smoker - yes or now

[pegasus3]

Great thread! Have just listened to the BBC radio Wales debate & was astounded at some of the ignorant views on there! The doc really peed me off by keeping saying "smoking" an ecig & "burning" ejuice aaaaaargh.............

I smoked an average of 20 a day for 20 years, bought an ecig through the help of this forum & quit the day it arrived nearly 3 weeks ago
This is the ONLY thing that has stopped me smoking, patches etc complete waste of time, I feel like I've gained a whole new healthier life due to my trusty itaste & that for me is invaluable

[ionian]

I was a relatively light smoker compared to a lot on here, I smoked about 15 roll-ups a day at the end but used to smoke a lot more when I was in my early 20s. I started smoking 18 years ago. Gave up twice, both for 9 months, but went back to it.

[Clivia]

same here - I tried twice to quit and failed - now you can see on my banner - calculated with 15 cigs a day ( that's what I approximately smoked the last years - it was more, when I was younger ) how many ciggies I have avoided and I feel better than ever and am so happy with myself - and so is hubby , who is a fantastic support and now a fellow vaper

[Bob]

Just over 4 weeks smoke free now, after 20-25 a day Sterling Red, started 53 years ago, when I was 9 at primary school in Colwyn Bay, tried various NRTs and 1st gen ecigs all of which failed.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2014 7:18:12 GMT Clivia said:

the ongoing discussion, that vaping might inspire people - specially youngster to vape, even if they have not smoked before gave me the idea for this thread.

I believe that nearly every vaper has been or still is a smoker - for example even my husband who quit more than 15 years ago and now enjoys a 0 nicotine vape, was a smoker, who enjoyed smoking.

I hope a lot of you answer this poll - so that we can show figures - that vaping is not a start for an addiction but an enourmous help to quit one or at least reduce the tobacco consumption and is therefore saving millions of lives and millions of whatever currency to which ever health system

There has been a lot of discussion regarding this and as a person who vapes (obviously) I’d like to put give a different perspective, I realise that in doing so risk being shot down in flames.

I first smoked before my teens in the early 60s, I was copying my parents who both smoked, as did many others, it was normal to smoke and I felt big and grown up. It didn’t take many fags to become addicted to nicotine. I used to nick the odd one from packets my parents had, they bought them by the 200. The first packet I bought was from a machine, 3d piece for 5 Woodbine and 5 red matches. I spent pocket money on them and latter my dinner money, as did most of my mates, it was normal.

Latter on we smoked down the pub; we lit up in the cinema, round other people’s homes and on the bus. We didn’t ask if we could, it was normal. I quit many times but never lasted long. I was addicted to nicotine.

I don’t have children but a few years ago my friends 10yr old watched me smoking and said’ “I can’t wait until I’m old enough to smoke.”

I really do wish that I wasn’t addicted to nicotine. If it wasn't considered normal in the 50s and 60s when everywhere you looked someone was smoking, then maybe I wouldn’t be. Point is, if vaping becomes normal then there are going to be young children doing what I did. Ok they may not be damaging their health but they will more than likely become nicotine addicts; they may even try cigarettes to see what the mystique is all about.

I agree with Clivia that just about all vapers were or still are smokers. It’s great that those who no longer smoke are reaping health benefits. I vape in front of my wife at home, she has never smoked and 100% will never be tempted to vape. And I doubt that life long non-smokers of more ‘mature’ years would be tempted to vape. I see there are currently 2 in the poll but no posts in the thread as to why they started vaping! The average years smoked seems to be 30yrs+

I think about the ‘me’ of 50yrs ago… and the influence of seeing people smoke. That’s the reason I happily vape in self imposed solitude.

[buggritt]

scooby - life's not as simple as "monkey see monkey do". My parents both smoked. There are 5 of us "kids". I'm the only one who smoked. Admittedly, that's not a reliable statistic either.
If you take your view to it's logical conclusion, many things would be banned. Alcohol for instance. Many pubs and restaurants advertise themselves as child friendly. Drinking among the young is a much bigger problem in this country than smoking.
Even in our day, getting served in a boozer was far more glamorous than lighting up. You must also make fat people stay indoors. Amy Winehouse would have been made to wear the burqa and never allowed to speak in public.
For all the efforts of the effete elite, we have the fattest kids in Europe. Diabetes is soaring. Our youth are an international disgrace.
The way children form into adults is mainly influenced by parenting. Not legislation

[Clivia]

hi @scooby - thanks for your opinion - this is the great thing of a forum in a free country that we can freely express our opinions - and it's always interesting to hear a different one.

my mum smoked ( not many about 5 a day )- but this is not why I started - I felt cool - friends did it and I wanted to try - how stupid can one be - but it was in the late 70s and many did and I was in the even more stupid phase of ' I know it all and much better' - none of my 3 (half) brothers smokes although our dad smoked and their mum smoked as well - my nephew and nieces - between 8 and 23 - are all strictest non smokers and one of the little ones panicked when she saw my sister in law with a cigarette ( my sister in law smokes about 3 cigarettes a year - generally with me - not any more though ) - I know a lot of youngster who think smoking is totally uncool and present education works into that direction - I hope at least - we don't have children - just see it with the children of my friends.

I think, that those kids , who still think smoking is cool, won't bother with vaping - as vaping still gets funny looks - far less though than even 2, 3 month ago.

With this thread I just wanted to see and show, that people, who have never smoked generally don't start vaping - but that it is the other way round.

and yes , me too , I would be interested to read from the person, who has never touched tobacco before - but it's of course her/his right to stay totally anonimous 

[richo71]

I have voted YES, i was a 25 a day smoker for the last 15 years up until February last year, but i don't use my vaping paraphernalia anywhere i could not use a cigarette but i see some people in my town trying to vape in the shopping center and coffee shops etc, this does not help vaping in general because most of the people observing this are the uninitiated and gives bad press whether or not it is better for us.

[Clivia]

I a 100% agree with you richo71 - I would never go to a pub and just vape - always ask - and if they say no - that's their perfect right and needs to be respected.

I also don't understand people , who have the need to vape in a shopping centre or public transport for example - they could not do that with smoking - so sure can be that time without vaping as well - we need to shed good light on vapers not ruthless behaviour

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2014 15:37:07 GMT buggritt said:

If you take your view to it's logical conclusion, many things would be banned. Alcohol for instance. Many pubs and restaurants advertise themselves as child friendly. Drinking among the young is a much bigger problem in this country than smoking.

You must also make fat people stay indoors. Amy Winehouse would have been made to wear the burqa and never allowed to speak in public.
For all the efforts of the effete elite, we have the fattest kids in Europe. Diabetes is soaring. Our youth are an international disgrace.
The way children form into adults is mainly influenced by parenting. Not legislation

See I told you, I even had words put into my mouth

[DiscoDes]

Apr 2, 2014 16:15:05 GMT Clivia said:

I would be interested to read from the person, who has never touched tobacco before - but it's of course her/his right to stay totally anonimous 

I wonder if someone did that just to "upset the apple cart"?








mea culpa

[paolo]

I was a hardcore smoker for 17 years 20-50 a day depending, before vaping I'd been trying to give up for about 10 years. I'd tried everything and made lots of effort. I'd got off the fags for a few months here and there about 8 months was the best with Champix. Vaping was a bit of a revelation to me really, I'm very happy. I gave up smoking with vaping within a month and it's never really bothered me. I was never a happy smoker, I hate it, not smokers of course but the cigarette addiction and how it affected my life. One day I'll probably give up vaping too but I'm in no rush.

I don't see any evidence anecdotal or scientific, of children being influenced to smoke by vaping and I don't think it's a sound argument to promote restriction of vaping. Quite the opposite I think it should be encourage to smokers, along with more research into all aspects of it.
However I do share some of Scooby's concerns and think we should be aware of it as a possibility and if it ever did become a problem action should be taken to limit it. Whilst this is only my personal opinion from my own experience I don't want to see young people become nicotine addicts at all. I don't want to see smoking normalised in any way as I have such a negative opinion of it, though I don't think vaping does this really.

It's also important to realise that vaping isn't the solution for everybody, I know a couple of people who didn't take to it. This may have been different if we had smaller devices or it was less unusual. There may always be some who don't take to it. I hope other better stop smoking methods can be found for these people because the current non-vaping offerings are mediocre.

[Clivia]

the someone DiscoDes changed her/his mind

[annie50]

I smoked 20 ish a day for over 45 years. Started vaping last June and have never had a *drag* of a cig since.
I still have a pouch of tobacco, tips, papers and a roller in the cupboard but am looking to get rid of them on my first anniversary in June this year.
I see vaping as a way of stopping or cutting down smoking. Not like they were saying on the tv today that they feel vaping will
encourage people to take up smoking. What a load of rubbish they spout!

[annie50]

I am also going to add that when I was smoking, I had had a nasty cough for years, was on 3 different inhalers and my cough was getting worse all the time.
I started vaping and within a week, honestly, within a week, my cough was gone. I haven't taken any inhalers at all since last June.
As far as I am concerned, vaping has been a life saver.