electronic cigarettes

Jeffrey

Has anybody used these?

It is overwhelming to look at all the amazon products.. Any direction is welcome
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1001036681 <- amazon products

Dakini

I've never understood what these are.

Jeffrey

You get nicotine without smoke.

jae

@Jeffrey...no but I might buy one as I'm planning to give up end of this month, good luck to you

federica

Not good things....

Jeffrey

federica it's all relative. From your link:

The medical profession and scientists generally agree that e-cigarettes, if they do pose any dangers to health, are much less harmful than tobacco smoking.

In a separate study, researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (February 2013 issue) that a growing number of people are using e-cigarettes to either stop smoking or cut down on their tobacco-cigarette consumption.

federica

Why have 'much less harmful' (E-cigarettes) when you could have 'absolutely harmless' (fresh air)....?

Jeffrey

It's hard to quit smoking, federica. Plus nicotine helps cut the side effects of anti-psychotic drugs. My body feels horrible 2-4 hours after I take my medicines and nicotine helps. Finally, I am already addicted to pipes and I hope to cut down on all of that smoke.

federica

Well, I think there are probably better ways to do it than by using those things.
And as a non-smoker?
You want honesty?

I think people who use them frankly look ridiculous.
I just find them.... pointless and in my eyes, people look weird using them.

But that's just me.....

ThaiLotus

I've never used any but anything that will help to cut down or eliminate cigarettes or pipes is worth a try. I smoked 23 yrs and my last cigarette was 9 yrs ago. It's tough to kick it. Good luck to you.

Jeffrey

@federica, I don't care how I look. I care about getting off of smoking. Then I will whiten my teeth again.

@ThaiLotus, thanks.

Bunks

I have a friend who uses something similar to smoke marijuana. He has had issues over the years with bronchitis. He says this gives him the high he wants without the damage to his lungs. The beauty of it is that he's used it at sporting events, in a bar and even in a cinema! (discreetly obviously) - I must confess to having had a crack at it myself occasionally with positive results :eek2:

As for tobacco use, a work colleague has just started to use one. He bought a cheap one to start with and says it works ok. I can find out more off him if you like?

Good luck @Jeffrey!

Jeffrey

Do you just buy a pack of the things anywhere? When I looked at amazon I saw all kinds of contraptions for sale. I was hoping it would be more simple.

Beej

federica said:

Well, I think there are probably better ways to do it than by using those things.
And as a non-smoker?
You want honesty?

I think people who use them frankly look ridiculous.
I just find them.... pointless and in my eyes, people look weird using them.

But that's just me.....

ha! people look rediculous with any tool in their hand.

Invincible_summer

“His name is probably something like Nitror or Chronox,”

The Truth About E-Cigarettes

robot

I'm all for them. They don't make a stink. I had a puff on one and was surprised at how the authentic the vapour felt in my throat. The way I remember that cigarettes feel.

lobster

Jeffrey said:

You get nicotine without smoke.

Have you considered Tonglen? Traditionally one of the negative visualisations one 'leaves' is smoke . . .
http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/tonglen2.php

I wish you every success. Bravo. :clap:

Jeffrey

Yes, lobster. I do tonglen.

Chaz

Jeffrey said:

Has anybody used these?

It is overwhelming to look at all the amazon products.. Any direction is welcome
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1001036681

I used e-cigs to help break a 40-year smoking habit. I used ....

- Welbutrin (Dr prescribed anti-depressant) to cut the anxiety of withdrawal
- Nicotine patches to wean me off the nicotine slowly
- E-Cig to satisfy the oral/digital fixation and to provide something warm going into my lungs. I don't recall the brand I used. My wife ordered a kit off ebay. They looked like a cigarette.
- Meditation (Shamatha) to let go of urges and cravings as they arose.

I also followed the advice of a friend who has been sober for 25 years - "Don't, under any circumstance, smoke another cigarette".

I was worried about starting another addiction, this time to e-cigs so I used nicotine cartridges for only a couple weeks. After that I used water cartridges.

I was successfull. I havn't had even a puff off a cigarette in 4 years. The main factor for that success was a strong desire to quit. I was ready and comitted. The stuff I used - the drugs, patches and e-cigs - helped. Having a reasonably strong practice didn't hurt, either.

Zayl

@Jeffrey Well, I use an E-cig myself. I got the terribly, campy name of "Totally Wicked Tornado Tank" However despite the terrible name, I can say they are a very high quality product. They don't look like a cigarette at all, and have easily refillable reservoirs for the liquid. What you do is buy the base nicotine liquid, and then buy some flavoring liquids, all very, very cheap (say, $20 or so lasted me a few months) then you mix and match the liquids to whatever strength and taste you find suitable. Once you got your own mix down you'll find it better than most of the pre-mixed junk. Just do NOT get the nicotine liquid on your skin! nicotine is absorbed through the skin and too much of it can get you sick or even kill you! I wear latex gloves when mixing large batches of it.

The battery charges very quickly, and holds a charge all damn day. The only problem I have is that sometime the reservoir can leak a bit of the liquid if you treat it roughly. For example I just had mine in my pocket and some of it leaked out, making the mouth piece all sticky and unusable (since it was coated with nicotine)

Jeffrey

hmmm I think I am going to try without it and see how much I can cut back. I only smoked 7 times today.

Hamsaka

Nicotine itself is not cancer causing, nor does it damage the lungs. It's just massively addictive. Nicotine improves the reuptake of dopamine and I've read respectable studies done on the amelioration of symptoms of schizophrenia (not to mention the meds) that nicotine has.

The other thing nicotine does is it acts as a vasoconstrictor. So is caffeine. It causes the itty bitty smooth muscles in the arteries and capillaries to tighten, so it will raise blood pressure.

I smoked like a chimney for a little over ten years, more like fifteen if I'm honest. I thought better on nicotine, and maybe I wrote it on a post here sometime back, but when I smoked my first cigarette -- as a joke at a co-worker's goodbye party -- I felt NORMAL or 'better' or something immediately. I also felt nauseated and dizzy. I bought my first pack in a few days and that was that.

I have a bad case of ADHD, which along with schizophrenia, depression and other brain issues, is a malfunction of the dopamine cascade system. I used to drink tons of coffee when in college without realizing the caffeine actually calmed my ass down so I could concentrate and study. Nicotine unfortunately has the same effect for me.

I quit cigs in 2008 and after gaining a bunch of weight, I thought "hell, maybe if I chew that nicotine gum I can speed up my metabolism". I'd been nicotine free for two years and had stopped craving even psychologically. I popped in a gum while driving to work and it felt like Old Home Week in my brain.

Nicotine gum is effing expensive and chewing all the time made me feel like a cow chewing cud so I looked around and found an e-cig that didn't look too complicated (this was three years ago). I've been puffing on an e cig since. You just purchase a little 'system' with a couple of batteries and charger and the bits you put the nicotine liquid into. American Eliquid (just google it) has had my business for all this time. Hell, I can smoke in the bathroom at work just like high school! Wait, I didn't smoke in high school . . .

Yep, it's a hideous addiction. It's the lesser of about a million evils. I would prefer to not have a physical dependence upon any substance. There is a lot of purism to the negative, but I seriously doubt being addicted to nicotine will prevent me from seeking Awakening, and if it ever does, it's a goner.

The thing about switching from cigs to e-cigs is it's not as easy as you think. I'd been cig free for two years, and 'forgotten' a lot of that intimate physical sensation of puffing away on smoke from a red hot ball of burning tobacco. A friend at work shows up with her e-cig about every three months, trying to quit the tobacco cigs. It's not an easy transition, so I've heard. Not impossible at all, but nothing about quitting cigs is easy. Good luck @Jeffrey, it's a very good move for you and your lungs and other people's noses will thank you

Gassho

DairyLama

Jeffrey said:

It's hard to quit smoking, federica.

Yes, indeed. I've been on nicotine replacement therapy ( lozenges ) for years, I'm still trying to beat the addiction. It's annoying!

DairyLama

federica said:

I just find them.... pointless and in my eyes, people look weird using them.

They're a type of nicotine replacement therapy and much less harmful than smoking cigarettes.

Frozen_Paratrooper

I smoked at 15 but switched to pipe tobacco. Non-addictive because you don't inhale anything. And much more socially acceptable. People actually like it. And way cheaper

Jeffrey

@Frozen_Paratrooper,

I also smoke pipes but I am addicted to it. I used to smoke every hour.

Frozen_Paratrooper

@jeffrey,

Hm, are you doing it wrong? Lol. I don't inhale pipes.

Frozen_Paratrooper

Actually a better question is what are you smoking in your pipe?

Jeffrey

Only the best haha
tobacco that is

robot

Jeffrey said:

@Frozen_Paratrooper,

I also smoke pipes but I am addicted to it. I used to smoke every hour.

Didn't we talk about the possibility of getting addicted to your pipe a couple of years ago when you were starting up on it?
I'm sorry it happened to you.
Let it be a lesson to others who might think that pipe smoking is a relaxing pastime.

Jeffrey

Let it be so (a lesson)

On the positive it helps cut through some side effects. I just want to cut back @robot

Pipe smoking in moderation could be nice. My dad smokes only 1 pipe a day. I got caught because I had painful psychotic voices and had no friends so I used nicotine to get an oasis.

My girlfriend doesn't like it. And I agree with her.

I beat alcoholism so I know I can beat this. I'm too good a meditator not to. I can get satisfaction (amidst a drugged painful body - meds) on the cushion. No joke.

robot

Jeffrey said:

Let it be so (a lesson)

On the positive it helps cut through some side effects. I just want to cut back @robot

Pipe smoking in moderation could be nice. My dad smokes only 1 pipe a day. I got caught because I had painful psychotic voices and had no friends so I used nicotine to get an oasis.

My girlfriend doesn't like it. And I agree with her.

I beat alcoholism so I know I can beat this. I'm too good a meditator not to. I can get satisfaction (amidst a drugged painful body - meds) on the cushion. No joke.

Yes. I'm sure not judging you Jeffery. I know that you have struggles and if smoking helps at all then, well, you know what works.
Sometimes people, young people, think they are immune to addiction just because it hasn't happened yet.
Unfortunately the only way to find out if you are prone to addiction is to keep going till it gets hold of you.

Jeffrey

I'm just glad I didn't try: crack, heroin, meth, pain killers, etc

Those aren't on my bucket list.

Jeffrey

I am going cold turkey today. So far so good. I am lucky I was not on cigarettes where you inhale the smoke. That would probably be harder.

If I get withdrawal symptoms would it be appropriate to try the patch? Do I need a prescription in USA. Are there different sizes to taper down?

What was your experience with the patch and/or going cold turkey?

Cinorjer

My wife is using them to help her quit smoking again. Says it's of course not quite the same, but better than patches or chewing gum to help when the craving is really bad.

Cinorjer

Jeffrey said:

I am going cold turkey today. So far so good. I am lucky I was not on cigarettes where you inhale the smoke. That would probably be harder.

If I get withdrawal symptoms would it be appropriate to try the patch? Do I need a prescription in USA. Are there different sizes to taper down?

What was your experience with the patch and/or going cold turkey?

You don't need prescriptions. The patches, when I quit years ago, seemed to help take the edge off the craving. But, none of the patches would stay on so I had to use additional surgical tape.

Jeffrey

Cool thanks. Are there different sizes or strengths of patches? Good news that I won't have to wait until my doctor appointment to get a script.

Cinorjer

Jeffrey said:

Cool thanks. Are there different sizes or strengths of patches? Good news that I won't have to wait until my doctor appointment to get a script.

Yep different strengths. Read and follow directions. In particular, resist the urge to use multiple patches or light up while you have a strong patch on.

Jeffrey

I am detoxing now. I know it will get worse before it gets better. If I 'just have a smoke' then I know I will want another.

It's kind of a challenge. But not pleasant.

Cinorjer

Yeah, I smoked for a long time, but quit about 8 years ago finally. It's miserable at first but gradually you do lose the craving. The reality is, the longer you hold out, the more likely you are to quit for good. Most people tend to give up after a week or two, then a smaller percentage actually light up again after a month, but once you make it a couple of months your body doesn't have the physical craving and it's all habit your mind is wanting to repeat.

Jeffrey

I gave up about 10:30 pm (last night) and had a smoke then and again at 11:30. But that's good as my usual pattern is to smoke every hour. I smoke pipes so at least not inhaling. I am a person who can be relentless so I am sure I will eventually kick the habit. Haven't smoked yet today, but have done a lot of walking meditation to combat the urge.

DairyLama

Jeffrey said:

Haven't smoked yet today, but have done a lot of walking meditation to combat the urge.

Good on you!

how

My quitting of smoking was a bit odd. Where I was working, we'd socially gather before work shift/both coffee breaks and at lunchtime. We all smoked and playing with the paraphernalia of lighters, cigarettes and ash flicking was part of our social conditioning.

When I decided to quit, a large part of my difficulty was not knowing what to do with my hands that were so used to being part of a smokers social language.
I decided that during my breaks with other smokers, to just place my hands on my lap, one on top of the other and leave them there as if they were dead. (this was before I started meditating). I would do that when ever the urge came up.
Anyway....Quiting after many years of smoking was surprisingly easy. Although it's tough to tell who is heavily addicted to smoking and who is not, I wondered if my easy time of quitting was due to my inadvertent concentration/meditation that was prompted by every urge to smoke.