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[Sinoox]

By vape I mean e-cigarettes. I'm off and on with them ever since 2011. I started out with the Blu cigarettes to quit smoking and when that didn't work for me I slowly worked my way to a standard ego. Then I moved onto variable wattage/voltage for stronger hits so the nicotine can flood the system quicker like a real cigarette (so there's more of a traditional buzz). It's 2016 though and the brand new thing is temperature control. This allows people to use nickle, titanium, and stainless steel coils safely. In fact, I love the feature so much that I recommend everyone to use because it limits how hot everything gets. Which, when you think about it, is more in line with what vaping is supposed to be about. Here's some nifty info about the different materials that people use for coils. If you're not into temp control it's likely your ecig is using kanthal.

Right now my main device is an Innokin CoolFire IV TC100 with a UWell crown tank. I stick with stainless steel coils for flavor and safety. I use this juice called Blacknote that uses tobacco extracts for flavor and it tastes like the real thing!! I couldn't be happier with this setup, it covers all the sensations of smoking tobacco, but without all the carcinogens. It's always been my dream to have a safe way to smoke tobacco. I'm extremely addicted to nicotine and have been smoking since I was 15. While this isn't 100% safe, it's the closest we've got today and either way I'm happy to be paving a path for a brand new industry that could potentially save millions of lives.

Do you vape an e-cigarette? Why did you start, what about it do you like, and what e-cig setup are you using now?

 

[outunderthestars]

Right now my main device is an Innokin CoolFire IV TC100 with a UWell crown tank. I stick with stainless steel coils for flavor and safety. I use this juice called Blacknote that uses tobacco extracts for flavor and it tastes like the real thing!! I couldn't be happier with this setup, it covers all the sensations of smoking tobacco, but without all the carcinogens. ]It's always been my dream to have a safe way to smoke tobacco. I'm extremely addicted to nicotine and have been smoking since I was 15. While this isn't 100% safe, it's the closest we've got today and either way I'm happy be paving a path for a brand new industry that could potentially save millions of lives.

I have a sad feeling that you are going to be very, very wrong about this.....

 

[Ashby]

I've been thinking about it. Like you, I tried a Blu for a while but didn't take to it and went back to smoking cigarettes which is where I'm at now. Think I'm just going to go into a vape store and ask for the standard "rig" or whatever you call it, I don't have any interest in any of the fancy stuff I just want to get something more powerful (and refillable) than the disposable ones.

 

[Shadowheart]

Fuck no.
I tried those electric cancer sticks seeing if they helped me stop or cut down on the regular cancer sticks. They just made me smoke more since I could sometimes use them where regular cancer sticks were banned.

On your question, vaping didn't do it for me at all. I didn't feel it, didn't like it, thought it was disgusting sucking a plastic stick, putting it in my pocket then sucking it again.

I am now a happy non-smoker on project Iron Lungs! trying to get my lungs back to normal. Hope I avoided the cancer bullet in time. Time will tell. But I am happy and much healthier now.

For the kids out there that seriously think inhaling those chemicals is harmless, I say educate yourselves and use your brain. For those who deduce what it does and still do it to 'fit in', I got no words for you. I don't relate to that aspect of our specie.

 

[platakul]

I vape behind the Circle K with the other kids who aren't allowed home until mom gets there

 

[echoshifting]

It's just not for me. I used them considerably more than real cigarettes whenever I was trying them, the vapor often causes chest pain, the inhale is frequently too harsh, and the culture that surrounds it is a big turn-off.

I tried a number of different styles but none of them panned out.

 

[Sinoox]

I have a sad feeling that you are going to be very, very wrong about this.....

I do a lot of health research, dude. While I understand the the dangers, they are there, there is logic to how these things are built. We'll have to wait decades to know for sure, but there's reasoning here. That being said, the industry is not regulated which is where the real dangers lie. I could die of cancer, but it wouldn't be in vain. Humans are going to smoke, but this technology could save their lives one day. I've gotten closer to quitting with e cigs than with any other product, so I do plan to quit and am currently lowering my nicotine levels quite successfully.

 

[Rektash]

I did vape for about a year before quitting completly cold turkey. Haven't touched a cigarette or vaped in 4 years.

Not sure if the vaping actually helped with quitting, but here I am not having touched a smoke in 4 years, so who am I to argue results? I am pretty sure I actually increased my nicotine intake after I switched to vaping though.

I was smoking about 2 packs a day back then.

No chance in hell I will ever touch a cigarette again. Smoked for about 10 years of my life starting at the age of 16 up to 26. I just turned 30.

 

[Seraph_Nicholas]

I've got... Some kind of regulated box mod, with an Aspire tank.

It was a pretty simple equation for me. Unlike everyone else I've ever met, I made a conscious, informed decision to smart smoking because I love nicotine. It promotes synapse growth! When e-cigs hit the scene, I did more reading (Including the study on inhaling propelyne glycol that everyone said didn't exist), and quickly established that this was the healthiest option available. Better than nasal snuff, which is what I had migrated to. The only other nicotine product I know of that holds a candle to e-cigs is real swedish snus, due to the steam curing method they favor over there, but I'm not in sweden so ordering them online required a certain amount of faith when trying to find flavors I liked.

 

[jwk94]

I don't but I'm curious to know how mainstream vaping became so popular when e-cigs struggled forso long?

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Nah. I don't want to risk my teeth exploding.

 

[Sinoox]

I've been thinking about it. Like you, I tried a Blu for a while but didn't take to it and went back to smoking cigarettes which is where I'm at now. Think I'm just going to go into a vape store and ask for the standard "rig" or whatever you call it, I don't have any interest in any of the fancy stuff I just want to get something more powerful (and refillable) than the disposable ones.

I'd recommend my setup. It's n00b friendly and replaces traditional cigarettes nicely. When I got back into vaping earlier this year (after a one year hiatus) things had changed so much that I had to go off of what employees in the vape store like. Unfortunately their reasoning for vaping is merely pleasure, they build rigs just to be more enjoyable than smoking. A lot of people who vape don't go into details, they just assume they're hooked up with something safe. In an unregulated industry that's the wrong way of doing it. Do your own research. Plus these vape shops always seem to be behind the times in terms of what they stock and they charge extra.

 

[GavinGT]

Ego One. This thing is small but has an 1100 mAh battery and hits very well. I've also got rebuildable atomizers, so every couple weeks I just clean off the coil and rewick it and it's like new. It's only like $35 and very newb-friendly.

I'm not trying to rip fat clouds or anything. I'm very discrete about it.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I have a sad feeling that you are going to be very, very wrong about this.....

My wife attended a conference on vaping and they determined its orders of magnitude safer than cigs and recommended that she try to give them to her patients who need to quit smoking for drug interaction reasons.

 

[Onemic]

I vape all day bros.

Green, I mean.

 

[Ladekabel]

The real question now is: Do you vape competitive?

I know a guy who vapes. Wanted to quit smoking. Saw him with his vape thingies for one day. He went back to smoking cigarettes.

 

[Glass Shark]

I'm vape-curious, but my wife hates the idea so I'll probably never try it.

 

[Strangelove77]

Tried. It sucked. It's such a shitty replacement for the real thing.
I was going to equate it to the difference between masturbating and having actual intercourse, but vaping and actually smoking is way more far apart. It's an entirely different thing.
Congrats to those who adapted though.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I'm almost two years tobacco free. I breathe better, my blood pressure has dropped, my heart rate has slowed, and I can exercise much harder and longer without becoming winded. My doctor says my EKG looks better than it has for 20 years.

I've switched from mech mods to a regulated mod so I'm not worried about blowing my face up, and I use diketone-free ejuice so I'm not worried about popcorn lung.

Quitting is best, but this is the next best thing. Harm reduction is still a massive improvement.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I'm vape-curious, but my wife hates the idea so I'll probably never try it.

In my experience the taste has a hint of an electrical fire.

 

[Angry Grimace]

The real question now is: Do you vape competitive?

I know a guy who vapes. Wanted to quit smoking. Saw him with his vape thingies for one day. He went back to smoking cigarettes.

The actual vape stuff that replicates the "nicotine rush" people are addicted to are expensive

 

[Jeffolation]

I use a Kanger Subox Mini. Caught a throat infection last June which made smoking cigarettes painful. I'll have a smoke every now and then and honestly I prefer vaping now as a means to get nicotine.

 

[GavinGT]

Tried. It sucked. It's such a shitty replacement for the real thing.
I was going to equate it to the difference between masturbating and having actual intercourse, but vaping and actually smoking is way more far apart. It's an entirely different thing.
Congrats to those who adapted though.

I feel like you had a bad experience. A shitty rig or you didn't like the juice. I smoked for years and vaping is way better than smoking. It's cheaper, cleaner, safer, less invasive, you can do it inside, and it actually tastes good.

 

[OnkelC]

Ego One. This thing is small but has an 1100 mAh battery and hits very well. I've also got rebuildable atomizers, so every couple weeks I just clean off the coil and rewick it and it's like new. It's only like $35 and very newb-friendly.

I'm not trying to rip fat clouds or anything. I'm very discrete about it.

I'm using the same one.
Stopped smoking and went vape overnight three years ago (10th May 2013) after 26 years of 30-40 cigarettes a day.

 

[WickedLaharl]

.

 

[Sinoox]

^^^^

That shit cracks me up like crazy. I love H3H3!

Fuck no.
I tried those electric cancer sticks seeing if they helped me stop or cut down on the regular cancer sticks. They just made me smoke more since I could sometimes use them where regular cancer sticks were banned.

On your question, vaping didn't do it for me at all. I didn't feel it, didn't like it, thought it was disgusting sucking a plastic stick, putting it in my pocket then sucking it again.

I am now a happy non-smoker on project Iron Lungs! trying to get my lungs back to normal. Hope I avoided the cancer bullet in time. Time will tell. But I am happy and much healthier now.

For the kids out there that seriously think inhaling those chemicals is harmless, I say educate yourselves and use your brain. For those who deduce what it does and still do it to 'fit in', I got no words for you. I don't relate to that aspect of our specie.

Good for you and I know where you're coming from. The blacknote e juice changed everything for me. It literally tastes like traditional tobacco and it couldn't be anymore effective at helping me quit smoking. I never liked the sweet flavors and it always sketched me out as far as what companies use for flavoring. People who vape should be prior tobacco users, you shouldn't pick it up because it's "cool".

 

[Hoo-doo]

Why are people calling it a 'rig'.

The 'vape scene' is so e-tech hipster cool that it makes my toes curl. It sure as hell beats actual cigarette smoke though so i'm all for it. But quitting is even cooler.

 

[Ashby]

Ego One. This thing is small but has an 1100 mAh battery and hits very well. I've also got rebuildable atomizers, so every couple weeks I just clean off the coil and rewick it and it's like new. It's only like $35 and very newb-friendly.

I'm not trying to rip fat clouds or anything. I'm very discrete about it.

This is like the iPhone of rigs, right? I should get one of these guys.

Good for you and I know where you're coming from. The blacknote e juice changed everything for me. It literally tastes like traditional tobacco and it couldn't be anymore effective at helping quite smoking. I never liked the sweet flavors and it always sketched me out as far as what companies use for flavoring. People who vape should be prior tobacco users, you shouldn't pick it up because it's "cool".

You and me are in total agreement. I don't understand the appeal of the weird flavored stuff at all. Do these blacknote guys make a menthol variant?

 

[GavinGT]

Why are people calling it a 'rig'.

The 'vape scene' is so e-tech hipster cool that it makes my toes curl. It sure as hell beats actual cigarette smoke though so i'm all for it. But quitting is even cooler.

You go ahead and suggest a better word that encompasses all the vast varieties of vaping devices and all the constituent parts that make them up.

 

[dream]

IPV D2 with a Lemo is still my daily setup when I'm out. sigelei 150 with a Velocity for when I'm at home.

 

[Hoo-doo]

You go ahead and suggest a better word that encompasses all the vast varieties of vaping devices.

A vaporizer. E-cig. Vape pen. What the fuck ever. 'Rig' just sounds stupid.

 

[Sinoox]

I've got... Some kind of regulated box mod, with an Aspire tank.

It was a pretty simple equation for me. Unlike everyone else I've ever met, I made a conscious, informed decision to smart smoking because I love nicotine. It promotes synapse growth! When e-cigs hit the scene, I did more reading (Including the study on inhaling propelyne glycol that everyone said didn't exist), and quickly established that this was the healthiest option available. Better than nasal snuff, which is what I had migrated to. The only other nicotine product I know of that holds a candle to e-cigs is real swedish snus, due to the steam curing method they favor over there, but I'm not in sweden so ordering them online required a certain amount of faith when trying to find flavors I liked.

You and me are like minded. I see nicotine as a healthy substance by itself, similar to caffeine. I use to snus like crazy though. That stuff is great, but it does recess the hell out of your gums after a few years of usage. I'd use it 24/7 and never had a single issue outside of that. It's really easy to alternate between vaping and snusing. If you're in America the main brand we've got is General and you can find them at most gas stations now.

 

[GavinGT]

A vaporizer. E-cig. Vape pen. What the fuck ever. 'Rig' just sounds stupid.

I always appreciate your condescension.

 

[Chanser]

Nope, but I know someone who vapes and smoke.

 

[baddvision]

Nah. I don't want to risk my teeth exploding.

was curious to try, till I heard about that

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Vape culture is such a weird thing to me. Like guys that put Monster energy drink stickers all over their trucks.

 

[TickleMeElbow]

I switched to vaporizers last summer. First I got an Atmos starter pen, and now I have an Aspire one (with the Nautilus mini tank). I'm not into upgrades and whatnot like some people, just a way to help me quit smoking. I'll have a couple cigs every once in awhile if someone has them, but I haven't bought a pack since I switched to vaping.

I started with 16mg juice, and now I'm down to 6mg. So in my case it's definitely helped me cut down on nicotine. I feel a lot better as well.

 

[Tabby]

I have an iStick 100w with a Herakles Plus.
I still smoke but only when I'm really drunk.

 

[Sinoox]

This is like the iPhone of rigs, right? I should get one of these guys.


You and me are in total agreement. I don't understand the appeal of the weird flavored stuff at all. Do these blacknote guys make a menthol variant?

They do, my friend. Check out how they process the liquid. It's unlike anything I've ever seen and it tastes perfect. It's really surprising the first time you taste it. It seems expensive, but they have an extensive rewards programs to offset that.

Vape culture is such a weird thing to me. Like guys that put Monster energy drink stickers all over their trucks.

I don't know anything about that. I think the FDA really needs to step in because plenty of people are making mistakes and it could be costing their health.

 

[GavinGT]

This is like the iPhone of rigs, right? I should get one of these guys.

Yeah, it's supposed to be a one-size-fits-all solution for beginners and experienced users alike. It's the evolution of the ubiquitous Ego Twist, except it comes with a tank that pairs perfectly with the battery.

 

[Rafy]

I started a 4 years ago with a classic ego using a phantom atomizer and managed to quit completely for a year. Due to stress I relapsed a couple of years ago so I decided to start vaping again and got a sigelei 150 with a tugboat v2. Currently I am using a cuboid with a variety of RDA atomizers and my Billow v2 but I can't get my SS316L wire to work in temp control.

I still smoke occasionally but I never smoked much to begin with. Usually 3 to 4 extra slim roll-ups with either silver or micron rizla papers a day when I smoked regularly. A 30g pouch of baccy used to last me about a full month. Now it's 3 to 4 of the same ones but in a week. My pipe has been the only thing I've been unable to give up, however even that I smoke less since I made NET concentrates of my favourite Balkan and English blends.

I've never bought cigarettes in packs, I bumped from friends a couple of times and I hated them because smoking is more about tobacco flavours and less about nicotine for me.

 

[Ashby]

They do, my friend. Check out how they process the liquid. It's unlike anything I've ever seen and it tastes perfect. It's really surprising the first time you taste it. It seems expensive, but they have an extensive rewards programs to offset that.

Any good way of gauging what amount of nicotine to get? I've never bought the juice before, just got the disposable ones.

 

[Liquidsnake]

Vape Flakes is godly.

 

[GavinGT]

I started a 4 years ago with a classic ego using a phantom atomizer and managed to quit completely for a year. Due to stress I relapsed a couple of years ago so I decided to start vaping again and got a sigelei 150 with a tugboat v2. Currently I am using a cuboid with a variety of RDA atomizers and my Billow v2 but I can't get my SS316L wire to work in temp control.

I still smoke occasionally but I never smoked much to begin with. Usually 3 to 4 extra slim roll-ups with either silver or micron rizla papers a day when I smoked regularly. A 30g pouch of baccy used to last me about a full month. Now it's 3 to 4 of the same ones but in a week. My pipe has been the only thing I've been unable to give up, however even that I smoke less since I made NET concentrates of my favourite Balkan and English blends.

I know some of these words.

 

[outunderthestars]

I do a lot of health research, dude. While I understand the the dangers, they are there, there is logic to how these things are built. We'll have to wait decades to know for sure, but there's reasoning here. That being said, the industry is not regulated which is where the real dangers lie. I could die of cancer, but it wouldn't be in vain. Humans are going to smoke, but this technology could save their lives one day. I've gotten closer to quitting with e cigs than with any other product, so I do plan to quit and am currently lowering my nicotine levels quite successfully.

It is an entirely unregulated industry, with little to no long term health impact research, and some of the best preliminary research says that there are genetic responses that mimic those of cancer cells in traditional smokers.

We found that the electronic cigarette was able to cause cells to become more cancer-like—they grew more quickly than a cell should be able to. That is one of the things that cancer cells do. That is the only thing we found—that it did change their growth rate significantly, more than smoking nothing and similar to smoking regular tobacco. That raised concerns on our end. Then we looked at the cells’ genome and found that many of the same genes turned off and on by tobacco cigarette smoke are being turned on and off by e-cigarettes.

I think any argument that vaping is safer at this point is suspicious at best, and an outright falsehood at worst. If you want to fool yourself so you can justify your continued smoking, that is fine. But I think trying to present it as safer and "potentially saving millions of lives" is a really shitty thing to do.

 

[Kyzer]

Got a shitty one, then a decent one, then a really good one and found all the best flavors

And slowly cut down on the nicotine

And now I don't smoke or vape. Yay me. I did it right

It is an entirely unregulated industry, with little to no long term health impact research, and some of the best preliminary research says that there are genetic responses that mimic those of cancer cells in traditional smokers.



I think any argument that vaping is safer at this point is suspicious at best, and an outright falsehood at worst. If you want to fool yourself so you can justify your continued smoking, that is fine. But I think trying to present it as safer and "potentially saving millions of lives" is a really shitty thing to do.

I get trying to argue that vaping isn't totally safe or healthy. But trying to say they aren't healthier than cigs...I mean come on. Do you know how hard they would have to try to make it even AS unhealthy as cigarettes? It's virtually impossible. Save for a need for FDA involvement and stricter regulation, importing laws and laws on chemical content, I don't really think it's that big a problem.

I'm pretty sure eating Vaseline is healthier than cigarettes.

Even with all your research there is not even a worst case scenario where vaping ends up as bad as cigarettes unless it comes down to outright poisonous ingredients being used because of lack of regulation. And I dotn vape anymore but I'm pretty sure a lot of then are even hip to the chemical contents to avoid, and that most of those unregulated flavors come from overseas.

 

[Audioboxer]

I don't but I'm curious to know how mainstream vaping became so popular when e-cigs struggled forso long?

Mixture of hipster trend, availability becoming super easy and good timing. In some ways for many I'm glad they may have moved from smoking, at least vaping doesn't smell and stain everything yellow. It still can't be great for your body but at least there isn't tar going in your lungs.

Biggest issue I foresee with vaping is a lot of people who do, do it non-stop. Where as when smoking it might have been on smoke breaks or every few hours.

I occasionally do but it was mainly to stop me smoking when not drunk after my last long term breakup caused me to go to a really shitty place (ordinarily I couldn't smoke sober as the smell, taste and what not just made me heave ~ but go to a shitty place and you crave easy vices). Prior to that I was just the occasional drunk smoker as you do in the UK where smoke areas are some of the best places for drunk chat on a night out.

I hardly touch alcohol these days, so the last time I smoked a proper cig must have been well over a year ago. Didn't ever drink that heavily, just as I've gotten older I spend free time doing other things these days.

 

[Imbarkus]

Yes, I started maybe 2 and a half years ago with disposables (ugh) to replace a bad habit of smoking I hadn't been able to kick for years.

I got this little pen I got from Vapor Blends which is just some brand they sell in my local Smoker Friendly:
http://vapor-blends.com/product/the-twist-kit-with-900-mah-battery/

I have no idea of the quality of my "rig" but I'm not very interested in "clouds" or "lingo," I'm just glad to be off the cigs and still getting enough nicotine (which, apparently, is way less than what you 'need' when all the other ingredients in analog cigarettes have their effect).

 

[spyder_ur]

I've been vaping for 3 or so years. Currently use an iStick 50W and a couple Subtanks, for the most part. Have a couple more portable devices as well.

I don't believe it's 100% safe and healthy, but I couldn't ever leave my bed if those were my guidelines for an activity. The proof is in the pudding; every aspect of my health has improved since I stopped smoking.

I can understand caution, but the anti-vape crusade/backlash is really bizarre to me and is a public health shame.

 

[Sinoox]

Any good way of gauging what amount of nicotine to get? I've never bought the juice before, just got the disposable ones.

Depends on if you're using a sub-ohm tank or a nonadjustable voltage/wattage pen. Some mods will eat up your juice like nothing which means you're getting more nicotine. Others like a standard ego are better off with the higher nicotine liquids. Temperature control also helps with savoring juices I've heard, but mine still run out quick. I think a well rounded level would be a 12mg-6mg juice. A single cigarette contains about 10mg so think about it. 3mg is a good level for a powerful sub-ohm tank but you will be needing to vape more to get to where you need to be... at least that's the case for me, but I'm a heavy smoker to begin with.