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Give and get support around quitting

BabyD18
Member

Does Vaping help with not wanting a cigarette?

Does anyone here Vape? And how much does it help with not wanting a cigarette?

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66 Replies
Barbscloud
Member

I posted before how the British successfully used vaping to QUIT smoking.  It is more controlled there than it is in the US.  I got so beat up just for posting it, that I'm not going there again. 

Giulia
Member

Do you take the mask off to vape, or do you just have a little hole through which you can stick it?  Just kidding.  Or am I?

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Barbscloud
Member

Or to smoke?  Same thing.

Still waiting for you to back up your claim that vaping is 95% safer for your teeth and gums

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Felice
Member

I’m almost 6 years cigarette/nicotine free.  I don’t condone or promote vaping but for me it saved my life. It was the only thing that made me quit cigarettes for good. I smoked for 30 years, mostly 1-2 packs per day. I tried everything. 
In the beginning I vaped like a fiend to stay off cigarettes and gradually I cut down on the nicotine content in my vape over time until I was at 0 nicotine. I vaped for 4 months and after that I felt confident that I was done with cigarettes for good but I also was DONE with vaping. I think it’s counterproductive to replace smoking with vaping. I also feel like maybe my results were atypical, maybe it was because I was finally ready to defeat this.  
My point is don’t knock someone’s way to quit. It worked for me and it possibly can work for others. What I disagree with is continuing to vape for an extended period of time. Continuing long term vaping defeats the purpose of trying to beat your addiction to nicotine.  When people ask how I quit, I tell them what I did but my first and foremost advice to them it try cold turkey. 

Great Job.

I believe you are atypical.

I believe most trade smoking for vaping and stay vaping for years.

Giulia
Member

I, for one, am not knocking anyone's chosen method of quitting smoking.  I, do, however, question a method that often is not abstinence sustainable.  I believe because vaping is so close in action to smoking that it's understandably easy to revert to cigarettes.  If all those who wish to quit were able to vape and then stop vaping, as you did, I'd be more likely to promote vaping as a quitting method.  But so far the stats are still out on that.  I also believe that inhaling vapor all day long is not good for the lungs.  It may be "better" than smoking but - ultimately is that all we want?  Something that simply harms us less?  Or do we want to not be harmed at all?

The other concern and/or issue is that with any NRT (assuming vaping can be  considered an NRT) it can become a permanent substitute for smoking.  And NRTs are really not meant for that purpose.  Of course heroine addicts use methadone as a treatment and they use it forever, so... what's the difference?  I'm not sure.  

The next question I have is - do you want to quit smoking just because it's bad for your health?  Or also because you also don't want to be a slave to an addiction?  I know for myself, I didn't know I was a slave until I learned it was an addiction.  THEN I thought - why am I spending all this money and time on this thing that I really don't need and is bad for me in the process?  

Then there's the question as to whether vaping is harming our lungs.  Some say yes, some say no.  My fear is that, just like with smoking, 10 or 20 years from now it will be discovered that it creates permanent lung damage.  And then it's too late.  

I'm so glad you managed to gain your freedom all the way around, Felice

Felice
Member

I have to say I agree with you Giulia 100%. I have to admit after 4 months of vaping and dwindling down to 0mg of nicotine, something in me just became disgusted with vaping.  I love that it helped me quit but I was turned off by it at some point. This is why I think my results were atypical. If I were still vaping after all these years I wouldn’t consider myself successful. 
I know 4 other people who tried to quit by vaping. 1 went back to smoking, another now alternates between smoking and vaping, and the last 2 have been vaping only for the past 5 years. So in actuality I’m the only person I know that was able to quit through vaping. My opinion is that it certainly is not a tried and true method of quitting. I think cold turkey seems to be the best. I know more people personally that were successful with cold turkey than any other method. 
I think I was VERY  fortunate to be able to quit this way and that it worked for me but it definitely would not be my first choice of recommendation. 

Barbscloud
Member

Felice and Giulia  I don't want to see new quitters afraid of using an aid to quit.  Quitting cold turkey seems to be promoted on this site.  I can't find any data that documents cold turkey quitters are more successful

Relying on willpower alone, however, is not likely to be successful. Research over the past 25 years has shown that, out of 100 people trying to quit smoking cold turkey, only about three to five of them will succeed for longer than six months, according to Hays. In other words, while some people can quit this way, at least 95 percent of people can’t.

Quitting cold turkey has such a low success rate due to the nature of addiction. Addiction undermines willpower, or the ability to control impulses through decision-making.

Truth Initiative (and other sites on the web)

 

Sure, some people can become addicted to NRT, but from everything I can find, it's a small percentage.  This just scares people that need help to quit.  Advising users to follow the instructions (which some don't) would be more useful.

https://excommunity.becomeanex.org/people/Barbscloud/blog/2020/02/01/nicotine-replacement-wrong-or-r... 

I support anyone's choice to quit.  I used Welbutrin and nicotrol inhalers for this quit.  I've never seen one positive comment about using inhalers on this site.

Barb

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Giulia
Member

As I stated at the beginning of my comment:  "I, for one, am not knocking anyone's chosen method of quitting smoking."  But those concerns I have are still concerning when it comes to vaping.  I'd be lying if I said otherwise.  I agree with you that NRTs are effective when used according to directions.  Would be interesting to see the study on how many NRT users actually follow the instructions and the percentage of those who continue using the NRT for months and months or even years as a continuous substitute.  There are studies but I don't think they've come up with definitive answers yet.  If so, perhaps someone will enlighten us.  The FDA says the following:  "Although NRTs are intended to be used temporarily with the nicotine amounts decreased over time, and eventually removed completely, FDA and doctors recognize that some addicted smokers may need NRTs for longer lengths of time to avoid smoking."  (Quitting Smoking: Closer with Every Attempt | FDA )  It also states:  "The first few days are the most uncomfortable, and physical symptoms of withdrawal should only last about three weeks."  And here I thought we got over the "physical symptoms" in three days after the majority of nicotine was out of our body.  But then I think we're all beginning to question many things that come from government sources these days.

One study noted:   "People who received help to improve their use of medicines to stop smoking used their medicines slightly more than people who did not receive this help. There was some evidence that this also led to slightly more people quitting smoking."    Can we help smokers to increase their use of stop-smoking medicines? | Cochrane  

The other, most important point, to me is:  "Studies have shown that this approach – pairing NRT with a program that helps to change behavior (emphasis mine) – can improve your chances of quitting and staying quit compared to approaches that use only one method." (American Cancer Society)  That's why a site such as this can be so effective.

I happen to be a SMART TURKEY‌ quitter.  I can state pretty definitively that were it not for a quitting support group (this site was not in existence when I quit but I sure am glad I eventually found it) I would not have the 14 years smoke-free that I do currently.  It is support that enabled me to adhere to my quit.  This is simply my experience.  Psychologically I'm not the type to want to substitute an addictive drug for the addictive drug I'm already taking.  Even if it's a lesser dose, etc.  That's just me.  I'm also the sort of person who can't cut back.  It's all or nothing for me.  Others have a different psychology and methodology and need that kind of substitute to get them over the hump and past the /blogs/Giulia-blog/2011/06/07/the-point-of-no-return   That's them.  They're the types that ease into the water gradually.  Perfectly understandable.  There is not only ONE WAY to quit.  Whatever works, is good, as far as I'm concerned.  

"I support anyone's choice to quit."   So do I.  "This just scares people that need help to quit.  Advising users to follow the instructions (which some don't) would be more useful."   My aim is not to scare people out of using NRTs or vaping (is vaping now considered a legitimate NRT?)  But I think it's important to be informed on the method of choice and the risks involved.  Vaping I believe to be a risk.  What you think is more useful is your opinion.  What I think is more useful is mine.  And to my mind what's most useful is exactly this - an open dialogue about it which presents information on all sides of the topic.  And thus people can make up their own minds on what's the best choice for them.  And although someone chastised us for the fact that we believe education about this addiction is like EXspeak or something (we all iterate the same thing), I do believe education helps enable quit adherence. 

And one last point:  I am coming at this from my own personal experience.  As are you and as is Felice.  I've been addicted to cigarettes.  Truth Initiative and other websites (not their quit communities) are also coming at it from their experiences, but they're mostly scientifically based.  Their educational experiences are derived from listening to people who are addicted and the results of their quit smoking/vaping programs and studies.  It's second hand.  I don't know of one scientific quit smoking study where the majority of scientists (or even one scientist) involved - smoked.  That doesn't negate the information they impart.  Their opinions are based on their experience, just like all of ours are.  And the more we know, the better able we are to best this beast.  So we need to have open minds and try all avenues of approach.  MOO (my opinion only)