I badly want to quit smoking and start vaping, but have no clue where to begin

[mawinter]

As the title says, I want to quit smoking. I am 38 years old and have been smoking since I was 14. :/ It started out light less than a pack a day, but since a few years (6) now i am smoking close to 2 packs a day. I think the main reason I smoke is boredom, not that I do not have plenty of things to do oddly, but when at my desk here my ciggs are right near me, so I light up pretty frequently. The second trigger for me would be because I find it provides relief from stress, stress being chronic pain.
I have tried a few times over the years to quit, but only ever managed to last at max a month before going back to ciggs.
I have tried, cold turkey, patches, gum and the last thing I tried was an e-cigg which was supposed to equal 3 packs, but felt it did nothing for me.
A friend suggested vaping to me and I liked the idea of it, but I have no clue where to begin. The one thing I do know is I would like to buy my products online and they need to be able to be shipped to Germany, where I am currently living.
Can anyone shed some light?

Hi Mawinter. Firstly, to put your mind at rest, last time I checked there are no restrictions on e-cigarettes in Germany (though they will have to comply to the new EU directive). I have shipped e-cigs and liquid to many countries in the EU including Germany when helping out at my friend's business, and it's perfectly legal :) The only issue you may have is the cost of shipping, so may be worth you looking at German on-line shops purely from that aspect?

From the sound of it, your smoking has crept up through habit & convenience (much as mine did), so as a start I would suggest moving where you keep your fags to a different room to one you spend any time in - I used the kitchen, which in my house has nowhere to sit, and a friend used her spare bedroom. That way you have to make a conscious decision to get up and go to a different room to light up, rather than doing it automatically .

Have a read through some of the threads here which give plenty of advice on what type of kits to try and a few suggestions of specific makes & suppliers; as I said above they shouldn't have any issues with posting stuff to Germany apart from possibly having to charge extra for postage (depending on what method they use).

However I would say don't judge vaping in general from that one e-cig which you tried before; I'm guessing it was a "cig-a-like" type with a disposable cartomiser/cartridge, which are pretty awful compared to kits with a tank you fill yourself with e-liquid .

Don't worry about asking seemingly silly or basic questions here, we all started where you are & no question is too silly

Allergic has given you great advice - I can't better it.

But I am now nearly 60 & gave up a 20 a day habit (that I started at roughly the same age as you did) two & a half years ago & have never felt better nor quit with such ease.

You can do it & we are all here to support you.

No question is to silly to ask, I am the woman who had to go back to the vape shop as did not realise that you had to switch the battery on

Similar age to you and smoking a similar time, i did FINALLY manage to give up ( after trying every way imaginable) but then due to utter utter stupidity started again- doh.

I love vaping. I started with a cig a like ( the ones that look like a cigarette) - very expensive and horrid. Then bought a random starter kit - turned out to be very good and now traded up to eleaf icloud.

In the past, when i drank i would always end up buying fags but vaping keeps me on the straight and narrow, even after a VERY stressful day today the thought of a fag didnt cross my mind. In fact i am sure i would vom if i had one now.

Its great smelling of perfume instead of fags, its tonnes cheaper and i dont freeze my bum off going outside.

I would just buy a starter kit ( in the UK they are everywhere newsagents, garages etc) and give it a whorl, i had loads of help from these threads.

My first kit was from these people and they ship to Germany www.vapouriz.co.uk/customer-service/delivery-information.htm

I do find of an evening when i am sat watching tv or on here i do puff away every 10 mins or so but during the day less so as i am busy.

Good luck

Great idea on changing the rooms, will have to try that one out today.
Yes, it was one of those things which looked like a fake cigg that I tried. It was horrible and found myself gasping for air just to take a good enough hit on it.
I had a look on the vapouriz website and must say I like the look (and price) of the Fuse and think I may go with this one to start with. I do have some questions though. Which strength liquid of theirs should I buy given how much I currently smoke? I was thinking of starting with their Multibuy liquid offer and going with 2.4%, 1.8% and 1.2% to start with, based on how long they say their liquids will last. Though, this may or may not be too drastic in change over a short amount of time?
Should I get a spare battery right away, or just try out the kit first?
Their batteries show a USB cable as a charger, is this really how you charge them or must I plug it in to a wall? If plugging in to a wall, how will this work given the fact plugs are different here in Germany?
I really hope the no question is dumb rule really does apply. LOL

I just got the vapouriz fuse if you can get groupan website they are 20 pounds starter kit with 5 liquids be it the same flavour i got 1.8 as that is meduim

Unfortunately the Groupon deals are UK only - that pesky international postage thing!

You'll want at least 1.8% to start with and possibly 2.4% if you're on nearly 2 packs a day, and you'll probably get through around 20ml a week though this varies greatly person to person.

Yes you charge them through a USB cable. It's actually quicker to charge them through the mains (with a plug that takes a USB connection) but you need to be extremely careful doing this. Most e-cig batteries are designed to take a slower charge than things like mobile phones, so there's a good chance that if you use the supplied USB lead with most wall plugs then the battery could catch fire - this is the no. 1 reason for the batteries catching fire and what's usually happened when you see news reports on "unsafe" e-cig batteries. You could ask Vapouriz if they do a mains plug that fits a standard EU socket, but TBH I doubt they do as their market is the UK.

Mawinter - Obv I don't know where you are in Germany but I had a quick google & there are at least 20 vape shops in Berlin which makes me think there may well be an independent shop near you somewhere.

You might be better off going there & getting a starter kit - there is nothing like being shown how it all works.

And no question is ever too dumb to ask here.

For my vapouriz kit i had 2 batteries ( bought a starter kit and a spare batery) and would charge one of an evening whilst on the laptop - only takes an hour or so.They would last best bit of a day but depends on useage.

I now use this bit of kit for my out and about e cig, be warned they can leak if on their side so i always pop it in my back pocket ( religiously wear jeans) or stick it in the mobile phone holder bit in my handbag.

My eleaf icloud (sp?) holds charge for 3 days and i use this at night or when i am home.

Personally i like the plastic clearos ( bits that hold the liquid) they are cheap but you will need a few in as they do die and need replacing. My first one lasted 3 weeks. I bought a protank mini and i dont like it as much esp the metal tip but its personal preference.

Considering how much you smoke i would say start on 2.4% liquid and you can work down. I have already cut down from 1.8% to 1.2%. Get a couple of flavours in as its nice for a change, i surprised myself by liking cherry and pineapple juices.

At first you might be best to buy from a proper online supplier (vapouriz or whoever) as opposed to amazon as there are loads of fakey bits online. I bought the tank one not the fuse but thats because what my local newsagent supplied!

Really happy with it though - a while ago i found my old cigalike in the bottom of my bag and yuk, its a big leap up!

Good luck with whatever you decide - i just wish they had been about years ago!

magimedi I am in a small city, which is a 6 hour car ride from Berlin. Our local smoke shop across the street does not bother with any e-ciggs as he says there is no real market for them for his customers. :( There is always a head shop, but they mostly cater to the potheads and stock only the cheap shit of anything else. :o

Mrsstevejones Thanks! This really answered a lot. :)

How long a battery lasts depends on a) the individual user and b) the battery capacity. The standard Vapouriz battery that comes with their starter kit is 650mAh; this is pretty standard though there are a few companies that do 900mAh starter kits (e.g. Smartcigs).

Mrsstevejones have you thought about going for a halfway house type of tank? A comparatively cheap one but with replaceable atomiser units - I know you're comparatively faithful to Vapouriz, and the Fuse tank that comes with their Groupon starter kit does have replaceable coils...

Well, I had my husband help me try and locate a local vape shop here (he speaks German, I do not) and behold we found one. So tomorrow I will go and pickup a Kanger Evod-H3 Starter Kit and 3 flavors, to start with. I am so excited! :D

Well great & way hay for a vape shop. They should let you try a few flavours to see which you might like,

You won't go wrong with a Kanger evod - it's a good piece of kit to start with.

Do let us know how it l goes.

DH informed me this morning that while I am still having the occasional fag throughout the day, I have now cut down by a pack and a half since I started vaping on Saturday! does a little dance

Try putting the money you save into a jar; watching it mount up is a great incentive and you can splash out on something once you reach a target

Well done!

I 'dual fuelled' for about 2 weeks & then realised that I liked vaping far more than cigs.

Welldone i have timed breaks at work so coping better at work yesterday only smoked 3 real ones when i was home dh has one ordered too really hoping it works im defenity viewing the ones im not smoking though so that really helps

Waves pom poms for op

Pompoms to you too, stars.

It worked for me - well over 2 years with no cigs & I'd be smoking for nigh on 40 years with many failed attempts to quit.

I hope the above made sense as I had wanted to? I was so excited when i wrote it, that it could be taken as I only have cut down by a pack and half total since Saturday when it has actually been that per day since then. Plus while writing i was also browsing some sites. My latest obsession is checking out all the various online vape shops closest to our home. LOL

DH has said that I will be getting half of the money we would normally spend each month for the next two years. So once I do quit the fags fully i will be rewarding myself right away to a Vision II Spinner (in orange) and Nautilus Mini (with meshed outer metal) with the first bit of cash I get.

stars That is great! Hopefully it works as well for your DH as well! :)

I got 190 cigs on sunday by now i would of got another 190 ( for both me and dh) he has still a full pack from sunday to smoke have been googling gym stuff!!! tonight so fingers busy got 45 mins till bed time then i have had my first real cig free day chest feels much better today i did notice last night i missed the fruit favour when i had a real one goes and googles vison spinner in orange

Don't panic too much about dual fuelling for a bit, I took ages to lose the last 2 fags but now have been completely smoke free for 11 months (and counting). Reducing down by 30 a day is fantastic - and yes that IS how I read it in your previous post; in UK terms that's over £10 a DAY . I know fags are probably a fair bit cheaper in Germany, but all the same that's a LOT of money to play with buying shiny vaping kit in a few weeks . Have a look at the eLeaf iStick, my latest "precious" that I'm totally in love with (in fuchsia pink in my case).

I want to buy some more liquids, but i am still not sure on my nicotine strength needed? Some site I found yesterday claimed 12mg for someone who used to smoke lights. I thought "that is great" as I read that as i have started out with this strength, but I do find myself chain vaping a bit while sitting at my desk because I still get the urge for a fag, or maybe I am just anxious due to looking at too many shops. Should I try 18mg? I do remember trying 18mg in the store and felt a bit off for a bit, but did not go for a fag until at least 2.5-3 hours after walking out of the vape shop and I only took one pull of each flavor I tried (3 in total). I had only gotten the 12mg originally, because the throat hit felt too strong on 18mg, but I think this was me also getting used to vaping.
I do notice while chain vaping I do get a bit of a headache tho with the 12mg, but this seems to be getting less as the days go on.

DH told me we have spent over 4,000 euros on smokes for the last several years during my worst periods. :O

P.S My Tobacco flavor seems to be my favorite so far, but then for me it tastes more like Maple Syrup than Tobacco. :D

I think you just have to experiment for a bit & see which is best for you. The recommendations I have found all seem to assume an average 20 a day smoker should be looking at 18mg, so I'm guessing that site you saw was assuming 20 a day lights for 18mg?

You will think you're chain vaping & getting through a lot more, there's 2 main reasons for this. The first is that though you're vaping more often, it's almost definitely fewer drags at a time. the second is that nicotine is absorbed differently (and less) & more slowly with vaping, so for the same number of drags you're taking much less into the body plus you never get that "aaah" feeling you get with a cigarette.

I think i will go for the 18mg. In addition i will also get a small bottle of 0mg and if I find the 18mg too harsh I will just dilute the strength down a bit. I'm going to order liquids from the German Flavors shop.

Order placed finally! I got all Tobacco flavors in 18mg along with 0mg, in case they are too strong and all non Tobacco flavors in 0mg, that way when I just want to vape my head off i can do so without overloading myself on nicotine.

I also went for all in 2ml trial sizes, so they were 1 euro each. :D

How you doing op dh got his vape today plus the new flavours for us both still on my strawberry fav but got a new clearozimer so will put blue raspberry in that i also brought so gym wear today as joining works gym on monday !!