Switching from smoking to vaping nicotine.

psychod787

I think I posted on the wrong forum earlier.
Just switched from smoking to vaping with a high powered mod sub ohm 6-12mg. Has anyone else switched from smoking to vaping nicotine and gained weight? I have heard that nicotine increases metabolism. I am just wondering if where you get it from matters. A cigarette vs a vape. Thanks!

PAV8888

Great idea and an excellent first step.

The drug is the drug and the effects of the drug in terms of pushing your body to get rid of it would be impacted by total dosage more so than by delivery.

Watch that you don't over-vape/over-drug, I've seen people vape all day with abandon and get over-nicotined!

One of the "benefits" of vaping is that you can substitute lower levels of nicotine over time without even noticing. I would heartily suggest tapering off that way, perhaps setup a program to do so!

I mean, I personally only think of vaping as less bad than smoking because we KNOW that smoking is bad. This doesn't make vaping GOOD; it only makes it PROBABLY less bad.

In terms of relative health risk... smoking is a bigger health risk than being overweight. Even bigger than being sub BMI 40 obese.

So kudos!!!

StevefromMichigan

Good for you. I was able to quit smoking almost 20 years ago with the patch...after many, many tries

I agree that it is a good first step. Hopefully, in time, you can quit nicotine completely, but one thing at a time, right?

callsitlikeiseeit

i quit smoking using an ecig years ago. then down to 0 nic.

no, i did not gain weight.
eating too much is what causes weight gain.

Christine_72

I've been vaping for 2-3 years, and there was no weight gain when i switched from cigs.

The_Ta

Vaping isn’t really better for you than smoking. You are still inhaling irritants into the lungs, and you can develop what is known as popcorn lung. But if it helps you to wean off nicotine so you can kick the habit...kudos to you.

Nicotine doesn’t increase your metabolism, but the desire to eat may be lessened due to an elevated heart rate.

SCoil123

Vaping helped me quit smoking and I was able to increase my endurance working out without inhaling the tar. My doctor is extremely happy with the change in my health and my weight loss since making the switch. It also helps me not to snack on sweets at night because the vape flavor satisfies that craving for me.

As to the person who commented on “popcorn lung” - nope. That was a bunk study of one type of flavoring which isn’t used any more.

phoebe1975

Please don't listen to anyone who tells you that vaping is just as bad as smoking! I quit August 22, 2013 using an e cig and gradually cut down to 0 mg nicotine- I feel 1000% better and no longer have constant issues with coughing and borderline bronchitis...I ran two half-marathons since then which I NEVER could have done before! The popcorn lung issue is related to diacetyl, and the vast majority of liquids do not contain diacetyl. The biggest risk with ecigs are shoddy high-powered mods. I actually lost weight after quitting cigs because I was just so proud of myself- it really boosted my self-confidence!! Good luck you can do it!! (This is from a previous pack a day smoker, 23 years, tried patches, cold turkey, hypnosis, gum, books, acupuncture)

SCoil123

phoebe1975 wrote: »

Please don't listen to anyone who tells you that vaping is just as bad as smoking! I quit August 22, 2013 using an e cig and gradually cut down to 0 mg nicotine- I feel 1000% better and no longer have constant issues with coughing and borderline bronchitis...I ran two half-marathons since then which I NEVER could have done before! The popcorn lung issue is related to diacetyl, and the vast majority of liquids do not contain diacetyl. The biggest risk with ecigs are shoddy high-powered mods. I actually lost weight after quitting cigs because I was just so proud of myself- it really boosted my self-confidence!! Good luck you can do it!! (This is from a previous pack a day smoker, 23 years, tried patches, cold turkey, hypnosis, gum, books, acupuncture)

Good job! And I agree 100% I smoked 2 packs of American Spirits a day for 20 years. It’s been 3 years since I quit and I still vape alternating between low nic and zero. I no longer have chronic bronchitis and am a healthy weight now

DX2JX2

I quit a couple of months ago. Nicotine is nicotine, source doesn't matter as long as you can make the physical adjustment (why a lot of people struggle with the patch or the gum).

That said, this works both ways. You will remain addicted to nicotine while vaping and this could increase your chances of relapsing back to cigarettes, especially if you tend to hang out with other smokers.

I've actually heard horror stories that vaping is actually much harder to quit than cigarettes. I don't have experience with it, but there are people out there who say that if they knew how hard vaping was to quit, they would have preferred just going cold turkey from cigarettes to begin with. That said, the benefits of quitting the harmful effects of smoke are pretty clear so you're still doing yourself good by avoiding cigarettes.

Congratulations on the first step and best of luck to you.

aeloine

I'll be honest, I was getting more nicotine from vaping than I EVER got from cigarettes because you can vape continuously, indoors, in your car, outside..... I vaped so much that my heart would start racing at times, and I was using level 2 liquids.

Obviously, YMMV, but I finally quit cold turkey (no gum, patches, lozenges, vaping) 21 days ago and haven't looked back. Like losing weight, this time around it's going to stick!

DX2JX2

aeloine wrote: »

I'll be honest, I was getting more nicotine from vaping than I EVER got from cigarettes because you can vape continuously, indoors, in your car, outside..... I vaped so much that my heart would start racing at times, and I was using level 2 liquids.

Obviously, YMMV, but I finally quit cold turkey (no gum, patches, lozenges, vaping) 21 days ago and haven't looked back. Like losing weight, this time around it's going to stick!

Congratulations! As mentioned above, I finally quit cold turkey going on three months now after a number of prior attempts with the gum.

A word of advice...the next few months have the potential for trouble since you're still going to really want cigarettes and may lose the focus you had as a brand new non-smoker.

Stay strong and stay focused. Every time you think you want a cigarette, take a few deep breaths and remember that you are no longer addicted to nicotine. Even if you were to have one, that cigarette would do absolutely nothing for you. Your body does not need it anymore.

stanmann571

The_Ta wrote: »

Nicotine doesn’t increase your metabolism, but the desire to eat may be lessened due to an elevated heart rate.

Just like caffeine, it is a stimulant and increases metabolism AND reduces appetite.

psychod787

Thanks for all the info and support. I hope to be able to return the love to y'all.

saraonly9913

I quit on Chantix. Be careful with vaping. My friend ended up getting liquid in his lungs.

Christine_72

aeloine wrote: »

I'll be honest, I was getting more nicotine from vaping than I EVER got from cigarettes because you can vape continuously, indoors, in your car, outside.....

So very true! I vape a hell of a lot more than i ever smoked. My husband won't even go to the toilet without his.

With smoking, you go outside and have one then come back in and carry on as usual. With vaping, that frickan contraption is glued to my hand all day. I've started leaving it at home when i go to the shops or walking my dog, only small outings though, like less than a couple of hours lol

PAV8888

Christine_72 wrote: »

aeloine wrote: »

I'll be honest, I was getting more nicotine from vaping than I EVER got from cigarettes because you can vape continuously, indoors, in your car, outside.....

So very true! I vape a hell of a lot more than i ever smoked. My husband won't even go to the toilet without his.
With smoking, you go outside and have one then come back in and carry on as usual. With vaping, that frickan contraption is glued to my hand all day. I've started leaving it at home when i go to the shops or walking my dog, only small outings though, like less than a couple of hours lol

Your description of people vaping more often corresponds with my own observations Christine. But, i am also curious since I often don't see people doing this... have you tried slowly lowering your vaping nicotine content in an attempt to get rid of the nicotine component of the habit?

Christine_72

PAV8888 wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

aeloine wrote: »

I'll be honest, I was getting more nicotine from vaping than I EVER got from cigarettes because you can vape continuously, indoors, in your car, outside.....

So very true! I vape a hell of a lot more than i ever smoked. My husband won't even go to the toilet without his.
With smoking, you go outside and have one then come back in and carry on as usual. With vaping, that frickan contraption is glued to my hand all day. I've started leaving it at home when i go to the shops or walking my dog, only small outings though, like less than a couple of hours lol

Your description of people vaping more often corresponds with my own observations Christine. But, i am also curious since I often don't see people doing this... have you tried slowly lowering your vaping nicotine content in an attempt to get rid of the nicotine component of the habit?

Yes, we have tried reducing quite a few times, but always end up going back up as it's just like puffing on air and makes us vape even more looking for that throat hit. A couple of months ago we decided not to reorder nicotine, and let me tell you that was the worst week ever. My husband and I were constantly bickering the whole time.. It was a worrying experience and puts me off of trying again. It really sh*ts me that this stuff has such a strong hold over me
FTR we add 2ml of nicotine to 30ml of juice. I don't know if that's a lot or not compared to what others use??

DX2JX2

Christine_72 wrote: »

Yes, we have tried reducing quite a few times, but always end up going back up as it's just like puffing on air and makes us vape even more looking for that throat hit. A couple of months ago we decided not to reorder nicotine, and let me tell you that was the worst week ever. My husband and I were constantly bickering the whole time.. It was a worrying experience and puts me off of trying again. It really sh*ts me that this stuff has such a strong hold over me
FTR we add 2ml of nicotine to 30ml of juice. I don't know if that's a lot or not compared to what others use??

What is it they say? That nicotine is more addictive than heroin? It's absolutely true.

It pisses me off that companies have been allowed for so long to get people addicted to this stuff and to sell it in a form that will actually kill them. I used that anger as motivation when I was struggling to quit cold turkey. I kept saying to myself 'screw the tobacco companies and nicotine. they will not beat me' during my worst cravings and it actually worked.

Johnd2000

There’s a lot of woo here. Nicotine is no more harmful than caffeine. It was always the smoke that caused the harm, not the nicotine.

Vaping isn’t just a bit safer than smoking. It’s at least 95% safer. If you smoke, switching is a no-brainer.

DX2JX2

Johnd2000 wrote: »

There’s a lot of woo here. Nicotine is no more harmful than caffeine. It was always the smoke that caused the harm, not the nicotine.

Vaping isn’t just a bit safer than smoking. It’s at least 95% safer. If you smoke, switching is a no-brainer.

Choice between continuing to smoke or switching to vaping? Vaping no question though it's possible that vaping will actually lead to a stronger nicotine addiction and potentially ease the way back to smoking down the road.

Choice between quitting cold turkey vs. switching to vaping? I'm not sure the answer is so certain. I've heard way too much anecdotal information that quitting vaping is actually harder than quitting cigarettes and my personal experience has taught me that staying addicted to nicotine makes getting back on cigarettes really really easy. Cold turkey is the only thing that worked for me.