and use it even less often. But right now... it doesn't seem that bad for me so I'm happy out.