The Big Quit
September 14, 2017 11:47 PM Subscribe
I have smoked for 30 years. I recently turned 50. It's time to quit. I want to make this as painless as possible. I know about nicotine gum and, well, ick. I'm not interested in medication. I'm also leery of the patch. But from what I gather vaping can be a decent substitute. Can you advise?
No lectures. No discussions of how much better I'll feel afterward. No gore. None of that please.
I'd just like instructions on how to replace cigarettes with the cheapest possible vaping alternative (made Europe or the U.S., not China from what I've read) that tastes more or less like American Spirits (no bubble gum or other fancy flavors), which I can buy, ideally, online: cheaply, efficiently, and repeatedly till I wend myself down. Note that I'm a small person, and smoke about a pack a day.
I look to the Green for wise counsel.
No lectures. No discussions of how much better I'll feel afterward. No gore. None of that please.
I'd just like instructions on how to replace cigarettes with the cheapest possible vaping alternative (made Europe or the U.S., not China from what I've read) that tastes more or less like American Spirits (no bubble gum or other fancy flavors), which I can buy, ideally, online: cheaply, efficiently, and repeatedly till I wend myself down. Note that I'm a small person, and smoke about a pack a day.
I look to the Green for wise counsel.
Okay, hi, I know *a lot* about this! There are a couple of misperceptions that I'd like to help you with, but first let's start with the positives, both for immediate action, and info:
a) you can absolutely quit smoking cigarettes with vaping
b) vaping is much safer than smoking
c) despite the often bad public optics (and the way a lot of the media likes to scare people), vaping is not just for obnoxious "cloudbro" types. There are SO MANY people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and even 80s quietly vaping away – all kinds of people, from all walks of life, who started vaping to quit smoking ... and there's a high success rate compared to any other nicotine replacement therapy or other quitting aids.
And now for immediate action / recommendation. If I were quitting cigarettes and beginning vaping today I would try the Juul "pod system" (the e liquid is supplied in little "pods" that you just replace in the device: no filling, no replacing coils, no cleaning or adjusting of atomizers, etc. Here's an info-video from Ruby Roo, who is basically a "pro vaper" at this point, and knows her stuff (I've been watching her vids for a long time).
Caveat: this is not the cheapest way to go. You do not want the cheapest way, though, because the cheapest way is usually bad quality / bad experience devices that will end up frustrating you and causing you to either give up or continue to spend money until you finally find something that works. The other cheapest way is getting to the point where you know so much about vaping you can evaluate the technical aspects of various devices, know pretty much everything, for example, about voltage, watts, and ohms, you use rebuildable atomizers for which you make your own coils, and you make your own e-liquid (this is where I am, and it's totally achievable, but takes some time to learn all this stuff).
Juul isn't the only pod system, and it's certainly not the only way to go for a beginner (nor the least expensive), but that's a whole book, and I'm keeping this to a "short story" by just mentioning what I'd do myself / recommend to a friend to keep it high quality but nicely simple and hassle-free, at least to begin with. You may choose to explore other options once you've made the transition, or stick with the tried and true if Juul does it for you. You should probably start with one device, and once you've determined that it works for what you need, get a second for back up in case of failure, and to have another one on hand when you need to charge the first one.
Now just to clear up a couple of things: saying you want vaping devices only made Europe or the U.S., not China, is pretty much like saying you want a smart phone only made in US or Europe. Some vaping equipment is designed in US / Europe, but very, very, very few are not manufactured in China (off the top of my head, I can only think of Dicodes in Germany, now that ProVape in US has shut down). Most are made in China, many are also designed in China. Some are excellent, some not so much. The Juul was designed in the US, and is probably mostly manufactured in China under close oversight. The Juul pods and e liquids are probably made in the US.
As for E liquid generally, this is something that you will definitely find made entirely in the US or Europe, and when I buy retail e liquid, I do stick to European or US brands.
Now, for something that tastes more or less like American Spirits, that's not really going to happen. You can use tobacco flavors, but they are not going to taste very close to your cigarette. The tobacco flavor I used when I first quit was *close enough* that it felt pretty easy to quit, but I quickly moved on to other flavors. Almost everybody does. We all begin just wanting something that tastes like a cigarette, and nearly all end up liking other flavors a lot better. I'm vaping "ice mint cream" at the moment, one of my favorites.
To learn more about any / all aspects of vaping and to ask questions, get recommendations, etc., you can visit ECF (E-Cigarette Forum) where there are a lot of people in your (our) age group who started vaping to quit cigarettes, not just young cloud chasers. You can also feel free to mefi mail me, and I will help as much as possible with any questions you might have!
posted by taz at 1:40 AM on September 15, 2017 [9 favorites]
a) you can absolutely quit smoking cigarettes with vaping
b) vaping is much safer than smoking
c) despite the often bad public optics (and the way a lot of the media likes to scare people), vaping is not just for obnoxious "cloudbro" types. There are SO MANY people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and even 80s quietly vaping away – all kinds of people, from all walks of life, who started vaping to quit smoking ... and there's a high success rate compared to any other nicotine replacement therapy or other quitting aids.
And now for immediate action / recommendation. If I were quitting cigarettes and beginning vaping today I would try the Juul "pod system" (the e liquid is supplied in little "pods" that you just replace in the device: no filling, no replacing coils, no cleaning or adjusting of atomizers, etc. Here's an info-video from Ruby Roo, who is basically a "pro vaper" at this point, and knows her stuff (I've been watching her vids for a long time).
Caveat: this is not the cheapest way to go. You do not want the cheapest way, though, because the cheapest way is usually bad quality / bad experience devices that will end up frustrating you and causing you to either give up or continue to spend money until you finally find something that works. The other cheapest way is getting to the point where you know so much about vaping you can evaluate the technical aspects of various devices, know pretty much everything, for example, about voltage, watts, and ohms, you use rebuildable atomizers for which you make your own coils, and you make your own e-liquid (this is where I am, and it's totally achievable, but takes some time to learn all this stuff).
Juul isn't the only pod system, and it's certainly not the only way to go for a beginner (nor the least expensive), but that's a whole book, and I'm keeping this to a "short story" by just mentioning what I'd do myself / recommend to a friend to keep it high quality but nicely simple and hassle-free, at least to begin with. You may choose to explore other options once you've made the transition, or stick with the tried and true if Juul does it for you. You should probably start with one device, and once you've determined that it works for what you need, get a second for back up in case of failure, and to have another one on hand when you need to charge the first one.
Now just to clear up a couple of things: saying you want vaping devices only made Europe or the U.S., not China, is pretty much like saying you want a smart phone only made in US or Europe. Some vaping equipment is designed in US / Europe, but very, very, very few are not manufactured in China (off the top of my head, I can only think of Dicodes in Germany, now that ProVape in US has shut down). Most are made in China, many are also designed in China. Some are excellent, some not so much. The Juul was designed in the US, and is probably mostly manufactured in China under close oversight. The Juul pods and e liquids are probably made in the US.
As for E liquid generally, this is something that you will definitely find made entirely in the US or Europe, and when I buy retail e liquid, I do stick to European or US brands.
Now, for something that tastes more or less like American Spirits, that's not really going to happen. You can use tobacco flavors, but they are not going to taste very close to your cigarette. The tobacco flavor I used when I first quit was *close enough* that it felt pretty easy to quit, but I quickly moved on to other flavors. Almost everybody does. We all begin just wanting something that tastes like a cigarette, and nearly all end up liking other flavors a lot better. I'm vaping "ice mint cream" at the moment, one of my favorites.
To learn more about any / all aspects of vaping and to ask questions, get recommendations, etc., you can visit ECF (E-Cigarette Forum) where there are a lot of people in your (our) age group who started vaping to quit cigarettes, not just young cloud chasers. You can also feel free to mefi mail me, and I will help as much as possible with any questions you might have!
posted by taz at 1:40 AM on September 15, 2017 [9 favorites]
I had good success doing this after about 15 years of serious smoking. I started at quite a high nicotine level, and diluted to a lower level every couple of days. It took me 100 days to go from 18mg/ml to 0mg/ml, at which point I stopped vaping too. The advantage of using liquid over a pod or cartridge was that it allowed me to be more fine-grained in stepping down the nicotine strength. Quitting smoking was relatively easy. Quitting nicotine took a bit more doing. So, this consideration depends on whether or not quitting nicotine is among your goals.
I bought a couple of machines. Having a backup is a really good idea (battery certainly, but maybe a whole setup), especially early on. I ended up liking the Nautilus 2 the best. Honestly, it was a bit finicky but I found it to be the most cigarette-like experience, so the quality was worth the fussiness.. I think they will all have their drawbacks.
Good luck.
posted by jamaal at 2:00 AM on September 15, 2017
I bought a couple of machines. Having a backup is a really good idea (battery certainly, but maybe a whole setup), especially early on. I ended up liking the Nautilus 2 the best. Honestly, it was a bit finicky but I found it to be the most cigarette-like experience, so the quality was worth the fussiness.. I think they will all have their drawbacks.
Good luck.
posted by jamaal at 2:00 AM on September 15, 2017
When I quit I didn't vape, but I know that does work for some. Some things that helped me were in finding a substitutes I could indulge in at the moments where I was most accustomed to smoking, I went with an apples for the most predictable times and carried mints for others, while a friend took up walking and managed to quit and lose weight, something some smokers worry about. I also avoided going to places that sold cigarettes as much as possible, so no convenience stores or other quick buy locations and that made it a lot easier to resist impulse purchasing by dint of habit.
Most importantly though was simply the inculcation of the desire not to smoke. To not see it as a burden, something I'm doing out of necessity, as in thinking of myself as in someone who's "really" a smoker trying to quit, but as someone who has no interest in smoking and having the time sink of cigarettes invested in something else I was more interested in.
Ridding oneself of those five minutes of personal time that often accompany smoke break can be more difficult than ridding oneself of the need for nicotine in my experience. So find some mental activities to take up that time in a pleasurable way and hopefully use the vaping as a occasional buffer element instead of just a direct substitute. Maybe try to avoid vaping in the manner in which you smoked previously, after meals, while drinking, or whatever, to change your habits as much as your dependency.
posted by gusottertrout at 2:48 AM on September 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
Most importantly though was simply the inculcation of the desire not to smoke. To not see it as a burden, something I'm doing out of necessity, as in thinking of myself as in someone who's "really" a smoker trying to quit, but as someone who has no interest in smoking and having the time sink of cigarettes invested in something else I was more interested in.
Ridding oneself of those five minutes of personal time that often accompany smoke break can be more difficult than ridding oneself of the need for nicotine in my experience. So find some mental activities to take up that time in a pleasurable way and hopefully use the vaping as a occasional buffer element instead of just a direct substitute. Maybe try to avoid vaping in the manner in which you smoked previously, after meals, while drinking, or whatever, to change your habits as much as your dependency.
posted by gusottertrout at 2:48 AM on September 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
I quit cold turkey after 40+ years of smoking, the last 20 smoking heavily. I was 59. The nicotine physical addiction was fairly easy to get over, actually it was easy than I anticipated. But the psychological associations I had established with smoking were very very challenging. It seems I had associated everything with having a smoke! So the task was to tackle each craving, one at a time. A craving would arise, and I would think to myself, "wait five minutes and observe your thoughts". Invariably my mind would wander off to something else. 5 minutes is a long time.
At work my little smoke breaks were, so I thought, essential. I used to go outside either on a balcony or out to the street. So I continued to have those breaks, just without the smoke.
I was very confused about how to act without a cigarette in hand, like talking with friends, or having a drink, or sitting in a park. It's taken time but now it's getting close to 3 years quit and I no longer have the cravings, although I do still think about smoking occasionally, just remembering that I used to.
Quitting was the best thing I ever did for myself. I had never not smoked my entire adult life. I can breathe again freely. I no longer wheeze. My chest doesn't feel like someone had been pounding on it in the morning when I wake. I finally gave my body a chance to repair itself.
Tips I would offer: drink fresh clean water, examine each craving carefully and let them go for a few minutes to see if they disappear. One big help for me was hanging out at the subreddit /r/stopsmoking. I still hang out there encouraging the newcomers.
Good luck with it, and it may sound cliche, but if I could quit anyone can.
[Also, I considered the vape, but then decided it would just become another hassle, but I know many people have attributed their quitting cigarettes because of vaping.]
posted by rmmcclay at 3:22 AM on September 15, 2017 [8 favorites]
At work my little smoke breaks were, so I thought, essential. I used to go outside either on a balcony or out to the street. So I continued to have those breaks, just without the smoke.
I was very confused about how to act without a cigarette in hand, like talking with friends, or having a drink, or sitting in a park. It's taken time but now it's getting close to 3 years quit and I no longer have the cravings, although I do still think about smoking occasionally, just remembering that I used to.
Quitting was the best thing I ever did for myself. I had never not smoked my entire adult life. I can breathe again freely. I no longer wheeze. My chest doesn't feel like someone had been pounding on it in the morning when I wake. I finally gave my body a chance to repair itself.
Tips I would offer: drink fresh clean water, examine each craving carefully and let them go for a few minutes to see if they disappear. One big help for me was hanging out at the subreddit /r/stopsmoking. I still hang out there encouraging the newcomers.
Good luck with it, and it may sound cliche, but if I could quit anyone can.
[Also, I considered the vape, but then decided it would just become another hassle, but I know many people have attributed their quitting cigarettes because of vaping.]
posted by rmmcclay at 3:22 AM on September 15, 2017 [8 favorites]
I know you said no gum and I agree the gum is gross but the lozenges can be quite nice. They come in a couple of flavors and I found I liked the cinnamon. When I was first quitting and I would get the terrible skin crawling must have nicotine feeling popping a lozenge would quell that feeling. If you don't want to vape you might look into getting some lozenges. They really helped me initially while I worked on forming different habits. The walking and eating apples and what not.
posted by MadMadam at 3:54 AM on September 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by MadMadam at 3:54 AM on September 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
I quit smoking after 20 years. Vaping did not work for me--because it did not replicate the sensations of smoking analog cigarettes, I ended up drastically increasing my nicotine intake while I was vaping.
I tried Chantix twice and it was intolerable for me after week one; it gave me lucid nightmares every night. The way I ended up quitting was that I had to just quit cold turkey over and over, just fail again and again, until I became accustomed to my body's reactions and was capable of mindfully ignoring them.
posted by heatvision at 4:13 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I tried Chantix twice and it was intolerable for me after week one; it gave me lucid nightmares every night. The way I ended up quitting was that I had to just quit cold turkey over and over, just fail again and again, until I became accustomed to my body's reactions and was capable of mindfully ignoring them.
posted by heatvision at 4:13 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I smoked for 15 years. 20 a day. I think the key thing to doing it successfully isn't about the method you use to give up, it's the force of the belief that you're using to do it. You basically have to accept that there will never come a time that you will smoke again. And that never actually means never. As in not even if an asteroid was coming for the planet and we all knew we were going to die. Not if they invented a drug that cured cancer and made smoking totally safe. Never again will you smoke. For me that meant no patches, no gum, because part of it was the recognition that they were just compromises that would muddy the waters. So basically, your new addiction has to be to the idea that you are now a non-smoker. After I did that, it was actually pretty easy. Get ready to have a sense of taste :)
posted by rudhraigh at 4:43 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by rudhraigh at 4:43 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
I would recommend these: Joyetech EGo AIO (All-In-One). Joyetech was one of the first makers of this sort of stuff and have been around for ages and ages. They're also one of the companies that comply with all of the UL and CE electronics testing regulations. It's been a while, but they were under $25 or so (US), they're about as round as a dime, shorter than a beer can, don't leak, have reasonably priced replacement coils and you can toss them in your pocket without worry.
You'll never find a liquid that tastes like a cig. The only people who have come really close are crazy folk who make their own by doing their own tobacco extraction and adding back in all the nasty things. I settled on an absinthe flavor and have been making my own for years. (I have a whole shoebox full of little 8ml bottles of flavoring components left over from my "try to make the perfect flavor" days).
Maybe find a vape shop that has a tasting section if that's possible in your area. Start stronger than you think you want. Say get a bottle of 18mg/ml and the same flavor in 0mg/ml. Have two devices, one with the strong stuff, one with the weak stuff.
Nicotine from vaping is absorbed slowly compared to smoking. It takes 15-20 minutes to hit you. So vape the 18mg/ml for a couple of minutes then stop (or switch to the 0mg/ml). If you vape until the craving goes away, it's too late and 30 minutes later you're going to be over nic'd. Eventually you can start cutting down the 18mg/ml with the 0mg/ml until you're basically getting no nicotine.
Drink lots of water. PG and VG in the liquid full on rip water out of your body, you'll get dry-mouth or wake up with a dehydration headache if you don't keep your water intake up.
Whatever you get, read the instructions. The technology has changed so much over the years, from Kanthal wire for a heating element and silica wick and rather high resistance and just dumping current straight from the battery into the coil ... now it's smarter electronics that can monitor the temperature of the wire (now nickle or stainless steel or titanium) by the change in resistance as it heats up, and wicks have gone back to organic cotton (which can burn if you let them dry out). That little eGo-AIO totally out-performs similar systems of the past.
Already TL;DR :) feel free to memail if you want more.
posted by zengargoyle at 5:06 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
You'll never find a liquid that tastes like a cig. The only people who have come really close are crazy folk who make their own by doing their own tobacco extraction and adding back in all the nasty things. I settled on an absinthe flavor and have been making my own for years. (I have a whole shoebox full of little 8ml bottles of flavoring components left over from my "try to make the perfect flavor" days).
Maybe find a vape shop that has a tasting section if that's possible in your area. Start stronger than you think you want. Say get a bottle of 18mg/ml and the same flavor in 0mg/ml. Have two devices, one with the strong stuff, one with the weak stuff.
Nicotine from vaping is absorbed slowly compared to smoking. It takes 15-20 minutes to hit you. So vape the 18mg/ml for a couple of minutes then stop (or switch to the 0mg/ml). If you vape until the craving goes away, it's too late and 30 minutes later you're going to be over nic'd. Eventually you can start cutting down the 18mg/ml with the 0mg/ml until you're basically getting no nicotine.
Drink lots of water. PG and VG in the liquid full on rip water out of your body, you'll get dry-mouth or wake up with a dehydration headache if you don't keep your water intake up.
Whatever you get, read the instructions. The technology has changed so much over the years, from Kanthal wire for a heating element and silica wick and rather high resistance and just dumping current straight from the battery into the coil ... now it's smarter electronics that can monitor the temperature of the wire (now nickle or stainless steel or titanium) by the change in resistance as it heats up, and wicks have gone back to organic cotton (which can burn if you let them dry out). That little eGo-AIO totally out-performs similar systems of the past.
Already TL;DR :) feel free to memail if you want more.
posted by zengargoyle at 5:06 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
Allen Carr Easy Wsy to Quit Smiking. A must read. Gotta at least give it a try because it's the most hassle free painless alternative.
posted by Buddy_Boy at 5:21 AM on September 15, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Buddy_Boy at 5:21 AM on September 15, 2017 [4 favorites]
"The first 72 hours are pretty rough, but you only have to do them once."
I was able to quit cold turkey by becoming a member of the Facebook Group whyquit.com and getting educated about what was happening to my body as the quit took hold.
By joining the Group, you will get daily support & affirmation from others who have done the same thing you're trying to do.
But it is cold-turkey. No nicotine replacement. If you read their literature, you'll see why cold-turkey is the preferred method.
I'll be quit 4 years this November. I was 48 when I quit after smoking for over 20 years. You can do this.
Sorry I didn't answer your question about vaping. In my experience, nicotine needs to be avoided in any form.
PM me if you want more info or encouragement. Good luck.
posted by bricksNmortar at 5:24 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was able to quit cold turkey by becoming a member of the Facebook Group whyquit.com and getting educated about what was happening to my body as the quit took hold.
By joining the Group, you will get daily support & affirmation from others who have done the same thing you're trying to do.
But it is cold-turkey. No nicotine replacement. If you read their literature, you'll see why cold-turkey is the preferred method.
I'll be quit 4 years this November. I was 48 when I quit after smoking for over 20 years. You can do this.
Sorry I didn't answer your question about vaping. In my experience, nicotine needs to be avoided in any form.
PM me if you want more info or encouragement. Good luck.
posted by bricksNmortar at 5:24 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
According to The Research, quitting is most successful when you have both nicotine and support. Your state probably has a free quit line with phone counseling, or maybe your insurance company has one. There are online forums and other ways to get personal support as well.
posted by OrangeVelour at 5:29 AM on September 15, 2017
posted by OrangeVelour at 5:29 AM on September 15, 2017
Also came in to recommend the Allen Carr book, worked for me, though I did eventually relapse but reread it. It's basically very repetitive common sense, but it really seems to work, I've heard of a lot of other people who've quit with it too.
posted by penguin pie at 6:41 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by penguin pie at 6:41 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
I did it with shitty convenience store e-cigs and would advise trying those before you invest in some pricey, fiddly kit from a vape store. I started with the highest nicotine I could find, but they were never satisfying. Then I tapered off. At no time did they replace the cigarette experience. I never once became "alive with pleasure," for instance. They look idiotic and they taste terrible, but they are nevertheless great because they take enough of the wild edge off and give you something to do that is enough like smoking. They make it possible for you not to spend your life whining and gazing covetously at other people's cigarettes, which allows other people to tolerate you while you're quitting. And it's fun to blow the vapor into a cold beverage because it makes an enormous cloud. I am completely quit, now, for about five years, having smoked for 15 years, and now I have become one of those assholes that really hates to be around smoke. I wasn't a daily smoker, though, so I had a relatively easy time of it.
posted by Don Pepino at 6:57 AM on September 15, 2017
posted by Don Pepino at 6:57 AM on September 15, 2017
I don't know if this will be a popular answer or all that healthy...but when I quit, I used cigars. I found that they had enough nicotine to keep me happy and I spent about six months learning how to choose and smoke cigars. As I went on, I found myself smoking fewer cigars and stopped them after about six months.
One piece of advice I used was it is easier to quit if you pick a date. You can't wake up one morning and decide you are quitting that day. I found that to be true.
posted by zzazazz at 7:38 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
One piece of advice I used was it is easier to quit if you pick a date. You can't wake up one morning and decide you are quitting that day. I found that to be true.
posted by zzazazz at 7:38 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
Nthing vape. I used the VUSE brand of e-cig. Had smoked for ~20 years, was able to quit without any problems by tapering.
I would recommend still making yourself go outside to "smoke." It's easy to get hooked on any of the vape stuff if you're just sitting around your house vaping.
posted by kuanes at 7:38 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I would recommend still making yourself go outside to "smoke." It's easy to get hooked on any of the vape stuff if you're just sitting around your house vaping.
posted by kuanes at 7:38 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I am sure zzazazz's method would have worked for me. E-cigs are enough like cigarettes to stand in for them but not enough like cigarettes that you could easily get addicted to them. Cigars, same thing. They don't give you much of a buzz and they kind of suck to try to smoke, what with them being enormous and you being supposed to sip on them in an irritatingly lengthy and meditative way that is feeble and unsatisfying for somebody used to the quick hits you get from horking down giant lungfuls of nicotine from cigarettes.
posted by Don Pepino at 7:51 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Don Pepino at 7:51 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
In the spirit of giving you all the information: there is fairly robust research supporting patches and gum as an aid to smoking cessation. The evidence for vaped nicotine is not as strong yet. Why? It's still new, so there's not much research yet. Importantly, unlike patches, gum and cigarettes whose chemical composition is tightly regulated, there is also a wide difference in the amount of nicotine delivered to you by vape. So one vape pen and one brand of liquid vape fluid will deliver significantly different quantities of nicotine to you.
If you do choose vaping as your strategy (and many people do), I recommend choosing one brand of vape device, and one brand of liquid, and sticking to those.
If you happen to live in California, consider calling 1-800-No-Butts. They offer free, evidence based cessation counseling.
posted by latkes at 7:59 AM on September 15, 2017
If you do choose vaping as your strategy (and many people do), I recommend choosing one brand of vape device, and one brand of liquid, and sticking to those.
If you happen to live in California, consider calling 1-800-No-Butts. They offer free, evidence based cessation counseling.
posted by latkes at 7:59 AM on September 15, 2017
The nicotine physical addiction was fairly easy to get over, actually it was easy than I anticipated. But the psychological associations I had established with smoking were very very challenging. It seems I had associated everything with having a smoke! So the task was to tackle each craving, one at a time. A craving would arise, and I would think to myself, "wait five minutes and observe your thoughts". Invariably my mind would wander off to something else. 5 minutes is a long time.
That was my mother's experience, too. She quit after 30 years and hasn't relapsed. She gets an occasional craving after meals, who I am but not what are you into strong to resist.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:16 AM on September 15, 2017
That was my mother's experience, too. She quit after 30 years and hasn't relapsed. She gets an occasional craving after meals, who I am but not what are you into strong to resist.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 8:16 AM on September 15, 2017
Vaping isn't going to taste or feel like cigarettes. If you go in expecting it to, you'll just be disappointed. I find tobacco flavoured vapes have a weird, harsh feel and aftertaste and the flavoured ones are much more tolerable.
Start with a higher nicotene concentration than you think you need. Vaping doesn't hit you right away like smoking does and you don't want to inhale in the same way as inhaling smoke. You can't just drag hard on it to get a fast hit of nicotene. You need to draw slower and steady, hold the vapor in your mouth for a bit.
I personally never found vaping satisfying; it gave me something to do with my hands and mouth that was similar to smoking, but it wasn't close enough for me. I found it more annoying and weird than pleasurable.
I read Allen Carr's book which was somewhat helpful and eventually "quit" cold turkey. However I know lots of people who have quit with vaping.
posted by windykites at 9:02 AM on September 15, 2017
Start with a higher nicotene concentration than you think you need. Vaping doesn't hit you right away like smoking does and you don't want to inhale in the same way as inhaling smoke. You can't just drag hard on it to get a fast hit of nicotene. You need to draw slower and steady, hold the vapor in your mouth for a bit.
I personally never found vaping satisfying; it gave me something to do with my hands and mouth that was similar to smoking, but it wasn't close enough for me. I found it more annoying and weird than pleasurable.
I read Allen Carr's book which was somewhat helpful and eventually "quit" cold turkey. However I know lots of people who have quit with vaping.
posted by windykites at 9:02 AM on September 15, 2017
The reason gas-station ecigs are popular is that some at least are high nicotine levels. Like 24mg/ml or even 36mg/ml levels. They are also crap on cost and lifetime and performance. That boils down to the same end game, get something decent and have a strong and weak liquid. 18mg/ml from like an eGo is about like 36mg/ml from a gas-station cig but it's not disposable.
The nicotine salts thing is also new to me, I don't keep up with the latest things anymore. That sounds a lot like pH balance and crack cocaine. Cigarettes do this, they treat the nicotine along the same lines of cocaine + baking soda + heat = crack, some slight pH or some other chemistry thing so that the relief you get from a cig is near instant. Raw nicotine is more like cocaine and it takes a bit of time. Ecigs are more like a cigar (so much so that there is "mouth-inhale" vs "lung-inhale"), and most of the nicotine adsorption is through the mucus membrane in your mouth and nose. The douchebag cloud-chasers who are lung-inhaling and billowing out like a steam train are mostly vaping 0mg/ml pure VG with a touch of some flavoring. Lung-inhaling 18mg/ml like that would leave you curled up in a little ball on the floor coughing your lungs out.
So I mostly agree with the cigar and gas-station standpoints, but it still comes down to the disposable un-enjoyable thing or puffing a cigar.
There's also the option of vaping unflavored liquid. Just nicotine, PG, and a bit (30-40%) VG (to cut the harsh and get a bit of cloud) isn't a bad option. Many use unflavored liquid as a palette cleanser between flavors. Unflavored is arguably the "most safe" option.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:07 AM on September 15, 2017
The nicotine salts thing is also new to me, I don't keep up with the latest things anymore. That sounds a lot like pH balance and crack cocaine. Cigarettes do this, they treat the nicotine along the same lines of cocaine + baking soda + heat = crack, some slight pH or some other chemistry thing so that the relief you get from a cig is near instant. Raw nicotine is more like cocaine and it takes a bit of time. Ecigs are more like a cigar (so much so that there is "mouth-inhale" vs "lung-inhale"), and most of the nicotine adsorption is through the mucus membrane in your mouth and nose. The douchebag cloud-chasers who are lung-inhaling and billowing out like a steam train are mostly vaping 0mg/ml pure VG with a touch of some flavoring. Lung-inhaling 18mg/ml like that would leave you curled up in a little ball on the floor coughing your lungs out.
So I mostly agree with the cigar and gas-station standpoints, but it still comes down to the disposable un-enjoyable thing or puffing a cigar.
There's also the option of vaping unflavored liquid. Just nicotine, PG, and a bit (30-40%) VG (to cut the harsh and get a bit of cloud) isn't a bad option. Many use unflavored liquid as a palette cleanser between flavors. Unflavored is arguably the "most safe" option.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:07 AM on September 15, 2017
I was ready to quit 7years ago and read "Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking". It's an easy read, that encourages you to smoke while reading the book. I stopped smoking before the end , and haven't had a cig since. I still hang out with smokers, I don't join them and I don't miss it.
Good luck!
posted by askmehow at 9:53 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
Good luck!
posted by askmehow at 9:53 AM on September 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
I woke up one morning about seven years ago and decided to quit. I had tried gum before and that was no help at all. E-cigs weren't really available everywhere then, so I quit cold turkey. Here's two things that I think helped me:
1. I quit when I had a bad cold and smoking felt gross and awful anyway.
2. I sort of told myself I was going to quit buying cigarettes rather than quit smoking them. Going into a store and buying a pack was a multi-step action with several points in which I could stop and make the decision to not go through with it. I didn't have people around to bum smokes off of, so if I stopped buying packs, I couldn't smoke.
After about a month or so, I stopped missing it so bad. Another month or so and I didn't miss it at all.
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:20 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
1. I quit when I had a bad cold and smoking felt gross and awful anyway.
2. I sort of told myself I was going to quit buying cigarettes rather than quit smoking them. Going into a store and buying a pack was a multi-step action with several points in which I could stop and make the decision to not go through with it. I didn't have people around to bum smokes off of, so if I stopped buying packs, I couldn't smoke.
After about a month or so, I stopped missing it so bad. Another month or so and I didn't miss it at all.
posted by prize bull octorok at 10:20 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Allen Carr Easy Wsy to Quit Smiking. A must read. Gotta at least give it a try because it's the most hassle free painless alternative.
I quit with this book too. It was AMAZING.
My husband wouldn't give it a go but has successfully quit smoking and now happily vapes. He has no intention of giving up the vaping, but I find it to be a million times less offensive than smoking ever was.
Both of us are SO happy we have quit. The first stage is WANTING it for yourself, so I know you can do this! Good Luck
posted by JenThePro at 10:21 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I quit with this book too. It was AMAZING.
My husband wouldn't give it a go but has successfully quit smoking and now happily vapes. He has no intention of giving up the vaping, but I find it to be a million times less offensive than smoking ever was.
Both of us are SO happy we have quit. The first stage is WANTING it for yourself, so I know you can do this! Good Luck
posted by JenThePro at 10:21 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I dunno. The gum, patches, ecigs, and vaping (and don't forget chew) are really just trading one nicotine delivery device for another.
It's like saying you want to stop eating chocolate, so instead of eating brownies every day you're going to start eating chocolate chip cookies.
And at some point, you will still have to make the decision to quit *alternate nicotine delivery device*.
Not criticizing and not judging, just trying to present a viewpoint. (I am a former smoker, and like some other commenters I quit cold turkey. I've watched family members employ all of the substitutes, and years later they all still smoke. Hate to have seen that happen to them, hoping it won't happen to you.)
posted by vignettist at 10:39 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's like saying you want to stop eating chocolate, so instead of eating brownies every day you're going to start eating chocolate chip cookies.
And at some point, you will still have to make the decision to quit *alternate nicotine delivery device*.
Not criticizing and not judging, just trying to present a viewpoint. (I am a former smoker, and like some other commenters I quit cold turkey. I've watched family members employ all of the substitutes, and years later they all still smoke. Hate to have seen that happen to them, hoping it won't happen to you.)
posted by vignettist at 10:39 AM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
My great uncle Jack quit at 79, the morning of his triple bypass surgery. His surgeon swore up and down he'd leave him bleeding on the table if didn't kick the habit! "Why even bother if you're gonna clog your ticker up again?!"
Jack was a 2 1/2 pack a day smoker from age 11. Whaddya gonna do, man? He got home from the hospital, bought himself a 1000-pack of popsicle sticks at the craft store, and chewed those dang things to splinters until he kicked the can at 83.
Gotta get that oral fix.
posted by fritillary at 1:16 PM on September 15, 2017 [4 favorites]
Jack was a 2 1/2 pack a day smoker from age 11. Whaddya gonna do, man? He got home from the hospital, bought himself a 1000-pack of popsicle sticks at the craft store, and chewed those dang things to splinters until he kicked the can at 83.
Gotta get that oral fix.
posted by fritillary at 1:16 PM on September 15, 2017 [4 favorites]
I quit smoking cigs and started vaping in one day, back in 2010. I too started out at a fairly high nicotine level (18%) and am now at 11%, which gives me just enough nicotine to keep me happy. I started with a truck-stop kit by Kjoy (I think) which quickly got old and fell apart. I now have a discreet pen-like vaper device I can drop in a pocket. I finally found a decent-tasting e-liquid (Virginia) without that nasty hay-like aftertaste. I buy my liquid, batteries, atomizers, and tanks from Totally Wicked, a British company with a distribution center in Florida. You can buy a kit for about $35 and then just buy replacements. Batteries are rechargeable and will last 6+ months. Tanks will last until you drop them or crack them somehow. So the atomizers (3-4 weeks) and the liquid (20mg a week) are the only things you need to get often, say once a month. All my friends have been converted to vape pens. Everybody feels better and the house/car doesn't smell bad, nor do the clothes. And it costs considerably less than cigs/cigars. The amounts I've given are averages; your rates will depend on how you use it. All in all, it's a good deal.
posted by MovableBookLady at 2:09 PM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by MovableBookLady at 2:09 PM on September 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
"The gum, patches, ecigs, and vaping (and don't forget chew) are really just trading one nicotine delivery device for another."
Nobody's advocating chaw.
E-cigs and cigars work because you're trading an effective instantaneous exciting nicotine delivery device that gives you an immediate obvious rush for an ineffective nicotine delivery device that gives you a pallid and forgettable ghost of a rush. It's better than nothing, but it's not good, so it's quit-able. That's why not to invest in anything that improves the taste or in any way makes the process pleasurable--or that makes it look cool or be a style symbol--that's another part of smoking that vaping can't really touch. There's no equivalent to zippo lighters, silver cigarette boxes, lighting each other's cigarettes, holding it the cowboy way, holding it the punk way, talking with it hanging off your lip as in a gangster movie, blowing smoke rings, french inhaling, using a long cigarette holder and wearing elbow gloves, buying table lighters or fancy ash trays, flicking ash, tapping ash, gently rolling the ash into a tiny party hat, or smoking Gauloises or Dunhills or Nat Shermans. Or running outside with "the bad kids" to smoke.
Smoking is FUN. Vaping is NOT. The joyless, low-rent, stolid failure to appeal to any the senses of the convenience store e-cigarette cannot be beat if you want to quit honking on nicotine delivery devices constantly and spending money to do it and thinking about it all the time and in general wasting life and energy being addicted to nicotine. That they suck in every way is great. That's what makes them so easy to put down.
posted by Don Pepino at 2:56 PM on September 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
Nobody's advocating chaw.
E-cigs and cigars work because you're trading an effective instantaneous exciting nicotine delivery device that gives you an immediate obvious rush for an ineffective nicotine delivery device that gives you a pallid and forgettable ghost of a rush. It's better than nothing, but it's not good, so it's quit-able. That's why not to invest in anything that improves the taste or in any way makes the process pleasurable--or that makes it look cool or be a style symbol--that's another part of smoking that vaping can't really touch. There's no equivalent to zippo lighters, silver cigarette boxes, lighting each other's cigarettes, holding it the cowboy way, holding it the punk way, talking with it hanging off your lip as in a gangster movie, blowing smoke rings, french inhaling, using a long cigarette holder and wearing elbow gloves, buying table lighters or fancy ash trays, flicking ash, tapping ash, gently rolling the ash into a tiny party hat, or smoking Gauloises or Dunhills or Nat Shermans. Or running outside with "the bad kids" to smoke.
Smoking is FUN. Vaping is NOT. The joyless, low-rent, stolid failure to appeal to any the senses of the convenience store e-cigarette cannot be beat if you want to quit honking on nicotine delivery devices constantly and spending money to do it and thinking about it all the time and in general wasting life and energy being addicted to nicotine. That they suck in every way is great. That's what makes them so easy to put down.
posted by Don Pepino at 2:56 PM on September 15, 2017 [3 favorites]
I was one of those smokers that was deeply chemically addicted. I realized the only way to quit was to quit. Maybe you can wean yourself off cigs, but I mean if it were that easy wouldn't everyone have quit? Quitting addiction is hard. Don't pretend it's going to be painless.
You can go cold turkey or you can use something god awful like the medicine. I had tremendous success (with terrible dreams) on the medicine. Seriously it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. It was so terrible I'll never do anything that would make me have to repeat the experience. Cannot recommend highly enough.
posted by KMoney at 6:22 PM on September 15, 2017
You can go cold turkey or you can use something god awful like the medicine. I had tremendous success (with terrible dreams) on the medicine. Seriously it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. It was so terrible I'll never do anything that would make me have to repeat the experience. Cannot recommend highly enough.
posted by KMoney at 6:22 PM on September 15, 2017
I smoked from 13 to 39, a pack a day. I tried the gum, the patch, the pills, the book, and nothing worked. I tried the little ecigs and that left me wanting to claw my eyes out with the craving. I got a nice, cheap little Endura T22 from the Mt Baker website and I haven't smoked in a little over a year. I order the replacement coils once a month. I get clean 18% liquid from the Virgin Vapor website and 30ml lasts me a week. It's cheap and not complicated at all. It took about 2 or 3 days to get over wanting to smoke but its been great ever since.
posted by smashface at 7:44 AM on September 16, 2017
posted by smashface at 7:44 AM on September 16, 2017
I was completely addicted from about 18-25. What worked for me in quitting: 1. I had to try multiple times. Be prepared for possible relapse and vow to try again. 2. I had to completely quit - there was no small amount of "social smoking" or whatever that would work for me. It was all or nothing and I had to accept that. 3. I used the heck out of nicotine replacement products - gum and patches - until I had broken the habit of lighting up. I basically intentionally got addicted to the gum, chewed as much gum as I wanted for the better part of a year, and then slowly weaned off the gum. By the end I was having about 2 pieces of gum a day for many months. Eventually I went on a week-long trip and did not take any gum. I found giving myself "permission" to use the gum as a crutch for a long period helped immensely with breaking all of the habits associated with smoking. It was like "rewarding" myself for not smoking. I know using nicotine to stop a nicotine habit seems counterintuitive, but at least for me the non-drug habit-aspects of smoking were very powerful and hard to stop without a taste of the drug.
posted by Mid at 9:06 AM on September 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Mid at 9:06 AM on September 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Lots of solid advice above - my experience was that it took a while to find a flavor that I liked and once I had that I worked on tapering down the nicotine level without putting any pressure on myself to do so.
For me RY5 had the right flavor of tobacco and wasn't too sweet. Nothing gets you close to the taste of tobacco really, but you can figure out what flavors and hints of it you like and then dial in to something you enjoy. Buy small amounts, go to multiple shops, talk to the people who work there - not all shops carry the same thing.
Start with one of the higher nicotine dosages (talk to people/ask around) - there is no point to this if you feel like you're not getting the urge to smoke satisfied, then focus on tapering off a bit from that high level after the first few weeks. If you go lower dose and want to vape more frequently, make sure you think about getting a bigger tank if you end up with a box mod for convenience.
The other thing I highly recommend is get used to changing coils/tanks/switching flavors. I would focus on the maintenance aspects of the tank and coil because that can really impact the convenience. One thing vaporizers will never have on cigarettes is how easy it is to apply fire to a combustible tube of dried plants - so plan for it. Especially when you're in the figuring out what flavors you like phase.
Eventually I got a really bad headcold and just ignored it for a few days trying to recover and I have worked my level down low enough that I just didn't pick it back up. Your mileage may vary with any method of cessation but it's what has worked for me after a few relapses, where every other time I fell back in to it. The gum was too convenient for me, and the patch just didn't have the same feel.
posted by iamabot at 9:52 AM on September 16, 2017
For me RY5 had the right flavor of tobacco and wasn't too sweet. Nothing gets you close to the taste of tobacco really, but you can figure out what flavors and hints of it you like and then dial in to something you enjoy. Buy small amounts, go to multiple shops, talk to the people who work there - not all shops carry the same thing.
Start with one of the higher nicotine dosages (talk to people/ask around) - there is no point to this if you feel like you're not getting the urge to smoke satisfied, then focus on tapering off a bit from that high level after the first few weeks. If you go lower dose and want to vape more frequently, make sure you think about getting a bigger tank if you end up with a box mod for convenience.
The other thing I highly recommend is get used to changing coils/tanks/switching flavors. I would focus on the maintenance aspects of the tank and coil because that can really impact the convenience. One thing vaporizers will never have on cigarettes is how easy it is to apply fire to a combustible tube of dried plants - so plan for it. Especially when you're in the figuring out what flavors you like phase.
Eventually I got a really bad headcold and just ignored it for a few days trying to recover and I have worked my level down low enough that I just didn't pick it back up. Your mileage may vary with any method of cessation but it's what has worked for me after a few relapses, where every other time I fell back in to it. The gum was too convenient for me, and the patch just didn't have the same feel.
posted by iamabot at 9:52 AM on September 16, 2017
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My one recommendation that I think will still hold true: find a flavor that you like. You may be surprised that the cigarette-like flavors aren't that good and you'd actually prefer something that tastes like coffee or pineapple (really!) so try a few. My second recommendation: get two of the base units that contain the battery. This way, you can always have one charged in case the other one dies.
posted by destructive cactus at 12:44 AM on September 15, 2017