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People hooked on vapes try a new way to quit: cigarettes

248 points · 335 comments · alephnerd

  1. S0y · · focus · HN ↗
    Here's what I did to get rid of my nicotine addiction (vaping):

    - Gradually lower the strength of my liquid until it was at the minimum.

    - Stop all vaping and switch to nicotine gum

    - Gradually increase the time between each gum

    - Stop the gum altogether

    This process took probably 3 months and tbh it was pretty miserable the whole time. It's 100% worth it tho, You don't realize how much it controls your life until you stop. You will also still get random cravings for a year or two afterwards, Heck it's been 4 years and I still sometimes get dreams where I'm vaping.

    1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

      [deleted]

    2. JKCalhoun · · focus · HN ↗
      Stopped smoking cold turkey when my first daughter was born.

      For the first year I wanted a cigarette every fucking day.

      Years later, I still had dreams where I would light up…

      20+ years on, a distant memory.

      1. ivanvanderbyl · · focus · HN ↗
        My father did the same thing. He used to smoke a pack a day and the day that I was born he quit and never touched it again, and then when I was old enough to understand cigarettes, he taught me to never start smoking and I never have.
        1. reilly3000 · · focus · HN ↗
          Stay that way. Your first cigarette will never let you forget it.
          1. madwolf · · focus · HN ↗
            Not necessarily. I’m over 40 now and had a total of 3 cigarettes in my life, all of them in my twenties, parties, hanging out with people smoking etc. Every time it was a terrible experience and I was amazed why people do this to themselves…
            1. outime · · focus · HN ↗
              I don't think OP advice is wrong as a general advice though. I've also smoked very sporadically and never got really hooked (as opposed to my whole family), but plenty of regular smokers started with that first one. It's better to not take any chances.
            2. JKCalhoun · · focus · HN ↗
              Yeah, same for me—the first dozen or so sucked.

              And then one day they were awesome and relaxing.

          2. Markoff · · focus · HN ↗
            No need to be drama queen. I am also 40+, had for sure 10-20 cigarettes in my teenage years to try it and on social ocassions with friends, never saw the appeal, found the taste disgusting (and remember being dizzy) and don't remember my 1st cigarette at all. For the record I dislike as well taste of beer or coffee, got used to wine, which I drink only when visiting father or him visiting me, so totally like twice a year (though it's then multiday affair). It's same with alcohol addiction, drank fairly enough during teenage years, then pretty much stopped completely during 20s (only rarely with colleagues), then around 30 while in China was drinking daily for lunch and dinner 40+ % spirit (baijiu) for months with colleagues, then completely stopped overnight after finding better (but less laid-back) job.

            Now recreational marijuana (ideally through bong) is way way more appealing than dumb tobacco cigarettes which do nothing, had it during my teenage years and also during my 20s on different ocassions with colleagues/friends (one of them used it during cancer treatment) and I can see myself having some even now in 40s if I could buy it legally.

          3. bluecheese452 · · focus · HN ↗
            I had maybe 10 cigarettes lifetime. Haven’t had one in a decade.
        2. tempestn · · focus · HN ↗
          Though it took my dad a bit longer, he managed to quit for good when I was a kid. Still died of lung disease at 80, but I have to think it would likely have been much sooner if he'd never quit. Anyway, watching him struggle with it when I was young definitely make me repulsed by cigarettes (and most other addictive substances) such that I've certainly never been tempted to try them.
        3. JKCalhoun · · focus · HN ↗
          Good for him.
      2. pc86 · · focus · HN ↗
        I don't know the movie or show but there is a scene where someone asks a woman who quick smoking a long time ago (10 years maybe?) if she ever thinks about smoking and she says "every time someone lights up next to me at the bar I want to suck the smoke out of their lungs."

        I smoked more than a pack a day for probably 7 or 8 years and quit a couple years after college, not quite cold turkey but basically just trying to wait a little longer between each cigarette. Eventually when the last half of the pack is stale and disgusting but you smoke them anyway because they're expensive, you just kind of stop one day. It was many, many years of no nicotine at all before I stopped thinking about it every day though.

        1. JKCalhoun · · focus · HN ↗
          Yeah, sometimes the whiff of cigarette smoke from a passing stranger puts a small, guilty smile on my face.
      3. drooopy · · focus · HN ↗
        Went cold turkey during the first covid lockdown. It was a combination of not being able to go out to buy cigarettes and also the fear of dying since I was a heavy chainsmoker.

        Honestly, I didn't miss it once.

        1. SOLAR_FIELDS · · focus · HN ↗
          I finally quit because of COVID. I got long COVID so bad and my lungs were so messed up that every time I tried to smoke it was a horrible experience. 6 months later when I finally felt good enough to try again the desire was pretty much gone. I genuinely tried to re addict myself and couldn’t do it
          1. bityard · · focus · HN ↗
            I don't know if that last line was meant to be funny, but it gave me a good laugh. We should all be so "lucky!"
            1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

              [deleted]

      4. kakwa_ · · focus · HN ↗
        Having a motivation, even minor, helps a lot.

        For me, it was the requirement to be nicotine free for a few months around a surgery.

        I went the patch route and it was a somewhat difficult 3 months, but it has been a blessing not have to clear-out my through every morning or anxiously anticipating stuff like a long flight or train ride.

        I also got the "oh shit, I relapsed" dreams for about a year after I quit.

      5. sick_of_slop · · focus · HN ↗

        [dead]

    3. simoncion · · focus · HN ↗
      > Heck it's been 4 years and I still sometimes get dreams where I'm vaping.

      It has been way more than four years for me, and I'll smell some cigarette smoke when I'm in a mood and be all like "Man, wouldn't it be nice if I got me one of those?".

      But, I can say the same sort of thing about my reaction to the odor of coffee or caffeinated tea. Despite the fact that the very same place I get my coffee and tea from sells cigarettes -and wouldn't even card me because I'm so very obviously old- I've been able to quit nicotine. I've never been able to quit caffeine.

      1. idiotsecant · · focus · HN ↗
        How do people not just do the easy pleasurable thing? I am incredibly prone to addictions and I don't understand how some people aren't.
        1. iamjackg · · focus · HN ↗
          Genetic lottery, I think. There are some "addictions" I've been able to give up incredibly easily, and others I still struggle with. Other people have the opposite problem, others still don't have any at all. The older I get, the more I think willpower is a made up concept.
          1. globular-toast · · focus · HN ↗
            Sadly true, I think. My grandparents gave up smoking at the same time after grandad contracted emphysema. They were the generation that believed smoking was good for them and smoked for 50+ years. My grandma was shocked that she had physical withdrawal symptoms, something she associated with "druggies". But it went away after two weeks. After that my grandma never thought of smoking again and actually became repulsed by smoke. But my grandad never got over it, he craved a cigarette every day for the rest of his life.
        2. deaux · · focus · HN ↗
          How are you right now not drunk while munching on cake and playing an online slot machine?
          1. ae715413 · · focus · HN ↗
            What makes you think I'm not?
          2. idiotsecant · · focus · HN ↗
            Don't give me ideas
        3. esseph · · focus · HN ↗
          Impulse control?
        4. chantepierre · · focus · HN ↗
          I am very prone to (mostly digital) addictions, but on nicotine, despite having been smoking 7 years, I’ve quit cold turkey without trouble, and since then, I can absolutely just borrow one to a friend, maybe 2 or 3 times per year, without any withdrawal symptoms. It does not have any effect. I don’t understand anything about that :|
        5. chihuahua · · focus · HN ↗
          That's funny, as I was reading the comments on this page I was thinking the opposite: I don't understand people who get addicted to things.

          Smoking seems gross and stupid and self-destructive to me.

          Alcohol does nothing for me, I don't understand why people drink alcohol when it's clear they will get a hangover. Sometimes I drink wine or beer but there's nothing appealing about it.

          Gambling (casinos, online, sports betting) seems stupid and pointless - it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll lose, it's the whole point of a casino.

          Caffeine - I drink tea and coffee, but most of it without caffeine. Sometimes I drink caffeine every morning for a couple of weeks (mountain biking vacation), and then I stop it and feel bad for a day and then I'm back to normal.

          I guess I'm just lucky.

          1. program_whiz · · focus · HN ↗
            Probably the same way normies view us who spend time reading and commenting to semi-hostile strangers on the internet.
          2. bityard · · focus · HN ↗
            You likely have no idea just how lucky you are.
        6. cladopa · · focus · HN ↗
          Because it is not pleasurable at all? When I was a kid, I saw a couple of friends get addicted to smoking, from the first cigarette. I have seen dozens of acquaintances as well because I was interested in the process.

          Even myself tested his firsts cigarettes.

          It was so painful. The body reacts violently when you try to poison it. Severe coughs that people try to hide, trying to appear strong while they could not help it making impulsive movements. It tastes like sh*ht, it burns your lungs. You stink, your clothing and breath stinks.

          It takes a lot of concious and painful work in order to force your body into accepting that.

          For me it was pure stupidity to make a deliberate effort to get hooked into an addiction, so I just did not continue.

          I couldn't help but see that this way. I read a lot so I knew what was coming next. It is like casinos not inviting mathematicians or physicist to conferences, as because of their training, they can see the probabilities inside out and never fall in the emotional trap.

          1. ShadowOfThePit · · focus · HN ↗
            > Because it is not pleasurable at all?

            There wouldn't be a trillion-dollar market for tobacco if it was "not pleasurable at all". Your personal experience isn't universal, man.

            > It takes a lot of concious and painful work in order to force your body into accepting that.

            Of course it does! But guess what? It feels sooo goood that people get addicted to it!

          2. bityard · · focus · HN ↗
            Your experience is very atypical.

            If you grew up in a house with smokers, you would not find the smell unusual.

            Only the first 2-3 in your life are any kind of challenge to get through, after that it's smooth sailing, unfortunately. For most people.

            Count yourself lucky I guess.

        7. astura · · focus · HN ↗
          Honestly? I think it's just a mindset.
      2. tpm · · focus · HN ↗
        I have never been addicted to nicotine so can't compare but it's quite easy to quit caffeine, I'll get headaches for a few days and then it's gone. But then what? Caffeine makes it easy to concentrate and work, enables me to get anything done at all. Other drugs that do that are illegal. Maybe one day, when I'm no longer working, I'll quit it for good. Not yet.
    4. DANmode · · focus · HN ↗
      What have you done to replace the receptor-clearing capability nicotine has that likely “addicted” you in the first place?

      (Feeling okay is addictive.)

    5. fibonachos · · focus · HN ↗
      In my late 20s and early 30s I would frequently join my coworkers outside while they took a smoke break. I would generally try to stay at the periphery or upwind when possible. Over time, I found myself having inexplicable cravings for a cigarette despite never having smoked one. Presumably this was due second hand exposure. (Acknowledging it would have been smarter to simply stay indoors.)

      That eventually faded after our careers took us in different directions, and landing remote roles or at places with fewer or no smokers.

      I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to quit. Props to anyone who makes the attempt, successfully or otherwise.

      1. w-ll · · focus · HN ↗
        thats how we all get started. its a social thing, your in or your out. sucks. but its what it is.
    6. nerdawson · · focus · HN ↗
      I vaped for around a year and each attempt to quit ended in failure.

      The first attempt, quite early on, I hadn't realised how dependent I'd become and thought it would be easy. Sure, I enjoyed vaping, but I didn't "have" to do it. Give it a couple days and I'll be back to normal. Predictably that went poorly.

      Various other attempts I'd now look back on as thinking I could outsmart addiction and try to ease out of it, when in reality it was little more than procrastination.

      Oh, I'll start to limit the times I vape. Only between certain hours. Or I'll go outside and do it, make it inconvenient and less appealing. I'll buy flavours I don't enjoy as much and change the association.

      For me the only way to stop was to accept the unpleasantness of going cold-turkey. I knew going in that the first 48-72 hours would be brutal but that it would get significantly easier afterwards. There's always a reason to delay but everything I attempted short of actually stopping feels like self-deception.

    7. fzeindl · · focus · HN ↗
      I combined a couple of methods:

      - stop smoking in certain situations (no cigarette at the bus stop, no cigarette after lunch, …)

      - allow myself to put out a cigarette halfway when I’m smoking. I lapsed and lit one, but that doesn’t mean I have to finish it.

      - try to feel the downsides of the cigarette while smoking. The nicotine high mostly overrides this, but it’s possible to concentrate on the yucky feeling in your mouth, your lungs being burned etc.

      - telling myself that I am sure I want to stop smoking at some point in my life so I might as well stop now.

    8. sportsracersss · · focus · HN ↗
      Good job!! Would it have been less miserable if you did it more slowly? With antidepressants and other psychoactive meds the ride tends to be easier when it's drawn out longer.
    9. jh00ker · · focus · HN ↗
      Good for you, friend! You should feel proud.
    10. petesergeant · · focus · HN ↗
      Last time I managed to get addicted, the gum was a lifeline. I found it pretty easy to switch to, to be honest, and just told myself it was OK if I was on it forever. After about 4 months of as much gum as I wanted, whenever, I started working down through the dosages, eventually making little Franken-gums by using a pill-cutter and regular gum to split the dosage further.

      I didn't find the process especially miserable.

    11. ls-a · · focus · HN ↗

      [dead]

    12. herbst · · focus · HN ↗
      Tabex (laburnum extract), something to boost dopamin for the first weeks and probably the actual will to do so. Quitting was actually easy that way.
    13. momocowcow · · focus · HN ↗
      Thank you. A similar regiment also works for digital technologies
    14. sharperguy · · focus · HN ↗
      I did something similar but without the gum stage. Since I was buying concentrated nicotine liquid and diluting it with a PG/VG mix, I would just reduce the strength until I was literally putting a single drop of the strong nicotine liquid into my 10ml vial of PG/VG. Then to prevent just vaping more I would count the number of puffs per hour and reduce it until after one puff per hour I'd go to one puff every 2 hours etc.

      I drew it out over several months. The thing I was really surprised by was that when I finally stopped, I still felt withdrawal symptoms, which is a testament to how addictive nicotine is, given what a tiny amount I had reached.

      1. mtlmtlmtlmtl · · focus · HN ↗
        I actually tried something similar, but failed. I'm curious, how often did you dilute and by how much?

        This was my setup: I mixed up 100ml of e-juice in a graduated bottle at whatever strength I was using at the time, somewhere between 15 and 20 mg/ml, can't remember exactly. From that bottle, I would fill a separate 10ml bottle, which I'd use to refill my tank. After refilling the 10ml bottle, I would top up the big bottle with VG/PG back up to 100ml, so diluting by 10%. I was vaping about half a 5ml tank per day at this point, so the 10ml one lasted about 4 days, and I'd top up the tank every morning. The theory being that the stuff in the tank would also get somewhat diluted every time I topped it up, since it would gradually get more of the stuff from the most recent filling of the 10ml bottle.

        But somehow I just ended up unconsciously vaping more and with longer puff until I was at one tank per day, and then more than one tank per day.

        1. sharperguy · · focus · HN ↗
          Instead of a tank I was also using an open dripper head on the vape, so I could basically limit how many drops of liquid I was putting on the actual coil. And I would basically just look at the clock to see when it was time to add more.
    15. benjaminclauss · · focus · HN ↗
      I never got in to smoking, but even having done ZYNs a handful of times (e.g., with friends on trips, think I bought 2-3 tins maximum), I find myself craving them. Nicotine is insane.
    16. potsandpans · · focus · HN ↗
      > You will also still get random cravings for a year or two afterwards, Heck it's been 4 years and I still sometimes get dreams where I'm vaping.

      It's been 9 years since I've quit smoking and still to this day out of nowhere I will have a thought, "ok, quick smoke and on to the next task"

      Recently it happened to me and I was wondering if there are just some neural pathways that are permanently wired to that reward function

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