e-cigarettes / vaping

[ericthecleric]

Just wondering. For those of you who've switched to e-cigarettes from actual cigarettes, what are your experiences? Is it cheaper? Are you healthier? Have you managed to quit smoking and vaping entirely, and if not, how long have you been using e-cigarettes for?
Any tips or particularly good brands to use. I know that using some flavoured ones are worse for you than others.

(Note, I'm not doing a medical survey, I just want people's thoughts and experiences with the issue!)

[captain yesterday]

I quit smoking, cold turkey, 19+ years ago. Have you considered that.

It's not easy by any means but worth it. :-)

[Krensky]

I switched to vaping with no intention to quit nicotine, just lose the rest of the stuff. After doing that for a while, I just sort of stopped vaping without realizing it.

I noticed improvements in my breathing and such pretty quick. No hacking up brown sludge in the morning, etc after maybe a week, didn't run out of breath nearly as fast, etc.

Flavor and feel wise, an ecig feels more like a pipe or a waterpipe. Moister, a denser, a fuller deeper flavor than a cigarette. It can take some getting used to.

Oh, Captain? Not helpful, go be holier than thou elsewhere.

[TriOmegaZero]

Having never started smoking, I appreciate the description Krensky.

[captain yesterday]

I don't see how I was "holier then thou"

It's all true. I'm very happy having quit. Anyone can do it.

[Krensky]

I should clarify, I noticed the respitory differences after I stopped smoking, no real differences after I stopped vaping. Also, I chose a lower nicotine level fluid, so I wound up taking lots if hits on the vape pen at first, but it slowly tapered off.

I feel I should also not that my family has a history of mental addiction to various things, but very little history of relapse.

[TOZ]

captain yesterday wrote:

Anyone can do it.

Don't know as I believe that.

[Sundakan]

As someone who uses neither, I find second-hand vaping to be as troublesome to MY ability to breathe than second-hand smoke, if that's useful for you.

All those nauseating scents. Ugh.

[Krensky]

captain yesterday wrote:

I don't see how I was "holier then thou"

It's all true. I'm very happy having quit. Anyone can do it.

ERIC: Can anyone answer some questions about this means of quitting smoking?

YOU: Just go cold turkey like I did! Aren't I awesome?!

Some people can go cold turkey. Most people can't. You didn't answer Eric's questions, you just bragged about your own success. Congratulations on quiting cold turkey and sticking with it for twenty years. We're all super proud of you. Now go away and be unhelpful somewhere else.

[Krensky]

Sundakan wrote:

As someone who uses neither, I find second-hand vaping to be as troublesome to MY ability to breathe than second-hand smoke, if that's useful for you.

All those nauseating scents. Ugh.

It's far less annoying than the amount of perfume and cologne most people bathe in.

[thejeff]

TOZ wrote:

captain yesterday wrote:

Anyone can do it.

Don't know as I believe that.

As I understand it, there's a lot of evidence that it is at the very least much easier for some than for others. To the point that some people can just stop with little difficulty while others struggle and relapse again and again. Nor does this necessarily have anything to do with willpower or moral fiber or anything else beyond the immediate case.

[captain yesterday]

TOZ wrote:

captain yesterday wrote:

Anyone can do it.

Don't know as I believe that.

I've seen it happen, and I did. It's not easy, but yes anyone can do it. Telling yourself you can't is a disservice to yourself and those who love you. :-)

I'm not trying to be a jerk or sanctimonious, just trying to offer encouragement. :-)

[TriOmegaZero]

captain yesterday wrote:

I've seen it happen, and I did. It's not easy, but yes anyone can do it.

These two statements do not logically follow.

[Ambrosia Slaad]

TOZ wrote:

captain yesterday wrote:

Anyone can do it.

Don't know as I believe that.

My dad gave up smoking when I was but a wee slaad, but he is a wellspring of stubbornness. It also helped that he didn't have to work around many smokers, and no one else at home smoked. Even now, decades after quitting, he still says he enjoys the smell of smoking and it makes him crave it.

---

I'm not sure I'd trust manufacturers to not cut corners on the ingredients in the vaping liquid. I'd definitely not opt for the cheapest or smallest e-cig because of the overheating/exploding problem in the battery packs. And nicotine dependency is still nothing to sneeze at.

But, if you try to respect others' personal space and breathing while you vape, there are worse poisons to pick.

[Jiggy]

Krensky wrote:

captain yesterday wrote:

I don't see how I was "holier then thou"

It's all true. I'm very happy having quit. Anyone can do it.

ERIC: Can anyone answer some questions about this means of quitting smoking?

YOU: Just go cold turkey like I did! Aren't I awesome?!

... You didn't answer Eric's questions, you just bragged about your own success.

The hell? He didn't say anything about how awesome he was or do anything remotely like bragging. He said what he did, asked if the OP had considered it as an option, and gave it his recommendation. Given that the OP was the one who explicitly brought up the topic of quitting, offering/suggesting an option that one has personally found success with is completely reasonable. Just because it didn't work for you doesn't mean that the person suggesting it is looking down on you; just because you didn't find success in a given endeavor doesn't mean that anyone who mentions their own success is trying to rub your face in it.

If someone expresses an interest in quitting smoking, then other people saying "I did X, it worked, I highly recommend it" is completely appropriate.

[captain yesterday]

Thank you Jiggy. :-)

[Freehold DM]

My wife quit smoking. It took several tries. She quit with a buddy. It was not fun being around her in the slightest some days. Now the scent of cigarettes makes her want to vomit.

My dad quit smoking cold turkey. Took him one try. He admits to missing the scent every now and again, but he was a cigar/pipe smoker, not into cigarettes.

[Chris Lambertz]

Hey folks, text is not the greatest medium for interpreting intent. Smoking is a topic that can get heated, and we'd appreciate everyone participating in this thread to try to keep it civil and respectful. Thanks!

[Imbicatus]

I quit cold turkey as well 20 years ago. I was on a work trip to vegas last week, and was sorely tempted to smoke while in a casino, but didn't.

It can be done, and offering encouragement quit isn't looking down at anyone who hasn't, and its appropriate for a thread looking for advice on quitting.

[Sundakan]

Krensky wrote:

Sundakan wrote:

As someone who uses neither, I find second-hand vaping to be as troublesome to MY ability to breathe than second-hand smoke, if that's useful for you.

All those nauseating scents. Ugh.

It's far less annoying than the amount of perfume and cologne most people bathe in.

Point. I have my issues with those as well.

At least I don't get people randomly spraying colognes on me in department stores any more.

[captain yesterday]

Chris Lambertz wrote:

Hey folks, text is not the greatest medium for interpreting intent. Smoking is a topic that can get heated, and we'd appreciate everyone participating in this thread to try to keep it civil and respectful. Thanks!

You're just going to leave the post, even though he insulted me.

I don't quite understand.

[sans the skeleton]

Chris Lambertz wrote:

Smoking is a topic that can get heated

oh man i can't even improve on that

[Krensky]

sans the skeleton wrote:

Chris Lambertz wrote:

Smoking is a topic that can get heated

oh man i can't even improve on that

Well, where's there's smoke there's flames.

[Cthulhusquatch]

They helped me quit smoking 2 years ago. I stopped vaping shortly after. Too late though, my lungs are screwed.

[Rednal]

I do not smoke or vape, but I have heard that they're seriously considering a lot of new regulation for the industry. It may be worth looking into that if you currently vape (or are considering starting to do so).

[Pan]

I quit smoking about ten years ago because of how sick it made me. Years of drinking bourbon and coffee plus smoking wrecked my stomach. I only drink now because a guy has to have something to look forward to. Im kind of thankful for feeling sick because I think id still be smoking now if it didnt make me feel like crap. So I know how tough it is to quit.

Since I quit smoking, vapping has come on the scene or as some affectionately refer to it as, the electric D. Several of my friends tried switching over, most went back to cigs. For them it wasnt the same. One guy actually said he was pulling on E D so often there was no end. He didnt have that closure like putting a cig out or mental note of pulling another from the pack. So watch out for tendency to overuse. I dont know anyone who has quit completely by switching, but im sure it is possible.

[Goth Guru]

I get the same allergic reactions from E-cigarette steam that I get from cigarette smoke so I am just going to hide this topic without reading it.

[Drahliana Moonrunner]

Anyone who thinks that vaping is a healthy way to smoke, is going to find themselves in a world of disappointment.

You may not die by lung cancer from vaping, it's products can lead to other kinds of genetic damage that can spike your chances for cancer later.

And secondary smoke from vaping is still a thing.

[Wei Ji the Learner]

I quit smoking thirteen years ago.

Previous to that, I was smoking a horrific amount of clove cigarettes (admittedly not quite the same, but still pretty bad).

Now if someone is vaping within twenty feet of me I become violently ill.

I discovered this during a Legacy of the Stonelords game two years ago at GenCon(before the vaping rules were put in place), and then had it confirmed at a convention late last year when I nearly vomited on the offending party while trying to be diplomatic to tell them to stop and their response was to blow vapor in my face.

To say I'm exceptionally against such a thing now is... not an understatement.

[Orville Redenbacher]

Im curious how frequent you need to vape to get popcorn lung?

[DungeonmasterCal]

Can't stand any of it. I never even tried a cigarette as a kid, as many of my friends did. I grew up in a family of smokers and I watched it kill my mom, my dad, and my brother. My sister is well on her way to that sort of demise.

[TriOmegaZero]

Wei Ji the Learner wrote:

I discovered this during a Legacy of the Stonelords game two years ago at GenCon(before the vaping rules were put in place), and then had it confirmed at a convention late last year when I nearly vomited on the offending party while trying to be diplomatic to tell them to stop and their response was to blow vapor in my face.

Kind of wish you had, for karmic reasons.

[Brain Bleach Salesgremlin]

Orville Redenbacher wrote:

Im curious how frequent you need to vape to get popcorn lung?

I'm not sure we'll have a good guess on that until the public can get accurate ingredients labeling on vape fluid.

And if Jelly Belly can continuously sell its gross-flavored jelly beans successfully, then I'm sure there's a market for vape flavors like burnt microwave popcorn and microwaved fish.

[Heathansson]

I quit for 15 months now. I did wellbutrin; had to quit nicotine totally so vaping wasn't an option. It was hard but I found it to be not as hard as I thought it would be, and I smoked for a good long time so I thought I was a hopeless case. Sh, I smoked about as long as Leonard Nimoy.
I had a friend from college who was always on me about it back then so I started messaging him about it for support; figured I'd have to tell him I took the coffin nails up again if I failed.
I'm good now and another friend told me "remember: you're always 1 smoke away from a pack a day" so I'm not tempted to even fudge a little one Saturday night because I never ever want to go through the hassle of quitting again.
I tend to have to catch myself and resist becoming an "Apostle of Wellbutrin" anti smoking preacher so I'll just leave it at that; if anybody has any questions about it though let me know.

[Frau Gestern-Blücher]

There! There woof! There castle!

[Minotaur in a China Shop]

Frau Gestern-Blücher wrote:

There! There woof! There castle!

*terrified whinny!*