I quit smoking 'real' cigarettes in the summer last year, but I am smoking electronic ones instead, and I'm hooked on them. They're like the last straw of my addiction, I don't have cravings for cigarettes but I'm smoking these electronic thingies whenever I can, and I can't stop. The more I tell myself that 'today will be the last vape', I break, and I go out and buy another pack of fakes.
It's breaking my bank account and it's really starting to upset me. I said goodbye to the real thing but I can't stop smoking, I know people say it's much better than a real cigarette but it's still unhealthy, and expensive.
I need some buddies and people around me who know what I'm going through and I need to stop. I went to the doctors and a nurse told me that she didn't want to prescribe any medication to me as the e-cigs are basically NRT, I was gutted because I feel that the puffing or 'vaping' is half of the habit and rut that I'm stuck in and would have been quite happy with something else.
I have to break this habit.
Any help and advice would be fantastic, I am so desperate it's unbelievable...
I want this out of my head.
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I quit smoking 'real' cigarettes in the summer last year, but I am smoking electronic ones instead, and I'm hooked on them. They're like the last straw of my addiction, I don't have cravings for cigarettes but I'm smoking these electronic thingies whenever I can, and I can't stop. The more I tell myself that 'today will be the last vape', I break, and I go out and buy another pack of fakes.
It's breaking my bank account and it's really starting to upset me. I said goodbye to the real thing but I can't stop smoking, I know people say it's much better than a real cigarette but it's still unhealthy, and expensive.
I need some buddies and people around me who know what I'm going through and I need to stop. I went to the doctors and a nurse told me that she didn't want to prescribe any medication to me as the e-cigs are basically NRT, I was gutted because I feel that the puffing or 'vaping' is half of the habit and rut that I'm stuck in and would have been quite happy with something else.
I have to break this habit.
Any help and advice would be fantastic, I am so desperate it's unbelievable...
I want this out of my head.
hi i quit smoking from 97 till 2004 cold turkey ,
again in 06 till 08 but didnt really feel like i quit as i was on the nicotine gum ,e cig and lozenges the whole time ,and would panic at the thought of having nothing ,now for me getting it out your system as quick as poss is the best way otherwise you got to go through the whole thing again getting off the replacement stuff , on day 14 now cold turkey 3rd and final quit .good luck with what ever you find helps .
Hey Cotton I've never used e-cigs but this forum got me off real ones six months ago after 22 chain-smoking years. If it's an addiction you want cracking, you're in the right place.............welcome
I've been quit for almost 3 weeks now and I did it by reading Allen Carr's - Easy way to stop smoking. It's worked a treat for me, no cravings, bad moods etc and I don't miss smoking at all, it's almost as though I never smoked in the first place
I used the ecig on my previous quit and found it all to similar to smoking, I really enjoyed it!! But my quit then was unsucessful.
I'm using the gum in my current quit and really liking it. Its very cheap and its obviously nothing like smoking whatsoever but you are doing something physical when you have a cravings. Maybe you could try wean yourself off the ecig with some gum? And that could break the 'puffing' habbit.
In any case well done on your quit so far! Your doing a great job.
Keep us posted. Maybe scrawl though old posts I'm sure you may find someone else who has went through the same thing.
Hi Cotton. You seem very distressed by being addicted to the ecig rather than fags. I can understand the fear of dependency on the ecig. However, can I point out two things about this that are in your favour.
Firstly, you haven't been smoking since last summer. That means you haven't been taking the 4000+ toxins found in smoke into your body. That is a good thing!
Secondly, a constituent of smoke (not nicotine) is believed to reduce the levels of a brain chemical called "monoamine oxidase" (MAO for short). MAO is being linked to the difficulty in quitting smoking (along with nicotine, of course). So, by being on the ecig, you have allowed your MAO to adjust to normal levels. I believe that will help your quit!
Not only has the ecig benefitted your health (by not smoking) but it has also helped prepare you to quit. I think you are in a stronger position to quit than you would otherwise be, so well done, and good luck with your quit.
Hey there Cotton!!! Firstly well done on stopping the fags for sooo long!! and a very warm welcome to you.
My advice first and foremost is to come on here as much as possible...it has helped me no end!!!
I had no access to internet over the Christmas holidays and after some rough momemts I ended up puffing on my partners E-cig and I can understand that they would be easy to get hooked on. But if you managed to stop the fags then I have every faith that you will stop the e-cigs too if thats what you want to do. Onwards and upwards chick...you've already started the journey and your doing very well so try not be too hard on yourself
I think everyone has there own personal addiction if that makes sense...for me its the nicotine...it has took me 2 months to figure that out and when I first came on here I think I was overdoing on NRT like a lunatic :rolleyes: My aim now to to get off NRT...I have faith that I will do it and I know I wont ever go back to being a smoker...I dont miss the "habit" of smoking at all...its the nicotine just stops me from exploding sometimes (I can get pretty hot headed sometimes :o)
Why dont you get an appointment at your gp or local chemist to start on a smoking cessation program - you get 26 weeks of free NRT on prescription (I think??), maybe the inhalator would be good for you? Sure if it doesnt suit after your first script you can swap to gum or patches and see if they are any better.
I am planning on getting patches from my gp once my cartridges run out so I have controlled amounts of nicotine each day which will be gradually reduced with each prescription...then I will get off the nasty drug once and for all - yay!!
But seriously there are a load of cracking folk on here with some wicked advice and the best support you can hope to find - best of luck chick
Hi Cotton! There are alredy quite a few tips above, but I would like to add in one possibility... have you tried 0 nicotine ecigs? That could be you way out, perhaps combined with some other method if needed.
I managed to quit ecigs before like that, but my demon gets out after I think Ive done it i.e. few months down the line I start thinking one little cigar wont hurt and off we go again... I am now thinking that perhaps I should get zero ecig for summer... to battle the pub gardens
Hi Cotton, just wanted to add a quick note about the book.
Don't panic about reading it and suddenly stopping, you carry on smoking/vaping while you read it and by the time you get to the end of it you'll be desperate to go through the "last cigarette ritual" so that you can be free of the addiction.
I smoked for 25 years, couldn't even stop through 2 pregnancies, I've made pathetic attempts in the past and failed miserably.
The book really does make it easy and takes away the fear of quitting that we all have/had.
The fear of stopping is very real and that's why most people carry on smoking so don't ever that you sound daft for feeling scared of stopping - we've all been there and I think you'll be surprised at how easy it can be once the fear has gone
Best of luck Cotton! Keep posting and letting us know how you get on
Why do you stay on day 1 if you don't smoke? Why didn't you reduce the level of nicotine in the e-cigs? Why don't you buy NRT if you are desperate. I have never heard of anyone being refused NRT because they used e-cigs. Lets face it, although e-cigs work for some people they are not a recognized form of NRT.
Sorry, you're looking for help here and I can't provide any I'm afraid - I'm quitting through CT and NRT etc never even entered my head as I didn't think it was for me. So I'm just writing to echo the welcome, I'm convinced you'll see posts here that will resonate with you (and others that won't) and you'll get plenty of support from this forum. Good luck with the quit!
Completely understand where you're coming from on this. One area which seems to stir some pretty heated debate on these forums is the pros and cons of NRT (I consider e-cig to be NRT but I'm sure others will disagree).
For me it boils down to whether you are trying to quit tobacco or trying to quit nicotine. My personal view is that we are all ultimately trying to quit nicotine, and NRT is still delivering the same drug to which we are all addicted, just in a different form - and as you've found, anything containing nicotine does little to break the addiction. So for me, I just don't get NRT or e-cigs at all, I've tried sprays and gum before and they got me nowhere.
Having said that, I know NRT works for some people so don't want to dismiss it out of hand - at the end of the day, what's right is whatever works for you!
Cotton - please don't be offended by this comment, but you are sounding just like a smoker who has been told they have to stop smoking and either doesn't want to, or feels they can't stop.
For you it isn't stopping smoking, it's stopping using the e-cig, otherwise it seems to be the same. The sense of panic is tangible in your posts, as it would be for the smoker described above.
So here is a serious question, please don't be upset by it: Are you actually ready to stop using the e-cig?
If you aren't ready - and how you describe being unable to cut down suggests that you aren't - then put off quitting the e-cig for a little while. Take the pressure off yourself and give yourself time to prepare to quit.
Please note that you are just plain wrong if you think that taking in nicotine on its own is equally harmful as smoking. Smoke contains nicotine and 4000+ toxic chemicals. It is also loaded with tar which clogs up your lungs. Smoking is much much worse for you than a nicotine-only product.
Cotton, if you really wanted to get the meds from that nurse I am sure you could. What is stopping you from seeing some other clinic or just tell them you smoke fags? I am wondering the same as Biggrin, are you really ready right now?
Hello Cotton sorry to hear that you seem to have become addicted to the e-cigaretttes.
Myself I quit smoking using N.R.T.(patchs) for approx.3 months just over a year ago and attendance at smoking cessation classes.
The advantage of the patchs are even although they do contain nicotine the the hand to mouth part of the addiction is removed.
So why dont you consider using the patchs as N.R.T. they're not particuarly convenient to use so the likely hood of you becoming addicted to them is very slim.
All that I can add is good luck in your quit I'm on NRT and for my hand to mouth action I tend do a lot of puzzles and typing on here, so once again good luck with your E-Cig quit.
Cotton, you are an incredible person for making this decision, and no-one on this forum will tell you otherwise. Smoking isn't a disease, there isn't a ready made cure...and it's tough as hell but you have to know you can do this.
Believe in yourself, and every single day from here that passes when you don't smoke is evidence that you are capable. Proof. irrefutable evidence. Don't doubt yourself. And i agree - I'm using abject mental defiance to free myself from the shackles of smoking, you have to do it your way so go ahead, you've made the choice. And for gods sake be proud of it. Good luck to you and keep us posted... I like everyone else am rooting for you.
Best of luck with the quit Cotton if the book doesn't work at first then keep going back to it. It took me several attempts before I finally got to the end of it and quit but I got there eventually
I stay on Day 1 because I'm not quitting e-cigs until the weekend and I don't want to spam up the message boards until I've stopped taking them. I'm guessing you see e-cigs as a form of non-smoking? If that's so then I'd like to tell you that I am still inhaling something through my throat and in to my lungs, which as I see it is still smoking, it doesn't matter what form the particular vehicle is I'm afraid, it's still something that will damage me regardless. E-cigs aren't proven to be safe and the nicotine is still bad for the heart etc. and it's still addictive.
I didn't reduce the level of nicotine because the brand I'm on don't have a zero level of nicotine, I'm hooked on that particular brand and other brands didn't cut it for me.
You've just heard of one person who was refused NRT because they used e-cigs (me). I wish I could have got a second opinion but the nurse is always the same one that I see.
My nurse told me she didn't want to put me on medication, as I'd already reduced the level of toxins that real cigarettes give me, she suggested to lower the amount of times I smoke them in order to quit, so if I take it ten times a day then the next week I should lower it to eight times a day, the next six and so on until I've completely reduced it. I can't do it, I can't seem to lower the times I do it, I lose count, I get stressed, I'll have a bad day or someone will seriously irritate me enough to want to start again just so I can de-stress.
I refuse to put myself in to a 'six month' part of the forum if I'm still inhaling something I don't want in to my body anymore. Isn't the reason why we're all on here because we want to quit? Why should the e-cigs be any different from the real thing?
I'm sorry if my reasons confused you, for me it's not day 1 yet.
Also, you're completely right, they don't work for everyone, some people go back to smoking the real thing, which is exactly what I don't want to do and why I want to quit them, but the nurse didn't see it that way, I've seen her twice in six months and she said the same thing twice. For me this is the only option left, and I am seriously desperate.
Hi you can but NRT over the counter u don't need a nurse to prove it for you. X
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