Recommendations for E-Cigarettes?

[blue neen]

I'm asking for everybody's informed opinions.

My son, who has been smoking for 12 years, has decided it's time to quit. He had tried once before, using Chantix, but really didn't like what that stuff made him feel like.

He also noted at the time that it was the smoking "habits" that were the hardest to break and feels that the E-Cig is the way to go. He did try one cheap brand but felt like he got no "draw" from it. (Please forgive if I'm using the wrong terms).

I'd really appreciate anyone's suggestions and info. We have blood clotting disorders in our family, and it's imperative that he beats this.

Thank you all so much.

[Tobin S.]

1. I had the same problem he had with a brand called Dragonfly (I think)

Tell him to gather some courage and some strength and quit cold turkey. That's the way I did it almost ten months ago. With nicotine replacement products you continue your addiction to nicotine and can make quitting harder over time. When you quit cold turkey, you are nicotine free in three days and you break the physical addiction in two weeks. After that, it's all psychological which is a lot easier to handle than a real physical addiction. So if you quit cold turkey you'll feel like shit for two weeks and then begin to improve. If you use nicotine replacement products you just draw the process, and the discomfort, out over a longer period of time.

Tell your son to go to www.whyquit.com. Joel will take care of him.

[blue neen]

2. Oh Tobin, thank you so much.

I'll have him read your reply. You always give such good advice!

[Ahpook]

26. I'll agree with this

I moved from cigarettes to an e-cig. I don't cough anymore or have the smells associated with real cigarettes, but there is still dependency. After a year I have moved down to zero nicotine liquid. Its just the movements and seeing vapor coming out of my mouth that keeps me happy.

Cold turkey is the best if you can

On edit: A good brand is named Joye Ego. It gives nice hits, the battery lasts for hours and fairly enjoyable. If you buy a cheap e-cig you will simply go back to cigs from frustration. But as they say, you have to want to quit.

It does not substitute well!

http://www.vaporkings.com/Default.asp

Good reliable source for all the e-cig goodness . They even send candy in the packages

[7wo7rees]

3. I agree with Tobin. I've done it twice to real effect.

Both times I quit cold turkey, it worked.

But my dumb ass couldn't stay out of trouble. Both times for a year. Then a ceremonial congratulatory cigarette. It pulled me back in.

Now I smoke far less due to Snus. It completes the nicotine addiction without the lung damage. As a risk-prohibitor, it is useful. Store this info if he runs into trouble with the turkey.

[blue neen]

6. Snus. I had never even heard of that!

I will store the info, because it seems like this may be a long process!

[7wo7rees]

7. Watch this.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6362540n

[blogslut]

4. I've graduated to tank-type e-cigs

The Joytech is the best-known brand and the EGO-T model is the one I use:

http://www.joyetech.com

A good place to get lost read opinions of different e-cigs is:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/

[blue neen]

5. Thanks for the info.

The Joytech site is really good.

[LadyHawkAZ]

12. I second blogslut's endorsement of the eGo

Mine has been a lifesaver, and the startup cost isn't that bad.

[blue neen]

23. We will definitely check this out.

Thanks for your input!

[LadyHawkAZ]

24. I have links if you need 'em

feel free to PM me. I wish the best of luck to your son.

[KharmaTrain]

13. Been Using The EGO-T For 2 Years...

...actually celebrating two years without a real cig today. I've helped several people switch as well...it's the best of all worlds...I still get to puff away and no smell or ugly looks.

Cheers...

[blue neen]

21. Congratulations!

Two years and counting!

[JeffHead]

8. Logic Platinum seems to work for me.

I use the rechargeable ones and after smoking 2 packs a day for thirty years, I've got it down to 1 pack a week.
That's only because it's tough not to when you have a few beers in the evening which I refuse to quit doing that.
So I'm OK with that. Hope this helps.

[blue neen]

22. I appreciate the suggestions.

He's in a band, and I think that's when he has some of the toughest times with quitting.

[union_maid]

9. E-cigarettes are the best thing that's happened to me in years

Cold turkey doesn't work for everyone. I started with e-cigarettes in the beginning of February. By two weeks in I stopped wanting a regular cigarette at all and haven't had one since. This is after well over 40 years of smoking. My blood pressure is down dramatically. I stopped coughing. I can breath better. I don't plan on stopping e-cigarettes necessarily, although I do plan on getting the nicotine down to zero. I started with Logic, but am now using an Echo battery. Ego is the most popular, I think. Nothing wrong with that either, but I got a very good deal on an Echo kit.

The forums at Ecigavanced.com are small, friendly, and full of helpful people and reviews. If he doesn't want to just quit, e-cigarettes are a great way to do it and they don't leave you with a constant craving for a cigarette. Some people who quit don't have that, but many do.

http://www.ecigadvanced.com/

[blue neen]

20. Thank you for the link.

We'll check it out!

[MiddleFingerMom]

10. I quit twice cold turkey -- the first time in the early-80's with a 2 pack a day habit.

.
.
.
It was easy for me, but about 3 months later, I got bored on the job, bought a pack and was back
to 2 packs a day by the next day.
.
Then in 1996, I decided to quit a 3 pack a day habit, but it took me until '98 to actually say, "This
is the day".
.
Cold turkey. No problem. Haven't smoked since. I really think cold turkey is your best bet.
.
.
.
You are bigger than that cigarette.
.
.
.

[union_maid]

11. All due respect

one size really doesn't fit all. My husband quit cold turkey and went back after a couple of years. My father did, too. And when he went back to smoking - he couldn't even say why - he never stopped. My son has stopped and started numerous times. For some people, an alternative to smoking is a godsend. I loved smoking. Now I could not smoke a whole cigarette. Last time I tried, I lasted for a few drags and then couldn't get the awful taste out of my mouth for hours. And while there's not enough research to make health claims about them, former smokers who switch to them mostly report the same things - bettter breathing, no cough. The blood pressure thing was big for me. They do appear to be serious harm reduction.

[blue neen]

18. He says he really enjoys it, too.

That's one of the really tough things about quitting.

[blue neen]

19. I'm glad you finally won the battle.

I think the cigarette is looking enormous to him right now.

[olddots]

14. Cold Turkey is the only way but you need moral back up not scorn

there is so much hype and bullshit about how weak smokers are and how they can't kick without drugs ,toys , hypnosis ,patches or what ever crap that's probably backed by big tobacco/food .

If I can do it after 43 years and about 60.000$ of butts anybody can .

[blue neen]

17. We definitely want to be there for the morale.

Congrats on your kicking the habit!

[jamiea99]

15. Probably the easiest would be

something like an Ego battery with a Mini Vivi Nova or CE4 Clearomizer for the atomizer. They are fairly easy to use for a beginniner, lots of youtube vids available also.

Of course cold turkey is optimum for anything whether it is smoking or a bad coffee habit. But I can only give the side-eye to people who assert cold turkey is THE solution when it didn't work for them for 20 or 40+ years.

We don't want your son to keep smoking for 20 or 40 years just so he someday has the privilege to self-righteously pronounce how easy cold turkey was... finally, eventually. So good on you mom for trying to help him quit right now.

[blue neen]

16. Thank you.

Even when I stopped drinking coffee....ooh, that is a nasty, nasty headache. I had to cut back slowly.

Good idea about the youtube vids!

[Waiting For Everyman]

25. I've been vaping for 3 years without a relapse.

I recommend either the Zeus or Dial-a-Volt.

The reason being, they both have lots of power comparable to an Ego (which means a good hit and they last all day before needing a recharge), while at the same time being extremely simple and hassle-free to use. Note: they use different chargers, but can use the same cartomizers. Get at least two batteries so that one can be charging, while vaping the other. One neat thing about the Zeus is that it can also be used as a passthrough (plugged in to a USB port while using, so it continuously charges).

The Smilomizers (big, long-lasting cartomizers on the same site; cartos are the screw-on end sections which hold the liquid) are excellent with either one, but for regular size cartos I much prefer those by Bloog, which also has good smaller/cheaper batteries, for when those are wanted (situations in which a battery might be "at risk" of being lost or damaged etc.)

As for e-liquid, a beginner should buy it, but learn to DIY (do it yourself) asap because it's very easy to learn how, and can save a lot of money. Detailed instructions are at the ecig forum referred to at the top of the thread.

As far as flavors go, I'm not into the tobacco ones but lots of people who are seem to like RY4. I really like Chocolate far better than any other flavors and have stuck with that for two years now.

[glinda]

27. Are any of them light weight and softer? I had one that was so heavy and hard I hated it.

[jamiea99]

28. Light weight and softer?

Depends on your reference, what style was so heavy and hard that you hated it?

They are all over the map. If you point to something the size of a Marlboro red and say that was too heavy and hard for you, I'd have to say you're probably out of luck on that point. If it was some big-ass mod volt-regulation machine like the Provari, sure, you could do a lot better. So it depends on your frame of reference.

Maybe you could give a link to the style you used.

So far as softer, I'm only aware of two that had a rubber mouth tip and a rubber grip coating and they are for the most part obsolete. I suppose it's the nature of batteries and heat coils and drop-resistance that they are mostly made of sterner stuff. (However I wouldn't use a stainless steel mouthpiece either but some people do. Yowch.)

[glinda]

30. This is what I have. Hard end and very heavy. Good hit though.

http://www.greensmoke.com/

[aikanae]

29. He needs to do it!

Your son probably knows what he needs. There are so many e-cigs on the market that it's hard to explain all the variations. What I can assure you is that there is no reason for a smoker to smoke cigarettes anymore. But what you son needs for quitting is highly individual and there can be some trial and error involved. Even with an e-cig, some can't "quit" right away. It's not just a matter of will power. E-cigs deliver nicotine, most of which is not asorbed. So there are still some withdrawl effects, it's just much less painful without giving up the psychological addiction and habit similar to smoking. But nicotine is only 1 of up to 10,000 chemicals found in tobacco and it's not the most addictive one (if we knew what they all were).

You might want to see if there's a store in your area that specializes in "vaping" products. That's where he'll get the most help. He can test some flavors, see what nicotine level he's at, get an idea of the vapor he prefers (throat hit, warm vape) etc. and choose what he is most comfortable using.

I was surprised. After a 30 year pack a day habit, when I went into a local vaping store, I was happy with a very low level of nicotine. I almost went with 0 nicotine. What I needed was copious amounts of vapor - the throat hit. I'm addicted to the habit of smoking. Everything made sense to me in that moment - why I had failed, over and over all those years. It had gotten so that I would never try again because I just couldn't handle the disappointment. Even after a cancer scare. Smokers are such outcasts in society anymore that it's hard not to take it personally. Some people can't just "quit" or we would have by now.

But for me, getting the right equipment to deliver a satisfying vape was critical. The little cig-look-a-likes were a joke. I needed a tank, with juice - and the further I stayed away from tobacco flavors worked best for me. Others are the opposite. Big batteries that lasted all day, rechargaeble and reliable, on and on. Without that, I was back to smoking.

It took less than a month to feel better. I didn't like being around cigarette smoke, didn't like the taste of them anymore, but I still need the vapor hit. Whatever works. The vapor is the same thing they use in fog machines at theaters or concerts, it's used in medical inhalors, i.v.'s, food; it's safe with no odor. No one has ever died from e-cigs.

I can't say that with commercial nicotine replacement therapy. Chantix is known for causing hundreds of deaths and none of the nrt's have a very good success rate 6 months later. They were zero help for me. I'm angry I was even prescribed Chantix with it's known risk for cardiac problems and depression. The medicine is worse than the disease. But it's a multi-billion dollar industry.

Anyway, your son needs to pick out what will work best for him. There are as many ways to customize this as there are smokers which is why I say there's little reason for anyone to continue smoking cigarettes anymore. But he's got to do it.

P.S. If he has trouble finding a local store, he should look at e-cigarette-forum.com. They have multiple local meets in every state now and he can get a look at what others use, advice on where they get supplies and most of all, support. There is a big difference with support coming from someone else who's faced the same challenges vs. someone (regardless of intentions) that hasn't had to - either a non-smoker or someone who could "just quit". BIG DIFFERENCE.

Just look at the messages here; "Just quit - I did". That's like hitting someone over the head with a baseball bat when they are already experiencing disappointment and failure from not being able to "just quit". It's not support. It's righteous and judgmental, even if it's well-meaning.