Electronic cigarettes???

[epj]

Has anyone successfully quit smoking using one of these contraptions? I know that potential health risks are unknown. However, I'm willing to risk long term effects. I won't be around long term if I don't quit cigarettes very soon.
I solicit your first hand experiences.

 

[diamonback68]

I tried it, I really did, but after a while it did very little for me and I went back to smoking again. Just my experience, YMMV.

 

[Chipmunk6]

Ditto, same experience as db68.
C6

 

[arjay]

Yep,went back to tobacco after a few weeks.

 

[Erich]

Best of luck with quitting cigarettes here soon. FWIW, I've been reading on these electronic devices quite a lot because I'd like to get my sister off cigarettes. No tar, for instance, and the Wall Street Journal reports that a lot of smokers are successful in leaving regular cigarettes for the electronics.

My mom's position is "Well, we don't know what the eCigarettes do over the long term." My response, of course is, "Yeah, but we do know what the regular cigarettes do over the long term . . . ."

 

[Jimmyjones]

I have friends who have, I got close, but back to the cigs.

The technology has improved so I'm thinking about trying again.

 

[Comrad]

I quite almost 8 years ago after a 40 year habit. There is only one way to do it and it doesn't include any assistance except an absolute desire to quit for good.
Most of all you can never ever say "I'm trying to quit" that opens the door to fail.
Always say "I quit" and tell everybody you quit.
You have to hate it. I know it sound funny, like most smokers I loved smoking but in the end I hated it.
I hated being winded after a shower and getting dressed.
I hated going outside to smoke, especially in winter.
I hated spending the money.
I hated the way I ruined every car with the stink and ashes.
So, go for it, say I hate it and I quit and when you finally do it you will look back and say, that was a lot easier than I thought.
Good luck, you can do it.
PS, buy yourself a nice Smith the the money you saved and cigarette money buys a lot of ammo.

 

[feralmerril]

I found out from a aunt recently that I have a cousin that owns one of those company's that makes or sells them. Due to living several thousand miles apart and our age difference I have been out of touch with him for 50 years. From what I heard he is very successful with it.

 

[george minze]

Just my experience.....I haven't had a real cigarette in 10 months.....I still use the electronic cigarette's so I'm not completely off the habit...however I breath better, feel better, and saved a little money..Just my experience....Not a endorsement but you be the judge..My car and house smells a lot better.......

 

[RalphMP9FS]

I smoked 2.5 packs a day for 35 years, and four years ago I decided it was time to quit. I truly believe electronic cigarettes saved my health and my life.

 

[eveled]

Good luck with quitting, Ed

 

[Aticus]

If you want to QUIT smoking why would you START smoking something else?

 

[epj]

It's a matter of substitution of something that isn't harmful, or at least perceived to be somewhat less harmful. Sort of like diet soda or fat free potato chips. Come to think of it, I won't touch either one of those. But then again, I don't have a weight problem.

 

[george minze]

If you want to QUIT smoking why would you START smoking something else?

I course I don't know your habits...However my first impression is...Spoken like a person that hasn't and doesn't smoke.....Good for you..I started while in the Marines, quit when I was in the the plane crash and was hospital in Chicago...Note; My doctors slipped in my anti room to catch a smoke..Now that was 86...I held out for about four months as soon as I was released I started with one a day....That was while my intestines were being irrigated each day for months....I guess I had a weak mind.....Tough habit to break, some say it is harder than quitting hard drugs. Never having the drug experience I honestly don't know. People that can quit cold turkey and have my admiration..Tougher than I am....

 

[epj]

I remember the day when your airline meal was served with a 4- pack of cigarettes. The non smoking passengers would frequently pass theirs on to those of us in uniform. What a difference 45-50 years make!

 

[rwsmith]

An effective motivator....

Calculate how much you spend on tobacco each day and extend it to a week, a month and a year. Decide what kind of guns you are going to spend the money on. Think of this whenever the urge to smoke strikes.

 

[Old Corp]

Thankful that I've always been quite averse to it.
I can't imagine spending money on something like that when all the pros and cons are weighed out.

 

[arjay]

I dunno,look at all the money spent on booze,drugs,unhealthy diets.Theres enough there to keep the moms busy for generations [emoji57]

 

[ejeli]

No amount of talk or crutches will make you quit. When YOU decide it is time you can do it, not until. I quit after forty years. Worst part was that for awhile I actually felt worse and still today after 18 years at times I reach for the pocket. Just remind yourself how many bullets you could buy with every pack of cigarettes.
e.

 

[arjay]

My 83 year old doc finally quit for good in his 70s.Theres always hope [emoji4]

 

[Aticus]

I course I don't know your habits...However my first impression is...Spoken like a person that hasn't and doesn't smoke.....Good for you..I started while in the Marines, quit when I was in the the plane crash and was hospital in Chicago...Note; My doctors slipped in my anti room to catch a smoke..Now that was 86...I held out for about four months as soon as I was released I started with one a day....That was while my intestines were being irrigated each day for months....I guess I had a weak mind.....Tough habit to break, some say it is harder than quitting hard drugs. Never having the drug experience I honestly don't know. People that can quit cold turkey and have my admiration..Tougher than I am....

I smoked Lucky Strikes for 40 years. You know the old saying "LSMFT Lucky Strike means fine tobacco." I tried the patch thing. No help. Made up my mind one day I was going to quit. Set the following Sunday as the day. That was on a Wednesday. I haven't had a smoke since. The first year was the toughest especially when I was drinking coffee or beer. My wife smoked for several years after I quit. I don't consider myself mentally tougher than anyone else. I just did what I had to do.

If you WANT to quit smoking you can and will. If you don't you won't and nothing will help. I just think to quit smoking one thing to smoke something else won't help you quit smoking. The habit of something in your mouth is just as bad as the habit of nicotine. How many people do you know who are quitting smoking still have the habit of REACHING for that cigarette? I've done it and so have a couple of my friends. That's not nicotine. That's the habit of having something in your mouth. Substituting something which may or may not be less harmful will not break the habit. Just my opinion.

Rant over.

 

[blujax01]

My wife and I both quit. She tried Chantix and ended up with a serious manic-depressive, "not-suicidal-but-I-could-kill-someone" issue. Her Doctor put her on all of the anti-psycho drugs to try to get her back on an even keel, saying "we're trying to give your body the same feeling as nicotine". She asked for how long? He said, "For as long as it takes. Could go long term." She asked if the pills were any less addictive than nicotine and he said: "No. They're about the same."

She suggested the electronic cig and he agreed. Smart girl, my Luscious.

So, she's still addicted to nicotine but got relief from the possibility of lung cancer.

Then, two years later, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Ain't life a bitch!

 

[shouldazagged]

Pecos Bill nailed it.

I never understood the concept of kicking an addiction by putting the addictive substance in my system. I'm an alcoholic who has been sober for many years. Changing beverages did precisely zilch to help me quit because it was all alcohol. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, and I smoked for forty years, most of it three packs a day. The patch hadn't been approved when I quit 22 years ago, but the principle would have been the same.

If I started on the e-cigarettes I'd reactivate the addiction to nicotine, and painful though it would be with COPD and bronchiectasis, I would go back to the real thing.

Your mileage, et cetera, but the only thing that worked for me with alcohol or nicotine was cold turkey, with a lot of support and the help of a Higher Power.

 

[george minze]

Well said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I admire your determination.....

 

[epj]

My wife and I both quit. She tried Chantix and ended up with a serious manic-depressive, "not-suicidal-but-I-could-kill-someone" issue. Her Doctor put her on all of the anti-psycho drugs to try to get her back on an even keel, saying "we're trying to give your body the same feeling as nicotine". She asked for how long? He said, "For as long as it takes. Could go long term." She asked if the pills were any less addictive than nicotine and he said: "No. They're about the same."

She suggested the electronic cig and he agreed. Smart girl, my Luscious.

So, she's still addicted to nicotine but got relief from the possibility of lung cancer.

Then, two years later, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Ain't life a bitch!

It is indeed a bitch. I wish her well.

 

[snubbyfan]

I honestly can't see why anybody would want to continue smoking. The price of cigarettes has gotten way out of hand.
Figure it out, a $5 pack of cigarettes once a day comes out to over $1800 a year. More and more places are not allowing smoking anywhere on the grounds. When smoking is allowed, it can be a miserable experience depending on the weather because they force you so smoke outside. Ya can't even smoke in bars anymore.
I quit smoking 15 years ago, after being a smoker for 20 years, because the price of cigarettes was getting too high and there were more and more restrictions on where you can smoke. I just figured that it's more of a hassle than it's worth.
I didn't quit for health reasons but because it wasn't worth the hassles.
When I quit smoking, I just stopped smoking. No pill, no patch, no nothing, I just stopped buying and smoking cigarettes.
I soon found that an added benefit was that I could breathe better and I started feeling better.
I'm glad I quit smoking now, I've gotten more health conscious over the years and now I watch my diet, exercise and have a beer only occasionally.

 

[rwsmith]

There is a protocul.....

Patch or e-cigs, substituting can reduce withdrawal symptoms and if the substitute is reduced on a schedule, by the time a person actually quits the symptoms will not be as severe as quitting 'cold turkey'. Hey, if anybody can quit cold turkey, good for them, but everybody ain't that tough.


Attitude helps. A friend of mine went to 'smoke out' meeting where they passed around a pail and told everybody to throw their cigarettes in it. He said, "I threw them in there because I had another pack in the car."

 

[arjay]

I've found it easier to quit by cutting down from a pack to 4-5 a day and then just stopping.I haven't figured out getting past the one year hump though.

 

[blujax01]

I've found it easier to quit by cutting down from a pack to 4-5 a day and then just stopping.I haven't figured out getting past the one year hump though.

With the help of a friend of mine, who happens to be a shrink, I went from 30 a day to "quit" in about 6 weeks. Then I was a little crazy for about a month. The next month I was a little less crazy, etc. My 5 year mark is next month. I do miss being skinny, though. I went from 185 pounds to a solid deuce-and-a-quarter since 2008.

Don't congratulate me yet. I made it 5 years once before - from 1991 to 1996.

You can never, ever let your guard down. All it took was "just one" on a whim. An hour later, I bought a pack on my way home that evening and a carton the next day.

And it took 13 years for me to get the courage to go through withdrawal again.

Money never entered my mind. The first carton I bought cost $3. The last one was over $60.

 

[arjay]

Ive done that several times and I agree,it just takes that one cigarette to start again.The first time I went from 150 lbs to 185 in about 2 months lol