Give and get support around quitting
i think what ever your doing to quit is GREAT....who cares what anyone else says, about your method to quit...godd luck and stay strong
I have used e-cigs before. In my experience, which obviously is not the same as others, as been that it eventually has led me back to cigs and/or simply left me with a stronger craving for cigs later on. I have seen that several of the people in this group have used this as a quitting method and it's been successful so it probably depends on your own addiction and what you identify as your triggers as well. For me, I just need to be away for all smoking, e-cig or not, because the smallest thing will make me think of a cigarette because smoking is engrained in my daily routine. With the e-cig, I wasn't learning to live without smoking I was simply replacing it which wasn't my goal. E-cigs can be wonderful if you are the right person to use them. I was not. Hope this helps!
I am using lozenges as my main NRT and find they help a lot. I also use an e-cig a few times per day, in the mornings with my tea I find it helpful since it is advised not to drink anything while having a lozenge in your mouth so a few puffs on the e-cig gives me a small amount of nicotine which holds me over till I am driving to work and use a lozenge to really curb my crave. Also at the end of the day when I am ready for bed I find that seeing the vapor is very calming for me, I know this is phycological but at this point (day 14) I feel that anything that helps me not light a real smoke is worth while and the sense of calm seeing the vapor gives me before bed is a big plus.
I quit for four and half months a year ago, I used e-cigs then too and found that after about week two I didn't need or want them any more. The need to see the vapor and the need for nicotine with my tea had passed so that was the end of the e-cigs. Don't know if that will happen again, I did a lot more prep last year and felt far more ready than this time, I pretty much quit on the spot at five in the morning this time after a bad health scare the week before. I think all the prep last year really made the first few weeks much easier, at least compared to these first two weeks.
I understand that e-cigs aren't sancationed by most quitting organizations like the American Caner Society because they are regulated by the FDA but if they help me stay cigarette free I am ok with using them for as long as they help. I don't want to stay hooked on nicotine but e-cigs are only another way to deliver it, like the lozenges which I also hope to be rid of someday and have been told I will be when my time is right. Time....Going to bed each night smoke free means everything but I do find myself wishing I could hurry time along!!
I tried e-cigs that I got through the mail and it tasted nastier than real cigs. Are there any reputable e-cig sellers that have vapor flavors like mango, strawberry, or fruity flavors that would help me. I only smoke on the weekend and then just a few puffs with my beer or wine off my hubbys smoke, any advice would help. Its mostly a tactile and visual issue for me I think plus the taste being good would help.
I did use th e-cig a couple of years ago. I thought it was fine The only problem
was I could not smoke it on my job. I had to go outside. I was mad about that. People
were supposed to be able to smoke inside. In a way I can see at work. They thought
it would look bad example. This discourged me so I went off it. Later in years I herd
some negative things about the cig. I am going on the gum June 1st. I have tried the
patches to.
I have used them in the past but I'm using them again. My daughter took me to a Vapor store and I found the best flavor! It's called Brain Freeze! It's like a real Menthol CIG. I can get whatever strength I wanted. I feel really good about using this kind.
I've tried the patch but that didn't work. I like the Ecig because it gives me something to do with my hands.
I'm only 4 days in but I'm doing good.
I have used them in the past but I'm using them again. My daughter took me to a Vapor store and I found the best flavor! It's called Brain Freeze! It's like a real Menthol CIG. I can get whatever strength I wanted. I feel really good about using this kind.
I've tried the patch but that didn't work. I like the Ecig because it gives me something to do with my hands.
I'm only 4 days in but I'm doing good.
If you choose to use them, know the risks:
(From the Wall Street Journal)
By Saabira Chaudhuri
A new Harvard University study has cast doubts about the safety of flavored e-cigarettes, many of which have been found to contain a chemical tied to a respiratory disease commonly known as “popcorn lung.”
Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health tested 51 e-cigarette flavors sold by “leading e-cigarette brands.” Of these they found that 39 of the 51 flavors contained diacetyl—a chemical commonly used to add flavorings like butter, caramel, strawberry and butterscotch—that has been linked to bronchiolitis obliterans and other severe respiratory diseases.
The U.S.’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration describes bronchiolitis obliterans as occurring when small airways become inflamed and scarred, resulting in the thickening and narrowing of the airways.
The researchers focused their study, which was published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, on e-cigarettes sold by the largest cigarette companies and on flavors they thought would be appealing to children, teenagers and young adults.
The largely unregulated e-cigarette industry has been a focal point for controversy in recent years, with some health bodies saying they’re a gateway for new or underage smokers, and that flavored e-cigarettes in particular could attract younger smokers. An August study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that ninth-graders who used electronic cigarettes were more likely to smoke cigarettes, cigars or hookahs than peers who never tried the battery-powered devices.
U.K. antitobacco group ASH and Public Health England, along with the tobacco industry, have billed e-cigarettes as a way to reduce the incidence of cigarette use.
Popcorn lung, the disease associated with inhaling diacetyl, got its name due to reports in the early 2000s of lung disease in microwave-popcorn workers. The workers were exposed to butter-flavoring chemicals, of which diacetyl was the most prominent.
The Harvard researchers, who released their study on Tuesday, noted that the heating, vaporization and inhalation of flavoring chemicals in e-cigarettes makes smokers’ exposure similar to that of workers in the microwave-popcorn industry.
The study also found two other chemicals—2,3 pentanedione and acetoin—respectively present in 23 and 46 of the 51 flavors it tested. Roughly 92% of the e-cigarettes it tested had one of the three chemicals present.
According to the study, two companies stated their products didn’t contain diacetyl when it was found during testing that they in fact did. Across the websites and packaging for all of the e-cigarette brands studied, the researchers found no health warnings about diacetyl.
The study evaluated flavors from three large cigarette companies, a large independent e-cigarette company and three e-cigarette distributors. It didn’t name the companies.
“We acknowledge that diacetyl shouldn’t be used in e-cigarettes, but equally diacetyl is found in cigarettes at very significant levels, so obviously there is a harm-reduction aspect to switching to e-cigarettes,” said Tom Pruen, chief scientific officer for the U.K.-based Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association.
E-cigarettes are currently largely unregulated, although a 2014 Food and Drug Administration proposed rule is seeking to expand the legal definition of tobacco products to include e-cigarettes.
In the U.K. they will fall under the revised EU Tobacco Products Directive starting in May, which will set out safety and quality requirements for e-cigarettes.
I just want to say that 560 days ago I posted that I was using one to help me quit well i did quit sucessfully and in the beginning the e- cig helped me but I used it very very sparingly and used it less and less as time went on by the time I was done with the patch ( about 10 0e 11 weeks ) I was done with all Nrt's including the e- cig .
If you choose to use one to help you quit please be very careful you would not want to get hooked on those after becming free from smoking . If you can quit without using them do so more studies are showing they are harmful . I had a plan and got off of them quickly .
Thought this blog might be worth reading as it shows a perspective from someone trying to quit vaping: /blogs/iquit/2018/12/01/first-week-of-not-smoking
I wonder how may of these respondents used the ecig?
How many used the ecig and never smoked another cigarette again?
How many are still using the ecig and how long it has been?
How they feel about the ecig now vs how they felt when they started using it?
If they feel their health condition has gotten better or worse or stayed the same.
Any coughing or mouth/gum or teeth problems they've noticed.