Please talk to me about e-cigarettes?

[desertslave]

I'm a proud non-smoker since 1986 (quit after 10 years). Master, OTOH, has been on and off for many more years. He quit for over a year about 6 years ago, but told me he had cravings every day.

I won't go into details without his permission, but I think it's okay to say that his health has been significantly impacted, as well as our household budget. Today my best friend called me for our monthly chat, and told me to tell Himself about her and her husband's success with e-cigs (2 months and counting).

So this is for both our benefits. Please share whatever insights, tips or recommendations you might have to help him have success in transitioning away from regular cigs to e-cigs. It means the world to me to be able to keep him around as long (and as well) as possible.

 

[seela]

My brother quit smoking and started to use e-cigs and nicotine gum. Quitting the e-cigs and nicotine gum was a couple of months' project for him, and now he's been nicotine free for close to 5 years. He had smoked for over 10 years at that point. He had tried with nicotine replacement products before and it hadn't worked.

Lately there have been a lot of articles in the media about e-cigs and their impact on health, how we really don't know enough about them to say one thing or another. At least here the health workers recommend using traditional nicotine replacement products when quitting. But like I said, my brother quit using a combination of the two and that's what worked for him.

 

[DVS]

I'm not a smoker, never have been, but it seems to me that e-cigarettes would be a step in the right direction from the standard cigarettes. From what I've heard, the ingredient in them is only nicotine and the other very nasty additives aren't there. Cigarettes themselves have not only nicotine, but other very harmful chemicals that make them a lot worse, if you ask me. And another thing that seems to be better is it's a mist and not actual smoke, so there is no smoke going into your lungs.

Now it's true that they are so new there isn't enough data to know if they have their own harmful side effects or if they are even worse than cigarettes. But, in my own opinion and I must say I am NOT a doctor and don't know anything other than what I've seen on their commercials, etc. but if nothing else, can they really be worse than cigarettes?

(1) no smoke, so you should be able to smoke in restaurants and around other people. I saw a man smoking one in a Walmart the other day. I didn't smell any smoke at all. I can smell cigarette smoke very easily, because I don't smoke, myself. If I hadn't seen him, I wouldn't have even known he had been there.

(2) none of the other harmful chemical additives that regular cigarettes have, in addition to the nicotine. They say just nicotine is in that cartridge. There's no smoke, just a mist. No fire, so no tars, either. That black tar is very bad for your lungs.

(3) I don't know for sure, but it seems it would also be cheaper, but maybe I'm wrong on that.

(4) even though I don't smoke, I've always thought that smokers are treated like second class citizens in the work place and forced to hang out in places that literally reek of the stuff, when they take a smoke break. I think just being in those rooms is as hazardous as smoking itself.

I remember once wanting a Pepsi and the non smoking lounge machine was empty. I went into the smoking lounge and got one and the can tasted rancid from the smoke that always filled the room. I had to find a glass to pour the Pepsi in, because that taste couldn't be washed off of the can.

Some smokers don't even have a room to smoke in and have to go outside. So, in the winter, they huddle together to keep warm, in some open area that's not even sheltered from wind. It's very indignant, if you ask me and all because they have a habit that they can't break away from.

(5) a lot of companies are now smoke free establishments which means you can't even smoke on the property. They don't even offer a place for smokers to smoke. That has to be difficult for some to handle. And more and more you see smokers not allowed to smoke, because it offends non-smokers, and because smokers are fast becoming the minority, their rights to smoke are going away.

I don't know if these things are any better or not. Like I said...all I've seen is their commercials, for the most part. But, if the commercials are true and all that's in them is the nicotine and it's supplied in a mist that has no smell to it, maybe it's a way to quit with dignity, instead of trying cold turkey or a patch or whatever. With a patch, you still smoke some and are treated as an outcast, even though you are trying to quit.

If these e-cigarettes help you to eventually quit, that should be a big plus, if you ask me. You don't smell like an ash tray, you aren't treated like a second class citizen and you still get your nicotine fix.

Like any other drug...if you are around others who smoke, I think it makes it difficult for you to not smoke. So, if you don't have to hang out in a smoke filled room or out in the cold, I'd think you are less likely to have the desire to smoke, if only from the force of repetition.

I knew a woman who smoked and there were many times when she smoked just because of the habit, and not because she craved a cigarette. She smoked after dinner, she smoked when she got in the car and she smoked in other situations just because of a habit. Once she was conscious of this habit, she was able to cut her smoking in half because she could tell when she really didn't NEED a cigarette, but it was the habit of getting into the car or after dinner that made her grab a cigarette.

Whatever you decide, good luck. I know it isn't easy to quit smoking and I also know that a lot of that isn't just the nicotine addiction but the addiction to the other chemicals in those things. Maybe the e-cigarettes would be a step in the right direction to quitting and also thinking about the occasions when you just light up because you always smoke in the car or something like that.

Sorry for the length of this. I sometimes get carried away with my posts.

 

[bhndblueyes88]

I think e-cigs are definitely a step in the right direction. It can't hurt to try and I feel like the worst that can happen is that you maintain an expensive habit and nicotine addiction, but without the health issues of inhaling a shit ton of smoke and chemical additives.

A short bit of general advice as well, if you two are interested. Based on my observations of friends/family quitting (I have never smoked), it becomes important to figure out why a smoker smokes and things that makes them want a cigarette.

For example, my fiance would easily go through his nicotine withdrawal and never reach for a cigarette again...until he was drinking around friends who were smoking. For him, smoking was connected directly to drinking and as a social activity. Once he recognized these triggers, he found ways to combat them. Similarly, you'll see plenty of people talking about learning to use meditation and exercise to relax instead of cigarettes when they're stressed, people who develop gum habits or pen-twiddling habits because they smoked to be "busy". Some people gain weight when they quit smoking because they eat instead of smoke (either for stress reasons or a need to be "busy").

If you can't go cold turkey, it's all about what you're going to "Trade" for cigarettes. Some people can do a direct one-to-one trade (eg. cigarettes to meditation). Some people have to take steps (which is the whole idea of nicotine replacement therapy). It only makes sense that e-cigs can be part of those steps.


And I tell you what, as someone with asthma and a family history of lung cancer, I'm SUPER thankful for everyone who decides to smoke an e-cig in public instead of a tobacco product. Second hand smoke is SHIT. xP

 

[desertslave]

Just a quick reply about the expense. E-cigs, once the unit is purchased, are very inexpensive to maintain. My BF, who recommended this, says she had smoked about 3/4 of a pack a day. She currently consumes one 10 ml bottle of liquid over 2 weeks. Those bottles cost about $8-10. If it works out similarly for Sir, that would only be $20/month, vs the roughly $160 he spends on cigarettes (and that's at a deep discount when we get to the AFB on the other side of town--so add in a 100 mile round trip to even obtain the cigs). The E-cig units vary in price, but seem to be roughly $40-80. The only other consumable is the occasional battery replacement. So, the e-cigs are tremendously economical.

Then add in the presumed decrease in doctor visits, medications and treatments as his lungs begin to heal...It's pretty exciting, actually.

 

[Endless_Night]

I have never smoked myself, but my partner's mother used them for a while. She had trouble with the battery. Apparently it wouldn't hold a charge for long. However, this was a few years back, when they first became popular. No doubt improvements have been made.

On a more positive note, she said the vapor definitely assuaged her nicotine cravings.