Any vapers out there?

[MemphisBlues]

Wow. This really feeds the addict/alcoholic in me. With one year off sobriety under my belt, I had promised myself that the cigarettes would go on my anniversary date.

I beat that by two weeks by spending what I woulld normally spend on a personal vaporizer and nicotine laden juice. It works. The 4,000 plus chemicals contained in a tobacco cigarette have been completely gone for four days now.

To the uninitiated, vaping is using the so-called electronic cigarette. Being the addict I am, I researched the heck out of it, avoided the pitfalls of many first timers and forked out $100 for my first kit. It works. Nicotine courses through my blood stream, and I haven't touched an analog (tobacco) cigarette.

My lungs are clearing -- and this is after 30 years of smoking tobacco.

There certainly is something to be said about detoxing from the other chemicals in tobacco besides nicotine, but its nothing like my past "quits," including the nicotine patch, gum, anything else.

I can't advocate a brand here, but a style of electronic cigarette I chose has a lot to do with what many alcoholics and addicts must get over in recovery -- their ego.

And that's not really a "brand," but rather a vapor system.

Anyone struggling out there with cigarettes, I hardily recommend you research and explore vapor over tobacco. I don't stink, my breath doesn't stink, my apartment doesn't stink.

The FDA has refused to give these devices a stamp off approval, but other intense studies basically label them as a thousand times safer than tobacco products.

You are inhaling vapor, steam, laden with nicotine. The nicotine "juices" come in a variety of flavors and, most importantly, nicotine strengths. You can start out on a high dose, then taper down. And vapor feeds that oral fixation, tastes like a cigarette, and gives you that throat hit smokers crave.

And the second-hand vapor is, as far as research can find, safe. My girl friend can't smell it, I can vape next to her and she doesn't object.

The FDA says the school is still out on second-hand vapor.

So I'm looking for anyone else out there who has become a vape head, and willing to share my experience with my system.

Don't get me wrong..I want a cigarette! Like I said, the other chemicals in tobacco certainly contribute to withdrawals, but to stop my two-pack a day habit this easy is amazing stuff for me.

[newwings]

I'm a vaper! It's been over a month since I touched a real cigarette, and I'll never go back. NEVER. I can state that categorically, I'm done with the real things. This is after 20 years of smoking on and off (but mostly on).

I feel amazing. I can now run 3 miles without stopping for breath. I can climb a hill near my house that I never even managed to get up halfway for the last four years. I'm signed up for a 10k at the end of November, and I'm not scared that I won't make it.

I smell great, my skin looks good, and I haven't put on a single pound since quitting the cigarettes (in fact, I've lost ten pounds because I can now exercise harder). I LOVE IT!

PM me and we can chat about brands. I think you might be on the same one as me. Does yours have optional flavors and nicotine levels? I'm working my way down slowly. Eventually I'll end up with the zero nicotine, but I'll probably keep going as my best friend and hubby are still smoking, and I'd never want to even be tempted in the future.

Congrats on quitting the cigs! Amazing feeling, isn't it!

[Scolova]

I agree, I smoked cigs for 20+ years... but even if I found an liquid that tasted like burning paper and tobacco I'd still vape my watermelon.
I've been using the eGo style e-cigs since November 1st 2010... First the Riva 510 and now 'the' Joye eGo 510 w\1000mah batteries. I have only smoked two packs of cigarettes in 10 months of vaping (because my stock pile of liquid had lost it's potency, made a quick order and was back in business).
I have also used nic-gum and snus, but e-cigs have kept me from smoking the most\longest... and it is inexpensive, if your purchases are thought out well.

[newwings]

Hmm, yours looks very jazzy! That's quite a swish set up, there. Have you had any interest from other people when you've used it? I've never seen an e-cig like that one before.

Mine just looks like a cigarette. It even glows red on the end when you inhale the vapor....

Congratulations on quitting the real bad boys. I'm so pleased to be free of them. Like you, I do worry about taking up the real cigs again if I run out of supplies. I live in fear of running out of refills for mine (and it seems demand is exceeding supply with my brand, they have a shortage of stock pretty frequently, GRRR) so I stock up. I've got enough to last me a couple of months at the moment. Phew! Now kick back and relax. It's chucking with rain outside, and my hubby is out there, in the wet and dark, huddling under a parasol with his Marlboro Light. I'm happy as a clam in front of the computer, warm and dry, with my e-cig. Who's the smug one now?

[sugarbear1]

My problems with ecigs is the cost at one time (I know! $ound$ cra$y) and that I haven't touched a pot pipe since May or a crack pipe in almost 6 or 7 years. Ecigs don't appeal...I'd rather be nasty now....(rofl)

[Scolova]

TY, NewWings.... LOL sugarbear

I never realized just how bad I stank until I switched, now I can smell cigarette smoke from a mile away. And yes, I REALLY enjoy not having to go out in the rain or cold just to have a smoke, plus hate living in a smokey house. :-)

From reading up on them (like MemphisBlues) I realized they are just a few pieces of equipment: battery, atomizer and a cartridge\tip
(I use drip tips and just add a few drops from my bottle right into the atomizer. Which can be a little tricky at first.)
I have thought about buying some smaller\cigarette size batteries just so I don't get as many of 'those' looks, like I am puffing on some sort of dope pipe - LOL, but I don't mind explaining what it is.

These big batteries can last me 10 to 12 hours each and the longer one in the picture can connect to a USB port and be charging while I vape, they are about $20 each, atomizers $8, I mix most of my liquid, but I sometimes buy the premixed stuff.
Many different models and sellers are talked about at E-cigarette Forum. If you read up there you will see a lot of numbers like 801, 901, 510, kr808... Those are the different types of atomizers, I went with the 510 because there was\are lots of venders that carry them.

[LovesToTravel]

I bought one the beginning of September. I haven't seperated completely to the vaping yet. I am still having problems with the atomizers. I think I got a bad one at first. I promised myself I would stop the anologs today...but I didn't. I will say that I enjoyed going into the bathroom at the airport and puffed to my hearts content!

[Aegian]

Hi all,

Started vaping back in 2009 and loved it. Spent a fortune stocking up out of FDA fears (juice long since gone bad and batteries are worthless now) so glad they got all that sorted. I gave up some time ago because the dang things didn't want to work half+ the time and it was just loads of frustration, but thats what I get ordering direct from Eastmall, I guess.

I have an icon (made here in the US!) but think all of my 901 attys are shot. Guess its time to go do an inventory and see what I have that still works and give this another try. If I can put down the booze, might as well go for the gold, right?

When the dang things work, vaping is SO much better than smoking. Not only does it not have the disgusting odor of smoking, but it tastes cool and smooth while still giving the throat hit my addict-aholic brain is so used to while still allowing to step down the nic content.

My favorite juices are a southern blackberry (full flavor, not sweet) and fire & ice (cinnamon and menthol). I bought a bunch of DIY a while ago (still have a gallon jug of propleyne glycol under the sink LOL) but liked trying other people's concoctions more, so tend to buy interesting juices at random over at the e-cig forum.

Glad to see some vapers here!

[MemphisBlues]

Yep....I love plugging the usb into the computer and vaping away. I've forged a new habit. I definitely get the drug kit paranoia though, but in a way it's a good thing?

It's day six for me now, and there is something to be said about the other 3,999 chemicals in tobacco being addictive. Yesterday was a struggle. I need nicotine, I need the throat hit, I need lots of vapor to feed that oral and visual aspect of the addiction, I need, I need I need....

I stared out on the eGo T, where you get two 3.7 volt batteries, two atomizers and a usb charger and wall socket charger.

Then I upgraded the battery to a 4.7 volt, and, man, what a difference.

I do miss American Spirtis, but where I'm living they're not available. I quit for about a year after American Spirits, and it was the easiest quit I ever had. Again, there is something to be said about theother chemicals in tobacco being addictive, not to mention the enhancing chemicals Big Tobacco puts in cigarettes to suck life from our lungs and money from out wallets. Of course, my pot smoking helped quit the American Spirits. Tranquilizers, too. This time, I was very paranoid about quitting and how that would affect my sobriety. It has actually fostered sobriety, as opposed to being a risk factor.

Where I live, Marlboros are only $1 a pack, so the savings isn't what I'm after. It's that health thing.

I vape constantly! Like 15 minutes straight. I'veread it takes ten minutes to get the same amount of nicotine that you get from that three-minute analog cigarette. So that means I vape for 20!

I'm selling my regular eGo batteries and definitely going with the 4.7 volt batteries.

I haven't had any atomizer problems so far. Do you vapers clean them any other way than blowing out the excess juice from the battery connection end?

I haven't played with flavors yet, just opting for the nicotine variety, and settled on a Dunhill-like flavor at 18 mg nicotine.

I know the jury is still out as far as the FDA is concerned, but the University of Boston School of Medicine and the UK's equivalent of the FDA says vape away, vaper heads, a zillion times better for you than tobacco smoking.

I use the eGo tank system, and haven't gotten into cartomizers or direct dripping yet, but I see that's where most vapers end up.

I did to a rubbing alcohol soak cleaning with two atomizers, but most folks just do the blow clean until the atomizers burn out. I've had my various systems for three weeks now, going on first week without any analogs, and must say, if it used to be the best way to smoke pot, then it's certainly the best way to get nicotine. And this time I'v done it without beer, benzos, pot or any other mind altering substance except for the steam!

[newwings]

Mine is the SafeCig, and I love it. I would say it's a bit pricier than some out there, but I get a long time on my battery. The refills are already primed, you just screw them on and vape. I've never had to clean any of them as you chuck them in the trash when you are done. There's no leak back, either, so the vape is pretty pure. Each refill lasts me approximately a day and half, and I've worked out that I'm spending $1 a day on refills, and have broken even on the starter kit which was $90 for the charger and two batteries. Compare that to a pack or more of Marlboro Lights, which in California are nearly $6 a pack...

I had no idea you could buy smokes for a buck a pack! That would have made it MUCH harder for me to quit, since the financial aspect was quite a clincher. Hubby smokes a pack a day, so for us, we were spending $12 x 7 = $84 a week between us. DISGUSTING. Absolutely disgusting. I shudder when I read that.

Hubby looked at the pic above (the silver vaper) and said "What's that for? Looks like a drug kit", so I can understand that aspect. I'm quite glad mine looks like a cigarette as most of my friends and family are so used to seeing me with a cigarette it hasn't provoked any negative comments. Like you, I've forged a new habit, I'm on it ALL day, and in ridiculous new places that I never smoked before (car, couch in front of a movie, on the computer). I love it as a habit itself. Probably a bad thing....LOL.

[Scolova]

I just blow the excess liquid out of my attys every day or so (I keep two going all the time), I tried soaking the first few dirty ones when started vaping, but most last me around three months. Now days I just keep quite a few fresh ones ready to go. Only had two that went bad within about month of use, one was my fault I burned it dry for to long and popped it, not sure about the other. I've gotten along fine using the standard atomizers and drip-tips, but I recently bought some of those eGo-T type-A attys and tanks and they work pretty good.

Those SafeCig refills sound like 'cartomizers', more e-liquid can be pumped into 'em but they are sold as one-use and throw-away.

I figure in 11 months I have saved at least $1000 over the cost of all my vaping stuff (@ $5 a pack, I smoked 25+ cigarettes a day). Not having to deal with the cigarette moochers is a big bonus as well.

[MemphisBlues]

Hey, Scolova...that looks like a direct drip system? I bought a cheap drip system and can't get it to work. Still stuck on the tank system.

Gotta say, today is day seven and I still want an analog...but sticking to it. I may have bought some bad juice. Do you find that some juices just don't have the nicotine?

I'm travelling to Hong Kong and I see they're illegal there? Oh My!

I do vape a lot. Whow, I mean a lot, sitting here since waking up and sucking on this thing for an hour!

Regardless, I'm committed. I do have a pack of analogs staring me in the face, calling my name, wanting me dead, slowly, seductively, argh!!!!!!

But the system does work, I haven't touched a real cigarette and it certainly takes away the oral fixation. I was smoking a pack and a half a day, and yes, in Manila cigs are less than a $1 a pack.

It will take me months of vaping to recoup the investment, but what are a set of longs worth?

I am tired a lot, and going through cognition misfires. I hope it's just a chemistry readjusting thing, but the desire for a real cig ain't leaving yet. And the nicotine patch has been pulled from the shelves here for some reason.

Ok, enough. I can't vape and type at the same time yet. Maybe I can get a head device to just strap a vape machine to my mouth.

[ProfessorFudger]

Not heard a lot about these in the UK, but we stumbled accross them at the local shopping centre where the usual floor salespeople where promoting them. I beleive in research first so the wife is test driving them and she swears by them, and went a whole evening drinking and using this new type of cig. It looks like a cig, smokes like a cig, and the usb charger is great. The financial benefit is as follows: it costs us £400 per month in cigarettes, these icigs cost £60 a month for the same amount, thats a huge £340 saving per month or in US currency $520 a month, im thinking in 10 months thats a lot of money saved, and if its as good as people say, Im going to make the jump very soon.

[Scolova]

It took between two - three weeks before I realized that I was no longer looking around the house (or my pockets) for my pack of cigarettes. lol .. It felt very good but happens slowly\gradually, you're mind and body are probably still wanting the other chemicals in the cigs.

The 510 atomizers can use drip-tips or carts and I now have the tanks as well, but I think dripping gives the best flavor.

I've used 24mg e-liquid (Gourmet Vapor) and it's been good for me (24mg was suggested for me to start with as smoker of just over a pack a day).
Also mixing my own, a little bit higher and lower:
I noticed if the nicotine is too high I start to get that peppery taste in my throat and then that ill \ nicotine overdose feeling,
Too low and I vape constantly for the nicotine.
I do keep some very low (flavored) e-liquid around for when I just want\need to chain-vape and the nicotine is not important.

If you buy liquid that is to high you can mix droplets of (food grade) vegetable glycerin or distilled water with it to dilute it down a bit. There is good video on youtube about e-liquids and DIY stuff.

Switching to e-cigs has not been a 100% easy road, but I thank God I no longer cough my lungs up every morning, noon and night.

Good luck and stick with it... cigarettes are the worst way to get nicotine into the body and nicotine is bad enough by itself.

[Aegian]

Originally Posted by Scolova

If you buy liquid that is to high you can mix droplets of (food grade) vegetable glycerin or distilled water with it to dilute it down a bit. There is good video on youtube about e-liquids and DIY stuff.

Seconding the recommendation on thinning out the nicotine level with vegetable glycerine. Added bonus is that this is where the bulk of the mist comes from, so adding VG will add to the vapor! You only need a drop or 2 per 3mg.

You can buy VG pretty much anywhere that sells cake supplies (frostings, cake pans, etc). Cheapest places here in the US are places like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. (VG is a consumable thickening/fluffing agent for home made icings and is one of the ingredients in all nic juice)

[MemphisBlues]

Day 9 with no analogs here. Whew. Not the easiest way to quit tobacco smoking, but it does get a lot easier. I've found that you really have to change the way you think of an e-cigarette in terms of delivering nicotine.

Slow draws, let the vapor linger in the mouth, exhale through the nose. It's not the most efficient nicotine delivery system. From what I understand, the nicotine particles are much larger and don't fit into the absorption points of the lungs. Which is a good thing? It seems the mucus membranes absorb nicotine vapor better than the lungs, meaning the mouth and nose.

And, yes, the other chemicals in tobacco -- those naturally there and those purposely placed by big Tobacco to "enhance" the smoking expeience -- do take time to leave the body.


Wicked stuff.

But Day 9 is much easier then the first week. Actually, the first few days were pretty easy, and Day 3 through 6 were tough.

For starters, begin with a high nicotine level of juice. I'm at 18 milligrams, but if it wasn't for having some 24 milligram juice around, I don't think I would have made it. I'm off to score some 24 milligram and 36 milligram juice before by noon AA meeting.

For anyone out there considering this route, I recommend it highly. Remember, the jury is still out on the health effects of vaping, but the jury isn't out on the fact it's thousands of times better for you than tobacco inhalation.

It works for this alcoholic/addict.

So far.....

[MemphisBlues]

Whew...32 days without a cigarette thanks to the electronic cigarette. It does work. On Day 10 or so I was in some pretty serious withdrawals from other chemicals in cigarettes, but after about two weeks things settled down.

I sure would rather just be nicotine free, but I am impressed that these things do work. It answers the hand-to-mouth fixation, delivers a throat hit, and while it's not the most efficient way to absorb nicotine, does stem the cravings.

I was doing some fourth step writing about a week ago and got depressed, went and grabbed a cigarette, lit it and it tasted like crap.

I'm officially a vaper!

I troll around the internet looking for information on the side effects of vaping and am wary of them all, but it sure beats sucking down hot smoke and ingesting a few thousand chemicals. And my lungs feel better, permanently damaged for sure, but better.

Off top Hong Kong where electric cigarettes are illegal! Geesh...the were invented there in 1995 and China manufacturers most if not all of them.

I'm using an ego tank system and a 24 milligram nicotine liquid, 18 mg most of the time.

[BrandNewBabe]

I'm on day 2 with no real cigs! I'm using the e-ciggies to wean myself off of nicotine. After I decided to quit yesterday morning, I thought I was SUPERWOMAN, and intended to quit with no nicotine replacement. After smoking over a pack a day, for 13 years... yeah... I made it a whole 7 hours before I ran down to the store and bought an e cig. I have the NJoy one, only $20. It most DEF takes the edge off of quiting ciggies. I don't really like the quality of the ecig I have, but I haven't punched any babies or kicked any kittens yet, so it must be working!

[MemphisBlues]

Vaping update...It works. I've successfully transferred addictions! And it only cost about $200 of experimenting to find the right vaping system for me.

I now am an official direct dripper, using Ego T batteries an a 901 atomizer. It takes a while to get used to. I tried smoking an analogue cigarette a few weeks ago and it tasted like crap. Threw it out.

Anyone considering trying it, save the money and go to a direct drip system. Google direct dripping, 901 and 510 atomizers, and research before spending the money.

If I was living in the states, I would have saved major bucks not to mention a lung or two, but where I live, cigs are $1 a pack.

If you have the money, the Ego T tank systems seem to be a good start, but you will burn out the atomizers (about $12 a pop).

Do start out on the highest strength nicotine you can get. I am still using 24 mg juice, but will go down to 18 mg this month.

From everything I can find online, this is certainly far healthier than smoking tobacco.

[Scolova]

That's great. I sure do like mine (eGo-510) & drip for sure. I have smoked some analogs over the last few months (around the time I quit drinking), but overall I've been much better off having my e-cigs. I tried using the type-a tanks and have mixed feelings about them, not as much flavor nor vapor, more expensive, but they are a bit more convenient.