Cyanide? Not really my style. If it ever comes to that, I’m thinking high explosives.
Some try to leave a pretty corpse, some leave a mess to be cleaned up.
As far as vaping not being an older person’s thing, that’s entirely possible. Most of the nicotine users in my age group smoke rather than vape. I try to get people to switch, but they are stuck in their ways. I’ve always been a bit flexible, so the fact that vaping isn’t exactly the same as smoking doesn’t bother me.
That doesn’t mean that that trend will continue. I understand the reason for being resistant to switching to vapes from cigs, but there are not many who would do the opposite. If you like vaping, then why would you switch to a form of nicotine intake that is as inconvenient, expensive, harmful, and stinky as actual burning tobacco?
Kids are going to get into nicotine, there’s really no stopping that. I did, and all my friends did when I was in my teens. It would have been better if at that point, I had gotten into vaping, as it would have avoided 20 years of smoking damage to my body, and wouldn’t have had to deal with the transition to vaping.
I stopped at a bar/restaurant last night and one of the cooks was outside having a smoke. He lit up, took two quick drags, then put the cig out and back into the pack. That was all the time he had.
Later, when things were slow, I asked him if vaping wouldn’t be easier. He agreed, but said vaping wasn’t the same as smoking. He couldn’t explain, other than he has tried vaping and prefers to smoke a cigarette.
I think that’s a fine attitude to have, but you currently have the control to make sure your quality of life is good as long as possible. Smoking degrades your body in many ways that means your quality of life will go down much quicker than it would otherwise. It’s not like you’ll be totally healthy and then drop dead from smoking. As you get older, you’ll be degrading much quicker. You’ll have trouble doing things that are part of normal life, such as breathing, walking around, being active, etc. And you’re putting yourself at greater risk of stroke. If you have a stroke, you may not have the ability to control the situation anymore. You could lose your mobility and ability to communicate, which means you’ll end up lying in bed until your body finally gives out.
So while you still have your control and wits about you, think about how you’ll feel on that day in the future when you’ve decided your quality of life is too low. Will you look back fondly on the years you smoked even though they brought you to that point quicker? Or will you wish you had quit (or vaped) so that you had more years to enjoy?
I think many of the smokers who tried an ecig and “it just wasn’t the same” were probably using the very weak convenience store types of ecig. No ecig is really “the same”, but there are many that come close enough that millions of people around the world have quit smoking by using them.
I dabbled with those “cig-a-like” types early on while continuing to smoke. It was when I got my hands on a more powerful setup that I just accidently quit smoking; that is a very common thing.
For those who are willing to do some experimenting, I suggest finding a local vape shop. Unfortunately, many vape shops are going the route of “cloud chasers” and “sport vapers” and don’t cater much to the “quit smoking” clientele, so you may have to try more than one shop or do your research online. You don’t want a high-powered build your own coils Direct to Lung (DTL) device – you want a simple Mouth to Lung (MTL) device.
For those who have tried the cig-a-like types and didn’t thinkk much of them, there is one device widely available in convenience stores that may change your mind about ecigs. It will cost you about $50 but I really think it will show you that ecigs can be a real thing. They’re expensive to use because the refills are expensive and I only recommend them as a demonstration that ecigs can work well – try it, then look for a better, less expensive to use device.
I used to spend over $450 a month on cigarettes. Now I spend about $13 a month on ecigs (and that does include buying the devices coils, batteries, etc., as well as the juice.) And I didn’t gain weight and never experienced any cravings when quitting smoking.
This is a very good point as well. Even if not worried about quality of life due to health, what about quality of life due to money?
To be fair, I tried the “it’s so much cheaper” line on my friends, and they mostly didn’t bite either.
I don’t think any of us have that kind of control. We just convince ourselves that we do, to keep us from going mad. There are a thousand ways that someones quality of life could go to shit tomorrow that they have zero control over. Quitting smoking will stack the deck slightly in your favor, but that still leaves 999 ways that it could all go to hell. You play the game, you take your chances.
As for the overwhelmingly patronizing “you’ll regret it on your deathbed” argument, let me respond appropriately with a loud and clear Bronx cheer that smells suspiciously like tobacco smoke.
I can eat at McDonalds for far cheaper than eating at a good steakhouse. Do you think that if I ate only at McDonalds for the rest of my life, I would have a higher quality of life because I’d have more money?
Crazy Canuck, here’s what I think.
I think you’re lying to yourself. You’re just addicted, and it would be mildly difficult to switch away from cigarettes, and so you make excuses.
If you really cared about short-term lifestyle over mid term results (short-term = the next few years, mid term = when you are getting old, obviously long term is probably death unless you do cryonics and it works or very large advances in medical science get made), why aren’t you a criminal?
I bet it really, really exciting being a criminal. Case out rich people and rob them or start a drug empire. Sure, you’ll at best only have a few good years then either get caught or killed, but you say you don’t care about that.
Or join the French Foreign legion (if they would have you). Being in combat is supposed to be a thrill like nothing else.
Hell, why don’t you base jump every tall building?
There are a lot of genuine thrills that can be had that risk your life. Smoking a burning industrial product made by Phillip Morris is not one of them. It just makes you a loser.
I don’t know that I would go with that comparison, as mcdonalds is cheap and unhealthy, if nothing else. It also makes it sound as though you are limiting yourself. When I smoked, I had a brand and a type of cig I smoked, and nothing else was right. If they gas station was out, I’ be angry. If I ran out, and someone tried to offer me one that wasn’t my brand, I would take it, but not very appreciatively.
Vaping, I can switch up my flavor any time. I can change the PG VG mix for more or less of a throat burn. I can use several different mods and tanks, without it bothering me. I’m much less chained to vaping than I was smoking.
If I were making that analogy, I would be asking you why you are eating the same thing everyday at Mcdonalds, when you can go to a good steakhouse for 5-10% of the price? The answer of “I like McDonalds better”, is a perfectly valid answer.
Not really arguing here, as I understand, having been a smoker for 20+ years before switching, and it wasn’t really all that easy, and TBH, I still smoke the occasional cigarette, and it does give me a little something that vaping doesn’t.
This part I agree with. Addicts are not rational. Take away my cigs a few years ago, or take my vape away now, and I’ll not show you the most rational response to that action.
It’s not even a lie. I think he’s being very honest about the state of his addiction, and the hold it has on him. If his quality of life is decreased more by ending that relationship with cigarettes than is increased by health or wealth, then that is his decision.
I think it’s worth another try. Even if just every some odd months or even every year or so, just tries out a vape again to see if his tastes have changed, or the product has changed, and it is something he can accept as a replacement.
The rest of this is garbage.
If your end game is to convince people to quit, you’re going about it totally wrong.
Of course I’m fucking addicted, I’ve been smoking for over 30 years. If I wanted to quit, I’m sure I would find it very difficult. However, as a former heroin addict who quit and has been clean for years, I am convinced that if I really, really wanted to, I could quit. I just don’t want to. Unlike heroin, to date tobacco has not adversely affected my life to the point where the negatives outweigh the positives.
I am a criminal. I have served time in prison for aggravated assault after I beat someone into a coma that they never woke up from. I have sold weed and cocaine by the kilo. I have effectively collected drug debts using (mostly) terrifying threats of physical violence. That doesn’t even cover the shit I won’t talk about without legal privilege in place. It’s far less exciting and far more terrifying than your description makes it sound like, believe me. It’s also not an old person’s game, and I’m one of the rare ones who survived long enough to be officially too old for that shit anymore.
Given that this board has more people who work in prisons than will admit they’ve been involuntary guests in one, I don’t usually make a big deal about it. These days, now that I’m “retired,” I’ve decided that I’m not going to try and hide it either. The question is what does any of this have to do with me smoking?
Well, if insults are how you want to respond to someone who took time out of their day to answer the question that you fucking asked, don’t be surprised when I decline to interact with you outside the pit going forwards.
I bought my dad a nice vape kit, trying to get him to switch. He loves tech and he would REALLY love the savings over buying cigarettes. For some reason it caused him to cough instantly when taking a hit. He said it tickled his throat.
Anyway though, I think (as many have noted) a lot of smokers are not addicted to nicotine or tobacco, they are addicted to cigarettes and the rituals associated with them.
My dad started smoking at 13. He spent my entire childhood trying to quit. He finally managed to quit for 15+ years before going back, and he says the entire time he wanted a cigarette.
You couldn’t pay me enough to try one.
As long as you admit this, you’re not in denial, and that’s the first step. All you need now is a reason to stop. Like a loved one who breathes your second hand smoke, perhaps?
I understand what you’re going thru, my Al-Anon freinds say quiting cigs is in some ways harder to quit than heroin.
I think you are right, you could quit if you had a good reason. Maybe look for that reason?
Well, I’m going to say that in that case, soldier on. At least you are being consistent about your risk taking and not just being a victim of Phillip Morris. I’m sorry for insulting you.
Though I do have to comment that if you took those kind of risks and got away with it, it really is a shame to get killed by a toxic cloud from an amoral corporation that has bribed our government to let them peddle poison. Again, I have nothing against people who want to enjoy some good nicotine. But in the present world, this would be as if heroin were legal, and you could get it at any gas station, and you could choose between a kit that contains a rusty spoon, a belt, a lighter, and a used syringe and a sealed, sterile syringe with the drug suspended in saline.
The fact that you’re choosing to use a rusty spoon doesn’t make you a “badass”.
Thank you for the apology.
Trust me, I didn’t get away with it. I merely survived it, and not without paying the price.
I currently smoke and would like to quit for health benefits, however I also very much enjoy smoking cigarettes. I vape most of my cannabis, and prefer smoking vaped cannabis over flower. Electronic cigarettes aren’t the same as a true death stick, and the ones I have tried had me smoking more puffs for less effect. I believe that there are addictive compounds other than nicotine in cigarettes and that contributes to the addiction to the brand or something similar. My basis for this is that black and mild cigars didn’t really work for my cravings last time I tried to reduce the amount of nicotine in my system, however a Marlboro worked right away. however maybe it’s just the level of nicotine and tobacco in these products
I think the main reason is that it is more pleasurable to smoke cigaretes than vape them.
My last two experiences with vapers did not endear them to me. Both times, I was seated on a bar patio hoping to enjoy a beer. To my chagrin, huge clouds of shit that smelled like Bed Bath and Beyond started wafting my way. I asked both vapers to move downwi d of me if they had to suck on their pacifier. Neither was particularly gracious about it. Fucking urinal cake-smelling shit…may be healthier than tobacco or it may not, but it stinks.
I agree. I still smoke a cig or so a month. And it is a certina pleasure that vaping doesn’t give me. But it’s not the same addiction that keeps pulling me back to nicotine. It’s something nice, not something necessary.
Another benefit of vaping is that I can hang out with my friends who still smoke. When I had quit smoking, I had to avoid them, because they always smelled of cigs, and that just made me crave one all the more. Now it doesn’t bother me at all, and occasionally I go out with them and bum one.
That’s not really an experience, if you weren’t vaping yourself. But, are you saying that they are more noxious than tobacco smoke?