My e-Cigarette Experiences…

Posts Tagged ‘smoking’

Well, the Blogs have been quiet, but my life certainly hasn’t.  But I thought I would toss out a quick howdy to those of you that are still following and bring you up to date with the latest.  Yes…  I’ve had a few little cigars lately, but only as a sort of guilty pleasure.  I have NOT had any brand of standard cigarette.  Not one.  In the whole time I’ve been on the e-cigs I can honestly say I’ve consumed less than the equivalent of a full pack of cigarettes in tobacco products, which is a massive improvement for me.  This time of year, for a range of reasons, I would be up to 30 cigarettes daily and now I’m only at a flavoured cigarillo or Captain Black Sweet tipped and dipped cigar every few days.  The rest of the time I am vaping and still quite happy to be doing so. 

I’m placing the order for my E9 tonight and going for the larger format.  The E8 has been nice, but it still feels a little weak and I’m hoping that the larger batteries and cartomizers will produce that little extra hit that will make it feel more like the real thing for those times when I REALLY want a smoke.  So far, I’ve been able to kick those cravings by taking several hits off the E8, but I think that the E9 might make it a little easier.  Here’s hoping!  And of course, you’ll be the first to read about it here when I get my kit and give them a comparative test against each other.

So besides being INSANELY busy these past couple of weeks, I’m still vaping and still alive…  and actually planning to stay that way for a LONG time to come.

cheers!  and Happy Vaping!

It seems that there is a down side to the whole e-cig thing… for me anyway.  I’ve noticed that I am actually experiencing some weight gain.  Now…  before you run out and buy a pack of analogs keep reading!  In the past year and a bit, I’ve been able to restore myself to my target weight range, and this for the first time in nearly twenty years.  So I can’t say for sure that this weight gain is entirely due to the change in my smoking habits, but I have historically gained measurably when I’ve quit or tried to in the past.  So it’s a logical thing to assume that this gain is related.  But the other thing to note is that after a whole month away from tobacco, I’m usually somewhat heavier than I am this time, so the gain is not that severe.  In fact, so far, I’m only up ten pounds which is a great deal less than I’ve gained in the past.  So I’m going to take some measures to attempt to lower that weight gain and get back into the target range that I’ve set for myself… and lose that ten pounds again before this gets to be a bigger problem then it needs to be.  But I feel you need to know this part of my experience as well as the good stuff, so that you’re prepared if you’re still burning tobacco and thinking about going over to the e-cigs.

The action plan that I have at the moment is a short (5 day) juice fast to cleanse and purge the system and hopefully shift the scales back in my favour once again (pun intended).  For those of you that have made the switch, I’d be interested to know if you’ve also gained, and to what extent compared to your past experiences with other methods of tobacco reduction.

As always – there’s more coming soon so be sure to stay tuned.

Happy Vaping!

njw

Well, it’s been over a month.  I’ve set a new record for going the course without a whole analog cigarette!  I’ve gone weeks in the past, but usually with a few smokes along the way, and by this point I’m back up to several per day with every other attempt to quit in the past.  But with e-cigs, yes, I’ve had a few cigarillos (4 in the whole month) but I’m happy to say that I am still not bound to run out and pick up a pack or cigarettes.  So they really ARE working!  And yes, I will continue to use my e-cigs.  Now to the frustration…

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I’ve got a day job that I’ve been on vacation from for a couple of weeks, so there are several people that have not seen me since the first few days that I’ve been vaping instead of smoking.  On my return to work this week, I’ve had a few of those people do a double take and tell me that I actually LOOK healthier!  Younger, and with better skin tone than when they saw me last – just a couple of weeks ago.  Now if that’s not a point in favour of kicking the tobacco habit and getting an e-cig kit, then I don’t know what is!  I really just wanted to share this one with you.  The other point of note here is that I have returned to work – and even after 2 full days of the increased stresses of the day job, I’m happy to report that I am still finding all of the satisfaction that I need from a few puffs of my E8, and have not reverted back to analogs.  It’s been twenty-five days now, and I’m just starting to work on the cartridges I ordered and received last week. 

On another note, I have decided that my next order will be an E9.  I think that the slightly larger batteries, and the larger cartomizers might make the entire experience that little bit better, and of course I will be reporting my comparison between the two different models once I have some time with them both.  The one point that I think will be of greatest interest to me is that the E9 cartridges are larger, and hold more juice, so only come 4 to a box rather than 5, but still equal about the same amount of vaping pleasure.  Fewer changes mean even more likely that I will get a full day or more out of each cartridge as I’m finding that I am using about one and a half cartridges per day on the E8.  The other thing I think I’ll like is that the E9 comes with a blue tip option that the E8 doesn’t offer.  I think that the blue tip will make my public use of the E-cig even more interesting to those around me rather than raising the odd concern with the orange tip.

As always… stay tuned for the latest reviews, thoughts and experiences, and of course GET YOUR E-CIG KIT ordered asap and get off those analogs that ARE killing you.

Happy Vaping!

Well… I’ve done something that I’ve only been able to say a few times in the past 30 years…  I’ve not have a full tobacco cigarette in three weeks!  Sure… I’ve tempted fate with puff or two here and there, always when surrounded by a mass of smokers, but it’s just not the same anymore.  In fact, even the treat that I’ve enjoyed from time to time in the form of a Captain Black Sweet cigar is no longer the same pleasure.  They all taste terrible!  I really have to wonder how we ‘train’ ourselves to find pleasure in that experience to begin with?

So at three weeks, I no longer carry a lighter with me.  Food and drink taste better.  I can walk MUCH further without feeling like my chest is compressed.  I smell better.  My skin looks better (so I’m told).  And I am actually saving about half of what I used to spend on tobacco (perhaps more).  So I have to say that it’s been a great experience so far.

And a quick suggestion – whatever brand you’re going to buy – I recommend that you get a different color for each flavour if it’s possible.  With the E8/E9 from e-cig.com you can get a variety of different colors for the cartridges, and I find that having a black Menthol and Brown Cherry makes flavour selections much easier especially in the club or on the run.  And of course, since both of these use Cartomizers (disposable atomizers that are built into the cartridges) you can change flavour quickly by just changing the cartridge. 

Vape On!

As the three week mark approaches, I feel that the time is now for me to conduct a more complete review of the E8 model electronic cigarette starter kit that I ordered from e-cig.com.  After a lot of consideration of various models, and a number of false starts, I was finally able to get a product that sounded good in principle, and could actually deliver to my Canadian address.  I’m even happier to report that it looks like my second order will make it through Customs as well, having released this morning, and I expect it to arrive tomorrow (August 13).

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Yes, I got the confirmation and tracking number today via email, telling me that the order I placed on Thursday night (Friday Morning actually) is already processed, packed and on its way from China.  Another great performance from my vendor.  And while I’m bragging about them, I’d like to point out a couple of VERY important things that seem to have been lost in translation in the short history of my e-cig blog.

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Yes folks… 16 days since my departure from the use of analog (tobacco) cigarettes.  That’s about $144 ago, and I’m still working on my $150 starter kit.  Tomorrow at noon, I’ll have reached the point where my smoking habit would have cost what my starter kit did (with 43 Cartridges) and I still have 10 full cartridges left which I now estimate will last me about 8 or 9 days.  I’ve also placed my second order from my supplier (see link on the sidebar) for another 40 cartridges, or about 32 to 35 days based on my current usage, for a total cost of $90 CDN landed!  It works out to about $3 per day compared to $9, or a 67% savings over analogs.  And it’s healthier!  So what’s this about the Dressage show? 

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On my 11 day post I commented on a lesson I had learned.  Here I am two days and two (yes, only 2) cartridges after that lesson.  I have noticed that a soft draw, and less frequent draws, helps to keep my E8 working very nicely.  I’ve been enjoying the flavour more, and have no more problems with ‘burnt’ tastes.  And…  both of my batteries are running far longer than it takes to charge either of them.  So it really does come down to how one uses the device when we are measuring performance, and the kicker is that many of the reviews I’ve seen and read are based on situations like mine, where I’ve gone from analog to e-cig and reported bad results after short term use.  I suspect that many of the problems people are having is as much user error as product failure.  It DOES take time to adjust to these, but they still feel like smoking!

What I am actually saying here is that 3 days ago I was shopping for another model of e-cig and ready to toss my E8 in the trash.  Today…  I just ordered another 40 cartridges from e-cig.com to go through to September.  And I have ordered Cherry and Menthol cartridges mainly – they offer a nice flavour and a smoother taste while also leaving a very subtle scent behind them that people around me have described as pleasant.

Oh…  and I’ve almost forgot to share something important with you.  I’ve actually vaped in a couple of pubs and malls!  It certainly draws attention but once people realize what you’re doing they want to know more.  So setup that affiliate account with your vendor of choice and get some cards made up to send people to your link.  You might as well join in and make some little bit of money helping people get healthier!

Well…  the trip to the asylum is seemingly shorter with each passing day.  I was reading some of the recent news and discussion around e-cigs and found a number of choice articles out there in the recent news.  One reports of legislature pendingthat will force e-cig users (vapers) to join analog smokers in designated smoking areas.  So…  it’s better for all parties if we take those of us that are trying to avoid tobacco smoke and put us in right back into the second hand smoke of a smoking pit?!  Or the article that reports that PayPal are dropping accounts of vendors that are selling e-cigs in the US.  Or my personal favourite - this one you just HAVE to read!  I don’t want you thinking I’m crazy when I tell you that seven of the loudest and most widely recognized anti-smoking associations are actually telling people to use analog tobacco cigarettes over e-cigs – even with clear evidence of the existence of 57 KNOWN DEADLY substances in tobacco smoke that ARE NOT FOUND in e-cigs!  But please… don’t take my word for it!

On the upside of this though, I did find an article that speaks in favour of the e-cig, and speaks of results of a small study into the effectiveness of e-cigs to quit smoking. At least there are some studies starting to show results out there, so there’s certainly hope that we’ll continue to see e-cigs grow in popularity.  Meanwhile – I KNOW they work and are healthier than analogs.  I’m vaping and I’m finding that I don’t get winded as quickly, and I still get my nicotine when I need it.  I feel great and I’m happy… what could be better!?