5 weeks today! Have I done something silly ... - No Smoking Day

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5 weeks today! Have I done something silly tho :/

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woo hooo 5 weeks today!! nearly at my record of 7 weeks and feel good :)

My problem is simple... I went CT from the start and it was absoloute hell on earth but I did it... my marraige is only just in tact from it and my teenage kids are finally coming round to the fact Im not an absoloute cow after all!!!.....BUT!.......

Last thursday I went Xmas shopping to cardiff, It was rammed and quite frankly horrendous.... I had a massive crave and so very nearly went and bought 10 cigs... but instead I spent £30 on a vapour cig instead the ones where u use the liquid... I am currently chuffing 18mg coconut and its wonderful! I wish I had known about them before but I am so annoyed because I went 31 days with no nicotine and now with this thing I am starting to get clucky if I havent got it, I have to make sure its charged and I have enough juice blah blah blah... its like being chained to cigs again!!

Anyway I have rambled like a mad woman so my question is, should I ditch the e-cig and go through nicotine withdrawal again or just keep using it? Its better than tobacco right? I just feel though that I am swapping one addiction for another, plus my last cig app on my phone makes me feel like a fraud... it says nic levels are zero but they obviously arent anymore :/ what to do... what to do :/

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nsd_user663_54332 profile image
nsd_user663_54332

Oooh, well it's up to you, it's your quit.

IMO though get rid of that e-fag ASAP.

No it won't kill you like fags will but it sounds like you've got yourself hooked on it - and what happens when they battery goes flat, the filter runs out or whatever?

Am 99% certain I'd not be a smoker now if it wasn't for e-fags, they're fine if you only want an alternative to smoking but if you want to quit the whole thing they're awful.

Not trying to be a miseryguts or anything, you're off the fags which is fab, but those things are a slippery slope!!

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Thats what Im thinking Gemma.... peed off tho cos I could of spend £4.50 and bought 10 cigs and spent £30 instead to avoid the cigs so now I feel like the ecig was a reward for "being good" and not giving in to fags if that makes any sense?

I might just get some really low nicotine juice or better still no nicotine.... I dont think of it as smoking cos it looks nothing like a fag but if I am having a moment it defo helps..... aaaaaargh why is EVERYTHING so ****** hard! You cant do right for doing wrong :((((

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Also just looked and realised I joined this site in January 2008...... god thats sooooo depressing! 5 years ago and still in the same position! I need to get past that 7 week mark!!! x

nsd_user663_54332 profile image
nsd_user663_54332

Thats what Im thinking Gemma.... peed off tho cos I could of spend £4.50 and bought 10 cigs and spent £30 instead to avoid the cigs so now I feel like the ecig was a reward for "being good" and not giving in to fags if that makes any sense?

I might just get some really low nicotine juice or better still no nicotine.... I dont think of it as smoking cos it looks nothing like a fag but if I am having a moment it defo helps..... aaaaaargh why is EVERYTHING so ****** hard! You cant do right for doing wrong :((((

I know it's a flipping minefield!!

Think the problem with e-fags is that although they taste nothing like the real thing, you end up treating them like a real fag unless you're careful, like you said as a reward, or when you're upset, happy, anything and it chips away at your quitting mindset.

Worked it out with mine about a month before I quit, a year ago I smoked about 25 fags a day - then I smoked that thing, guess what? About 25 times a day. Like you said, it made me feel a fraud, and in the end the nicodemon got hold of that and well ended up where I am now.

It really is up to you, but the least worst option is to use 0% juice in it but whatever you do be careful it doesn't undermine your quit!!

Not trying to be scary or anything but having been there and failed it is something I think people need to be careful of :)

nsd_user663_54332 profile image
nsd_user663_54332

Also just looked and realised I joined this site in January 2008...... god thats sooooo depressing! 5 years ago and still in the same position! I need to get past that 7 week mark!!! x

You will do it!!

Don't beat yourself up or get upset hun, it's only going ot make you feel rubbish and you're *not* smoking which is fab!! x

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

I'm going to have to ditch it I think..... As I sit here writing this I am crying with desperation for a cigarette pathetic I know.... 5 days of and ecig and I am back to feeling like day 1.... I quit my anti depressants a month before cigs ( with the hep of my doctor) as I had anxiety now I feel depressed AND anxious I should never have quit cigs until I was totally free from the anti depressants... I am so tempted to smoke and try again in the spring......I need to get my head straight I think.... Having the ecig has totally ruined this for me..... I was on the home straight, just getting back to being nicer again and now I have gone back to being a cow.....

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nsd_user663_2681

You will do it!!

Don't beat yourself up or get upset hun, it's only going ot make you feel rubbish and you're *not* smoking which is fab!! x

What's ur story Gemma? Where are u at with it? Did u give up for a year and then go back to smoking? Thanks for ur advice btw xx

nsd_user663_54332 profile image
nsd_user663_54332

Maybe hold onto the ecig for now... hang around here for a while and join in the chats; read threads from people trying to quit from day 1... and then come the spring... focus on chucking the e-cig?

I really *really* don't want to sound like a stuck record or a misery here but that's a dodgy road to go down.

Like Karri says, e-cigs are for smokers they are *not* sold as a quit aid but an alternative to smoking. It's great for cutting down the amount you smoke, or if you don't plan on stopping properly to switch to full time but NRT they ain't.

An e-cig has all the actions, feelings of smoking ant it can seriously undo all your hard work to keep off the real ones, because your brain can;t really distinguish between the two. Am almost certain I wouldn't be a smoker now if it wasn't for the e-cig.

Sorry for the rant, but I'd hate to see someone make the same mistakes as I did, and Donna is beating herself up about the e-fag the same way as I did.

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nsd_user663_54332

I'm going to have to ditch it I think..... As I sit here writing this I am crying with desperation for a cigarette pathetic I know.... 5 days of and ecig and I am back to feeling like day 1.... I quit my anti depressants a month before cigs ( with the hep of my doctor) as I had anxiety now I feel depressed AND anxious I should never have quit cigs until I was totally free from the anti depressants... I am so tempted to smoke and try again in the spring......I need to get my head straight I think.... Having the ecig has totally ruined this for me..... I was on the home straight, just getting back to being nicer again and now I have gone back to being a cow.....

Aww Donna I am sorry (((hugs)))

I do know the feeling, it's horrible :(

Seriously, don't lose your quit now, it won't help anything, just add to your feeling crap already - you know that!!

You know you can get off the e-fag, you were doing OK without it weren't you? If you're really worried about going without anything then a nicotine free one is a bit better because at least you're not hooked on it, but it is best to be smoke and vapour free!!

Am really sorry you're feeling low at the moment hun

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nsd_user663_54332

What's ur story Gemma? Where are u at with it? Did u give up for a year and then go back to smoking? Thanks for ur advice btw xx

Oooh well the short version is that I quit 51 weeks ago, I used patches and gum which were fab, then had a wobble and bought an e-fag. Ditched the proper NRT for that thing and wound up well and truly hooked on it - managed to kick it for a couple of months then wobbled back onto it, ended up smoking that as much as I used to smoke real fags, felt like a fraud being on here using that like a dummyand ended up caving about 5 weeks ago.

Now I'm getting myself together and plotting my next quit - which will be my last ever :D

Sorry if I sound extremely anti e-fags but after what happened to me I think they're a trap!!

I hope you're feeling better soon xx

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nsd_user663_54332

What you say makes sense and you are speaking from your experience so you are probably the best one to give advice here... BUT... Donna has already been using this e-cig and is close to breaking point with going back to 'smoking'. what u say about the e-cig is true... its for smokers trying to break from cigarettes; not really a means to quit like using patches or champix. so at this stage, if donna were to chuck the ecig, shes right back to day 1 of a quit CT - and sorry, but no one wants to go there when feeling down; which is how she says she is feeling now. So her best option is to hold onto the ecig and try quitting for real come january. the alternative is she will end up smoking full throttle again - another fail! the e-cig is not yet a fail for her.

Um, with respect I've been exactly where Donna is and that made me fail.

She said the e-cig was making her feel a fraud so carrying on with it is good because?

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nsd_user663_54332

whatever is in these ecigs, if your getting 'clucky' (sorry but that made me laugh) when u dont have it... there must be something in them thats re-sparking those nicotinic receptors in your brain -

Yes, nicotine.

18% in Donna's 24% in mine.

AngryBear profile image
AngryBear

Great advice Gem, as miserable as you've felt, that's great honesty there, a really sound series of posts. I have no experience of e-cigs but have learned to hate them by hearing stories such as yours, which has just capped it. I hope other quitters see that. S*dding e-cigs, absolutely hate them.

I hope you're still quit Donna, spring is five months off, why wait till then?? You were doing fine, get rid of the blo*dy thing, get the nicotine out of your system with quit intact and post more......

I've just sat in a meeting for ninety minutes opposite a bloke who had a fag beforehand, spent the whole time puffing on his electronic thing, about once every two minutes, throwing vapour out all over the place, then had a fag afterwards.....utterly pointless.

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nsd_user663_54332

Really dont mean to be picking at you Gemma but 'continue with the ecig because...' its not a cigarette!!!! no offense, but u failed cos u picked up a cigarette and lit it and smoked! telling donna to drop the ecig will result in her doing the same!

Well TBH you are and I recognise the problems with them because i have been there!! I don't argue with people who went CT or used Champix because I don't know about them but e-cigs are something i know a lot about.

Telling somebody to continue with doing something that is making them feel bad enough already is not a very good idea.

No it isn't technically a cigarette but it is incredibly close and as Karri and I have said it is not a quit aid!!

instead of banging on about how bad and nasty the e-cig is and why it 'made u fail' (ahem ahem... look in the mirror for that dearest), do you have any suggestions as to what she should do instead?

I am not "banging on about how bad and nasty the e-cig is" I am desperate that someone doesn't make the same mistakes as i did, doesn't go through the same kinds of hell as I did - she wants to stop using the e-cig, she said so!!

As for the "look in the mirror dearest" that's plain rude and uncalled for :mad::mad: I wouldn't have said something like that to you when you had failed quits and it's the kind of comment that made me want to leave here when i did fail. Not what I expected on a support forum when I am doing my best to help someone.

Quitting isnt easy for anyone; whatever method they chose, but forcing our own opinions on any particular method isnt right either. what works for one person wont for another etc.

Not forcing my opinion her any more than you are. I am giving her my experiences and hoping she makes her own mind up.

She was cold turkey, nicotine free, and started using an e-cig which has got her hooked again, she is feeling bad about that. If she was happy with it, then I wouldn't have said more than a general warning but she isn't happy with it.

She was doing fine without it before and will do fine again without it.

U hate the ecig fine. brilliant. well done! alternative approach - (aside from sparking up and being a smoker again) ?????

Because of the result of using it, and i am far from the only one to have had the same reaction to using it, no need for the attitude thank you!!

e-cig or smoking is a false dichotomy - most quitters don't use one.

And i have said what i think she should do.

the ecig may be making donna miserable, but from what she said, its more to do with her feeling she let herself down by trying it in the first place. Its a bit late to be telling her not to do it now.. when shes needing the ecig now.

If she asked in the beginning if she should buy one I'd have said no but as she is asking *now* i am telling her what happened to me and why IMO they are a bad thing.

Telling her to carry on using something that is making her feel miserable, and when someone else says she lost her quit because of it, um, not the best advice!!

by no means am i saying the ecig is the way... the new best thing - if i thought that id be puffing away at it myself! but put yourself in her situation - she hasnt smoked yet, she feels rotten, and now feels addicted to the ecig - yes of course best thing to do is ditch it and go back to CT, but doesnt sound like she can do that right now with other things that are going on. so yes, she should keep the ecig and quit that once the new year comes; its that or she will be smoking again

I *have* been in her situation, that is the whole point of my posting on this thread!!

It's the reason for me getting involved, and it's extremely frustrating to see her being told to carry on with it when she clearly wants to be free of the blasted thing and when I know what heppens when you carry on using one.

The point I'm trying to make is that an e-fag is not an NRT system, it is an alternative to cigarettes - even the manufacturers say that on their health warning and from my experience, any kind of actual NRT is a lot better than something that's meant for smokers to cut down or switch over to completely.

Patches have a step down programe, gum you can step down yourself on, e-cigs are cigarettes that aren't on fire.

Using mine caused me months of problems, it made me feel like a smoker again and it did make me fail (no mirror needed for that thankyou) because it undid all the quitting reprogramming I'd done to my brain.

It would break my heart to see someone make the same mistakes that I did, not being b.loody minded or any of that, this is something that i do know about and have a lot of experience of!!

nsd_user663_54332 profile image
nsd_user663_54332

Great advice Gem, as miserable as you've felt, that's great honesty there, a really sound series of posts. I have no experience of e-cigs but have learned to hate them by hearing stories such as yours, which has just capped it. I hope other quitters see that. S*dding e-cigs, absolutely hate them.

I hope you're still quit Donna, spring is five months off, why wait till then?? You were doing fine, get rid of the blo*dy thing, get the nicotine out of your system with quit intact and post more......

I've just sat in a meeting for ninety minutes opposite a bloke who had a fag beforehand, spent the whole time puffing on his electronic thing, about once every two minutes, throwing vapour out all over the place, then had a fag afterwards.....utterly pointless.

Thank you Steve, am glad someone else gets what I mean!!

nsd_user663_54332 profile image
nsd_user663_54332

Im not missing the point .... AT ALL!

and this is going nowhere but insult ville. As Karri said, Donna needs go talk with her GP. I dont care what yee say, the ecig is a far cry from the real thing. it doesnt matter what any of us 'think' of them or what the designer label on the fancy packet says... Donna is using it now and her original path of CT has been offset. ok, there is nicotine in it and her brain is now thinking its getting something that it was missing all this time and indeed, the receptors are probably even more sensitized now than ever - thats why shes clucky and feeling down. I dont have any experience with this ecig, but as someone who has quit and tried multiple times to quit, i would rather someone give me more constructive advice if i was going through something like she is now, other than 'oh throw that filthy rotten thing in the bin immediately'.. hello? full throttle cravings, what instead of the ecig?

With all due respect you are very much missing the point.

She is now getting hooked on the e-fag, telling her to carry on with it is however kindly meant, horrible advice.

The e-fag has plenty of nicotine in it, which is just as addictive as that in fags and whether you think they're comparable or not isn't the point. She is re-hooked after being nicotine free.

*NOW* is the time to quit that thing.

I have had bitter experience of it, and I am *telling* you what happens.

No idea why you're arguing!!

So ok, i apologize for the mirror comment but you need to see this from donnas point of view.

Look Felic, I do see it from her point of view because unlike you I am talking from experience I was there and know where this road ends.

You're adivce again however kindly meant, is like telling me to go have a fag, a drunkard to have a vodka because e-cigs are just as addictive as the real ones.

as for not supporting someone on a support forum? emmm hello?

yes we might have a difference of opinion on what donna should or shouldnt do. its her life, her quit, her ecig.. she can do as she sees fit. But stop playing the victim card here. this is a support forum - for people trying to quit and going through that trauma! sorry to say but that doesnt describe u right now.. i bet ur there puffing away on ur marlboro light, happy out laughing at all this.

Again - no offense is meant but reality check here please!

And for that, I'm pressing the abuse button.

I am far from happy or laughing, and I *do not* come onto this forum to have my failure used as a stick to beat me with.

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nsd_user663_54332

Felic that was bang out of order

Thankyou Debbie, absolutely no idea what I did to "deserve" that but it really upset me.

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Gemma and Felic I appreciate both of ur points of view and I am grateful for the advice although with all due respect Gemma in all the 7 times I have failed I haven't come on here giving advice whilst smoking as it can seem a bit hypocritical... I get it... most of u think e-cigs are the devil.... I came here for support while I am in a desperate situation but most people part from Felic hav told me to throw the ecig away and just get on with it CT.... I am on a vapour cartomiser it doesn't look like a cigarette whatsoever I have eliquids that taste of blueberry an coconut therefore it tastes nothing like a cig you can't hold it like a cig the only thing is it does produce a lot of smoke..... Having spoke to my doctor on the phone he has advised I should use it as u can get lower nicotine levels and wean urself off in the same way as patches so as I absolutely don't want to go down the anti depressant route and I have tried very other method of NRT I will continue with the cartomiser I am still a non smoker and I intend to stay that way, if having a few puffs on the cartomiser helps then I will do it.

My doctor advised the only reason I felt like I was back at day 1 was because I was trying to not use the cartomiser when there was no need to deprive myself.

Thank you again for your suggestions and I wish everyone well in their quits xxx

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nsd_user663_2681

Also I have only used it since Friday it just goes to show how quickly nicotine can take hold again!

nsd_user663_54332 profile image
nsd_user663_54332

Gemma and Felic I appreciate both of ur points of view and I am grateful for the advice although with all due respect Gemma in all the 7 times I have failed I haven't come on here giving advice whilst smoking as it can seem a bit hypocritical

OK fine, I take your point.

Goodbye.

Being accused of laughing at people in distress and then called a hypocrite in one thread when I was trying to help is much more than enough for me.

I won't be back now.

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

OK fine, I take your point.

Goodbye.

Being accused of laughing at people in distress and then called a hypocrite in one thread when I was trying to help is much more than enough for me.

I won't be back now.

Please don't feel like that I appreciate ur advice I just think u may have been a bit too fervent about ur hatred for e-cigs ;) I am determined

to not smoke again no matter how much I want to I just feel a bit down that the posts apart from Felic more or less say I'm a failure because I am

No longer CT x

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Gemma I hope you don't leave as you were only trying to help.

I think people gave their thoughts on e-cigs Donna because you asked (see below). It's your quit but if you ask a question you must be willing to accept ALL responses and not just the ones that sound good ;)

Hope all goes well for you :)

Point taken, I just didn't expect to be told

that basically I am not giving up smoking because ecigs are am alternative for smoking..... I definitely have quit smoking I haven't smoked a cigarette in 36 days I have however been inhaling propylene glycerol, nicotine and good additives..... Definitely not as bad as the 4000 chemicals in cigarettes but ur right I suppose I was hoping people would say "yh use the ecig til the spring, no problem"...... How wrong could I be! X

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

That should say food additives lol

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nsd_user663_2681

Good grief, I turn my back for two minutes and all hell breaks loose!:eek:

Ladies, we all of us are looking at this from our own personal perspectives:

Donna - from the perspective of someone who has only recently picked up an e-cig and is concerned whether it was a good idea

Gemma - from the perspective of someone who picked up an e-cig which led to her eventual failure

Felic - I'm not entirely sure but I'm guessing early stages of a quit from my reading of the posts.

My perspective is that of a happy ex-smoker with 10 months under her belt who has watched one of her closest quit buddies lose a longterm quit thanks to the purchase and use of an e-cig so I too am obviously biased.

Having said that, I would hope that all of us can see that an e-cig is very different from the forms of NRT usually recommended for quitting smoking.

An e-cig, regardless of its appearance (and some of them look more like Dr Who's sonic screwdriver to me!) replicates the hand to mouth, inhalation action of smoking whilst delivering nicotine to your system. So basically you do exactly what you did with a tobacco filled tube of paper but with a gadget; put it to your mouth, inhale vapour/smoke, receive your hit, remove it from your mouth, exhale vapour/smoke. The difference being that you are less restricted to where you can do it, we are led to believe it has less dangerous chemicals in it compared to cigarettes and of course the dreaded tar is not present (unfortunately the lack of regulation means that there is very little evidence of what exactly is in the blasted things and it will all be a lot clearer as and when they do come under proper regulatory control). The drug, however, remains the same, it is only the delivery system that has altered. And if, as I do, you subscribe to the theory that actually our mental dependence on smoking is equal to if not greater than our physical addiction then at some point (assumably when you have reduced to zero nicotine fluid) you will need to break that hand to mouth, inhaling/exhaling action. Which will mean the experience of losing that physical habit still has to be gone through, regardless.

If, in fact, there is an equal split between the two factors (physical and mental dependence) then in theory moving to an e-cig from cigarettes and reducing to zero juice before giving up the e-cig should give people a better chance and it would be interesting to see someone take that route and share how they feel it works. As far as I can see, this is the only method in which using one could be seen as assisting a person to quit.

However, for a person who has stopped smoking cigarettes for long enough to have drained the nicotine from their system and broken the back of the habit it seems, from Gem's experience at least, that picking up an e-cig puts you right back where you started from, just without the nasty tar. And if, like many of us, you have used some form of CBT (Allen Carr's books, etc) then restarting that hand to mouth action appears to actively break down all the reprogramming you have gone through and puts you back into that smoker's mindset. Don't get me wrong, given a straight choice between smoking real cigarettes and an e-cig there is currently NO contest! But picking one up part way through a quit? Not recommended from what I can see.

Donna, we will all support you whatever you choose to do, but I know that Gemma was persuaded to stay on these forums (and I was one of those doing the persuading) partly to do what she could to dissuade others from following her down the slippery slope which leads back under the stinky yellow thumb of our common enemy. And as someone who had several months under her belt before she got an e-cig, she can speak from personal experience as to how it affected her quit and has shared with you a very painful personal experience in the hope that she can help you avoid the pitfalls that she encountered. If Sjt should be around today, she has used an e-cig without problems and is now free from that as well so she can share with you how she achieved that so you can obtain a more balanced view.

Ultimately, the decision is YOURS and we will do all we can to help you hold on to your quit whatever choice you make, so take your time, look at it from every angle and then you can make an informed decision on what you feel is best for YOU.

Hi I would be interested to hear from ur friend who successfully quit with an e-cig like u said just to have a balanced view and while it is quite evident that everybody clearly loves Gemma and I'm sure she is a wonderful person the fact remains she is currently smoking which is something I am desperately trying not to do hence me paying £30 for a ecig instead of £4.50 for a

packet of fags!! Perhaps I should of avoided the devil ecig and just bought fags and then come on here for day 1 again and get everyone's support whole heartedly!! I have decided to try and not use the ecig unless I am desperate eg Xmas parties etc, thanks again for everyone's input :)

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nsd_user663_2681

Great I really appreciate that thanks :)

nsd_user663_60855 profile image
nsd_user663_60855

The thing about the ecig is it is basically a cigarette. That's why it's called an eCIG. The only "good" thing about it is that you're not getting all those lovely carcinogens or tar delivered into your system. I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here but you are basically still a smoker. You are craving nicotine and using an ecig to deliver that nicotine into your system, which makes you crave more nicotine, rinse and repeat.

What I don't get is that you managed to go for so long without, but you caved in in week 5 when you'd already done most of the hard work. What was so bad about that day that you couldn't cope a moment longer without a nicotine hit? Couldn't you have had a sit down somewhere quiet with a cream cake and got exactly the same sense of relaxation? Although I don't think this is relaxing you, it's obviously stressing you out an awful lot.

You asked for advice, so here is mine. Go to your GP and find out about your local smoking cessation service. Your local pharmacy might even do one. Try to find a nicotine replacement therapy that you get on with and start out with that. You will get proper help, support and advice, and they will tell you how to cut down the nicotine every week/month/whenever so you feel comfortable and don't turn into a "cow". Having a professional support you is much better than being expected to know when to cut down on the nicotine in your ecig alone. I also suggest that you back up to the day 1 forum, because you are still a smoker.

I watched hundreds of people quit as part of Stoptober, and everyone who used an ecig or vape or whatever is STILL using it. People on proper NRT have all had their doses cut, or have come off it completely. The cold turkeys are either still going, or they relapsed in the first couple of weeks, but I haven't seen anyone CHOOSE to vape after so long. It doesn't make any sense.

So yes, I agree that you should probably have just bought the cigarettes. You'd have had two puffs, realised how disgusting they taste after so long off them and chucked them in the bin.

Whatever path you choose, I wish you the best of luck. You obviously want to give up, but are still at the point where you see justification for smoking. You must remember that there are NO good points to smoking. Only bad, bad, bad points. You need to realise that you don't enjoy smoking, that it doesn't make you feel better and that you don't NEED a cigarette. You want one. That's a huge difference.

AngryBear profile image
AngryBear

Just to clarify my position, as someone who posted earlier on this thread, I am not a fan of e-cigs, haven't been for a long time. Gemma's is one of a long list of stories I've heard that reinforce that, that's my opinion.

As for your comment that "everyone loves Gemma"; there's no basis for it as far as I can see. My post did not say you were "a failure" either, I advised continuing your (still intact) quit without the e-cig. That doesn't imply you've failed. I'm not going to give answers or advice, as far as I'm qualified to advise anyone, based on what I think people want to hear. My opinion is what it is.

Gemma was merely sharing recent experience where an e-cig contributed to her quit failing. I don't quite know why Felic got so angry, but I find it a shame that you found her posts the only "supportive" ones. Your choice of course.

As for your comment on next time buying fags instead of the e-cig, why not buy neither and come on here first??

36 days is great going, I hope it continues, however you do it is up to you, but if you ask questions on here, you might not like every answer you get. They certainly won't all suit; I can testify to that from my early days.

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nsd_user663_2681

The thing about the ecig is it is basically a cigarette. That's why it's called an eCIG. The only "good" thing about it is that you're not getting all those lovely carcinogens or tar delivered into your system. I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here but you are basically still a smoker. You are craving nicotine and using an ecig to deliver that nicotine into your system, which makes you crave more nicotine, rinse and repeat.

What I don't get is that you managed to go for so long without, but you caved in in week 5 when you'd already done most of the hard work. What was so bad about that day that you couldn't cope a moment longer without a nicotine hit? Couldn't you have had a sit down somewhere quiet with a cream cake and got exactly the same sense of relaxation? Although I don't think this is relaxing you, it's obviously stressing you out an awful lot.

You asked for advice, so here is mine. Go to your GP and find out about your local smoking cessation service. Your local pharmacy might even do one. Try to find a nicotine replacement therapy that you get on with and start out with that. You will get proper help, support and advice, and they will tell you how to cut down the nicotine every week/month/whenever so you feel comfortable and don't turn into a "cow". Having a professional support you is much better than being expected to know when to cut down on the nicotine in your ecig alone. I also suggest that you back up to the day 1 forum, because you are still a smoker.

I watched hundreds of people quit as part of Stoptober, and everyone who used an ecig or vape or whatever is STILL using it. People on proper NRT have all had their doses cut, or have come off it completely. The cold turkeys are either still going, or they relapsed in the first couple of weeks, but I haven't seen anyone CHOOSE to vape after so long. It doesn't make any sense.

So yes, I agree that you should probably have just bought the cigarettes. You'd have had two puffs, realised how disgusting they taste after so long off them and chucked them in the bin.

Whatever path you choose, I wish you the best of luck. You obviously want to give up, but are still at the point where you see justification for smoking. You must remember that there are NO good points to smoking. Only bad, bad, bad points. You need to realise that you don't enjoy smoking, that it doesn't make you feel better and that you don't NEED a cigarette. You want one. That's a huge difference.

I can assure u I wouldn't have had 2 puffs and put them in the bin I am a pro at giving up I've done it lots of times :) I totally disagree with ur point that ecigs are basically smoking that is a crock of S*it quite frankly..... Any way thanks for the support (!) as u suggested I'll just ditch the ecig and buy fags.... BRILLIANT advice..... Don't give up the day job

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Just to clarify my position, as someone who posted earlier on this thread, I am not a fan of e-cigs, haven't been for a long time. Gemma's is one of a long list of stories I've heard that reinforce that, that's my opinion.

As for your comment that "everyone loves Gemma"; there's no basis for it as far as I can see. My post did not say you were "a failure" either, I advised continuing your (still intact) quit without the e-cig. That doesn't imply you've failed. I'm not going to give answers or advice, as far as I'm qualified to advise anyone, based on what I think people want to hear. My opinion is what it is.

Gemma was merely sharing recent experience where an e-cig contributed to her quit failing. I don't quite know why Felic got so angry, but I find it a shame that you found her posts the only "supportive" ones. Your choice of course.

As for your comment on next time buying fags instead of the e-cig, why not buy neither and come on here first??

36 days is great going, I hope it continues, however you do it is up to you, but if you ask questions on here, you might not like every answer you get. They certainly won't all suit; I can testify to that from my early days.

I would just like to state that it has been pure hell for the entire quit I didn't go 5 weeks and then just have a c-ap day as someone suggested in an earlier post it was more of a hellish 5 weeks and then snapping... Had I of not been in a crammed capital city Xmas shopping I may well of gone on this forum but unfortunately it was S*it or bust..... Buy fags or get the e-cig.... Unfortunately a cream cake just wouldn't have cut it.... I don't consider myself out of the woods by any means it's only been 36 days I am aiming for 3 months in the hope I might find it a bit easier right now I feel like pooh I only wish I could be like others on here that can drink a glass of water go for a walk and then feel marvellous... Alas I am not one of those lucky ones.... Smoking and cigarettes are in every thought in my head and every part of my being.... :(

AngryBear profile image
AngryBear

.. Smoking and cigarettes are in every thought in my head and every part of my being.... :(

They were for me too, for about the first month, but it DOES pass. The withdrawal part for me was the nicotine, which you'd got through. It differs for everyone but you have to remember that you have a quit, 36 days, that is worth hanging on for, and you have to give yourself credit for that. If it was easy, everyone would have done it who wanted to.

Airion is entitled to his opinion, I don't share it though. Why go back to day 1? You haven't smoked. You need to read everyone's opinions though and use them all to help you, don't just disregard them if they don't fit. Everyone's experiences are different.

You really are doing well, if seven weeks is your record, that has to be in sight, hopefully by then things will have improved. The day does come when you don't think about cigarettes, promise ;)

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Maybe Gemma just needs a break from this forum. She seems to spend every hour of everyday on it. She got angry with me this week as well for not having an identical opinion to her own.

A short break and return in good spirits, hopefully to have another go at quitting, might be just what the doctor ordered. After all, we all have the same goal and we need to stick together to help achieve it.

I have to agree here John.... I was basically told that I am still smoking and the ecig is the devils spawn lol.... In all seriousness tho it has made me feel awful.... At the end of the day I have t smoked a cigarette, Gemma has, I'm sure she's only trying to help but it's a bit like a drunk person trying educate an alcoholic.... Not helpful :/

nsd_user663_57259 profile image
nsd_user663_57259

Hi Donna

I have pm'd you (I think). Let me know if you get it and then we can chat about this. I too used an e cig, but I believe I used it differently to many people. I used it as a form of NRT and I think it has worked for me!! I'm 7 and a half months through my quit and haven't used the e cig for at least 2 months. Even when I used it, it probably had less nicotine than second hand smoke!!

Will chat via pm as I may be able to help.

Hang in there - everyone is entitled to their opinions but it is YOUR quit!!

Regards

Sarah x

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Donna I do know how you feel that's how it was for me last week and I did buy fags. So its brilliant you didn't just hang in there and do what you feel is right.

Wrong or right as long as you aren't smoking fags you are trying.

xxx

Thanks Debbie I have decided to keep ecig in the house for Cardiff days lol, awww that's a shame u bought cigs I have been there lots of times and done the same however u can do it next time, get your quit date sorted in ur head and go for it again :)) good luck. Xx

nsd_user663_40237 profile image
nsd_user663_40237

Donna,

Not sure how all this drama started on this thread with you asking for help. People are a bit touchy about their nicotine in this neck of the woods.

I've tried quitting using alternative forms of nicotine, mostly just snus, never an eCig. I found that quitting was a little easier in the past using an alternative form because it really just wasn't as satisfying as smoking tobacco. So I would use snus for a while then just get tired of it and just let it go. Those quits only lasted a few weeks, and I'd have to say because I wasn't committed to quitting, but I did go a few weeks without nicotine or smoking tobacco. My current, and longest, quit is straight cold turkey.

The moral of the story is that the end result is always the same, use the method you need to quit and stay quit. Swapping one nicotine addiction for another isn't advisable, but you are healthier for not ingesting smoke and excessive amounts of chemicals. Best of luck to you during your quit. I hope that you can break this cycle and not feel so depressed and tortured any more.

-Tim

nsd_user663_60855 profile image
nsd_user663_60855

I can assure u I wouldn't have had 2 puffs and put them in the bin I am a pro at giving up I've done it lots of times :) I totally disagree with ur point that ecigs are basically smoking that is a crock of S*it quite frankly..... Any way thanks for the support (!) as u suggested I'll just ditch the ecig and buy fags.... BRILLIANT advice..... Don't give up the day job

Okay, I'm done. What do you want people to say to you? Ecigs are still giving you nicotine and that is why you 'smoked'. If you don't see vaping as smoking then that's your issue. Carry on with your addiction and yet still convince yourself you've quit. Genius.

Hi Donna!

Huge congratulations on doing 5weeks smoke free - I personally don't care how you have achieved it - it's a MASSIVE achievement regardless of which method you used. No cigarettes at all for 5 weeks is brill. Well done you!

I am slightly reluctant to offer my advice after reading the thread so far(😳😳) so instead I will just tell you a little about my experience.

Today is day 24 for me so a little behind you. I smoked 10-15 a day for 20+ years. Having decided enough was enough I bought an ecig to help me cut down on the fags. It worked.

I quit 'real' fags on 11.11. Certainly in the early days the ecig was a bit of a crutch and if I'm honest, a comfort. Yes it is a hand to mouth thing as well as a physical nicotine addiction. I was well aware that the ecig was still feeding my addiction but was delighted to be 'smoke free'.

Feeling like I needed a little more support I joined this site and spent lots of time reading and learning from others posts (for this I am truly grateful to you all).

However some of the posts were incredibly anti ecig and I began to doubt my own quit and to not feel quite so good about my achievement. If you look around 1 week I posted my feelings. At that point the doubts and anti ecig comments could have so easily derailed me into thinking I was doing wrong anyway so why not cave in and have what I really wanted -a real fag. Not the posters intentions I'm sure but that was the effect.

Anyway, as I had planned I decreased the ecig use gradually and have now been completely CT for a week. I feel the ecig (with planning) really helped me.

My point is this - in those early, emotional, difficult, painful, upsetting days of a quit - day 1 to day 365 as far as I'm concerned - we should NOT be judgemental about anyone's methods - we should offer support, understanding, love and hugs ONLY.

We are all adults, we all know the facts, we are all trying to quit.

And well done to you all for that, trying alone makes you a star in my eyes.

Xx

nsd_user663_60734 profile image
nsd_user663_60734

HI! I used the E-Cig to help me quit. I am only 24days tobacco free.. but the e-cig helped me get this far. I used it as a crutch to help me throught the habit breaking phase. I used the e-cig once on Friday and haven't used it since (Day 5 Nicotine free). I went through Nicotine withdrawl AGAIN (1st time when i quit tobacco and switched to the e-cig) and it was horrible AGAIN!! I never really liked the e-cig. It didn't pack enough flavor or punch for me. I want to be 100% nicotine free... but I still carry my e-cig.. I rather relapse to that then to tobacco.

The e-cig helps in desperate times.. but try not to get hooked to it!!!!

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Okay, I'm done. What do you want people to say to you? Ecigs are still giving you nicotine and that is why you 'smoked'. If you don't see vaping as smoking then that's your issue. Carry on with your addiction and yet still convince yourself you've quit. Genius.

I am getting a little bit sick of this in all honesty.... I am well aware that I have been taking nicotine for the past 5 days... but patches inhalators and gum also give nicotine are you quite as harsh with those people??? I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one.... well done for being so sure you are a non smoker while belittling others who arent as brilliant as you and sticking to cold turkey.

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

HI! I used the E-Cig to help me quit. I am only 24days tobacco free.. but the e-cig helped me get this far. I used it as a crutch to help me throught the habit breaking phase. I used the e-cig once on Friday and haven't used it since (Day 5 Nicotine free). I went through Nicotine withdrawl AGAIN (1st time when i quit tobacco and switched to the e-cig) and it was horrible AGAIN!! I never really liked the e-cig. It didn't pack enough flavor or punch for me. I want to be 100% nicotine free... but I still carry my e-cig.. I rather relapse to that then to tobacco.

The e-cig helps in desperate times.. but try not to get hooked to it!!!!

Thankyou very much Heather good luck to you too xxxxx

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Hi Donna!

Huge congratulations on doing 5weeks smoke free - I personally don't care how you have achieved it - it's a MASSIVE achievement regardless of which method you used. No cigarettes at all for 5 weeks is brill. Well done you!

I am slightly reluctant to offer my advice after reading the thread so far(😳😳) so instead I will just tell you a little about my experience.

Today is day 24 for me so a little behind you. I smoked 10-15 a day for 20+ years. Having decided enough was enough I bought an ecig to help me cut down on the fags. It worked.

I quit 'real' fags on 11.11. Certainly in the early days the ecig was a bit of a crutch and if I'm honest, a comfort. Yes it is a hand to mouth thing as well as a physical nicotine addiction. I was well aware that the ecig was still feeding my addiction but was delighted to be 'smoke free'.

Feeling like I needed a little more support I joined this site and spent lots of time reading and learning from others posts (for this I am truly grateful to you all).

However some of the posts were incredibly anti ecig and I began to doubt my own quit and to not feel quite so good about my achievement. If you look around 1 week I posted my feelings. At that point the doubts and anti ecig comments could have so easily derailed me into thinking I was doing wrong anyway so why not cave in and have what I really wanted -a real fag. Not the posters intentions I'm sure but that was the effect.

Anyway, as I had planned I decreased the ecig use gradually and have now been completely CT for a week. I feel the ecig (with planning) really helped me.

My point is this - in those early, emotional, difficult, painful, upsetting days of a quit - day 1 to day 365 as far as I'm concerned - we should NOT be judgemental about anyone's methods - we should offer support, understanding, love and hugs ONLY.

We are all adults, we all know the facts, we are all trying to quit.

And well done to you all for that, trying alone makes you a star in my eyes.

Xx

Hi Tangled

Thanks for the support much appreciated! Keep up the good work also :) Big hugs xxxx

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Donna,

Not sure how all this drama started on this thread with you asking for help. People are a bit touchy about their nicotine in this neck of the woods.

I've tried quitting using alternative forms of nicotine, mostly just snus, never an eCig. I found that quitting was a little easier in the past using an alternative form because it really just wasn't as satisfying as smoking tobacco. So I would use snus for a while then just get tired of it and just let it go. Those quits only lasted a few weeks, and I'd have to say because I wasn't committed to quitting, but I did go a few weeks without nicotine or smoking tobacco. My current, and longest, quit is straight cold turkey.

The moral of the story is that the end result is always the same, use the method you need to quit and stay quit. Swapping one nicotine addiction for another isn't advisable, but you are healthier for not ingesting smoke and excessive amounts of chemicals. Best of luck to you during your quit. I hope that you can break this cycle and not feel so depressed and tortured any more.

-Tim

Thanks Tim all the best to you xx

P.s what are snus? Lol

nsd_user663_2681 profile image
nsd_user663_2681

Talk about making something out of nothing!

Fine maybe certain things i said were out of line, but i saw red when a person who, lets not beat around the bush here, IS SMOKING, is on here lashing out the should do's and should not do's to us unfortunate creatures who are actually going through withdrawal and bothering to try quit!

I never saw the like and why people are tolerating that is beyond me! its like some filthy rich guy living in his mansion with gold dripping from the walls telling the people struggling to make the rent every month that they need to share what can be spared with the starving orphans in africa!

Get off the limping donkey and actually try to quit and maybe then the advice about how to quit and what to do and not to do would be taken with a little more weight!

Huh!

Glad Donna wasnt scared off... and i stand by every word i said. It wasnt like she stood there jaw to the floor while i tore strips! there was a fair bit of lashing out at me done also... a break and a reality check is what that little girl needs... and to quit smoking once and for all... not quitting a forum for people who have quit smoking!!!!!! guess its my fault now that shes back on the fags. maybe i should change my username to eciggy!

Rightly or wrongly I totally agree with as I said its like a drunk person trying to educate an alcoholic.... No help whatsoever! Thanks again for your support you have been a massive help keep up the good work with ur quit xxx

nsd_user663_51052 profile image
nsd_user663_51052

I think you should come back whenever you want Gemma. There will always be disagreements on these forums.

I personally agreed with everything you said Gemma.

nsd_user663_53658 profile image
nsd_user663_53658

I agreed with you too Gemma, please come back. No-one should dictate who is welcome here and under what circumstances and at least you didn't make this personal :(

nsd_user663_53658 profile image
nsd_user663_53658

So did I, and Angry Bear, and Max, and Karri to name but a few. But for some reason it is only Gemma (the one most qualified to speak about e-cigs) who came under attack and despite having re-read the preceding posts several times I cannot find a single instance of aggressiveness in any of Gemma's posts that could possibly have even slightly justified Felic's comments. Prior to her comments Donna appeared to be agreeing with Gemma and grateful for her input. Am I the only one to find this strange?

Not at all, I find it amazing that this kind of hounding was allowed to be fair!

nsd_user663_40237 profile image
nsd_user663_40237

Snus are dry, spitless tobacco product that you place under your lip. It's an alternative to chewing tobacco that is much safer to use. It still carries some risk to your health though, as do all tobacco products. They come in all sorts of different flavors, and I enjoyed a few of them, but didn't really like having something in my mouth all the time.

The risk of becoming addicted is still a problem. I have a co-worker that gave up smoking a couple of years ago when he got married, but then started using chewing tobacco, and still does to this day because he's addicted to nicotine.

Think about it this way: Nicotine only stays in your system for 3 days, then your physical withdrawal goes away, after that it's about re-wiring your brain to live without nicotine. If you stop now, you should have very weak connections to the eCig and theoretically have a short withdrawal period since you quit for so long before.

I know how difficult it can be when dealing with depression and personal problems. I've been there and failed to quit several times. I used to know a guy that quit smoking after his divorce and he joked that it was easy now that he wasn't around his wife any more. Lol, it's funny but there is some truth to it. Unfortunately, quitting smoking only ADDS more stress and difficulty to our lives, and often times much more than we expect. I will tell you that after a while without nicotine it gets much better. I realize now that nicotine was only contributing to my moodiness and depressive episodes. I am much happier and healthier without it.

Looks like I've took it too far again. I'm sure you will get to where you want to be eventually. Just remember the sooner you start, the sooner you get there, and the sooner you can get on with your life.

nsd_user663_59305 profile image
nsd_user663_59305

But I for one am glad this drama has died down. Entertaining as it was im sure, stress is not something i need right now, 7 weeks into my quit.. this is the point where the cracks appear and i need to hold strong now and dig the heels in for the next few weeks.

So if gemma is reading, i do apologize but only for my flying off the handle as a result of seeing red - and i hope u do come back to us when you're ready as a non smoker!

Really?, why did you poke the thread then, not got enough entertainment in your life or do you need something stressful to feel wonderful about overcoming? and how on earth do you fly off the handle when typing a long, considered response? You are not apologising, you are using this thread to send thinly veiled insults. Wrong, just wrong:mad::mad::mad:

nsd_user663_3784 profile image
nsd_user663_3784

The thread has been closed due to the personal nature of the arguments.

I understand that there may have been an issue with the reporting mechanism yesterday and it would have been better to get in there early to nip it in the bud. If anyone did try to report it please let me know and we will ask the IT people to look into it so that it doesn't happen again. It does however appear to be working fine now.

The forum is here to support people who are quitting smoking, occasionally people have a short fuse and arguments happen. However we do not dole out instant bans or suspensions right left and centre, as to do so puts the person out of being able to get the support they may be needing.

Instead we discuss with people where they have over stepped the mark and request that they do not continue. If they do continue then we issue further warnings until the stage that a suspension or permanent ban is the only way forward.

We do not expect everyone to get along all the time and there is an ignore function so you don't have to read the posts of people who rub you up the wrong way. When tensions are raised its always sensible to take a moment to consider if its right to actually click the submit button and many times the best advice is just to walk away from the keyboard and calm down.

In this particular circumstance there always have been and always will be people about who feel that it is disingenuous for someone to offer advice about quitting while they themselves are still smoking, there have even been threads about whether the NHS should employ people who haven't smoked as cessation nurses! So we know that these are issues which generate "passionate" discussion.

That does not excuse the fact that there are comments in this thread which did overstep the mark, but we have now dealt with the situation. Nobody is going to be suspended or banned at this stage and nobody is obliged to stay away from the forum whether they are currently still smoking or have quit.

I trust that this clarifies the situation and our stance.

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