Some Ideas for Newbies

[jonnoh]

Hi. I'm Jon from at the moment, Malaysia and I've got a few insights that's hopefully helpful to those new to this wonderful activity.

Firstly, I was a 2 pack a day smoker for nearly 50 years, and had really given up the idea of ever going a day without a cigarette, cigar or pipe. I really thought I'd hack myself to death, and at the time 61, sooner rather than later.

Then I discovered vaping. I'd discovered it a couple of years before, but the devices at the time didn't work very well. They looked like cigarettes or pens and you had to refill cotton or whatever fabric pieces in the filter looking part which contacted the coil to produce vapour. They weren't consistent, didn't produce quality flavour, and the batteries weren't reliable.

Then I got into the much improved devices with clearomizers, atomizers and tanks, batteries that would last a whole day, and that was a whole new world. I stopped smoking 4 May, 2013 and with a few bumps now know that I'll be vaping for as long as I live. I truly expect that to be quite a bit longer because I feel better than I did when I was 12 and bought my first pack. That's basically my credential for saying this. I know nicotine has addictive qualities, but in my opinion it's not nearly so addictive as the FDA would have you believe, If it were, those nicotine patches and gum along with a dummy cigarette for the hand to mouth habit would be a highly effective way to quit smoking. Basically they don't work for most people. They certainly didn't for me. My joke all those years ago was, "Yeah, I tried those patches, but I couldn't keep them lit."

I really think that the other 4000 or so chemicals produced in cigarette, cigar and pipe smoke are more important than people think. It's really easy to just blame nicotine. I'm convinced from the rush I get those few times I've been caught short and had to smoke analogues, that those chemicals have properties that are also highly addictive, probably more so than nicotine. They probably mimic narcotic analgesics to make you feel good about what you are doing even though you know intellectually it's killing you slowly. Other chemicals probably act as bronchodilators to ease breathing and calm wheezing. Still others probably are like steroids to reduce inflammation to keep you from noticing the damage being caused by the tar particles. Maybe that's why your lungs feel so bad after a night's sleep and deprivation from these chemicals, so that you're inclined to immediately want to feel better so you light a cigarette and almost immediately after hacking up a lung, feel so much better.

To conclude, the nicotine in vapour is a great help in overcoming the cigarette addiction, but so is the vapour cloud, and the hand to mouth activity. I strongly recommend you to buy a reasonable device and not one of those convenience store disposables before you decide if vaping will help you. I'm not very familiar with the names, and many here can direct you to some good starter products. My real point is to keep vigilant of those cravings that come from sources other than nicotine, and be prepared. If I had known this before I started I would have had an easier time making the decision to change smoke for vapour. Instead I actually listened to the idiot, easily swayed, easily lobbied FDA that nicotine was the major bad guy. I write this because I so want everyone who tries this to succeed. Plus, as many here say, it makes an awesome hobby. Best of luck to all you newbies. It really works. My real difficulty was deciding to switch, because I was afraid that life without cigarettes wasn't worth living. Then the discovery that quitting was almost totally painless.

It's been 504 days, and I'm loving life even without cigarettes!

Jon

[N5XTR]

Thank you for sharing this

[Itsmedeanna64]

Way to go Jon. I love to read stories such as yours. I smoked a pack or less a day for about 8 years but still very addicted. I tried several times to quit but when I started vaping I was shocked how easy that transition was. I'm cig free now for 3 weeks and don't miss it at all. I'm amazed every day of how much it had a hold on me! I knew I didn't have a choice because of chronic stomach and blood problems but now my health is on the way up.

Congrats, that is amazing! Welcome...you will enjoy this forum and will learn a lot from it!

Doc

[ValerieeRJackson]

Every vapers has their own stories to tell and this is one amazing story Jon thanks for sharing. Keep on vaping!