Anybody use 'em? Have success quitting with them? I'm getting serious about quitting smoking again. I've been "cutting back" but I've hit a wall.
Wiki tells me the FDA is all over the companies producing these, but I wonder how much of that is genuine concern, and how much of it is "Holy berkeley, we've gotta find a way to tax this."
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Cancer sucks.
I too am trying to quit...again. It's been almost two weeks since i quit cold turkey.
E-cigarettes, aside from sounding stupid, wouldn't help me with my biggest problem. There are certain times of the day I'm just used to having a cigarette. Let the dogs out, smoke. Wife gets home from work, smoke. Getting ready to head into work, smoke.
It's still nicotine, I don't see it really helping you to quit.
Jacques
They worked for one friend, he weened himself off the e cigarette. Another friend no luck. Basically it was a cig substitue, and he went right back to smoking.
What worked for me was I kept telling myself I was a spineless sissy if I went back to smoking, and it worked! Have had a cigarette in 6 years! But I do miss it all the time.
Joey
2 of my friends have quit with them. I think they're on >2 months now without cigarettes, and they were both fully addicted. I'm not sure how long it will last, but I have hopes that it is permanent.
A friend of mine hasn't used them to quit smoking, but it did make a recent stay in the hospital a little easier.
PubBurgers wrote: It's still nicotine, I don't see it really helping you to quit. Jacques
Good luck, man! Hang in there! If it's the difference between blowing money on some stupid habit that doesn't cause cancer, and blowing more money on some stupid hasn't that does cause cancer, I'll take the former.
Also, you can apparently control the nicotine dose with the e-smokes, eventually (in theory) getting to "0."
And I think my addiction has less to do with the nicotine, and more to do with the inhale, burn, exhale smoke thing, weird as that may sound to some.
Poop, next time I see you, I'll show you the scar from my cancer surgery. Maybe that will help.
I don't think it would help him, David. The addiction is stronger. The deminishing nicotine on the E cig things did help my friends.
We used to get called to the ER. Someone would start falling down a lot at home, or stay kinda sleepy and a relative would bring them in. They'd get a head scan and then we'd get a call. After the brain surgery, the pathology report would come back, lung cancer (in the brain). Smoker, every time. No 'mam, those weren't sinus headaches he was having.
hess said: I don't think it would help him, David. The addiction is stronger. The deminishing nicotine on the E cig things did help my friends.
Sad, utterly pathetic, and totally true. We've had several friends and acquaintances die from lung cancer in the last several years. It's not that I'm unaware of the danger or the stupidity of it all, I've just been unable to deal with the withdrawal; to the point where last time I tried to quit, two weeks in, I consciously decided that it would be best for my fellow humans if I started again before I hurt someone.
poopshovel wrote: I consciously decided that it would be best for my fellow humans if I started again before I hurt someone.
Been there, done that. Actually, I'm doing it now.
I don't think I'm scared or concerned deeply about the health risks. Maybe I should be, but I'm from hearty stock and all the cancer-getters (all smokers) in my family made it past 75. I've had enough brushes (or hip checks) with death that I'll roll those dice for now.
What does bother me is the smell after I'm done smoking and the expense. I'm not an especially heavy smoker; I'm at 4 packs for 7 days. I would enjoy another $1,000 at the end of the year much more, and hate to make my friends and family suffer the smell.
Wanna be quit buddies?
In reply to Tom Heath:
My father-in-law is a heavy smoker and I hate going to his house. The place reeks of the stuff. Even if I'm just there for half an hour (long enough to adjust to it) my clothes soak it in. His car - I'd total it at this point. That stink is never coming out.
He recently had to be hospitalized for hip replacement and couldn't smoke for 5 whole days. I figured that was a good head-start... so I refused to smuggle him a pack into the ward... also suggesting I'd pick up the tab for an electronic doohickey instead. He politely suggested I go berkeley myself in various ways. Some I'd never even considered when pretty loaded. So... apparently... eSmokes aren't attractive to a smoker who really needs a smoke.
In any case... my long winded point was: That is a good enough reason, health aside.
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a regular smoker: I think I'm up to 3 or 4 packs a year. That works out to about 1 cigarette every two rounds of caddying, maybe 1 every four rounds of golf,1 before every difficult exam, and then the odd one when drinking. I love the smell of fresh tobacco smoke, but anything older than 10 minutes is disgusting to me. Go figure.
My best friend, however, has been smoking since he was 12, and chain smoking for at least 3 years--not continuous--in the last 8. He's quit "successfully" three times through numerous methods. One of them has been the e-cig, but the problem with that is he is having a difficult time dropping the e-cig. And I say that he's quit "successfully" three times because each time he's quit, he's quit for at least 6 months, didn't get the daily urges, etc. But the fact is that he still lives with his parents (only 20) and both of them smoke. The odds are against him. I really think (so I don't know) that he'd be okay if he wasn't around it.
I personally like the e-cig. I get the same feeling as a regular cig, but again, I am not addicted and do not feel the "omg give me a smoke I'm going to kill a small child if I don't get a smoke RIGHT NOW!" urge that I've seen my best friend get in the past.
poopshovel wrote:hess said: I don't think it would help him, David. The addiction is stronger. The deminishing nicotine on the E cig things did help my friends.Sad, utterly pathetic, and totally true. We've had several friends and acquaintances die from lung cancer in the last several years. It's not that I'm unaware of the danger or the stupidity of it all, I've just been unable to deal with the withdrawal; to the point where last time I tried to quit, two weeks in, I consciously decided that it would be best for my fellow humans if I started again before I hurt someone.
My cancer had nothing to do with smoking--I don't smoke--but getting that phone call from the doctor was a life changer. By the way, when your doctor identifies himself by his first name, you know it's going to be a bad phone call.
I know a lot of you consider me a goody two shoes. Here's my dirty little secret- I'm a former 5 pack per day smoker. Smoked for 14 years.
Gentlemen, I deeply understand your pain. I LIKED smoking. I knew all the tricks- smoke rings, lighter tricks, fancy things with matches, everything.
There are few things in my life that were harder than quiting smoking. I remember after a few months seeing no benefit- still winded, still no improved taste of food, still couldn't handle a flight of stairs, still was craving them continuously. It kind of pissed me off.
I made it. Trust me, it was WELL worth it.
But I had to pull out all the stops.
I got my wife to forbid me to smoke in the house. I remember a lot of cold lonely nights in the snow or rain puffing on those darned things. I marked a calender daily with all the butts I had NOT smoked. I went to classes by the American Cancer Society. I tried nicotine gum, cigarette alternatives. I didn't try hypnosis (I still think it's pretty stupid). I gave everyone I knew Christmas cards promising them I had quit so they wouldn't have to put up with me stinking up their house or burning holes in their sofa just so they would hold me accountable if they caught me. I stuffed my face with candy substitutes, gained 25 lbs, stopped hanging out with most of my friends (they smoked), stopped drinking, stopped going to bars, stopped drinking coffee. I even borrowed someone else's car (cause my truck wouldn't start till I lit up).
I changed all my habits, my friends, my hangouts. My Dad put $1000 in a bank account with my name on it- he told me he would give me access to it after one year if I stayed clean.
What a pain. Yes, it WAS worth it.
And eventually I saw some of those benefits.
But mostly, 24 years later, my kids have never seen me with one of those damned things hanging out of my mouth, and I have enjoyed a heck of a lot of time with them.
Keep it up. I PROMISE IT IS WORTH IT!!!
The great thing about electronic cigarettes is that now it's only a matter of time before they invent electronic booze and electronic porn.
While I'm certainly no stranger to compulsive behavior, this is one I've thankfully managed to avoid. But for the tobacco using populace, if the eCigs offer someone a path to quitting, or even a path to harm reduction by replacing one bad habit with a slightly less destructive bad habit, I'm all for 'em. It sure will be weird to walk into a jazz club in 20 years, though, and see the room filled with blue glows*.
jg
They don't look so safe either:
They are unregulated. Chemical companies can put whatever they want into them, which is then introduced into the body in vapor form.
Sounds risky.
Work your a$$ off and do whatever it takes to quit.
Try the Commit lozenges at Wallymart, Buy the 4 MG and a pill cutter. They leave the nasty taste in your mouth and feed the monkey in a less destructive way. I love to smoke and need to quit,got any motivational skills?
E-cigs are basically just E36 M3ty portable vaporizers. I'd look into buying a quality vaporizer from a retailer online/ebay. They can be expensive but very much worth it when it won't ever break on you and works well. Youtube/google herbalaire for what I would recommend.
I could never quit smoking just because It's not just an oral fixation but more of a lung fixation with wanting to actually inhale the smoke and the only thing to replace that for me was vapor.
whoops - no edit button.
If you had a vaporizer/portable vaporizer you also wouldn't be smoking mystery stuff from e-cig or any other company you would just buy whatever quality tobacco from a tobacco shop to use with a vaporizer and enjoy the pure nicotine without the tar. I will say that as a heavy smoker you will be addicted just to actual smoke and tar not just the nicotine so you still will miss smoking but it definitely still gives you a very similar effect, enough in my case to quit smoking.
dj wrote: whoops - no edit button.
Upper right of original post, just to the left of the "X"
mtn wrote:dj wrote: whoops - no edit button.Upper right of original post, just to the left of the "X"
My God...all these double posts for no reason. 
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