Electronic Cigarettes

jamesoliverstone

jamesoliverstone

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Well, I have been doing a load of research into these today and have just ordered myself a much healthier alternative to smoking.

I have tried to give up many a time, but the sad fact is that I just enjoy smoking with alcohol and with friends, but I know I have to give up for the serious health problems it will cause me.

So, I bought an intellicig today after reading up on them in the hope that this will stop me smoking tobacco altogether.

For those that dont know what it is, its an electronic cigarette that has a small cartridge of liquid inside that when you draw on it, it vaporises the liquid into a condensation that you use as smoke. It works like a normal cigarette and gives you the same taste, feeling and nicotene hit, but without the other 4000 odd toxic chemicals.

The liquid only has 3 ingredients, vegetable glycol, de-ionised water and pure grade nicotine.

It still produces real smoke when you draw, but has no odour or toxic chemicals.

Check out the website...
http://www.intellicig.com

Anyone else used these? I am keen to give anything a go that is a replacement for smoking tobacco.

I know these are causing a stir, especially in america and with the tobacco industry who want them banned (cant imagine why ;))

But after seeing them in action, its got to be a thousand times better for you than a real one...

Its really weird to see them in action too, as its just like a normal cigarette but all it produces is water vapour! So they are also legal to use in public places too, as it doesnt produce anything but water ;)

Check out this (rather dodgy) youtube vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVu0Ixnpo2s
 
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Good luck with it James.

I gave up smoking about 15 years ago now & best thing I ever did, I had to do it cold turkey though as no gadgets like this then.

Hoipe you beat the weed mate.:thumbs:
 
Looks interesting James - let us know how you get on with it.
 
I gave up 5 years ago, best thing I've ever done - did so with patches to help.

I'm not sure these are that great, just from experience I had to issues with giving up, firstly I liked the actions of smoking, lighting up, taking a drag, having a pint etc etc and I don't see how these will help break that habit, and secondly breaking the nicotine addiction is easier but still hard - these don' seem to help with this.

Although looking at them they don't seem to be a quitting aid, more a replacement which in itself ain't a bad thing.

Nicotine, in itself though, is still a dangerous toxin and not the best for you. I don't think these are a free option.
 
Will be very interested to hear how you get on with this. Also whether in your opinion if they do taste same as a cigarrette and also how many fags = 1 capsule thingy.
Hope you will keep us in touch as I for one would be very interested in getting one for my son and his girlfriend,
 
Does indeed look interesting. Web-site says there's a stockist just over a mile from me, might pop in for a look.
 
I am with you all the way on quitting and I also looked into those but I wasn't convinced.
I've tried many times to quit and twice I was prescribed zyban and lasted about month before I started smoking again.
A friend of mine signed up the NHS quit clinic a few weeks ago and he inspired me to quit.
They prescribed him with the patches, gum and inhaler, however, Barnet NHS are tighter and would only allow one NRT.
I opted for the patches but I also bought a Nicorette inhaler as I was advised that there has been a higher success rate with quitting when some people use two NRT products.
It's been a week and half since I quit and there is no way I will give in this time.
I think part of the reason is that this time I really do want to quit rather than make a half arsed attempt.
I have the 24 hour patches as I was advised that as it takes 20 minutes for them to kick in, it's easier first thing in the morning.
Well no and as coincidence, my friend and I both suffered fron the same side affect of having sleep problems and very vivid dreams.
After two nights of this I had enough and stopped wearing a patch when I went to bed.
If need be in the mornings I use the inhaler but as time moves on I am finding I am using it less and less in the mornings.
I'm getting through one capsule a day with the inhaler which is supposed to equal two - three ciggys.
When they first took my cabon monoxide reading the lady told me it was one of the highest readings she had ever seen.
This week my reading had fallen to one which equates to a non smoker living in a non polluted envoiroment.
That gave me major boost because I have been smloking for 31 years.
I feel am already feeling the benefits, I can walk faster without feeling out of breath and that alone has made me feel so much better.

In the past I have suffered from a blood clot on the lung, a heart attack and I also suffer from sleep apnoea.
There is no cure for sleep apnoea but I am quite sure that quitting smoking and loosing weight will greatly reduce this for me.

I honestly never thought I could quit and I know it's early days but nothing will ever get me smoking again.
If I can quit anyone can, I don't have any will power, if someone put a bar of chocolate in front of me, it wouldn't be there very long.
However, I believe determination and pure stubborness are helping me.
 
Good luck James and Darren. I move into a rented flat at the end of the month and not allowed to smoke in it. So, it's a good time for me to give up, plus I'll will be too skint to afford them. I do suffer with my chest a lot and forever puffing on Salbutmol and Seretide inhalers in between ciggies. :gag:

The intellicig seems good so please let me know how you get on with one James if you decide to give them a go.
 
I'm on month four of giving up. You can do it!! I used to smoke 30 a day and gave up completely cold turkey ;-)
 
I'm sat here puffing away on one now!

As Nike would say....

Just do it!
 
crazy badger said:
I'm sat here puffing away on one now!

As Nike would say....

Just do it!
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Well your the fool then and even more foolish stating it in a thread where people have either quit or want to quit :shake:
 
fabs said:
James, I was at a TP meet on Saturday with Darran (Hashcake) and he appeared to be using one of these. Maybe drop him a PM?

Coming up to 6 years since I gave up (with no sex aids), best thing I ever did. Best of luck with it.
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Oh my! :eek:
 
Never give up giving up.

I'm 44 coming up 45. Last August I gave up and lasted right through until just before new year and then I dabbled a bit for a week or so then stopped again for 2 weeks and started smoking back to nearly 30 a day.

This week after finally going to see the smoking cessation advisor at GP's I'm hopefully stopping again.

I never kicked myself when I started smoking again although felt dissappointed. I put loads of weight on last year, but lost nearly 2 stone after exercising as I started to feel better after about 3 months of giving up.

I used and am using again patches, 24hr but taking them off at night and niquitin Mini's lozenges.

I leave a new patch for the morning by my bedside to stick on straightaway.

The best thing last year was I stuck all my smoke money in a seperate account and bought my first SLR, actually it was a Sony a55 SLT. But I was well chuffed after the hard work.

I'm still committed to giving up and can see the benfits both health and financial.

Just don't give up giving up.

JOD.
 
Funny you should mention this James because I am looking at using something like this having tried and failed on a number of occasions to give up. Somebody recommended Vapestick and he has been successful so I may well give it a go.
 
One of the guys I worked with tried using on of these as a 'healthier alternative' but he found it hurt his throat more so he's gone back to normal cigarettes but is cutting down more than he was on the electric.
 
Hmm. I've stopped smoking quite a few times - cold turkey, zyban, patches and all the rest of it - and haven't found one way any better than the others. It's easy for the first 2 - 3 weeks, no withdrawal symptoms at all, then it just starts getting more and more difficult for me.

Wife reckons I don't really want to stop, and that I just drift back to it because I'm a smoker and that's what I want to be. Maybe she's right.
 
You need to want to stop. I quit almost 4 years ago. Used herbal cigarettes for a couple of days but not nicotine. The herbal ones smelled so badly that I stopped using them all together and hung in there. Best thing I ever done so give it a good go and you will surely succeed!
 
Thanks for all the advice guys and girls :)

Well the thing is I know deep down that I don't really want to give up yet as I enjoy a smoke when winding down at the end of the week, I really only smoke maybe 10 a week if that... So I am really looking for a much healthier alternative that still gives me the same feeling.

Once I am used to using it, I will switch to the low nicotine capsules and then eventually the nicotine free ones and at that point I shall try to quit altogether.

It should be arriving today so I will let you know what it's like ;)
 
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My advice......go see a smoking cessation advisor at your GP's....you don't have to take the advice, it's free but may be of benefit.

I was a heavy smoker for...erm....28 yrs......first thing out of bed right through to going to bed. I had never considered the advisor but I am too commited to stopping after my initial 5 months.

Patches are good but x2 NRT's are better in tandem.

JOD.
 
This saturday i will of quit for 2 years, one of the best things ive done.

The dog suffered thou, she always went outside with me when i went for a smoke, when i quit i kept forgeting to let her out.
 
Hacker said:
having tried and failed
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You haven't failed, you just haven't decided to stop yet.

I'll have been stopped for a year next week. Nothing prompted me, I just woke up one day and decided I didn't want to smoke anymore. I bought patches but onluy used them for a day as I came out in big lumps.

It's not as hard as people are conditioned to believe. The psychological side is worse than the physical.
 
James - you sound like me. I loved smoking. I loved the feeling of it, the social aspect of it, the routine of it. I was a smoker through and through.

Then when I was 30 I was off work for 3 months with a horrendous chest infection. Something just "clicked" and I gave up. I read the Allan Carr book and it was great. Mainly because it says right at the beginning to keep smoking as you read it and eventually you just realise you're not enjoying it and stop of your own accord.

That was 7 years ago and I've never looked back. I never even was tempted out in the pub or anything like that (back in the days you could smoke inside ;) ). People could smoke next to me or offer me a cigarette and I wasn't tempted.

You've got to want to do it too. But the book really worked for me.

Good luck :)
 
Well I've got to the point where I've given up - giving up :(
There really is no hope for me. I've tried it all - patches, inhaler, Chantix, Allen Carr's book (that almost worked :D ) hypnotherepy, gum.............

The funny thing with me is I know exactly why I cannot/do not give up..........


FEAR.
I have this crazy thought in my head, and some people have confirmed it, that the cravings never go away. My cravings are pretty strong, and when I need a fag, I NEED A FAG!!!!!
And I can't handle living with that 'I'm gasping for a fag' feeling forever.

When I've had a smoke, I get that 'damn that feels good' feeling!!!!
And I cannot live without that.

:(
 
Never give up giving up. My grandpa gave up at 80 something after smoking like a chimney from the age of 14!
 
andy_fozzy said:
Well I've got to the point where I've given up - giving up :(
There really is no hope for me. I've tried it all - patches, inhaler, Chantix, Allen Carr's book (that almost worked :D ) hypnotherepy, gum.............

The funny thing with me is I know exactly why I cannot/do not give up..........


FEAR.
I have this crazy thought in my head, and some people have confirmed it, that the cravings never go away. My cravings are pretty strong, and when I need a fag, I NEED A FAG!!!!!
And I can't handle living with that 'I'm gasping for a fag' feeling forever.

When I've had a smoke, I get that 'damn that feels good' feeling!!!!
And I cannot live without that.

:(
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Honestly mate, I know where you are coming from I've been there before many times just like you and had the exact same thoughts as you.
If you are not ready to quit it doesn't matter how you decide to do it, you will fail.
After being a smoker for 31 years, if I can quit anyone can, as I said previously I don't have will power and I still enjoyed smoking.

All I can say to people is don't wait for a major health scare be the cause of you quitting.
A blood clot on the lung then a heart attack a few years later, two trips in an ambulance with the blues and twos going and I still carried on smoking.
I still can't believe how incredibley stupid I was not have quit after one health scare, let along two.
Both my parents were smokers and both died from cancer one would think that would be enough to given me a wake up call.
 
I gave up last year and used electronic cigs as a substitute, and they were perfect - a different brand, but exactly the same idea. The biggest difference is weight, they are much heavier in your fingers than a normal ciggie, so feel odd, but I found them mainly useful when just sitting around at a computer, which was when I smoked heaviest. So, having a clean ashtray to rest them in is actually a good idea and enhances the feeling of actually smoking. Also, even if you only smoke low tar cigs, I would suggest starting with the stronger cartridges, simply because they are 'easier' to drag on and feel more realistic, I found I dropped down to the low ones very quickly, but in the first week or two of using them, you want it as effortless as possible. Just my experience mind, everyone is different.



However, for me I have found quitting easy [done it twice, once for over 2 years and for 6 mths last year] but its the weight gain afterwards that's the killer and has now become the mental stumbling block to giving up permanently. I have never been a fitness freak, or even mildly interested to be honest, so its always meant a piling on of pounds [1st time it all fell off the minute I started again, nearly 2 stones worth, last year it didn't come off, but has stopped going on]. However, this year I am taking a different approach, using contacts within networking groups, I am starting by trying to get the mind and body sorted first, getting the physical aches, pains and niggles worked on, to make being more active more comfortable, starting a pilates class as gentle break into excersize, and some hypnotherapy to curb the urge to stuff chocolate too often. Then when I feel happier about all that, the ciggies can sod off :D Thats the plan anyway :cuckoo:
 
Yv said:
However, for me I have found quitting easy [done it twice, once for over 2 years and for 6 mths last year] but its the weight gain afterwards that's the killer
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I have to admit that I as I am not slimmer of the year, this is a concern for me and I've noticed that I have started to eat more.
Although thanks to you, Trent country park is now a regular place for to go for long walks as it's quite extensive and so much bigger than the woods I normally go with the dog.
I can't face the idea of a going to a gym but I will seriously consider it if need be.
 
hashcake said:
Honestly mate, I know where you are coming from I've been there before many times just like you and had the exact same thoughts as you.
If you are not ready to quit it doesn't matter how you decide to do it, you will fail.
After being a smoker for 31 years, if I can quit anyone can, as I said previously I don't have will power and I still enjoyed smoking.

All I can say to people is don't wait for a major health scare be the cause of you quitting.
A blood clot on the lung then a heart attack a few years later, two trips in an ambulance with the blues and twos going and I still carried on smoking.
I still can't believe how incredibley stupid I was not have quit after one health scare, let along two.
Both my parents were smokers and both died from cancer one would think that would be enough to given me a wake up call.
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Cheers **** :D

But seriously now, because of the fears, I always managed to convince myself that I don't want to give up, and that I enjoy smoking.
Redicularse really, because what's to enjoy about it........
 
hashcake said:
I have to admit that I as I am not slimmer of the year, this is a concern for me and I've noticed that I have started to eat more.
Although thanks to you, Trent country park is now a regular place for to go for long walks as it's quite extensive and so much bigger than the woods I normally go with the dog.
I can't face the idea of a going to a gym but I will seriously consider it if need be.
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Yep, the idea of a gym leaves brings me out in a cold sweat, never mind a warm one - too many nights hanging around in the David Lloyd centre near you running the karate club. :exit:
However, I know a lady that does small group pilates sessions, where each group are of a similar level of ability and fitness, no more than 5 in a group, so thats what I am going to try first together with more of those long dog walks, break the aging body back into excersize more gently.
 
andy_fozzy said:
Well I've got to the point where I've given up - giving up :(
There really is no hope for me. I've tried it all - patches, inhaler, Chantix, Allen Carr's book (that almost worked :D ) hypnotherepy, gum.............

The funny thing with me is I know exactly why I cannot/do not give up..........


FEAR.
I have this crazy thought in my head, and some people have confirmed it, that the cravings never go away. My cravings are pretty strong, and when I need a fag, I NEED A FAG!!!!!
And I can't handle living with that 'I'm gasping for a fag' feeling forever.

When I've had a smoke, I get that 'damn that feels good' feeling!!!!
And I cannot live without that.

:(
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Ah, well. I've given up several times, as I said in a previous post, and it was weird. No withdrawal symptoms at all for several weeks, and I got past the point where most people seem to experience them, then they kicked in. Not funny. My ability to concentrate just evaporated because of the cravings and I gave in each time.

It is an addiction and nicotine is powerful, but I'm still not sure how much of it is physical and how much psychological. Perhaps that doesn't really matter.

FWIW, I read Carr's book and it didn't doing anything for me. A girl I knew in SA went to the group session and walked out feeling completely different. She didn't smoke for a year, and seemed comfortable with it, but a few drinks led to a few smokes at a party, and she was back to where she started.

I think my wife is right. I know I should give up, and in some ways I want to, but I quite enjoy being a smoker too. I'll try again, one day.
 
I was a smoker for over 45 years and tried giving up on a number of occasions. I tried electronic cigarettes about 18 months ago and at first I was a little disappointed. It wasn't the effect or taste that was a problem, it was the unreliability because of bad quality control and the amount of messing about in maintaining them to operate efficiently. However I persevered and tried 5 different types before ending up with the Titan Tornado. I have two types of Tornado, the Tank and the Mega. The Tank uses neat liquid that is soaked up by a wick in the atomiser and the Mega uses large cartridges with padding inside that is heated by the atomiser.
I have found that it is important to use good quality fluid (I don't use pre-filled cartridges, they are costly) because some fluids clog up the atomisers.
I started with high nicotene fluid to help me move off the cigarettes and now generally use low nicotene. I really enjoy the effect of vaping as it is called. There is no smoke from these only vapour and perfectly safe for people around you.
Obviously absorbing nicotene is still not ideal, but far better than any cancer causing chemicals. I really enjoy mine and have no heitation in encouraging anybody to use these over tobacco.

All my supplies come from http://www.totallywicked-eliquid.co.uk/ and I use their own liquid, lots of different flavours to try.

If you need any help or advice, please ask.
 
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