Question for anyone who uses those e-cigs

I'm almost 39, been a smoker since 22. Now I have quit a few times for a year or so each time but something major would happen and I'd go back to smoking.

I recently have changed my diet exponentially - no more sugars except what is in fruits, etc., no more sugared drinks - I even got rid of my sweet tea and drink green tea or most recently brew my own. No more processed foods either. I eat like chicken breast, turkey breast (shaved for lunch meat), whole grain wheat bread, maybe a few lines of spicy mustard for taste (got rid of the mayo too), salad with two teaspoons of italian dressing, cherry tomatoes, fish, boneless porkchops with no breading, etc.

I've started to do stretching exercises too to slowly get my lazy self back into a work out routine. But all of this as great as it IS is doing no good while smoking. So, I wanted to look into e-cigs. I see quite a few sites online which sell them but what have you used? How are those 'flavored ones' like vanilla etc? Sounds kind of gross, I may want just a normal cig one. I smoke maybe a pack of ultra light 100's and it lasts me about 4 days, some times 5. I just am not mentally ready to quit but I really want to if that makes sense.

Any and all recommendations and ideas will be totally appreciated. I would ask, the ones with nicotine in them: is that not healthy? What would be THE healthiest e-cig? Are they even 100 percent healthy? I know I should just quit all around but as i said, I'm not ready to even though I know I should. I just want to be able to chill and quit without going cold turkey.

So, I wanted to look into e-cigs. I see quite a few sites online which sell them but what have you used? How are those 'flavored ones' like vanilla etc? Sounds kind of gross, I may want just a normal cig one. I smoke maybe a pack of ultra light 100's and it lasts me about 4 days, some times 5. I just am not mentally ready to quit but I really want to if that makes sense.

Any and all recommendations and ideas will be totally appreciated. I would ask, the ones with nicotine in them: is that not healthy? What would be THE healthiest e-cig? Are they even 100 percent healthy? I know I should just quit all around but as i said, I'm not ready to even though I know I should. I just want to be able to chill and quit without going cold turkey.

I'm curious about this too. I smoke about the exact same in that time frame too. I'm kicking it by the new-year, and I know it's going to suck. I chose to smoke, now I must choose to not smoke. For me 70% of it comes down to holding something more or less. The routine becomes a repetitive implant in the brain.

I've tried the e cig and actually quit real cigarettes right away. The nicotine from the e cig comes from a little liquid bottle and you drop a couple drops in the filter. There are 3 different levels of nicotine, depending on what type of smoker you are. They have regular, menthol, and then the flavors. One of those bottles is equal to a carton of cigarettes. They work pretty well but I ended up switching back a few months later. I left my extra batteries at home so I went out and bought a pack. I would recommend them because they are just like smoking real cigarettes and you can smoke them anywhere. As far as healthy, well they are alot healthier than cigs but you are still taking in nicotine.

I used Chantix took a pill day an night for a month straight, while smoking.

I had some crazy ass dreams every single night, most of them seem to last for the entire night. But I stuck with it and cigarettes started to taste like pure crap. So I eventually stopped smoking cause the cigarettes started making me sick.

So here I am 2years later, smoke free and cigarette smoke still makes me feel sick. great for me

As for the e-cigs I have smoked them before, if you like the taste of pure nicotine then I guess there ok. I think you might be able to get the flavored ones might taste a little better. But I suggest you look into Chantix, I smoked for about 8years and this drug will help you. BTW they have changed it supposedly you no longer get the lucid dreams part (best part of quitting for me) I guess some people were having extremely violent dreams and having thoughts of suicide or something.

I've tried the e-cigarettes and thought they were a good substitute until
I found out they are loaded with carcinogens...just like the real thing.

What I found to be alot more helpful was a subliminal stop smoking
CD that I listened to for about an hour a day. InnerTalk has a
really good one "Freedom from Cigarettes". Listen to it every day
for a week or two and you will put down those cigarettes. However,
I'd recommend the nature sounds as opposed to the music.
The music CD is ok but parts of it sound like the theme to a
1970's cop show.

Thanks everyone! So many differing replies, but it's nice to hear different takes on it.

I AM susceptible to hypnosis so I could give that a shot.

For the Chantix, I actually tried it back in 08 and something about it really disagreed with me to the point I had bad stomach cramps. Also that happened with the patch. Maybe both are made better today but I'd rather not attempt it as it felt like someone was punching me in the gut over and over again. Same thing happens to me when I take Aleve (a pain pill over the counter).

Good to know that the ecigs kind of taste funny because you're inhaling pure nicotine. I'll have to think on this fully then. I /could/ try a vanilla flavored maybe as I've smoked vanilla flavored cigs from Nat Sherman before and loved them. Just remembered that. I'd rather 'try before buying' but I'm not sure if that's possible. I know no one who vapes so I have no option like that. :/

reply to post by sarra1833


yeah while taking chantix you have to take the pill with food, I to made the mistake of taking the pill without eating once and it messes your stomach up big time. If you take it with food though you don't feel any different. Like I said they have change the drug since then and it might not mess up your stomach anymore who knows.
I'd say its better to try then e-cig though.

GL

i found out about these and recommended them to my brother to try as he has been smoking since he was 12, mainly got addicted to them from using them as spin in bongs lol.

he is 24 and has a kid with another on the way so i wanted to get him to quit. its his only real vice left and was hoping it would work.

i found this site, they seemed really good

www.greensmoke.com...

ended up ordering them for him and told him to at least give it a go.

he loved it, not only was it almost the same as a normal cig, he could use it indoors at the pub etc without getting kicked out lol.

Also, its a huge talking point! everyone that sees him using it has to ask about it and always want a go, and everyone that uses it are amazed at how smooth and easy it is to use while still having the same effect as a real cig.

he has only had about 2 or 3 real smokes the entire time he has had it, and its been about 3 months now.

also with how long the filters last, it works out alot cheaper in the long run then real cigarettes, without the health risks.

we even got our mum to try it and she said she would happily use them instead of real cigarettes, she is 50 this year and has been more then a pack a day smoker since she was 12. after recently having suffered heart attacks we are adamant she quits so we are going to get her a big pack for xmas.


so yes, i would highly recommend them. having lived with smokers my whole life, and been thru it myself but having the willpower to quit on my own, but seeing my close friends and loved ones struggle to quit trying all different means, this has by far been the best method i have ever seen to fully quit.

reply to post by rayuki

Originally posted by Anoynymoose
reply to post by rayuki

 

what are the thumbs down for lol was there something wrong in my post?

I think he's just really anti e-cigs.

I checked that site though. Not bad. Reviews are pretty decent. I'd like to be able to not have to go outside my own home to 'smoke' and ecigs let you do so. I think what i'll do is get the 'social smoker' one as it's the cheapest, just to try it out and if I don't like it, I'll jump on that subliminal/hypnosis stop smoking cd thing.

I WOULD try chantex again but....... I don't want to risk that pain and a few folks I know who tried it got really depressed, angsty and evil. :/ I'm just not sold on the stuff at all due to my past experiences with it. But thank you SO much for the suggestion. You're a complete doll for doing so

E-Cig Forum is the best forum out there for those contemplating using electronic cigs. The amount of information in this forum, from health concerns to actual chemists it top notch.

Now a regular e-cig mixture (e-juice) consists of the following

1. Glycering (approved by FDA for human consumption) Something like Humco Glycerin which is classified 'USP (this means that it is 99.5% pure and approved for human consumption) . This is known in the vaping world as VG

2. U.S.P Propylene Glycol' Which is another 'approved for human consumption' item used. It is know in the 'vaping' world as PG

3. Nicotine. This comes in a diluted solution so the best thing to do is buy the strongest available which is 36% nicotine and use 1-3 drops in your 'vaping solution' or e-juice. This is extracted from pure tobacco leaves in a LAB.

4. Flavor. In my case I get some Menthol Crystals which are completely natural, not to mention SUPER strong

Compare that to the 599 carcinogens in a regular cigarrette and you can easily see that the poster above that said about how bad e-cigs are for you is full of sh*t.
These are all of the 599 carcinogens in each cigarrette for comparison

Hope that helps....

I began smoking at age 12. I quit smoking at age 15 cold turkey. At age 25 I began to smoke again. Now I'm 39 years old. I decided to quit last New Years.

At first It took about 6 months of deciding if I was ready to quit. I went off and on smoking cigarettes. Sorta testing my will power. I would quit for a week and then smoke for a week. Finally I felt ready to quit. I used nicotine gum to help me quit at first. Then I switched to chewing regular gum like Big Red, Double Mint or Juicy Fruit.

Now I don't use anything. I have quit all nicotine products completely for 3 months now and don't have the craving to smoke. Once in awhile after eating I still think about it a little but I don't feel the need to go out and buy a pack. I just wait a few minutes and the craving goes away.

Good Luck, try all kinds of ways and find the one that works best for you. Don't feel bad if you mess up. Just start over and try again. You'll be happy you did.

I've been trying them recently and have a couple of answers to your questions:

1) Start with the regular "tobacco" flavor - the "sweet" flavors are, imo, too sweet, but a lot of people end up getting into them

2) Don't buy one of these cigarette-looking devices with an auto-battery. Get something like an eGo. Here's what I'd get:

Battery: eGo style 1100 MaH: www.ecigwizard.com...
A couple of cartomizers like this: www.ecigwizard.com... (choose the resistance - lower means more vapor)
A charger for the battery: www.ecigwizard.com...
A 10ml bottle of tobacco flavour e-liquid, 18mg strength.

3) Check forums and read up on stuff. There's lots of FAQs, peoples' experiences, etc. Also buyers guides for devices and liquids. Here are a couple that I check:
www.vapersforum.com...
ukvapers.com...
www.e-savuke.com...

4) My experience so far is that they do feel like smoking a cigarette, but not 100%, so I occasionally feel like a cig anyway. However, if you're not a heavy smoker, you might not get that.

Here's a thread I started to gather information about E-Cigs. A lot of knowledgeable people posted good information.

Yes, the e-cigs work. I can tell you from personal experience. I got a buddy at work to get one too, and he's down from a pack a day to 2-3 a day.

I used the Knightstick e-cig and I really liked it. I didn't use it to quit though just to change the habit to something I thought was less harmful. I had no problem switching and I thought it was fun to smoke indoors and at work. Alas I lost it and went back to cigs but the knightstick worked well for me. It has cartridges instead of liquid though and make sure you get a brand that has a new atomizer with each cartridge.

Originally posted by orbitbaby
I've tried the e-cigarettes and thought they were a good substitute until
I found out they are loaded with carcinogens...just like the real thing.

This is simply Not True. The real thing has over 4000 chemicals produced by burning tobacco. There is tar, carbon monoxide, ammonia etc. 69 of which that we currently know of have been proven to be cancer causing, in amounts that are toxic. ( many of these have not yet even been identified nor do we know the effect they have on the body)

E-cigs do not have any cancer causing agents in them in toxic amounts.Nicotine itself is not considered a cancer causing agent. The only other chemicals found in e-cigs are propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and FDA approved food flavorings. None of which are cancer causing. All have been tested some extensively for years as in the case of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin. these have been proven safe for inhalation and are used in medicines and breathing treatments. They even have antibacterial properties.

A cousin to propylene glycol, diethylene glycol ( that's the one used in antifreeze that is harmful) can be produced naturally in trace amounts in nicotine but not always. A FDA study which tested 18 samples from various e-liqids manufacturers found these trace amounts of diethylene glycol in only two of the samples. These trace amounts are considered safe for human consumption and are in fact also found in FDA approved Nicotine replacement therapy products, The patch, gum, nicotine lozenges, nicotine inhalers.

The harm in cigarette smoking comes from the smoke, and these combustible chemical carcinogens. E-cigs do not have smoke or any of these chemical carcinogens in amounts known to cause harm. Tobacco cigarettes are loaded with them.