I quit smoking about 17 years ago and it was the best thing I could do for myself and family. 
After many tries and quit cold turkey.  If I can do it others can too!  I never thought I could.
 
I hope that e-cigs don't encourage the younger ones to jump to regular cigs. 
 
I just read there are 160K deaths related to smoking per year. That is a lot of pain and suffering.
 
I wish cigarettes were never invented!  I craved 'em.  I think it was an addition.  I am just so glad I stopped.

My friend started with the cartridges with nicotine and reduced the levels to nothing.  She still grabs the ecig now and then but not as much.  I think she smoked for the same reason people do things like bite fingernails.  It was a habit.  She was so used to having a cig in her mouth she felt lost without one and if nicotine was part of her habit is highly debatable.  I just know she seems to miss the habit despite not having had nicotine in over a year. The things she liked about the ecigs seemed odd.  She liked that the one she got actually felt more like smoke than most brands.  In a bizarre way she liked the irritating feeling in her throat.  Go figure.

.

So..  I haven't smoked a cig or taken any nico gum or electronics smokes or anything since the Wednesday right before thanksgiving of 2013...  I guess that is like, "40 days?  45 days?"  No tobacco..
 
Its not the first time I've quit.   The first time I ever gave any, "serious consideration to quitting," I was about 28.  I'm now 35...
 
Its takes tons of tries to quit.  The only thing that works for me is cold turkey...  I've tried it all, "gums, patches, pills, electro smokes, hypnotism, acupuncture."
 
The hardest part of cold turkey is weeks zero - four, with the absolute worst being days zero - three, and then its all down hill...

But the first 72 hours of cold turkey?  OMG, I go frikking bonkers!!  

bapu
Just read article that said many cities are now bnning e-cigs in public places. Citing the "belief" that the vapor still contains enough nicotine to be harmful to second hand breathers.

There is no data that nicotine exposure from inhalation of secondary smoke is harmful. Nicotine is addictive and a potent enough stimulant to be used as a poison in dart guns and insecticide, but most of the well known adverse health effects of tobacco smoke are probably not the result of nicotine, but of the hundreds of other chemicals, including known carcinogens, that are in the smoke. Unfortunately, the vapor from e-cigs is not pure nicotine, so it may be a while before we know what the health effects of vaping are.

I have an electronic cig set up & I will say that I have very mixed feelings about it ….
I don't find it cost effective at all ….when I add up the cost of the juice and the filters …
the setup I have has a short battery life before it needs a charge (only a couple of hours )
I'm sure not saving any money by using it ...I got forced into having to get one ( this expensive piece of **** ) because the apartment complex where I live went non smoking a couple of years ago …..
according to my lease I'm not allowed to even smoke a cig in my own apartment .
I would move if I could ….. apparently the town I live in and the whole surrounding geo area have made it policy not to allow smoking period ...
 
for the record ….
I'm OK w not smoking in all the usual public places where people congregate , the work place, stores , schools , church , libraries , bars , restaurants, playgrounds, …ect ect...
 
in the privacy of my own effing home …Yeah right ….
 
rant over …..
 
Kenny
 

kev11111111111111

SongCraft

bapu
Just read article that said many cities are now bnning e-cigs in public places. Citing the "belief" that the vapor still contains enough nicotine to be harmful to second hand breathers.

{doh} Almost all but maybe one or two ecig companies also provide zero nicotine. But I guess extreme prejudice, lies and injustice are all typical human traits.
 
Since ecigs can contain very little to zero nicotine and about 4,000 less chemicals compared to traditional smokes. Ecigs would be ideal to get smokers to quit but due to above said and I guess some pharmaceutical companies would love to see these much cheaper ecigs banned. For example: it costs about $200 for a pack of pharmaceutical vapor 'quit smoking aid' and duh -- these contain nicotine.  
 
Top ecig brands are for example; Vcigs, Premium, WhiteCloud, Green and Southbeach. Other brands such as; BluCigs, Clear and Njoy are lame by comparison.  Non-nicotine ecigs have a sweet taste with artificial tobacco flavor, like popular foods snacks that contain artificial flavors.  Most brands offer other flavors such as mint, vanilla, chocolate, cherry and of course menthol.  Top brands provide a 'very satisfactory and longer lasting product', most batteries will last 8 to 12 hours but require about 4 hours to charge (especially for a larger battery). Some brands (batteries) have a lifetime warranty or at least a one year warranty. Typical issues; faulty batteries and very short life; often die without warning -- best to have at least two spare batteries. The above top brands provide two or three chargers: USB, Home and for the Car. 
 

 
 This might be a silly question,but whats the point in e ciggies without the nicotine ?? I mean its the nicotine that makes you 'crave' to smoke isnt it ? For me the whole point isnt to totally overcome my addiction,all I want to do for now is say stop smoking after say 8pm and replace the cigs with e cigs. If there werent any nicotine in the e cigs I'd prob go nuts !!!!! Thks for the pointers on brands anyway. I'm using Nicolites,I havent started them yet,but I'm planning to give it a go this evening.
Happy New Year !

I guess the idea is to take it in 'gradual steps': Start with full strength, then medium, then low, then finally down to zero nicotine. Tobacco based liquids usually contain mostly water for ''example''; estimate about 95% (more or less) of water, the rest is vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol followed by nicotine (from zero % to 1.2, 1.6. 1.8. 2.4) 
 
In regards to zero nicotine filter cartridges; You still get the 'flavor' and the 'vapor hit' but of course zero nicotine will not completely satisfy hardcore addicts.
 
I have used ecigs for about 4 years, I have tried more than 6 brands and use several, I prefer the convenience of pre-fills filter cartridges and larger batteries that have a good lifetime warranty and filter cartridge replacement policy; I have had at least 8 free battery replacements including delivery at no cost to me. I have also had unopened filter cartridges replaced. 
 
 
Since I quite smoking, I can breath and sing a lot better; my sense of smell and taste is has come back. My breath and body does not smell like a dirty old astray and I'm not dropping hot ash anywhere or distributing second-hand smoke to others. Funny thing is, I can way more easily smell someone who is indeed a smoker (either that or they must be subjected to massive amounts of second-hand smoke lol); {ahem} not good if a smoker attends a job interview then claims not to smoke at all --- I don't think body cologne and mouth full of mint chews will do, maybe unless one can explain that he/she lives with a large group of 5 pack a day smokers {cough} {cough} :P 
 
I can't recommend just 'one' particular brand since there are various good ones out there that will do; it's a matter of personal taste and preference for either auto or manual batteries, larger or smaller, choice of battery colors (although some brands only offer white batteries with red led lights), and filter cartridges that are pre-filled or manually filled, flavor, taste and vapor hit and of course the company warranty, returns and replacement policy. 
 
Good luck and Happy New Year. 

The following is from the American Lung Association.  They know all about smoking:
http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/health-effects/smoking.html
 
I hope all of you that want to quit will do so now.  Don't wait.  Just quit and start to recover.  It's one of the hardest things you will go through but it is all worth it.  Don't delay.  Just do it.  May the force be with you!

Smoking

Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease and death worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim over 393,000 American lives each year. Smoking cost the United States over $193 billion in 2004, including $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in direct health care expenditures, or an average of $4,260 per adult smoker.¹

Key Facts About Smoking

• Cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer. Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80-90 percent of COPD (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) deaths.²
• Among adults who have ever smoked, 70% started smoking regularly at age 18 or younger, and 86% at age 21 or younger.³
• Among current smokers, chronic lung disease accounts for 73 percent of smoking-related conditions. Even among smokers who have quit chronic lung disease accounts for 50 percent of smoking-related conditions.⁴
• Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body, and is a main cause of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema). It is also a cause of coronary heart disease, stroke and a host of other cancers and diseases.⁵

Smoking Rates Among Adults & Youth

• In 2009, an estimated 46.6 million, or 20.6 percent of adults (aged 18+) were current smokers.⁶
• Men tend to smoke more than women. In 2009, 23.5 percent of men currently smoked compared to 17.9 percent of females.⁷
• Prevalence of current smoking in 2009 was highest among non-Hispanic whites (22.2%) intermediate among non-Hispanic blacks (21.3%), and lowest among Hispanics (14.5%) and Asians (12.0%).⁸
• In 2009, 19.5 percent of high school students were current smokers.⁹ Over 5 percent of middle school students were current smokers in 2009.¹⁰

Smoking During Pregnancy

• Smoking in pregnancy accounts for an estimated 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies, up to 14 percent of preterm deliveries, and some 10 percent of all infant deaths. Even apparently healthy, full-term babies of smokers have been found to be born with narrowed airways and reduced lung function.¹¹
• In 2005, 10.7 percent of all women smoked during pregnancy, down almost 45 percent from 1990.¹²
• Neonatal health-care costs attributable to maternal smoking in the U.S. have been estimated at $366 million per year, or $704 per maternal smoker.¹³

Facts About Quitting Smoking

• Nicotine is the ingredient in cigarettes that causes addiction. Smokers not only become physically addicted to nicotine; they also link smoking with many social activities, making smoking an extremely difficult addiction to break.14
• In 2009, an estimated 49.9 million adults were former smokers. Of the 46.6 million current adult smokers, 46.7 percent stopped smoking at least 1 day in the preceding year because they were trying to quit smoking completely.¹⁵
• Quitting smoking often requires multiple attempts. Using counseling or medication alone increases the chance of a quit attempt being successful; the combination of both is even more effective.¹⁶
• There are seven medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to aid in quitting smoking. Nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges are available over-the-counter, and a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler are currently available by prescription. Buproprion SR (Zyban) and varenicline (Chantix) are non-nicotine pills.¹⁷
• Individual, group and telephone counseling are effective. Telephone quitline counseling is widely available and is effective for many different groups of smokers.¹⁸

kennywtelejazz
I have an electronic cig set up & I will say that I have very mixed feelings about it ….
I don't find it cost effective at all ….when I add up the cost of the juice and the filters …
the setup I have has a short battery life before it needs a charge (only a couple of hours )
I'm sure not saving any money by using it ...I got forced into having to get one ( this expensive piece of **** ) because the apartment complex where I live went non smoking a couple of years ago …..
according to my lease I'm not allowed to even smoke a cig in my own apartment .
I would move if I could ….. apparently the town I live in and the whole surrounding geo area have made it policy not to allow smoking period ...
 
for the record ….
I'm OK w not smoking in all the usual public places where people congregate , the work place, stores , schools , church , libraries , bars , restaurants, playgrounds, …ect ect...
 
in the privacy of my own effing home …Yeah right ….
 
rant over …..
 
Kenny
 

Kenny. There are better alternatives. 

timidi

kennywtelejazz
I have an electronic cig set up & I will say that I have very mixed feelings about it ….
I don't find it cost effective at all ….when I add up the cost of the juice and the filters …
the setup I have has a short battery life before it needs a charge (only a couple of hours )
I'm sure not saving any money by using it ...I got forced into having to get one ( this expensive piece of **** ) because the apartment complex where I live went non smoking a couple of years ago …..
according to my lease I'm not allowed to even smoke a cig in my own apartment .
I would move if I could ….. apparently the town I live in and the whole surrounding geo area have made it policy not to allow smoking period ...
 
for the record ….
I'm OK w not smoking in all the usual public places where people congregate , the work place, stores , schools , church , libraries , bars , restaurants, playgrounds, …ect ect...
 
in the privacy of my own effing home …Yeah right ….
 
rant over …..
 
Kenny
 

Kenny. There are better alternatives. 

 
OK , I'm all ears ,  what do you suggest  ? 
 
Kenny