Thread: I gave up smoking 2 days ago - it was REALLY easy....

Hi Brett,

Congratulations on taking the big step. I hope it all goes well for you.

I did not think giving up smoking wqs soo tough. I have a friend who does it about once a week

Cheers

Doug

Good work mate! Congrats, got some mates on vapour, they love it.

Congratulations Brett. Give it a few months and you might even start to feel better, less aches and pains, better sleep, better mood and so on. There are biological bases for all of those improvements.

I smoked 50 a day for 30 years and finally gave up in 1996 after many, many unsuccessful attempts. What finally worked for me was patches, put a patch on and never lit up again, best thing I ever did. No more panicking when you run out of smokes, no more climbing the cabin walls on long hall flights, no more headaches if I smoked too much, no more great bulges in my pockets, best thing I ever did. Now I'm just waiting for the big C to catch up with me! Well done, you'll feel a lot better, that I can promise you!

Onya Brett, the best you could ever do as the fags are a real killer.

I gave up in '07, just wacked a nicobate patch on the arm and away I went. I wanted to give up so that was half the battle and after 2 weeks with the patches, I thought what a waste of money ($30 for a weeks worth of patches)
So didn't buy anymore just used my superhuman willpower and haven't touched a durrie since.

Good lord what a major turning point in my life.
Food tasted so much better, some were worse, like instant coffee. from a 6-8 cups a day down to 2-3 a week and that's the good stuff from coffee shops.

Tea is my drink of choice now and T2 get a nice wack of my custom, some amazing teas there.

That's just my taste buds, wait till your lungs get a chance to breathe again. As the years go on they just get better and better.
I continually apologise to my wife for putting her through that horrible ritual of kissing her whilst I smoked, to me it's like licking an ashtray.

Your heart will thank you even more.

So whatever method works for you mate stick to it you will not be disappointed.

Good luck.

Cheers Glenn.

Nic patches put my blood pressure up 20 points (have had it measured before and after) and I can also just feel it - very unpleasant, and palpitations.

The funny thing is that just 2 months ago I still blew a peak flow meter literally off the scale - always could.

Doesn't mean the fags aren't killing me in all sorts of other ways though. Same for cigarettes.

Good onya lad. Bout bloody time. I can say that as an ex smoker as well. I went cold turkey when I gave it away 10 or so years ago. Agree with the other posters, best thing I ever did. If you think you can detect an improvement now, wait and see how you feel in six months or a year or two years. It just gets better.
With all the money you save you will be able to buy a decent phone (Seriously guys, his phone is 1980 vintage)

Good on you Brett!!!
Now here is the thing.....you now can say that you will save $X by not buying the ciggys....well I don't smoke but I am not $X better off???? Is there some logic there??? Or am I missing something??

Cheers chaps.

Originally Posted by NCArcher

(Seriously guys, his phone is 1980 vintage)

It's 2007 vintage thank you, and the funny thing is that it still makes excellent quality phone calls. That is what a phone is for innit?

Furthermore, I have just taken receipt of my two new batteries for it, as I fully intend to get at least a decade of Yeoman service from it. The batteries are getting a bit exxy these days though. $3.26 each inc post from China. Think I only paid $2.50 or maybe $3 last time.

Anyway, I've got enough new technology to cope with atm without taking on a new camera/web surfer that happens to make phone calls. New scalded cat puta, new tablet, new touchpad (which is GREAT), and stuff arriving from that states in a day or two.

Can you explain a bit about Vaping? I have a rough idea of what is involved but as a non smoker i've never bothered to investigate it more closely. May help some smokers who are thinking of quitting as well.

The short answer is that you have an electronic device with a battery, heating coil, chamber for the juice and of course a mouthpiece. Press a button on the side and the juice is turned into vapour with heat. Inhale like you would a fag. As you inhale it crackles.

There's a plethora of devices on the market in different types (and fashion styles for those so inclined - perhaps get one that matches your fancy camera that also makes phone calls). I bought two Joyetech eGO AIO (All In One) as you don't want to have any dramas with flat batteries (USB charge) or busted devices if you drop it etc. It's not like you can just pop down the street and pick up another one in 5 mins.

I chose the black & white and a black - different colours because I'll have different flavours more than likely. Unfortunately they didn't have a brass one which I would definitely have purchased, but not just because I like brass. They happen to be 19mm diameter and 100mm long so i would have also been able to use it as a bench dog in a pinch (if my other bench dogs had a flat battery, for example).

When it comes to juice, you can but non-nic juice in Oz, but the nanny state won't allow nic juice in for reasons I either can't fathom or don't agree with. Nic juice has to come from China, USA or NZ where they are a bit smarter about saving tens of billions per year on health care, and are prepared to forego the tax revenue, so they can save much more and actually get ahead.

The juices are available in strengths from 0 to 24 milligrams (similar to the nic content ratings in cigs I think), and in a thousand different flavours. SOme are tried to match to cig brands, other are just fruity, etc etc.

The experienced vaper (correct spelling) mixes their own juice blends. You can get bottles of straight up nic juice in various strengths which are for dilution in other non-nic flavours.

Then there are two fundamental types of juice: PG (Propylene Glycol) which is thinner and tasteless, but when vaped produces the all-important "throat hit" that smokers look for. VG (Vegetable Glycerin) is thick and sweet and produces denser clouds of vapor for the all important visual affect, but lacks the throat hit. Most pre-packed juices are a blend of the two, to yield a throat hit with a decent cloud.

So the juice is a mixture of PG/VG with flavouring and nicotine added.



I have always smoked outside, even when living by myself, and yes folks, even in the middle of winter up here - even when it's snowing or persisting it down. Hence why I wanted the clear polycarb roof over the back deck. However, vaping inside is no problem as near as i can tell - there have been no complaints from FFJensen on the odd occasion that I have. I'm still largely keeping the habit of going outside because it's not a good idea to change too many habits if you don't have to when ceasing smoking - there's enough radical changes going on for the subconscious as it is.

The idea is to keep as many of the cues as possible, and the eGO does that pretty well - throat hit, heat, clouds of varying density, something to do with hand movements to the face, and of course the most important thing - a hit of nic.

Apart from all the bleeding obvious benefits, because the juice can be infinitely tailored it can also be gradually reduced in nic content at whatever rate over whatever period suits the individual. For myself, I foresee a 5% decrement for maybe 2 weeks at a time. Once I have killed the nic addiction without drama I then only have to concern myself with the other cues which I hope are not so hard to kill. I have always advocated getting off antidepressants in the same way - shaving off 10% decrements for a week at a time, rather than the proscribed method of 50% reduction, then 25% then Chilled Turkey (all just 1 week each). It doesn't work properly and people end up freaking out with heads of mud and sawdust. I used to use a nail file for shaving the tabs, but of course these days I would use a disc sander.

I can see spreadsheets for the juice mixtures, and definitely a wooden gizmo for storing the little bottles, syringes, eGos etc etc. It's enough of a science to sustain a dedicated forum, even within Oz. Crikey me, in the USA they even have vaping fairs or trade shows.

In another post, at another time, I'll list what I see as the benefits, and it will be an extensive list.

Be careful, inhaling some organic vapors can be a problem. Heard of popcorn lung?

Chemical flavorings found in e-cigarettes linked to lung disease | Harvard Gazette

EHP – Flavoring Chemicals in E-Cigarettes: Diacetyl, 2,3-Pentanedione, and Acetoin in a Sample of 51 Products, Including Fruit-, Candy-, and Cocktail-Flavored E-Cigarettes

Do Vaping & Ecigs Cause Popcorn Lung Disease?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronchiolitis_obliterans

Very good to give up cigarettes but watch carefully the ingredients of the products that you're inhaling.

Thanks Rob, I'll have a good read of those links tomorrow.

Yes, I have no blinkers on here, and have no doubt that it's still dangerous, hence why I'll design my own reduction program. That's the great thing about working with liquids - dilute to any variable you like, which is impossible with tobacco (particularly when you aren't allowed to know the strengths by the Nanny state).

It is possible to some extent with nic patches (just keep snipping a bit off), but as I've said they are a no-go for me, and also they are an outrageous ripoff in price for what they are. Apparently $30 a week or thereabouts for 7 square Bandaids with a bit of nic smeared on the inside. I paid about $30 for 250ml of 10% nic......