A month ago and a day ago I posted on DU about having a 40+year cigarette addiction, 3 packs a day, and no matter what I tried, even giving them up once for 3 years, I was still addicted. I then tried e-cigarettes. When I posted the thread I was asked by several smoking DUers for an update, to see if it would work.
I have now been successfully tobacco free for a full month! It has been for the most part very easy, but costly in mistakes that I made finding the right e-cig combination for me, but I don't miss smoking real cigarettes at all. Due to my heavy smoking I needed a unit that provided the vapor strength and battery life I needed. I am still experimenting with cartridges and cartomizers that can hold the maximum amount of e-juice.
I started with a system that was inappropriate for my smoking habits but knew that if done right, this could work. Once I bought and received better equipment, I completely stopped smoking cigarettes on the third day. The following day I removed my ashtrays. About a week or so into it, I was still a little edgy and annoyed at constantly having to recharge batteries and I purchased and committed to the e-cig that I have now. It gets a battery life of about 5 1/2 hours. It doesn't look like a cigarette, but more like an elegant stogie.
Granted there are few times when my brain tells me, like right after a meal, to light up, but then of course I remember I no longer do that and I vape. That's what it's called, vaping, as you are creating vapor with the e-cigarettes and that simulates smoke. The liquid used is a combination of nicotine, food grade vegetable glycerin and food grade propylene glycol and flavoring. The nicotine is delivered by the vapor as are the flavorings. At first I thought I should be vaping a tobacco flavored e-juice and although tolerated in the beginning, hate it now. No e-juice could simulate burning tobacco successfully and at this stage, who wants it? I compare the thought of it to licking a dirty ashtray. Finding the right e-juices too have been a series of trials and errors. I still buy but have been also creating my own.
So that's my update! I really do encourage anyone who smokes and has tried many ways to give them up unsuccessfully, and wants to stop, to at least try e-cigarettes. I know that it isn't like going cold turkey and giving up nicotine immediately or completely (you can wean down on ecigs by reducing the nicotine percent in the e-juice), but some of us just don't have the willpower.
Of course I have switched my method of getting my addiction but I am no longer spreading smoke with 1000s of harmful chemicals into my body and into the world. I will not soapbox the evils of smoking and will never tell another person that they shouldn't. It's not for me to judge them. What they do is their own thing, as what I am now doing is mine.
My lung capacity is better and so is my skin. My sons are proud of me and have told me so. The topper was when one of my older son's friends told me how proud my son was about this. Big smiley sigh here.
Just one thing I would like to add. There has been a big push by the FDA and state governments to ban the use of e-cigarettes. If everyone who smoked cigarettes switched, a lot of big business (drug companies, tobacco companies) and government revenues from cigarette taxes would be devestated. That's how successful these things are. One only has to log onto an e-cigarette forum, like I have to see how many success stories there are out there. The e-cigarette forum I belong to is
e-cigarette-forum.com
Peace to you all,
Ommmmmmmmmmm :)
Posted below is my original thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9013383I have been smoking since I was about 15 years old and I am coming up quickly on my 59th birthday. I have been known to go through 3 packs a day. I didn't smoke them all, as many burn out while I'm working, but they have been my forever addiction and prop. Add to that I live in NY and cigarettes have been escalating in price. Almost 2 years ago a friend of mine introduced to me to cigarette injection machines and tubes. I have for the most part been making my own till now. I would occasionally treat myself to a "real" pack but at $9.50, they have become unaffordable.
I have quit 3 times in the past. The first time I quit for three years, when I was 24. A bad break-up with a boyfriend had left me with two alternatives, go out the window or start smoking again. I of course chose the latter.
Fast forward about 20 years ago I decided to try again and it last about 5 months and then another year later it lasted for about 2 months. Both time I tried the nicotine patch and an anti-anxiety medication, when I had health insurance and could visit the doctor.
I have since used nicotine patches when I was under situations when I couldn't smoke (ie jury duty, flying to and from CA and also the UK), and it helped take the edge off as long as I wore 2 full strength patches but I just couldn't commit to stopping again. I even thought the nicotine lozenges would work but all they gave me was severe heartburn.
About a year ago, I started to hear about e-cigarettes and I was intrigued. I started to look at them and was quite confused as there seemed to be very little conformity between makes and models. There are a few brands that have excellent marketing but most were a bit too expensive for me to lay out immediately. I also had to take into consideration the cost of maintenance. How much would it cost per month.
I also read about controversies about how healthy/unhealthy they were. I figured that due to the fact that I've been putting tar and so many more chemicals into my body, anything less would be a plus.
A couple of weeks ago I found an offer on eBay (which I use a lot for purchases) and bought via "coupon" a system. eBay does not allow direct sales of tobacco products, although these do not have tobacco, but flavoring and nicotine. It arrived and had problems because the cartridges it came with ran out of vapor within an hour or so, batteries had to be recharged almost every 2 hours but it seemed that if I didn't have these problems, I could use this kind of device to give up smoking.
I then did what I should have done from the beginning. I started to visit the e-cigarette-forum.com. It became an invaluable resource. From what I read, there were some brands and models more superior to others. Most posts put down the ones that were highly marketed and recommended more versatile ones that you could just fill with your own e-liquid, with superior vapor production (simulates smoke) and charging options. The forum is also a place for vendors to peddle their wares from hardware to the e-liquid (juice). Many offer discounts and coupon codes. I estimate that the total cost will be between $30.00-$40.00 a month. I have been making my own cigarettes for about $90.00 a month.
I decided on what appears to be one of the highest rated models, the Joye 510 in a kit and ordered it directly from China for $34.95 with free shipping(it isn't here yet), and also a passthrough system for the Joye 510, which I bought from a US vendor (with a 40% off ecoupon!). The passthrough is the battery part and connects to USB. I am practically always in front of the computer and it made sense to buy it. I also ordered blank cartomizers which one fills up with the e-liquid. I received the passthrough 2 days ago, and have, as of now, had 2 real cigarettes today. I put both of them out half-way through and re-lit them. That's it. I am not irritable/bitchy and in fact calm. It's a pleasure not having a cloud of smoke around me.
Using the e-cigarette does simulate smoking and is giving me the nicotine that a patch, gum or lozenge would do, and I hope that by next week I won't have to make a cigarette again.
I do know that it won't be a "walk in the park" physically as just like quitting cold turkey, I expect a constant sore throat and lots of coughing to follow. Probably for months.
I never ever do this here at DU, but please, wish me luck!
Peace,
Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :)
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