addict
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Post by addict on Nov 18, 2012 22:17:06 GMT
Thanks guys. I'm really chuffed. In the past I have quit for various lengths of time using cold turkey, acupuncture, hypnosis, nicorette, etc. but this is the first time I have had no withdrawal symptoms. I still have a couple of unopened cartons of cigarettes and couldn't be bothered with them. I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.
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addict
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Post by addict on Nov 18, 2012 22:01:54 GMT
I'm a month of the fags today thanks to all the helpful advice I received from members of this forum. A pat on the back to me and a hugeTHANK YOU to all you nice people on AAEC.
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Post by addict on Nov 15, 2012 0:20:25 GMT
Well I don't believe that any nationality or ethnic group has some special work ethic gene. I think that migrant labourers often work harder for lower return because they have a goal to save enough money to set them up when they return home to a lower cost economy. Many of them travel alone and don't have the pull of family to go home to in the evenings. One example I know of: a Filipino nurse who reckoned he could make enough in a few years to set himself up for life in the Philippines. I think he planned to open an hotel.
Sure, there are plenty of people in every country who think the world owes them a living, but I don't believe that the majority are like that. Most people are willing to do an honest day's work for an honest day's pay but there's something fundamentally wrong when workers are expected to surrender hard won pay and conditions in order to compete with their counterparts in poorer countries.
The "culprits" I referred to are those for whom there will never be enough profit......not those struggling to keep a business ticking over in a recession.
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Post by addict on Nov 14, 2012 23:52:44 GMT
Yes, Alvoram, I understand. Unfortunately in hard times it pits workers against each other while the culprits laugh all the way to the bank. Nothing new there.
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Post by addict on Nov 14, 2012 23:21:06 GMT
I'm shocked. I know that bad working conditions were commonplace up to a decade or so ago but I thought that nowadays most factories had decent standards. If what you are telling me is widespread (and I take your word for it), then it looks like the race to the bottom is gathering pace. What a pity. I'm glad that my working days are over.
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Post by addict on Nov 14, 2012 22:28:23 GMT
Not over-reacting. Maybe you need to wipe the rose coloured specs. I know of no modern western democracy where workers are not entitled to meal breaks. Sure, some people do stints of long shifts, but not on a continuous basis. I'm not disputing that the factory is probably better than many in China and definitely better than those in poorer Asian countries but better doesn't make it good. Granted the workers aren't 9 or 10 year olds but they are very young.....too young to be living their lives in such an artificial environment far from home.
I'm well aware of China's growth - much of it on the backs of cheap labour. How times have changed. Not that long ago we were all supposed to believe that China was a terrible country - a one-party communist state whose people had no civil rights. Then came globalisation and western companies seized the opportunity to maximise their profits. Still a one-party communist state with questionable civil rights but all of a sudden the same category of people who dished out dire warnings about evil China are saying that Western workers need to accept lower pay and conditions to remain competitive. What a sham!
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Post by addict on Nov 14, 2012 20:58:51 GMT
Not cloud cuckoo land, just a sad feeling that someone thinks that by making such a video they can give the impression that conditions are somehow acceptable. In the discussion following the video, the film maker said that the intensive labour is cheaper than mechanisation because they work 8 hours per day without a break and that those children (for they looked little more than children to me) are taken from their villages to live what more than likely is a bed to work existence. Telling us how much worse off they could be is no more than the 21st century version of the "we are saving them from themselves" type of comments used in past centuries to excuse slavery. Anyway, I suppose this isn't the place to discuss western attitudes to exploitation in other regions of the world.
I do think, however, that the fact that almost everything e-cig related is made in China could be an achilles heel for those campaigning to make vaping acceptable to the powers that be. The cigarette industry had the advantage of being a source of employment and revenue which no doubt helped them survive for so long whereas when politicians look at vaping they will see almost all profits going to China.
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Post by addict on Nov 13, 2012 22:41:14 GMT
Thanks Perpetua. Think I will get a Provari when my Twists need replacing. I don't really like the look of the Provari (will need a magnifying glass to read the digital display) but it will be a sap to my conscience.
Ewol: I don't doubt for a minute that what you say is accurate, but at least I don't know for sure and haven't seen the stuff in my house being manufactured. I do try my best to buy stuff made in western countries but it's very hard to know where clothes, etc. are made. I won't buy anything Apple since the story broke about their Chinese factory. I wish the EU, USA, etc. could find some way of banning imports unless they were produced in factories with decent working conditions. I know that's pie in the sky but I live in hope.
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Post by addict on Nov 13, 2012 22:00:23 GMT
The video made me cringe. Very young people living on site, working full days without a break. They didn't even have proper seats - just plastic stools. At the very least, many of them will have back trouble by the time they are 30 years old. In future I will try to buy vaping gear that is made in a Western country. Where is the Provari made?
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Post by addict on Nov 2, 2012 10:43:25 GMT
I'm a glass half empty type of person and deep down I have niggling reservations about swapping one habit/addiction for another. I know that vaping has to be a thousand times safer than smoking but I'm not convinced that it carries no long term health risks. Some regulation of the contents of e liquid would be welcome but that will make it more expensive and maybe not sufficiently cost effective.
I'm delighted to be off the smokes but I hate being addicted to both the nicotine and the practice of inhaling and exhaling. My goal is to wean myself off the nicotine by gradually reducing the level and then dealing with the habit. I have a feeling that quitting the habit will be harder than eliminating the nicotine. A fortnight ago I was a chain smoker. Now I'm a chain vaper.
Past experience tells me that the overpowering urge to smoke can hit after as long as a year cig free, so I plan to always have a small amount of juice on hand to save me falling into the trap of having just one cigarette to kill the craving.
It would be great to hear of people who eventually quit vaping but I suppose that when they do quit vaping they also cease to be active on forums like this.
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Post by addict on Oct 31, 2012 22:07:24 GMT
Just ordered two of the spikey things. They only had two left so I also ordered a couple of empty bottles. That should keep me going for a while. Thanks to everyone for your help.
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Post by addict on Oct 31, 2012 18:30:47 GMT
Sorry, Giles, you and I must have posted at the same time. The syringe head looks much the same size as the one in your link. I should be able to cope with the syringes until the spiky thing arrives, especially now that I know it's ok just to blow out the excess. I also cleaned the middle with a cotton bud. Warnings about the dangers of rechargeable batteries have me feeling a bit scared that I'll do some drastic damage. A dripper tip came with the bottle but it's so small it would take me forever to fill the mini nova.
Wow, so many replies while I was typing this. Those dispensing needles look the biz. I have lots of options now. Great people on this forum. Thank you so much.
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Post by addict on Oct 31, 2012 18:23:16 GMT
Ellen, that spiky thing looks good. Is it reusable or will I need to buy a few?
Thanks Pam. I used your method but still managed to splash the liquid. When I realised it was splashing I rolled up some tissue and stuck it inside the centre, but the more careful I tried to be the more my hands shook and the tissue fell out. Mr Bean would have been proud of me. I'm a tad impatient when things don't go right first time.
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Post by addict on Oct 31, 2012 17:58:25 GMT
Nearly a fortnight off the smokes now. Thanks to all the advice I got here, mine was a smooth switch over to vaping but I need your help again.
I bought a 50 ml bottle of juice that doesn't have a narrow top for filling my vivi nova so I bought some syringes. Trouble is the pharmacist wouldn't sell me the needles without a prescription. Using the syringe without a needle is awkward and it's hard to keep the juice away from the centre (coil?) of the nova. Is there a workaround solution to this? Also, is it ok to re-use the syringe? I cleaned the outside with an alcohol wipe, but should I flush it out with water?
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Post by addict on Oct 19, 2012 16:41:22 GMT
That, Chrissie, is very reassuring. Do you know whether those who eventually stop vaping keep a little supply of juice in reserve for emergencies? That's what I'm hoping to do.
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