There are substances in cigs that make nicotine more addictive but it is also in itself addictive. From all the studies I have read it is about as dangerous as caffeine (perhaps a little more addictive than caffeine).
I would say to this that if you taste pepper it is not your body telling you to lower your nicotine it is more than likely it is because the nicotine has gone bad and you should get some new nic or ditch the juice.
There is no problem in dual use, if somebody want to quit. When i started to vape, i smoked too, but only a few cigarettes a day. It was a big sucess for me to lower from 30 cigs to only 4-5 a day. After a few weeks i smoked only 1 cig a week. It´s not a either or, that make to much pressure, every cigarette that isn´t smoked is a win. And yes, your body will tell you, when it´s time to lower your nic.
If you get your satisfaction, don´t lower your nic. Geting cravings - higher nic level may help. I vape for nearly 3 years now and my favorite is the Flash e Vapor with 18mg e juice, Toffee single flavour. Great flash!
I would not say the nic is bad … speaking from experience of going from 24 to 3 nic over past 2 yrs . When it was time for me to drop . My vaping slowed but I could also taste the nic… pepper taste does come close to the taste… same nic at lower % is just fine…
After vaping 3 nic for past 4 days … and going back to vaping my 6 nic juice I can taste the higher nic level…
Edit: time to give away my 6nic juice to friends
When nicotine oxidizes it can get a peppery taste. More nicotine = faster oxidation = more pepper
Peppery or harsh taste is usually caused by old or cheaply extracted Nicotine solution.
Tbh, i did not know you could taste nic…
I always vape 3mg, 6mg when i started but quickly whent to 3mg because 6 was to harsh for me…
To me, the more heavy, the more harsh , but a taste i cannot realy tell …
I agree, I could not do without cigarettes when I smoked. Now I vape and I do have a habit, but if I forget my vape I can go for hours without it. When I smoked I would have to stop and get a pack to get my fix immediately. I quit for 10 years, and during that time every time I drank a beer or drove a car I would wish (strongly) that I had a cig. I would constantly slap my shirt pocket to look for a pack of ciggs, even for the 10 years I was quit. I love the effect of nicotine in my vape but its a mild habit not an addiction. I vape 9mg juice and vape 4-8 ml daily, I get the effect but I feel I could easily quit cold turkey without a severe nicotine withdrawal period. It took a lot of willpower to quit ciggs (and gum lozenges patches and atomic fireballs). anyone having a dual habit should IMO dig deeper to the willpower, grab their vape, and avoid those nasty ciggs. Vaping is obviously safer and I’m qualified to say that based on my 40 year smoking habit, and my new vaping hobby.
I am also beginning experimentation with the new high mg, low wattage devices like the ECO and EDGE by Joyetech. vaping 27mg!
“yeah, hi, my name is DarkJester89, and I uh… I collect small vials of flavor concentrates and really tiny screwdrivers, and I blow sick clouds that taste like strawberry and sweet sweet raspberry.”
We should have a vapor-oholic thread!
oh yeah, its the new member introduction page!
But I still say you would have to be way over the top to be spending more on vaping than ciggs!
I smoked for around 25 years. 2-3 packs a day and tried gums, patches, pen devices but nothing seamed to work.
As I started vaping I got sold a system that’s known to be cloud chaser setup and 3mg nicotine juice (bakery). I tried really hard to just use that but I couldn’t, I would still grab 5-10 cigs a day together with vaping.
Went back to that store, I didn’t know about online stores yet, asked for higher juice and the dude did not wanted to sell it, arguing that 6mg in a sub ohm tank were bad.
I went back home and tried again but nothing. Found a different store and explained the situation, they sold me a 6mg. I tried it for a week but got bad headaches so back to doing both, cigarettes and vaping.
Went back in the store again and the guys made me a 4.5mg juice this worked like a charm for me. However I still wanted that quick nicotine but I said to myself that I would not smoke one more cigarette. I lit one, turned it off right away and left it in the ash tray.
Every time I went outside to vape and my mind was begging me to grab the pack of cigs first, I would pick up that one cigarette and smell it. Not even 30seconds later my brain agreed that vaping was more satisying.
I’ve never touched or lit a cigarette ever since, neither did my husband, now we down to 2mg nicotine and I might drop lower soon.
This won’t for everyone and I think whatever helps someone to quit or lower their cigarette intake is the way to go.
At the moment I’m getting two of my friends off cigarettes, making 24mg nic salt juices for them, as well as giving them tanks and mods and so far its working. But for them its only a month now, however its better than nothing.
Wish I had the salt available or at least a person showing me different devices and nicotine strength. Might would have had a easier and more successful time.
I come online very rarely, but when I do … I always come to ELR and I check prev. conversations. I want to add to this topic. Yes, sometimes I have a craving and I vape, vape, vape trying many of my mods to get satisfaction, but it’s NEVER a craving for a stinky cigarette. I should post now because I went to the lung doctor last week after 3 years and 4 months of vaping and no cigs. Now I am on no inhalers, no oxygen and my lungs are okay…not great but most importantly I am alive. I enjoyed smoking so much that I was willing to smoke and die. I smoked for 43 years and was smoking more than 2 packs a day by the end of it. BUT I want to post… vaping is so, so much nicer, enjoyable and tasty. I would never ever smoke a stinky because they smell disgusting. I can tell when someone smokes because it stinks. My sense of smell seems to be greater than normal. Just wanted to post - no I don’t ever crave a cigarette. Well now my juice is about 2 or 3 mg. I can take it or leave it, but I probably vape about 30 or 50 mls a day. Perhaps now I am a taste junky. Recently I tried some CBD (hemp) for pain. I got the 50 mg bottle that cost $50. It tastes pretty good. I’m not really sure how well it works though. Well… nice touching bases with you all. Oh ya… And I’ve only had one cold since I quit smoking 3 years ago.
Congratulations Joy, your story is incredible and furthermore demonstrates the fact that vaping is much safer than smoking.
Been cig-free for almost 4 years after 30+ years of smoking. No cravings at all and I actually hate the smell of it - fresh or stale. When I meet with clients that smoke heavily, the smell of it on their clothes, breath and hair just makes me nauseous.
It’s nice to see you post. Missed you lots lady.
Hate to admit I’m still on the fence. Mornings I’ll have a few but rest of the day I’m vaping. Nautilus is as great idea. A guy once told me to vape first thing in the morning, even if a few hits, to recondition the habit. It’s the external things that keep me analog for an hour a day, not the enjoyment of vaping.
How long do you vape? Whats your nicotie level? What do you miss? Throat hit?
First of all it´s a very big success that you only smoke in the morning. Congratulation!
Don´t forget, every cigarette replaced through vaping is a success. Maybe the Nautilus is not the right device or the ejuice you use. Vaping should be fun and don´t set yourself under pressure. If you have cravings, smoke a cigarette, no problem. And remember: choose your nicotine level as high as possible. Your body will tell you quickly, if it´s to much. Not the nicotine is the devil, it´s the burned tobacco and stuff big T put in there.
Vape on!
FWIW, here’s my 2c worth…
Smoked on average a pack a day for 40 years at 16mg. When I started vaping nearly 3 years ago I remember having my last cigarette while reading the instruction manual for the 1.6 ohm MTL ego pen I had received that day. Took a few hesitant draws on a sweet apple flavoured juice and haven’t looked back since. I’d bought some 24mg juice but had done enough research beforehand to know that I could cut it down to 12mg by adding equal amounts of PG/VG, albeit with reduced flavour. Having said that, the flavour was still a revelation to me.
Cut a long story short, since that fateful night, I have never had the slightest desire for a stinky. I was getting my nicotine hit, my throat hit, a reinforced hand to mouth habit and I was seeing the vapour (smoke substitute) coming outta my gob. All boxes ticked. Happy days indeed!
I suppose I’m one of the lucky ones who didn’t have the urge to light up after the transition. Still vape (sub ohm) at 12mg to this day. Have tried lower nic levels but found myself vaping more often when I did that. More than happy where I’m at and see no reason to change anything just yet. Finally, if it’s of any help, whether you vape and top up with cigarettes is irrelevant IMHO. Every time you vape instead of smoking you’re a winner! My only suggestion would be to try and smoke less and less as time goes on, even if it’s just for your health’s sake. There, that’s me done. Cheers…
Same here @Lostmarbles. Just got back from 10 days in Bali and had to “endure” 3 friends who smoke. Walking the streets of Ubud, at restaurants, around the pool etc. Just as well I love them to death 
Cheers…
Quit smoking only 3 weeks ago and went straight to vaping. The first 11! times I tried quitting failed miserably. The longest one lasted 2 months. I’m a severe astma patient and even when I felt alot better after 1 week or so, the craving won and I started smoking again. This time is the first I use something (vaping) to help me quit. Some friends of mine still smoke and I must admitt that when I’m around them I smoked 1 cigaret. This boils down to about 2 cigarettes a week (in the weekends). All the things that come with vaping, like making coils, mixing liquids, reading on forums, looking for products, etc. keep my mind busy. This is the reason I think that this time it will be a succes. Al those things keep my mind away from craving cigarettes and became a hobby of some sort. I really hope this time I will conquer the stink-sticks and become a healthier person. This forum helps me a lot and I hope it helps others the same way…
Stay strong and keep vaping!
