Smokers

Date 06-21-2011 12:56

Well, thought in light of the new "warnings" they are going to be putting on the packs of smokes, starting today that I would post on something I have recently tried and basically give a review for anyone out there that hates smoking as much as I do but has had a time trying to quit.

About two weeks ago I picked up a cheapo "E-smoke" from the gas station. I puffed on that sucker for about 3 days and did not have one real cig in that time. I picked up another at the smoke shop, forget what brand it was but just a single use, and cannot remember the name but with a "500 puffs" label I thought ok, should last a week. Well, it only lasted about two days, what a waste.

Anyhow, I went online and read reviews and so on. I heard lots of good about V2 cigs so thought I'd give it a shot. So $85 starter kit later which comes with two li-ion batteries, charger, 10 flavor ionizing do-dads. I got menthol and peppermint flavors and each one is supposed to be equal to one pack of smokes as far as nicotine. I figured one of these little cartidges per day, since it is equal to a pack of smokes and I used to smoke a pack a day. Oddly enough though I have not used one of the ionizing filters up yet. Got my kit last saturday so it's been 9 days. I got the 18mg cartidge and it is pretty heavy, probably why I'm not going thru them much!!

Ok, my thoughts on the whole "e-smoke". The cheap store bought ones, they suck. Hard to draw off them, feels like your trying to pick up a 4x8 piece of plate steel with a straw. The V2 cig on the other hand is just like drawing on a real smoke, without the 4000 different types of poison. Reading on these things they use a medical grade nicotine and fda approved food grade products to produce the smoke effect and so forth on the inside. On the cash side, this week alone I have saved myself at least $20 on not buying the standard smokes, no more stinkin' clothes, truck, second hand smoke. My wife stuck her head in the fake smoke and said, "wow, that smells....minty???". The smoke disappears within a few seconds, no ashes and the whole time you can still get your dose of nerve calming nicotine!! I figure I'll be able to quit for good as I only do the e-smoke about 5 times a day, give or take. Think I'll keep it around though if I do actually quit, just for future "break in case of emergency" type of thing. Another plus side about the V2 is they offer 3 different strengths of nicotine and they even have several flavors. For the die hard that wants the real cig taste, peppermint, chocolate, vanilla, cherry and others. They also offer the flavor with no nicotine, thinking I'll get some of those for when I'm driving. Seems my mind still needs that smoking sensation while driving. I'm not craving nicotine, my mind is clear, just that habit I guess but figure if I puff on the nicotine while I'm driving I'll end up overdosing!! LoL!!!

The other good thing is this. I don't smoke in front of my kids, actually they don't know I have been smoking for about a year. So you run and hide in the basement, outside or whatever. With my V2 I can sit in front of the computer, in my chair in the living room or sneak off to another part of the store and take a quick "puff" off my e-smoke and they are none the wiser.

Well, thought I'd put that out there for anybody who has been thinking about these things. Here's a link for V2,

http://www.v2cigs.com/

By joe pirie (***)

Date 06-21-2011 13:40

I sat at the bar about a werek ago this guy comes in whips out a cig
and puts it in his mouth i told him sorrty you can't smoke here. he says its an
electric cig WTF. no smell no smoke thought it was a great idea . im gonna buy my
girlfriend one im tired of the tobacco smell and hopefully it will help her quit

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 06-21-2011 16:35

Yeah, check them out. I'm still awaiting the benefits of better feeling lungs but guess it will take some time to clean out the flooring glue the gubment saw fit to put into the paper on real cigs to combat people burning their houses down. I do feel better already though. Two weeks ago, wake up in the morning and feel weird in my chest until I got that first smoke in me. Don't feel that way anymore. Plus, this is a great plus, when I started to smoke a year or so ago, wife gave up on good kisses. Now that I have quit, basically she says my mouth don't taste like a dirty ash tray anymore!!! Which is more real kisses in my future instead of pecks on the cheak!! Probably more info than some folks wanted to hear but it's the darn truth and if your married to or dating a smoker you'll know what I mean!!

By rlitman (***)

Date 06-21-2011 19:35

I've got a friend who had one a couple of years ago. It had a light built into the tip that would glow brighter red as he drew more. In a dark room you couldn't tell it from a real cigarette cherry. Really nifty concept.

It would be nice if the FDA got caught up with the times and actually started regulating/monitoring these though, as opposed to their current stance of just treating them like an illegal drug, but looking the other way when it comes to enforcement. I'm not saying they should be banned. I'm just always wary of products imported from China. Who knows if there's lead in the plastic, or cadmium plating on the innards or some crap like that (I mean for god's sake, they had people putting poisonous chemicals in their baby formula to turn a buck). Its a legitimate product that should have some proper industry monitoring to ensure that the customer gets only what they're expecting.

By Joseph P. Kane (****)

Date 06-21-2011 14:25 Edited 06-22-2011 03:14

Shawn

What a great post! I hope you do manage to quit from using this "V2"!

I never smoked or drunk to excess, my addiction is to food. On June 15, (Last Wednesday) I had "Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy" bariatric surgery. I will never again be able to eat like I used to.

Joe Kane

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 06-21-2011 16:31

Sorry to hear that Joe, hope your recovering well at least. That's bad news about the eating! Figure I'll get some of the nicotine-less atomizers and kinda break the routine with those.

By Joseph P. Kane (****)

Date 06-21-2011 16:55

It is not bad news! I have been trying to get this operation for nearly 20 years through the VA. I had to loose 10% of my excess body weight before they would perform the surgery. I weighed in at 422 pounds on 22 Feb 2011, and dieted down to 386 pounds by the morning of June 15.

Laparoscopic surgery involved only five small holes high in the abdomen, the longest cut only 1 1/4 inch long. two days for recovery, home by June 17.

I will never again eat like I used to be able to. That is a good thing to me.

I will "Eat to Live" instead of living to eat.

Joe Kane

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 06-21-2011 17:00

Hey Joe...I'm glad that you were able to get the help you needed. Showing my ignorance here, I had to look it up(google) to make sure that I understood what surgery you had done.

By joe pirie (***)

Date 06-21-2011 18:26

Hey Joe hope you feel better soon.

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 06-21-2011 19:15

Guess I should have looked it up like Jw did! LoL!!

By JLWelding (***)

Date 06-21-2011 23:02

Shawn, I had two strokes, one on Sunday morning and one on Monday morning two years ago today. When your faced with death you will quit. I couldnt do the patch I just did it cold turkey. The patch just made me mad as h--- due to nicotine just not the same. Your going to get mad just gohead and get mad it's going to happen. Go out back cuss get you a ax and cut down a tree. There is something in cigs that even two years later I get this tic and damn I wont a smoke, but give it 5 seconds and it's gone. I am taking my friend of 25 years back and fourth to chemo radiation for the passed month now and he is doing pretty good. For a guy with about 9 months to live, he went out and bought him self a Harley and its put him in the hospitial three times now with pneumonia but he gets better and he's right back out there ridin his butt off. He used to drill in the oilfeild, he's not used to having people do things for him. It makes him feel week he says.
To anyone else out there still smoking, you know your time is coming. Dont ya!

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 06-21-2011 23:44

Best wishes to ya Joe, hope this changes things for you like you want them to! :grin:

Good Luck with it Shawn GOOD FOR YOU!! Nickie got pneumonia down in Texas, she passed out at a Rangers game and it scared her pretty bad. She has not smoked in two weeks....I gave away my Laredo machine and a pound or so of tobacco....I am still wrestling with it ...but I figure if she is going to quit it is gonna be a real pain if I still smoke....so for her sake I have to put them down. I am not saying I am quit...just starting the journey so to speak. Thanks for the review....I MIGHT have to try it out.

By jon20013 (*****)

Date 06-23-2011 05:42

Congrats Joe, very happy to hear you've had the op!

Also have been meaning to apologize for us noto getting over to see you while wqe were in NYC. I guess you might gather we were a bit overwhelmed with thye city! Had a great time but then too it was just about right, not sure I could live in Manhattan! Also, you were absolutely correct about Sardi's, ordinary food at extraordinary prices. Still it was good to people watch, lol!

I fell off the wagon last month while on vacation, smoked about 1/2 the time we were traveling but am now off the butts again, have been mostly successful since January 11, 2011. A TERRIBLE addiction for sure.

By rcwelding (***)

Date 06-22-2011 15:33

I sat by my best friend death bed side when I was 16yrs old. He was my neighbor at the time. He smoked all the time from my earliest memory as a kid.

Every Sunday at 6am I would show up at his house and he would have the truck and boat loaded and we would fishing all day long.. He wouldn't take me fishing till I could cast a fishing weight into a 5gallon bucket 2 out of 5 times.. I spent hours out in the yard casting that dam pole till I started getting pretty consistent around 6 or 7 yrs old..

He got throat cancer at 50 yrs old and went from a tough as nails 195lb guy to just under 80lbs... It took eleven months from the time they found the cancer till he passed away.. The last three months he was completely bed ridden.. I would go sit with him for a couple hours a day and just sit there by him... It hurt him too bad to talk so we didn't say much we just sat there..

The tumor grew into his throat and carotid artery and started slowly suffocating him and choking the blood to his brain.. He sounded like he was whistling every time he would take a breath... He finally died one night when he lost strength to draw a breath and suffocated right there in front of me..

After I saw that and lived through it I couldn't imagine ever laying there in bed looking into my kids eyes dying because of a nasty habit I couldn't quit...!!

I don't have anything against someone who smokes and oddly enough I think it smells good sometimes But the joy it brings isn't nearly as big as the joy it can take away..!!

Sorry for the downer story but it made a lasting impression on me living through it..!!

RC

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 06-22-2011 17:12

I knew a guy like that as well, my Grandpa's friend. He did the same, took me fishing, caught my first northern pike with him. He passed on the same way with cancer from smoking. I've quit a bunch and actually kinda quit for 7 years, chewed tobacco instead until that started getting into my guts and causing bouts of throwing up and other things. Quit that and stayed off for a year or two then one day said, I have not had one in years. Bummed a cig and that was it. I've heard it gets harder each time you quit and then relapse. Not a big fan of how much it costs, how it smells, kinda ticks me off when I'm wanting to work and the body is sayin, have another smoke. So far so good with the V2's though. Was up at 5am this morning and it was 10:30 before I even took my first puff of nicotine off the electronic cig. Gonna have to pick up some more of that dentyne ice though, good strong flavor helps keep that nicotine taste/craving away.

Don't want to leave my kids early that's for sure. Not afraid to die, gonna happen but prefer it to be later than sooner!!

By JLWelding (***)

Date 06-23-2011 02:07

Being afraid of dieing is what helped me quit. I have to many things that got to be done before I can leave this earth, like see my first grandchild. :wink:

By raftergwelding (*****)

Date 06-25-2011 06:35

Just read your first post and it brought back a good memory. When i was a kid i got my Dad for fathers day a break glass in case of emergecy cig holder lol it was a glass tube with a cig and a strike anywhere match it was a good laugh thanks for the memory i still have that tube some where thanks again and good luck with quiting

By qcrobert (***)

Date 06-28-2011 20:30

Nine years clean with not one cigarette during that time. Just made up my mind not to put a cigarette in my mouth, period. It's an extremely difficult habit to conqour but you can do it.

Best of will power to all of you trying to quit!
QCRobert

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 06-29-2011 11:22

Don't be a quitter :eek:

, be a non-smoker......quitters quit smoking everytime they feel guilty about smoking :grin:

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 07-11-2011 20:30

Well, have not had my nicotine fix in over a week, 11 days actually. It's weird, with the e cigarette I did not have cravings like with real cigs. I could do it a few times a day, while I was driving a few times and then maybe at night. Around the first of July I just did not carry the e smoke with me, then the next day I had it sitting next to me all day and did not touch it. Now I think about it but it's like thinking about something in passing. Ended up putting the thing back in the box it came in and there it sits, $85 and used three cartridges!! Sure feels good working in the shop and not thinking, ohh, stop for a smoke or even a fake smoke, just keep on working. Still keep the good flavor gum around, still get that taste in my mouth, like you want a smoke....anybody else get that? It's only been 11 days off the nicotine and believe my body is going through some changes, detoxing, according to medical websites and keeping a bottle of pepto around....detoxing......jeez, lots of folks say hang in there it's worth it when your body gets back to normal....yep, can't wait!! Feels good to be part of the non tobacco crowd again. Been part of the smoking/chewing scene for awhile, now I'm just a gum chewer!

By low_hydrogen (**)

Date 07-12-2011 06:10

I smoked for 12 years and quit. I had that taste in my mouth for months. I never really felt that much better after I quit, other than a little proud that I beat it. but after three years with out a smoke i ended up in a nasty divorce and started smoking again. Now I smoke like a train! and I felt worse when I started again so my body must have slowly gotten healthier before I decided to posion it again lol!

And now it's extremely harder to put them down for a second time. Whatever you do don't pick one up again my friend!! and don't forget to take a break even though you don't need a smoke :grin:

By Cumminsguy71 (*****)

Date 07-12-2011 13:50

I've quit about 3 times over the last 20 years. Guess I've actually smoked 5-6 years total, give or take, but definitely agree, you pick them back up and its way harder second, third time around.

By Milton Gravitt (***)

Date 07-13-2011 23:28

I've quit smoking about eleven years ago and haven't pick them back up,but there are days I could smoke one as long as my leg, but they cost so much that's a deterrent for me. My wife has tried to quit three or four times and has quit for months and will start back, maybe she will be successful one of these days.

M.G.

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 07-14-2011 04:03

"there are days I could smoke one as long as my leg, but they cost so much"

The regular length has gotten so expensive that a friend of mine as been buying loose tobacco and rolling His own.

He has been trying to quit on His own and can't. He hasn't tried the electric cigaret or the medical stuff yet.

By grizzzly (**)

Date 07-16-2011 06:26

i loved the flavor of cigarettes and that is what made it so hard to quit

convincing my self that i wanted to do it was the hardest part of staying Quit