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Good job on quitting, but a word of warning: you've not hit the hard patch yet. From what all of my friends who quit smoking experienced, 1 month is the real te

Good job on quitting, but a word of warning: you've not hit the hard patch yet. From what all of my friends who quit smoking experienced, 1 month is the real test. I've seen many people quit smoking cold turkey and do great for 1 month, and then get back to it with a vengeance. I'm not sure what the psychological / physical reason for that is, but thought I'd warn you to be extra vigilant in 3 weeks - don't feel that you're finally rid of cigarettes and have a last one to celebrate. I personally smoked about 2 packs a day from 18 to 33 (that's a lot of wasted money) and quit thanks to e-cigarettes. The trick was to become a proper e-cigarette geek: didn't buy pre-manufactured juice but manufactured my own just right, with some essence of pepper for that burning sensation at the back of the throat, some mint for breath-control, and a bit of peppermint because it tastes nice. The first week was hard (apparently - I felt it wasn't too bad, but my wife later told me I'd been a right pain in the arse), but I successfully swapped tobacco addiction to e-cigarette addiction. Since I manufactured my own e-juice, I was able to reduce the amount of nicotine with each new batch, and quickly got to entirely nicotine-free smoking. After a while (3 months, if memory serves), making my own juice became too much of a hassle and I just stopped. Since I'd gotten rid of the nicotine addiction by then, I didn't feel any withdrawal and haven't smoked (or wanted to smoke) a cigarette in more than 2 years now. The conclusion is that if you start craving a last cigarette, go for an electronic one. There's thousands of shops in Paris (that's where you're from, right?) and they've become surprisingly affordable - much more so than a sustained tobacco addition, at any rate.

lucian1900 12y ago
I'm not a smoker, but I wonder: is there a downside to just continue using an e-cigarette? It's the smoke that kills you (and those around you) after all, not the nicotine.
- NicoJuicy 12y ago
  It's supposed to do less harm, which actually means nothing as manufacturers are making it addictive.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    Wait, nicotine is already addictive. And there is a strong psychological addiction. How can they make it more addictive?
    - NicoJuicy 12y ago
      They can optimize the addiction, kinda what's been done with fastfood or ketchup ..
  - nrinaudo 12y ago
    I don't understand the correlation you seem to be making. Let's take the fact that manufacturers are making e-cigarettes addictive as a given. I'm not entirely sure how that works and suspect you're talking about the juice rather than the actual device, but the distinction is not terribly relevant in that conversation. So, ok, let's assume e-cigarettes are becoming more addictive. How does that correlate to more harmful? there are plenty of things that are highly addictive and not bad for your health in themselves - sex, say, or running for some people, or programming. Your point about addictivity is interesting, but I don't think it tells us anything about the dangers of e-cigarettes, real or imagined.
    - DanBC 12y ago
      Addictive sex or addictive running or addictive programming are all strongly tied to ill-health -- sexually transimited disease or unwanted pregnancy; cardio vascular problems and joint problems; and social isolation and back problems.
      - shamney 12y ago
        running doesn't cause cardiovascular problems.
        DanBC 12y ago
        Excessive running causes cardio vascular problems. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538475/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538475/ > A routine of regular exercise is highly effective for prevention and treatment of many common chronic diseases and improves cardiovascular (CV) health and longevity. However, long-term excessive endurance exercise may induce pathologic structural remodeling of the heart and large arteries. > Emerging data suggest that chronic training for and competing in extreme endurance events such as marathons, ultramarathons, ironman distance triathlons, and very long distance bicycle races, can cause transient acute volume overload of the atria and right ventricle, with transient reductions in right ventricular ejection fraction and elevations of cardiac biomarkers, all of which return to normal within 1 week. Over months to years of repetitive injury, this process, in some individuals, may lead to patchy myocardial fibrosis, particularly in the atria, interventricular septum, and right ventricle, creating a substrate for atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. > Additionally, long-term excessive sustained exercise may be associated with coronary artery calcification, diastolic dysfunction, and large-artery wall stiffening. However, this concept is still hypothetical and there is some inconsistency in the reported findings. Furthermore, lifelong vigorous exercisers generally have low mortality rates and excellent functional capacity. Notwithstanding, the hypothesis that long-term excessive endurance exercise may induce adverse CV remodeling warrants further investigation to identify at-risk individuals and formulate physical fitness regimens for conferring optimal CV health and longevity.
- nrinaudo 12y ago
  I don't believe there are known health reasons not to use an e-cigarette. It's a relatively new phenomenon though and hasn't been around long enough for us to study all possible long term effects. There are, however, plenty of social reasons, depending on the local culture. Not everybody necessarily realises that e-cigarettes are harmless to them and get upset when you use one around them, for example. Or people have had unpleasant experiences with aggressive e-cigarette consumers using them in public places like a restaurant or a train and getting uppity when asked to stop. Another social stigma is that e-cigarette users tend to wax lyrical about them and, and I say that as an ex-user, not be very pleasant conversationalists, at least in the first few weeks after the discovery. I have seen people in social occasions actively avoid e-cigarette users (me!) for fear of being dragged into yet another lecture about vaping.
  - lucian1900 12y ago
    At least in the UK, I haven't noticed any negative social reactions. I think this problem may fix itself over time, where it exists. I'm quite delighted that some of my coworkers use e-cigarettes, since I can spend time around them without having to stand the horrific smell.
- DanBC 12y ago
  Nicotine isn't a good idea for people at risk of blood clots; or people having surgery.
NicoJuicy 12y ago
But i suppose the physical aspect of quitting smoking is the worst after 2-3 days. The mental aspect is always there, because other people smoke (or you used to smoke in the car or when you had any stress). It doesn't seem logical to me that it's harder after 3 weeks then after 2-3 days, because i went from a pack a day to 0 cigarettes a day (instead of slowly reducing nicotine) Sidenote: I'm actually from Belgium ;-)

lucian1900 12y ago

I'm not a smoker, but I wonder: is there a downside to just continue using an e-cigarette? It's the smoke that kills you (and those around you) after all, not the nicotine.

NicoJuicy 12y ago
It's supposed to do less harm, which actually means nothing as manufacturers are making it addictive.
- DanBC 12y ago
  Wait, nicotine is already addictive. And there is a strong psychological addiction. How can they make it more addictive?
  - NicoJuicy 12y ago
    They can optimize the addiction, kinda what's been done with fastfood or ketchup ..
- nrinaudo 12y ago
  I don't understand the correlation you seem to be making. Let's take the fact that manufacturers are making e-cigarettes addictive as a given. I'm not entirely sure how that works and suspect you're talking about the juice rather than the actual device, but the distinction is not terribly relevant in that conversation. So, ok, let's assume e-cigarettes are becoming more addictive. How does that correlate to more harmful? there are plenty of things that are highly addictive and not bad for your health in themselves - sex, say, or running for some people, or programming. Your point about addictivity is interesting, but I don't think it tells us anything about the dangers of e-cigarettes, real or imagined.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    Addictive sex or addictive running or addictive programming are all strongly tied to ill-health -- sexually transimited disease or unwanted pregnancy; cardio vascular problems and joint problems; and social isolation and back problems.
    - shamney 12y ago
      running doesn't cause cardiovascular problems.
      - DanBC 12y ago
        Excessive running causes cardio vascular problems. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538475/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538475/ > A routine of regular exercise is highly effective for prevention and treatment of many common chronic diseases and improves cardiovascular (CV) health and longevity. However, long-term excessive endurance exercise may induce pathologic structural remodeling of the heart and large arteries. > Emerging data suggest that chronic training for and competing in extreme endurance events such as marathons, ultramarathons, ironman distance triathlons, and very long distance bicycle races, can cause transient acute volume overload of the atria and right ventricle, with transient reductions in right ventricular ejection fraction and elevations of cardiac biomarkers, all of which return to normal within 1 week. Over months to years of repetitive injury, this process, in some individuals, may lead to patchy myocardial fibrosis, particularly in the atria, interventricular septum, and right ventricle, creating a substrate for atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. > Additionally, long-term excessive sustained exercise may be associated with coronary artery calcification, diastolic dysfunction, and large-artery wall stiffening. However, this concept is still hypothetical and there is some inconsistency in the reported findings. Furthermore, lifelong vigorous exercisers generally have low mortality rates and excellent functional capacity. Notwithstanding, the hypothesis that long-term excessive endurance exercise may induce adverse CV remodeling warrants further investigation to identify at-risk individuals and formulate physical fitness regimens for conferring optimal CV health and longevity.
nrinaudo 12y ago
I don't believe there are known health reasons not to use an e-cigarette. It's a relatively new phenomenon though and hasn't been around long enough for us to study all possible long term effects. There are, however, plenty of social reasons, depending on the local culture. Not everybody necessarily realises that e-cigarettes are harmless to them and get upset when you use one around them, for example. Or people have had unpleasant experiences with aggressive e-cigarette consumers using them in public places like a restaurant or a train and getting uppity when asked to stop. Another social stigma is that e-cigarette users tend to wax lyrical about them and, and I say that as an ex-user, not be very pleasant conversationalists, at least in the first few weeks after the discovery. I have seen people in social occasions actively avoid e-cigarette users (me!) for fear of being dragged into yet another lecture about vaping.
- lucian1900 12y ago
  At least in the UK, I haven't noticed any negative social reactions. I think this problem may fix itself over time, where it exists. I'm quite delighted that some of my coworkers use e-cigarettes, since I can spend time around them without having to stand the horrific smell.
DanBC 12y ago
Nicotine isn't a good idea for people at risk of blood clots; or people having surgery.

NicoJuicy 12y ago

But i suppose the physical aspect of quitting smoking is the worst after 2-3 days. The mental aspect is always there, because other people smoke (or you used to smoke in the car or when you had any stress). It doesn't seem logical to me that it's harder after 3 weeks then after 2-3 days, because i went from a pack a day to 0 cigarettes a day (instead of slowly reducing nicotine) Sidenote: I'm actually from Belgium ;-)