Quit Smoking?
I live in a world where the need to quit smoking is both great and very real. I was browsing Facebook today and came across an article by a university. What is interesting is that it comes from the USA, a place where states have now implimented vaping bans whereas smoking is still a negotiable instrument of destruction. Say what? Yes, it’s all wrong but BIG money talks!
The article in question in titles "Want to quit smoking? Try an e-cigarette"
So, you want to quit smoking. There is no doubt that the facts prove the following:
- Stopping and NOT using any replacement, including e-cigarettes is the first prize. Do not doubt this, it’s a fact!
- Stopping with no aid at all is possible but not easy. In some cases, we are not strong enough to do this.
- Chewing nicotine gum is pretty decent at supplying nicotine and is a great tool to help you quit.
- Patches and other similar treaments work in a similar fashion to chewing gum.
So where does vaping fit in?
The truth is, vaping is a means to supplying a nicotine fix but seriously, we have seen so many of our friends reduce their nicotine intake to virtually nil that it seems we are missing an important point. Vaping is the only tool that addresses the HABIT! That’s why I vape. I need that thingy in my hand that I can pick and puff. It is part of my coffee ritual in the morning or part of standing at the braai (barbeque for the outlanders LOL). It addresses the need to have something that keeps you busy. Don’t ask me how it works but I know people who candidly admit that they feel lost if they don’t have something to hold in their hand. I’m one of them!
Vaping and the Hubbly world
Hookah is an ancient and cultural pleasure. It does however have its own risks. Consider the chemicals used to create the hookah charcoal briquette. Ouch! Then we consider that a typical hookah session with a tobacco product actually produces as much as a pack of 20 cigarettes (I looked it up and suggest you don’t simply believe me, do some research too). The newer vape devices and there huge plumes of vapor are ideal switches for giving up hookah use. Vape Devices with a zero nicotine juice. Vape juice contains food safe flavors with food grade (water soluble too) Vegetable Glycerine and Propylene Glycol, a food safe product with some anti bacterial properties. Seriously, this is bad compared to burning soaked charcoal and inhaling the fumes?
How to give up smoking with an E-Cigarette or a Vape Device
It’s not difficult. For the smoker who merely wants to quit, you buy a Pod device which is somewhat similar in the way it draws to a cigarette. It has a tight airflow, it does not produce huge clouds of vapor, and most of all, it uses a thin mixture that contains a high level of nicotine. These Pod devices use very little vape juice in a day. Typically, we see use of between 1,5ml and 3ml per day. Nicotine levels are high so that one or two puffs settle down that nicotine craving quickly and effectively. Then your objective is to slowly wean yourself down the nicotine chain until there is no need to puff nicotine any more. If you need the habit (the goody to hold in your hand), you still have it, only no or very low nicotine.
For the smoker or the hookah user, the vape kits produce much bigger volumes of vapor. The need for a high nicotine level is hugely reduced. You would possibly need a nicotine strength that is a quarter that of an e-cigarette to stop. It’s quite common for users to buy 1 or 2 bottles of 6mg vape juice and then to drop to 3mg. Most shops now carry juices that are 2mg as well. I personally use 1mg mixes that I make for my own use. The obvious factor here is cost. Bigger devices, more battery power, bigger coils, and big vapor. You will use way more juice. Some guys use 15ml per day, some even more. The norm is a bit less though. Overall, it’s quite a bit more costly.
Personal Experience
I have totally spent a lot of money on my vape stuff but the offset is scary good.
- But, I spend less on juice and coils than I did on cigarettes
- And, I now go to Doctors for normal annual check ups and not for Pneumonia or Bronchitis
- At nights I can fall asleep without hearing my breath rattle around in my lungs
- In the morning I wake up without having to cough a ton of phlegm up before being able to talk
- I can sing (badly and loudly) in my car without launching a coughing fit
- Life is much more fun when you feel healthy
- My house smells so much better (my car too)
- I can taste the delicious food I eat so, sadly, I now eat too much
Children – The Under 18 Scene
Well, studies seem to indicate little or no 2nd hand vapor risks. That said, I still say you should not vape in front of children. It is, besides a risk, also an advert for vaping and that is not preferable. However, as an owner of a vape store, I have news for the authorities. We do NOT make flavors to appeal to children. We make flavors that appeal to the child in us. Adults have a taste for flavor too and as adults, some like watermelon, some like strawberry. Not every adult likes a tobacco flavor. Why discriminate and enforce your will on us? We also don’t peddle nostalgia to convert tobacco free people to vaping. As shop owners we market to smokers and hubbly (hookah) users with a message that this is an aid to quitting. When it comes to actual children, the weirdest thing we have ever seen is a 14 year old dragged in by a Mom and Dad who were begging for help. He was smoking 60 cigarettes per day. We would not sell to him of course but his Dad bought a device and juice and this young man was given a chance to quit.
G-Man – The Government
Mr G-Man, do you really think that candy canes or strawberry ice cream are the reason little Johnny started vaping? Not a chance! It was peer pressure. The same peer pressure that started us smoking before vaping was around. Trust me, peppermint or cherry flavored cigarettes did not convert me, peer pressure did. Advertising on main stream TV and in the Movies may have helped but it was peer pressure. After action satisfaction, how can I ever forget those words… Those were outright lies. Are we telling lies here?
That will never be our message. Vaping is NOT healthy or good for you. It is however WAY WAY WAY safer than smoking or using a hooka. We understand you need your donations from big tobacco. We understand that the big pharmaceutical businesses are losing fortunes due to less medical reliance by the vaping public. Frankly, we understand that smoking pays lots of bills. Guys, get your head around this, we don’t want to die so that you can drive your fancy car…
