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electric cigs..

jimmyw123 profile image
28 Replies

can i ask members opinions on these electric cigs, especially the ones , who are in the throws of the addiction of smoking.at this time.

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jimmyw123
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28 Replies
Alan55 profile image
Alan55

Hi jimmy I smoked for 44 years packed up last July using e cigs wish they were about 44 years ago

jimmyw123 profile image
jimmyw123 in reply to Alan55

great to here this alan, anything must be better than continually breathing these toxins from tobacco , its very heartening to here that you have did that well, it may well be the lesser of two evils,, but the gigs, def. a big EVIL,,, many thanks for your post alan, kindest regards jimmy

pergola1 profile image
pergola1

Jimmy, I gave up many years ago. This is just my take on e.cigs. I dont want to be seen with a white stick hanging out of my mouth. For me, anything to do with fags is strictly OUT. In times of stress, I will get the need for a puff, cant believe it, but it drifts off. It takes a lot of mind washing to come off the fags but it can be done. I have done it and no crutches. Good luck xx

frank65 profile image
frank65 in reply to pergola1

i too gave up smoking a few years ago without any crutches , tried e-cigs a couple of times did'nt take to them it did'nt stop me getting copd though.

Can smoke e cigs where the real ones are banned doesnt end the gasping for a smoke better than nothing or patches when youve got to have something for the craving. Try different ones before fixing on what you like even holding one gives something its what your used to doing without thinking about it.

butter-fly profile image
butter-fly

Hi Jimmy, As you say I think the E fag is the lesser of two evils for those who are having difficulty in giving up smoking. I'm have not been in the throes of addiction for some time but was, and I still like the odd puff of an E-lites!

We do need to try to get the young not to start in the first place of course.

My niece is valiantly trying to give up with the E fag. Fortunately I was able to persuade both of my children not to smoke or maybe they had more sense than me! Sara xx

longlungs profile image
longlungs

Hi Jimmy Ive used one thought it was great I have to say especially after eating when out for a meal.My only problem with the one i had was that it was heavy,so I would use the inhalator one you can get through the docs im still using it.I can hold it in my mouth comfortably and in my fingers.I knows there is a lot of hoo haa at the moment as to if ecigs are safe? the air im breathing isnt safe where i live my count with the smokey nurse can be 5 !asked why told the pollutens in the air cars etc!Wishing you luck with whatever you choose Jimmy. :) Janexx

jimmyw123 profile image
jimmyw123

thanks for your replies, the right and proper way is the way pergola has done this, i take my hat of to her for being so honest.and overcoming this addiction .

but i think all folks are different, some find it easier [if thats the right word] but i do find it very difficult,[at this stage] off course that is not to say, i will quit for good all types of any cigs, who knows at this time. i would certainly like to.

butterfly hit the head on the hammer, the easiest way, is never to start in the first place, thank god this is now getting hammered home to the young ones.

we ex smokers or e cig smokers are great at excuses, me included, but my old mate who smoked 40 capstain FULL STRENGTH a day,for approx 45 years, visited me last week, to see how i was, laughed and joked , chatted away, he is now in the stroke unit at the rie , cant walk, cant talk, very sad, hes 75 and i have known him most of my life, he shocked everyone by stopping completely about 15 years ago.off course that could be the result of that now,, who knows.

then there is my daughter and her half sister and two half brothers, brought up by two heavy smokers STILL YET, but not one of the offspring smoke.

we could go on about the quality of air we breath, different in different parts of the country, the work place we may be in, the pets we might keep,yet we love these pets, in fact they can keep us going at times [often they could be even worse than smoking,,pet dander] dust mites etc etc,even doing the garden can be harmful to the lungs but where do we draw the line, we cannot live in clinical conditions completely, we would have no life at all. maybe these things we cannot help,

we know smoking is completely and utterly bad for copd suffers , in a lot of cases it is in fact responsible for copd, yet there are smokers dying at 90 years old [i knew one] there are smokers who have never contracted copd. so for the time, i feel at least i cut down a little risk by smoking an e cig on a few occasions,, yet there is no doubt whatsoever pergola has managed and done the right and proper thing, i would say that is absolutely marvelous, yet the thing is about us all, we are all different, with different works, hobbies, living conditions etc etc. sorry to go on,

but i would like to hear more views on these e cigs,,,,, the fors or against etc.

casper99 profile image
casper99

Hi Jimmy. I have been trying to stop smoking for 2 years. I was getting really stressed about not being able to stop. I have kept having a go at stopping and spent a bomb on patches, (they irritated my excema,) lozenges, gum and an ecig that didn't taste real enough. to no avail. I'd get worked up about not being able to cope without a cig, which made me smoke more.

Two weeks ago I read an old thread from a member. He said he gets his liquid from Totally Wicked. I sent for some and it really is very like a real cig. I also bought some 2 mg lozenges.

My downfall is first thing in the morning, as soon as I open my eyes, I want a cig and smoked 3 or 4 before midday. So, using the ecig and the lozenges, I made my mind up that if I could break that habit first by telling myself I can have one later I wouldn't get so worked up. It worked and I managed to hang on for a few days until after 2pm without too much anxiety. (I also bought some knitting stuff to keep my hands busy.) I stopped the lozenges because they made my mouth sore.

Then last week, I cut down to allowing myself just 1 last thing at night. I thought, 1 cig is going to be easier to stop than the 10 I smoked. That thought kept the anxiety at bay.

I didn't intend to do it so quickly, it just sort of happened by itself. But I haven't had a cig for 4 days now and don't really want one. I'm shocked at how easy it has been. Maybe, like some say on here, It was 'my time' and I won't count my chickens yet, but, I'm feeling pretty confident.

The ecig starts being quite enjoyable and after a few days I found that because of cutting down the real cigs, when I did have that last cig at night, I suddenly realised I really couldn't taste the difference between them and it wasn't giving me that buzz I was looking forward to so, there was no point in smoking the real ones anymore.

The ecig is a godsend but the Totally Wicked liquid was what did it for me. It is definately the reason I've managed to get this far and I'm so glad I saw the post about it. I got the 3mg tobbacco flavour and I've changed the atomiser every week to stop it tasting burnt.

Give it a go Jimmy, it's well worth it. xx

I think there good because they don't damage your lungs so do try to use them.

But u won't find me smoking coz I have bad asthma so it would be bad for my heath

sachmo profile image
sachmo

hi jimmy

just like casper 99 I get my e cigs from totally wicked and have done so for 10 years you chose the strength of the nicotine from 36 mg to 0 mg the vaper is only water warm through a atomiser

peege profile image
peege in reply to sachmo

That's really interesting that they have different doses of nicotine in them and that you can taper down to 0%. Excellent idea, think that must be better publicised.

As a non-smoker I had presumed they all had stuff in them.

My son stopped using Alan Carr's book.

Try 10 motives. I use the low nicotine. No longer cough and no chest infections in the last 12 months.

Sohara profile image
Sohara

I know this will sound tame...but many people that I personally know, tried everything, then when they read the Allen Carr book...stopped...its a very cheap book ( cant remember the name but its famous and on amazon)

I also know two people who BOTH said that giving up smoking was harder than giving up drugs!!! and one was an alcoholic too, and stopped drinking totally and said that was easier than stopping smoking.

It seems he said that somehow your brain plays games with your addiction, and 'tells you things' anything to make you have another cigarette.

Reading the book gives you the ammunition to fight this:

One example I found good was. that you should imagine that your nicotine craving was a 'bad genie' inside you, nagging at you to 'feed it' and that every time you said NO, you were killing him off a bit, so eventually he would die and you would be free...

If nothing else its an interesting read...so worth buying the book (its not the usual stuff about how bad it is for your lungs etc)

Good luck...because if you succeed you will be so pleased and its the single most best thing you can ever do for your lung health

Love Sohara

Luckyring56 profile image
Luckyring56

Hi all,

As a scientist and a smoker, yes I said smoker...I gave up with the use of ecigs around this time of year. I tried almost every brand, some were too heavy and felt unnatural and settled on 'sky' cigs site although the batteries don't last quite as long as some. I have bottles of nicotine liquid, flavourings etc but the thing that does concern me is that they are all based in oil which, when heated to enough of a degree, becomes carcinogenic!

After a month of quitting I went for my 1st PR session as I'd previously refused thinking that while I was smoking I didn't deserve a precious place on a course.

Now - I also battle with a lifetime of schizoaffective disorder and an 'unspecified' personality disorder, giving up smoking was no mean feat as my worst symptom by far is a deep underlying depression and agoraphobia. My PR session started off OK but halfway through I ran out in tears for no obvious reason. The following day my hubby had a stroke (his 2nd, 7 yrs after the original) and 'bingo' out came the cigs!

I haven't even had the heart to try and quit again as I'm now watching a hubby who can hardly walk having had a stroke despite being on all the right meds and being a 'low risk' candidate. Every day I'm on edge hoping he's OK as I'm terrified of outliving him!

On top of all this I found out I carry the alpha 1 antitrypsin gene mutation so would probably have got COPD even if I'd never smoked in my life!

I completely understand the scientific scepticism of the use of ecigs for my reasons above BUT would still say they have to be better than the real thing!

Lucky

peege profile image
peege in reply to Luckyring56

I'm always staggered by the thing people have to deal with on a daily basis.

I take my hats off to you Lucky - mind you, if you quit once, you'll be able to do it again one day when you're able to. xx

Dragonmum profile image
Dragonmum in reply to Luckyring56

Which part of nicotine ejuice is an oil? Propylene Glycol isn't, vegetable glycerine isn't and nicotine isn't. No-one would use an oil based flavouring because it vaporises at much higher temperatures than are available in an e-cig. I switched to one 4 years ago for health reasons - the improvement was dramatic. Asthma nurse said (a month or so back) "Whatever you're doing, just keep on doing it"

jimmyw123 profile image
jimmyw123

i have googled many articles both for and against these electric cigs, i am in fact still doing this,, now please believe me i am keeping an open mind.,, there are millions more FOR these cigs for these than AGAINST,,, all reviews etc really, are only opinions,fair enough,,yet it seems that no proper testing has been done,, now they have been out long enough for this to have taken place,

it must be said the nhs supply millions of different patches lozenges, you name it, this must cost the nhs millions,[most are on prescription], so someone must be cashing in,possibly the pharmacuticals? , as we all know the biggest percentage of these just dont work,,, this is fact..

so why has the government not done this proper testing,on these e cigs, after such a long time,? they must have a reason,, could the reason be MONEY,, i am quite sure the cig companies would rather ban these, obviously because they will lose money, then again most of the money on a packet of fags, is government money,,i,e TAX

.I have just popped online for a short spell here to see what reveiws/opinions were, these , up to now look look to be mainly FOR these cigs

hello sohara , that was also an interesting post, and im glad this has worked for you, i have no doubts this may be a good book [or books] but it must be remember alan car has sold over nine million books, enough to make him a millionaire over and over again, these folks do not do things for nothing,, mind you he could have if he wished. but if this has worked for you,, great, i do think this book would be worth a read. [but i will borrow one lol]

i also agree with you the hardships in giving up smoking compared to alcohol drugs etc, i myself was a fairly heavy drinker until 12 years ago, i have never touched a drop since, i dont miss it one little bit, nothing against it,, but just not for me, yet the craving for these cigs seems greater to me.

as i have just said, i have only popped on for a minute, will come back online later, but my re-action up to now,, my feelings are a lot of this is to do with MONEY.

proper testing should be done. these is no apparent reason why this should not be so

I was refereed to a stop smoking group by my doctor the group were against e cigs as nicotine replacement no idea why just were. Clean break as pergola said the method with smallest risk wishing all the best with stopping any smoking.

jimmyw123 profile image
jimmyw123 in reply to

hi eric, thanks for your input, yes there is no doubt whatsoever, pergola has managed this the best way, 100pc right.,, this is the only real way.,,,,stop!!

but unfortunately there are people who either cant, or wont stop smoking, i find its mostly "cant stop" maybe some people have a stronger addictive nature than others, i dont know,

even at the no smoking group, sadly, the majority usually fail, in the end, it really has to be said,,,. the smoking cessation groups are good, the nicotine replacement [supplied, and paid for by the nhs]is designed to ween you off the nicotine gradually,until you can do without it, now whether this is mind over matter, again i dont know. but it must cost the nhs a lot of money. but it most certainly is no fool proof method,,.but if this works for certain folk, brilliant.

i should surmise the no smoking group would be against the e cigs, as these e cigs are not designed to stop the nicotine addiction.they are allegedly designed to give you the nicotine, without all the toxins of tobacco, again, allegedly the next best thing.

i am still yet, keeping an open mind on the subject, and still not convinced one way or other as yet,

one instance today was my mate came round to my house smoking a roll up cig, he had forgotten my no smoking rule in the house, anyway he was ok, it was then i asked him to draw on his ciggy, then blow into a clean kitchen roll, immediatly there was a big brown patch on the pure white kitchen roll, i then tried this with an 8mg e cig, ,, there was not a mark on the kitchen roll,spotless,, , so be it good or bad, i do not know,, but had i had been smoking his ciggy, that big brown mark would def, be inside me somewhere,,,

maybe someone would care to try this with a smoker.and report their findings on this thread.

at this time and moment, i still cannot understand why these e cigs cannot be fully tested in the uk,, or anywhere for that matter,

thank you eric and good luck to you

,kind regards ,,jimmy

onamission profile image
onamission

Hi

jimmyw123 my old man puffs away on one of the e cigs you can buy them on the net for as little as £3.95 he has the blueberry medium strength and now would choose the e cigs over the real cigs

jimmyw123 profile image
jimmyw123

i do wish they could test these properly, and come up with proper high tech medical advice.

anyway, i have stopped these now, but finding things very hard,, jimmy

Dragonmum profile image
Dragonmum

They have been tested to destruction and are 99% safer than cigarettes! You don't need medical advice, smoking is not an illness, just a habit - albeit not a very healthy one! The BMA have admitted some people just cannot give up, so the e-cig is manna from heaven for such folk - and I'm one of them.

jimmyw123 profile image
jimmyw123

my gp did see one on my table,, and did pass the remark,"at least their better than tobacco cigs" but i must admit to getting a fright during this last exaberation, so will give it a bye for now,, but i must admit dragonmum,,,,im like you,,,jimmy x

danwhite profile image
danwhite

Here is earlier discussion

healthunlocked.com/blf/ques...

jimmyw123 profile image
jimmyw123

hi dan [same name as me,, white,,,lol]

yes it does make you wonder,, thanks dan

operatic profile image
operatic

My husband would not have managed at all without efag

jimmyw123 profile image
jimmyw123

nytimes.com/2014/02/23/heal...

a link that might interest you,, jimmy

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