Not Sure If I Should Be Happy

So last night my GF was saying I was going to set off the smoke alarms because I was blowing some huge clouds and I told her that it doesn't work like that because I read it on the interwebz.

Lo and behold I'm rocking some clouds laying in bed with her tonight and she is telling me to stop and I say, "but babe. the internetz, remember???"

2 seconds later the entire house is filled with that dreadful ear shattering beeping and everyone is getting out of bed (it was 11 PM) yelling and there was a big commotion with everyone freaking out and I'm in here opening windows and fanning the air with pillows so no one would know it was because of me vaping because I would constantly get crap about vaping inside for the rest of eternity.

So yea.. all you vapers out there.. don't fish bowl your rooms with vape. Guess we aren't immune to smoke detectors.  

I am happy,

1. I Still CAN enjoy the throat hits... but with the SAFER alternative.
2. I CAN still smoke (as my wife put it... and said I'm still smoking and she does not like it... still) I use cuban cigar flavor... but with safer alternative...
3. saves money. (I own ONLY 2 set ups) [VIvi Nova 3.5ml + Vamo6 and Aspire Nautilus 5ml + Cloupor 30W. I'm not planning to go Sub-Ohming and rebuildables... just a casual Vaper.
4. Not into too much clouds... just plain simple smoke (vapor) satisfies me.
5. No second hand smoke so my family ignores my Vaping even in doors while playing the computer.
6. back to one rinse and repeat.  

I know I'm not a popular user on here like Baditude and all them, been I figured I'd post my story since I've been away.

I've been vaping for the past 9 months, and within the past month, I have unfortunately started to smoke cigarettes again.

In the past I have had problems with depression and anxiety (it started about 3 years ago) and I was on Lexapro and xanax for over a year. Everything was great and I was able to go places and socialize. I stopped taking it a almost 2 years ago thinking I was fine enough to stop. I was, until about 3 weeks ago, all this anxiety started rushing back out of nowhere. It didn't help that I got some sort of flu that was going around but have since recovered from that. At this point, I am afraid to leave my house. I have been having a hell of a time going to work, which was never an issue a month ago. I have had to take time off for the flu and for my anxiety and depression. I broke down at work in front of my boss (not something I'm proud of) and told him I have had these problems in the past and that I need to get back on my Lexapro. So at the beginning of this week, I went to my doctor, which I had a VERY hard time doing as I wanted to pass out and throw up the entire time. She got me back on my meds, but with any kind of anti-depressant it takes a while for it to build up in your system.

I have already taken 4 days off of work, and I'm still afraid to leave my house to do any basic task like going grocery shopping or even just driving (I start to have a panic attack anytime I get stopped at a stop light in traffic.) I'm afraid of losing my job, but I think I can do the FMLA stuff but I'm having doubts on whether what I'm experiencing would allow me to do that. I'll have to read up on what I can do, but I'm just so afraid of losing my job, which would devastate my girlfriend and I know I would get looked down upon by everyone I know. I've been so stressed about it that my body feels my vapes are inadequate and I unfortunately picked up a pack of cigarettes and started smoking again. I'm just so scared right now and I feel like I'm in a rut that I can't get out of.

I know it's not the end of the world, but my mind is telling me that it is, and it's worrying me so bad  

It’s been a day and half with out cigarettes, and I have quit multiple times before using sub ohm setups and a salt nic device. I have multiple of both. This time though... all I can think about is having one cigarette... how do I get this urge to go away? To not want to have one.. I’ve been vaping my a** off but i’m starting to smell them and they smell like s*** I’ll say that. Everyone around me smokes so it’s just kind of hard to this time I guess... my whole family smokes, my parents, my friends , I have a couple that vape but I don’t see them that much. Idk, just wanted to see what made it easy for everyone to finally quit. Thanks!  

Non-smokers just don't understand the difference between smoke and exhaled vapour - a cigarette gives off smoke even when you put it down between puffs, all anyone else gets from an ecig has already been filtered by your lungs.

Its easy to see how non-smokers may see a a plume of vapour as just as much an invasion into their space as cigarette smoke though.

How long before vaping is as restricted as smoking?!!!

They hate it because they've noticed it - and less of them would notice if it wasn't for the cloud chasers.  

I've been trying to get my dad to quit smoking for two years now. He wanted to quit using an e-cig. However, he just can't seem to stick with it. He has been smoking for 30+ years. He smokes almost two packs a day.

I think the problem really is that he hasn't -tried-. As soon as he wants a real smoke, he lights one up. He only uses his e-cig is places he can't smoke.

He says he wants something that taste like tobacco. I've tried buying him numerous tobacco e-liquids. The closest was one from Ahlusion, but he still says it isn't like tobacco. He keeps saying he'll quit, but then he doesn't.

He has an ego with a mini protank, he seems fine with that. He isn't very amused by my mech mods and RTAs. lol.

I'm just lost as to what to do. A lot of people say to just stop telling him to do so and let him do it on his own. It is hard to just sit and watch him smoke though, esp when my mom had lung cancer just over a year ago (luckily, she did quit smoking with an e-cig and went into remission after radiation treatment). When I switched, I had only just started to smoke again (I smoked 3 years, quit, then started smoking again for about 4 months, then to an e-cig). I didn't like tobacco flavors when I started and almost immediately went to fruit flavors. He's tried those too, doesn't have much interest in them.

So my question to you ex long term smokers, what helped you make the switch? I feel like I just can't relate to smoking 30 something years.  

This past week marks 5 years since I smoked a cigarette. It honestly doesn't seem that long, it seems like yesterday I was huddled out in the cold at work with the smokers. I had been a smoker for 28 years.

Unlike many I see posting here, I cannot say vaping helped me quit. I quit cold turkey, and never tried an ecig until about a year after I quit smoking. At that point I was still doing well as a non-smoker, I didn't physically crave smoking, but I missed the 28 year habit of lighting up, having something to fiddle with, and just the relaxing feeling of the inhale/exhale. I had been eating a lot more to make up for the void, and having been underweight all my life I started packing on pounds (too many!). I sorely needed a non-food substitute for the comfort I was missing, but wasn't about to go back to smoking.

I tried a junky convenience store ecig after that first year, and thought "if this was what they were like than forget it". I continued on not smoking, but still missing the habit. About two years after that I began seeing the new advanced products coming out, and did a lot of research. I bought my first starter kit in 2013, and slowly advanced up to bigger and better gear.

People ask why would start vaping after I had already kicked the cigarette habit, and I say, "Why not?". Other than nicotine I'm not getting any of the negative things I got with cigarettes. And in my opinion, there's really nothing wrong with a little nicotine. Nicotine is not what was killing me, it was the smoke that was delivering the nicotine that was killing me.

So I'm 5 years smoke free, I no longer hack in the mornings, my chest never hurts and my clothes, car and hair don't stink anymore.
I have no intentions on giving up vaping, as it has no negative impact on my life, and i enjoy it, so why stop?

I have since gotten my son, my step-son, and his wife to all trade vaping for smoking, so bonus points for saving all their lives too!  

I joined ECF back in August of 2017. I was sixty-five years old and had been smoking 25-30 cigarettes a day for 40+ years. I began vaping at the same time win the hope I could at least cut down. I dual used for months, continually cutting back on cigarettes. I smoked my last cigarette on May 11, 2018 - I am coming up on my three year anniversary. When I began, I vaped 24mg nicotine. Now I alternate between 3mg and zero nic.

Given how incredibly positive vaping has been for me, I am in shock at recent events. I was down to two working mods. I have ordered four mods, some tanks and a bunch of coils. I am still able to buy some eliquids where I live - but many of my favorites from Halo have been discontinued. I still have some outstanding hardware orders that I hope get delivered.

The treatment of vaping in the media has been a one sided disgrace, and propaganda works. Over the years when I have mentioned to people that I quit by vaping, they respond, ‘so you quit smoking by picking up a habit that is even more dangerous’.

I am set for at least a year. Fortunately I have kicked my addiction to nicotine - I recently vaped zero nic for a month. If I was just starting out, it would truly be panic time, and I would go back to cigarettes for sure. I suspect that many will do just that. Happy I started when I did.  

So I am on a business trip in Madison, WI. I am staying in a hotel (a Hilton to be exact) and I was just hanging out in my room, watching TV, and doing a bit of vaping in my boxers. Then it happened.... the fire alarm went off. I about pooped my pants it caught me so off guard. I ran down to the lobby to explain what happened when the fire department showed up and started asking questions. When they found out that my room was the one that tripped the alarm, they instantly started treating me like a criminal. You would have thought I just murdered their first born child.

Eventually I got the "you shouldn't smoke inside, it's against the law" lecture from one of the firefighters and when I told him I didn't realize it was an issue in a private room where I'm not actually smoking, he went off on me. He told me that regardless of what it is, any type of "smoking" is against the law and that I should have just told someone I was smoking and it would have saved everyone from a headache. He just could not comprehend why I was confused as to why the alarm went off when there was no smoke present. He got my name, phone number, and date of birth from me right before he left, not sure what that was about. The hotel attendant was much more understanding, to whom I apologized profusely for the chaos I caused. She said it's not the first time it has happened and that she is going to talk to the building manager about some new signs addressing the issue of vaping in the rooms.

After doing some research on my own, I found a few things to be true.

1. Smoke alarms arent necessarily built to only detect smoke. Some can be set off by steam, dust, or any type of aerosol.
2. Dane County, WI just recently (Jan 2015) enacted a ban on vaping indoors and that apparently applies to private hotel rooms as well.
3. Public fire alarms are really fracking loud!!!

Be sure to do a bit of research on local vape laws when you travel, it could save you some trouble and legal issues. Hopefully this doesn't come back to bite me in the butt, it was an honest mistake and had I known, I wouldn't have vaped inside in the first place.

Just thought I would share my story so others may learn from my stupid mistake. Save yourself the embarrassment and look up the laws, ask an employee about rules involving vaping, and for the love of God and all that is holy, don't vape near a smoke detector.  

hey All,

I joined here several months ago. Posted that I had done e-cigs for march to about June and then switched back to traditional and came back here for support and knowledge which I have received in spades here.thanks.

32 days ago I came down with low grade fever, 100.5 at most slights aches and fatigue..nothing major but certainly not ordinary. At the time I was back to 10-15 traditional cigs per day. But with the fever and fatigue I immediately stopped tradtional cigs--as I thought it could be Covid and honestly had no desire.

Turns out it was NOT Covid and in the 32 days I have had a total of 3 puffs from an e-cig in my desk drawer. I'm otherwise back to normal and only slightly crave a hit of e-cig and I know can use it I need it but the cravings only are short.

I think one part of this is with Covid and being in NYC--I'm not on the streets as much and I never see hardly anyone smoke or even vape. I do go to an office 4 days a week and the walk to the office is 12 minutes. And like a normal city--pre covid you'd always see people outside having a smoke or a vape and enjoying themselves and for me that's what kind of drove the cravings and addiction. now when I come home from work, I don't have a craving need.

After 32 days without a traditional cig and only 3 puffs of an e-cig --does that happen to people? In my head I have committed that I will be a non traditional cig smoker and if I need the e-cigs I'm fine with that. There is a slight concern that if we ever get back to normal and I " see" people smoke that might bring it back..who knows? Hopefully I am far along enough now that it wont' effect me. In fact I saw a bke messenger smoking at a stop light yesterday and just looking at the traditional cig kind of grossed me out. so maybe that's a good sign?

The benefits so far a my apartment and clothes smell normal. I have more energy and can breath better.

Maybe for me (and others) the visual appeal or or just seeing others enjoy a cigarette was part of the addiction?