I just want to say thanks to everyone on this site that has helped me mix too. Staying off the (%^$&^% yuck things) is a challenge…but the selflessness of this group sharing recipes and tips is a huge part of what keeps me motivated.
Thank you one and all (even those I have disagreed with here lol)
I bought my starter kit on February 26,2016 and smoked my last cigarette on February 28,2016. It’s only been a month, but honestly with my the help of my vape device and good juice it’s been easier than I ever imagined. I smoked for almost 20 years and always thought I’d quit one day. I’ve tried the patches, the gum, and even dipping. None of that stuff worked. I grew up in a house full of smokers and as a kid I hated it. My son is 3 years old and I’m ashamed to say that even his birth wasn’t enough to make me quit. It took a little intestinal cancer scare to push me in the right direction, then I finally took some advice from a friend and tried vaping. I’m super glad I’m no longer exposing my child to cigarette smoke and that he won’t have to go to school smelling like an ashtray the way I did.
-Many thanks to all those who post great recipes here. It’s a big help to me, already less concerned with the nicotine and more concerned with flavor.
Smoked my 1st cig at age 10; smoked my last 2 years ago at age 61…that’s 51 years. If the politicians and never-smokers knew what a blessing vaping is to us new non-smokers, they would not be busting our butts over vaping, rather rejoicing with us and encouraging acceptance. I’m thankful to the ELR community for all the support and great recipes; you’ll be seeing a lot of me.
Thats a long time to be somking, congrats on quitting after so long. And well done.
You are my hero.
Smoked for 30 years a pack a day… It’s crazy… I have been smoke free since Nov 2015…started vaping and quit smoking right away… just took off from there…DIY now and I can finally say…I don’t smoke, when asked that question…
My friends are now on the vapetrain and its awesome to see so many people quitting. Ifeel beter …my clothes and house dont smell…and Im not outta breath walking up stairs…lol… The powers that be think this needs to stop…well…I dont think they care about our health…I think they are losing huge amounts of tax income on cigarettes and that is probably the sad truth…
Daniel sorry it took me so long to find this. First THANK YOU for your service and also for sharing your story. If there is anything that you need let us know we are all here to help.
I smoked clove cigarettes and Marlboros for 23 years. Heard about ecigs, spent a weekend investigating, and ordered a small pile of stuff for the wife and I. After the package arrived we checked things out, charged batteries, and did some more reading to make sure we were going to do things correctly.
The following Saturday I put a stake in the ground and told myself that I’d start vaping at noon. I lit a cigarette at 11:53, put it out at noon, and fired up an ecig. I had my last cigarette at 4:00 PM that day. And haven’t had one since.
That Saturday was Labor Day weekend, 2009, so I’m pretty close to 7 years of vaping.
@DanHank - Thanks for your service! Former EOD technician that served with distinction like you - during the 1st Gulf War and Operation Southern Watch.
Where do I begin? Good grief - I think it was swiping a few sticks from my elderly Aunt Lisa (who smoked like a chimney) and trying menthol cigarettes that got me hooked at 15. From there, even still physically active with Hockey, Soccer (or Football for you European types) and competitive Swimming in the summer - I managed to keep under half a pack a day until I joined the EOD and went up to NAS Whidbey Island in Washington state.
From there… I ballooned up to almost 2 packs a day for the next 8 years, got married, had kids, quit drinking (can’t throw up on the kids, karma is a bummer), and tried quitting smoking… 12 times. You name it, cold turkey, nicotine patch, hypnotism… it boggles the mind.
So from 1991 through 2015 I smoked, unsuccessfully quit 12 times, and then a friend of mine from work (now that I work I.T. and not the same stress as the military) showed me a vape pen and let me borrow his spare for a week.
From February 2015 to September 2015 I gradually reduced the nicotine content (now I’m at 3mg after starting at 18mg) and the cravings for analogs is just about gone. Officially however, May 2nd, 2016 is my official quit date - have been analog free since then, and haven’t looked behind me since.
Always glad to meet others who quit, and welcome.
Like you, I do 3mg for RDA’s but need 6mg for my low watt tanks.
You can pick up a lot of good info and help here.
Also, Thank You for your Service.
Started smoking @ 16 with all the “cool kids” at the local skating ring circa 1978, smoked a PAD until May 31, 2015.My wife & I were planning a long road trip vacation from our home in Georgia to Maine (Beautiful State!) & I wanted to be smoke free before we left. I had never tried an E-Cig because of all the mis-information about them, but I decided to research it myself to learn the truth! Stopped by our local vape shop & they set me up with an iStick 30 & Nautilus tank. I have just celebrated my 1 year being cigarette free! I am now well on my way with mixing my own juice and will soon be making my own coils! I hate being dependent on someone else with these items especially with the future of vaping in question…
Also , I would like to tell you about my Mom. She started smoking at 13 and had been smoking for 65 years. When I got home from vacation I talked her into trying vaping and she will celebrate her 1 year next week!!!
I am so thankful for this forum & others that supplied me with the truth about vaping and the knowledge to hopefully help others on improving their health & prolonging their life!
Hi I have been smoking for longer than I dare remember and all my family have always smoked so I have always been around smokers, I brought a very cheap starter vaper on the 17th May with the intention of just cutting down because I was spending over £70 a week on cigarettes, I cut down on my cigarettes,straight away and by the Thursday I only had three cigarettes, all day.
On the Friday I had two cigarettes, all day and I noticed that when I had my third one I didnt enjoy it, that evening I had a further three cigarettes, but I knew that I hadnt enjoyed one of those and asked myself why had I smoked them,
I got up on the Saturday morning and decided that I would see how long I could go without one… I havent had a cigarette since! dont get me wrong, it hasnt been easy, and I found that I have missed the taste of cigarettes, NOT the nicotine, the taste BUT I know that the taste is due to all the other crap in them, and I really dont want to put another one to my lips ever again,
I will say it also takes a lot of will power to stop completely BUT without the vaper I would still be smoking My son and husband smoke and it doesnt bother me, I have gone from 24 mgs down to 6 mgs of nicotine in two weeks and I havent really noticed the difference after a day, I am also using my vaper less and the cravings for the ciggie are getting less and less.
I havent noticed an improvement in my taste yet and the imporvement in smell in very hit and miss but its early days, I am also waiting for this famous cough that every one says you get when you quit. lol
If you really want to quit and have tried everything else please start vaping, it is a life changer!
+++ PERSONAL HISTORY +++
I am male and I was born in 1964, over 50 now! I am a Supervisor in the Manufacturing Industry in Sydney Australia. I started smoking when I was about 12 and was a packet a day smoker for over 30 years. Both my parents smoked all through my childhood, my first smokes were stolen from them. My Father gave up smoking after a heart attack in the early eighties, but my Mother never managed to. She died from Emphysema in 2003.
+++ HAVE I TRIED TO GIVE UP BEFORE - HELL YES! +++
I have wanted to give up smoking for many years. I remember the first time, saying to myself “there’s no way I’m paying $2 a packet”…lol! It next became a priority when I had children in the early 90’s. I tried to give up cold turkey a few times, with some success. I could always manage to stop for a week here, a couple of weeks there, until I underwent some kind of stress. This would always send me running for my smokes, and the relief I felt when I got some was immeasurable. I tried gum, lozenges and patches and they never worked. I tried Champix twice! I never had any problems with feeling sick or suicidal while using them, and they worked quite well while I was taking them. But it was the same old story when they ran out, at the first sign of stress I would buckle and run for a smoke, and one is all it would take to be straight back on a packet a day! I’m weak, I know!
[B]+++ MY VAPING JOURNEY +++[/B]
My Vaping Journey started at local market one Saturday in 2011. I noticed a stall selling, what I now know to be cig-a-likes or 1st generation devices. I am very much a “Tech Head” and an “electronic cigarette” appealed to me on many levels. I purchased one and it was not cheap at $50. I was instantly converted and gave up smoking almost immediately - for a while. I was soon disillusioned, the battery in this thing would only last a couple of hours, and it seemed to take longer than that to charge! The cartridges were another hassle, they only last half a dozen puffs and were difficult and messy to refill. Then my battery stopped re-charging at all and I decided that smokes were a much easier option. I never gave e-cigarettes another thought until I went on holiday to Hawai’i in 2013. I saw many people in Hawai’i using a much larger device which sparked my curiosity. I wrongly decided to hold off buying in Hawai’i due to the whole 110v-240v thing but was intent on doing some research after returning to Australia.
After returning to Australia I hit Google and found a local vape forum. I lurked there for a few weeks, doing my research before ordering an iTaste VV/VW V3 starter kit (a 3rd generation device), and some pre-mixed e-liquid. I started Vaping on 6/8/2013, stopped smoking completely on 10/8/2013 and have never looked back. Whats more it was easy - very easy (for me).
If this was the only equipment available, I am sure I would be quite satisfied. But it’s not! It wasn’t long before I got curious about 2nd generation devices, a new world of Mechanical Mods, RDAs, RBAs, Kayfuns and Gennies! Soon, my new found disposable income was being consumed by, what had now become, my new hobby. Thankfully my new addiction to vaping gear has calmed down a bit. I am now moving slowly back to 3rd generation devices, they are just a bit more “high end”.
It was not long after I stopped smoking that I saw the changes happening. First I got my sense of taste and smell back, that was quite a shock! Then I noticed that when I went to bed I was no longer wheezing. I no longer feel like I’m going to pass out after walking up a steep hill. Bouts of cold and flu are far less frequent, (touch wood). I have not felt this well since I can remember!
The only other thing that needs mentioning is the ultimate control you get over the amount of nicotine you ingest. By mixing your own e-liquid, you choose the concentration. I have been slowly dropping my nicotine intake from 24mg/ml, 2mg/ml at a time, when I mix a fresh batch. I will continue to lower my intake for as long as I can without feeling like I need a smoke. Whether I get to 0mg/ml remains to be seen.
[B]+++ WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SAY TO NEW VAPERS +++[/B]
In my opinion Vaping is the only alternative nicotine delivery system that satisfies all four types of addiction that cigarettes create. Firstly, I am getting the Nicotine I crave. Secondly, I get the physical, “hand-to-mouth” action that mimics smoking. Next is the tobacco taste in my mouth that I used to crave after food, coffee, chocolate etc. I don’t vape tobacco flavours anymore. And lastly, I don’t have to change my routine, I can still hang with my mates in the “Designated Smoking Area” and not be tempted.
Please Please Please do all your research BEFORE you purchase anything!
The hardest part of Vaping is finding the right flavours, especially when it comes to Tobacco flavours. Do not expect any Tobacco flavours to taste like your smokes, they never will. The key is persistence, as soon as your brain starts to associate the nicotine “hit” with this new behavior, and this new flavour, you WILL get used to it and enjoy it! Buy plenty of flavours in small quantities first so you do not get stuck with litres of e-juice you do not enjoy. Also make sure you start with high nicotine content. At least 24mg/ml for a pack a day smoker. This will ensure you do not crave smokes and soon the new habit will replace the old. Feel free to reduce your nicotine once you know you will not go back.
Make sure you have a backup, and a backup for your backup!
Make sure you educate yourself on correct battery safety!
I cannot tell you that Vaping is entirely safe, I can only tell you what my body is telling me, I feel much, much better now than when I was smoking!
Vaping is not for everyone, my partner tried it and she said it made her feel sick? If Vaping is not for you, please do not stop trying to give up smoking.
+++ WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SAY TO THE GOVERNMENT +++
I cannot understand the hypocrisy of the position of World Governments and Organisations on Nicotine and e-cigarettes, unless it is being driven by the dollar!
If this stand against e-cigarettes is being made because they are not PROVEN to be SAFE, then ban e-cigarettes, but only after you ban cigarettes, as they are PROVEN to be LETHAL!
Please please ensure enough research is carried out before making a decision on banning e-cigarettes.
Know that banning e-cigarettes will force thousands, if not millions of Vapers back to traditional cigarettes. But not me, I will turn to the Black Market that will flourish.
It is my hope that this testimonial will have positive influence on someones future decision, be it a new Vaper or a Polititian
Thanks for listening
Laurie (Sydney Australia)
Great story and thank you for sharing. 
Very well written story thank you for sharing it
Hi, I just joined the forum. When I saw this thread, knew I had to share my story as well.
My parents smoked for as long as I could remember. When I turned 11, Idecided if they could do it so could I. So I began sneaking one or two a day. For reasons not related, I began skipping school with a friend that also smoked. From there I slowly increased the number of cigarettes until I plateaued at half a pack a day at 16. I met my now exhusband in Dec 2001, in March 2002 I got pregnant. I went cold turkey for 11 months but started again Feb of 2003. April of 2005, pregnant again. Went cold turkey until May of 2009. Smoked until Sept 2014 then was cold turkey until Jan of 2015. In Aug 2015 my boyfriend got this black Eagle brand vape pen and some cheap made in China liquid. Icould barely drag on it and the clogged straw effect triggered my asthma. In April this year, a vape shop opened. A week ago I stopped to surprize my boyfriend with a couple of new flavors. The woman was friendly, told me to try the flavors she sold me and to bring my boyfriend back to sample others. When he got home he loaded a new flavor and we tried it. The heavy draw on his Eagle still hurt but no asthma! On friday we went back, tried some more and bought me a joytech aio and peach juice. Saturday we went back and got one for him too. I have now been tobacco-free for at least 48 hours and feel good!
Congratulations! Your on your way to a cig free life. Keep coming back for tips and suggestions. We’re all here to help.
Holly shit! I wonder if I have a mild case of the too? Does temperature affect it? When it’s cold/cool out and we’re playing golf my hands will do that. Most times it will be my pointer, middle, and ring finger. I always joke it’s because I grip my club to hard. I’ve noticed numbness on the ball of my foot, up my second and third toe (never looked to see if they were white) It happens to me when driving too.
Ok I went and read WebMD. Yes cold and stress will trigger it. I got tell you my husband just last month scoffed at me saying it was caused by my vape “I don’t know how much nicotine your getting from that” BTW he is still a pack+ per day smoker.
I AM NOT A HYPERCONDRIAC the next time this happens I’ll take a picture. Hell my fingers get so bad sometimes my nail beds turn blue. However it is summer time now.
It started with my middle finger, I had just flipped someone the bird so I thought it was my well deserved punishment 
Then my other middle finger started turning white. It has slowly progressed to all fingers, except the thumb stays normal. Half of my fingers turn white now and when blood starts flowing again they turn greyish, blueish. It hurts and at the same time they are numb and I don’t feel what I touch.[quote=“Bogey_Again, post:80, topic:43929”]
Yes cold and stress will trigger it.
[/quote]
It is worse when I’m stressed and cold triggers it too, but when it started I only had it in winter, now I get it during the summer too when the temperature drops a few degrees.
Nah, nah, nah, my symptoms have improved with vaping, smoking is what makes it worse.