My friends are stupid.

[BrenD]

Or rather two of them are.  Stupid enough for me to need a rant...

Friend number one is really into running but had finally realised that smoking 15 or so rollies a day wasn't doing his times any good and wanted to buy an e-cig to reduce the amount he smokes.  He took one look at my MVP before laughing at it/writing it off completely and stating that the best ones look like cigarettes.  Ejit.  I talked him into holding and trying my backup eGos as I politely explained that he didn't know what he was talking about, but he thought they were too large and didn't feel right in his hand.  Despite my best efforts to convince him otherwise, he bought a couple of disposables, didn't get on with them and still smokes.  

Friend number two has two young daughters and doesn't want them to grow up with a daddy who smokes, as good a reason as any to start vaping.  Yet despite thinking my MVP looked cool, quite liking my eGos when he tried them and asking for advice on a good starter kit to buy... he bought himself a cig-a-like and has started to moan about it while smoking just as much as he used to.  I really don't know what part of my advice that the EVOD starter kit would be perfect for him and that MyEpack would be a great place to buy it he took to mean pick up a cig-a-like and spend nearly as much in the process, but I can't see him using his e-cig for too much longer the amount he moans about it.

As much as I'd love all of my friends who smoke to make the switch, I wouldn't dream of suggesting it to a smoker.  They were curious about my gear and came to me for advice.  Why ask for advice and try some decent gear if you have no intention of following it?  I guess some people are beyond help

[ronaldo]

pair of fools BrenD you can only give advise if they dont follow it is there fault not yours but very annoying

[enjay]

My friends are stupid too, I only hang out with them to make myself feel more intelligent

[chykensa]

There's no telling some people, BrenD! The friends of mine who have converted to vaping were the ones who wanted to - I didn't pressurise them, but now they are vapers I give all the advice that I can, and most of them are members of this forum, albeit lurkers or infrequent posters.
I doubt that the time was right for your friends; if they are really serious they will come back in due course and ask again, perhaps taking a bit more note of your suggestions second time around.
Don't beat yourself up about this, frustrating though it is. Vape on!

[ionian]

When I first started vaping I was really worried about the look of the device, how unnatural it felt, and it's size. I only wanted the familiar tobacco juices. Thanks to the advice on here I soon got over that, but only because I wanted to - I was desperate to stop smoking and I'd done my research, I knew that the cig-a-likes were no good.

In a way, the fact that the cig-a-likes are now more widely advertised (even 6 months ago there weren't TV ads) means that they are so much more visible. In a way, this is a shame as they don't work nearly as well as other gear out there, but they have the mighty dollar behind them.

[zeldamum]

As the saying goes BrenD 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink'

People think they know best, I have several friends who duel fuel. They buy cheap batteries and juice on E*ay and wonder why they are still smoking and it costs them more money for the pleasure.

The only person I have managed to convert successfully asked me loads of questions tried my kit out, he spent about an hour trying different juices. The session ended with him buying an SVD and before that even arrived he had bought an MVP.

2nd gen ecigs are still relatively new and with the big cig-a-like companies having so much money behind them for advertising it will still take a while for people to change their views.

[OneDay]

I truly believe that each and every one of us on the forum have "found our moment". We have all tried numerous times to quit, using various methods, and gone back on the fags. Then one day, for whatever reason, our moment arrives and we quit - in many cases instantly. The best we can do for other people is to show them the alternatives if they're interested and offer them encouragement if they are. But if it's not their moment, it will fall on deaf ears.

[Blownupdolly]

Apr 4, 2014 7:53:02 GMT zeldamum said:

As the saying goes BrenD 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink'

People think they know best, I have several friends who duel fuel. They buy cheap batteries and juice on E*ay and wonder why they are still smoking and it costs them more money for the pleasure.

The only person I have managed to convert successfully asked me loads of questions tried my kit out, he spent about an hour trying different juices. The session ended with him buying an SVD and before that even arrived he had bought an MVP.

2nd gen ecigs are still relatively new and with the big cig-a-like companies having so much money behind them for advertising it will still take a while for people to change their views.

Horses and water were the first thing that jumped into my head Zelda.

I have stopped trying to help smokers I know,which now I think about it, is very few. I now wait for people to ask me about my device. At least then i know they are genuinely interested.

[Pepperty]

when I first wanted to quit/cut down I bought a cig-a-like but I'd genuinely not seen anything else available. Nowadays I see loads of ego setups on the street, but a few years back it seemed cigalikes were all that was on offer? They really are naff, but I suppose if you were using them to help going cold turkey they would do at a push..

But why make quitting so traumatic? I know I've swapped smoking for vaping and may always choose to be a vaper?...but least I've knocked my nicotine down from 36mg to 10mg. Already I can see I can go longer without nicotine and no more dreaded cravings and if I was only vaping as a tool to quit nicotine full stop I'd have simply swapped over from ciggies, onto vaping, onto lower nicotine and then to less usage - until I didn't smoke/vape/have an addiction, totally stress free!

You still need willpower, you need to want to stop smoking, without that - then you are fighting a losing battle. Vaping isn't as simple as smoking but I've always enjoyed tinkering, cleaning my tanks and wiping threads and cottonbudding mouthpieces as I weirdly enjoy maintaining my vape to best standards. But even if you just want to charge up and go, you're going to stand a far better chance with a decent starter kit.

[BrenD]

Exactly, you can lead a horse...

I knew within seconds that vaping wasn't going to be for #1. He is as stubborn as they come and was never going to get over needing something a lot smaller than a eGo once he had made his mind up.

#2 I'm a little more annoyed about. I have never admitted to someone that they know a lot more about something than I do, asked them for advice

Edit: my cat just nudged my hand into the submit button! Where was I?

Ah yes, I'd never ask a mate for advice on something I know nothing about and do the complete opposite to what they suggest. I know my friends well enough to know that they have my best interests at heart and I'd trust their opinion.

He took a much greater interest in vaping than #1, so I thought I had my first convert. Oh well, his loss. But if he and his gf moan about how much they are spending on smoking one more time...

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards

[toots]

Apr 4, 2014 6:50:42 GMT ionian said:

In a way, the fact that the cig-a-likes are now more widely advertised (even 6 months ago there weren't TV ads) means that they are so much more visible. In a way, this is a shame as they don't work nearly as well as other gear out there, but they have the mighty dollar behind them.

I find these cig-a-likes a bit of a concern. I have had several people say to me things like 'oh, I've tried those e-cigs and they don't work' and when I've asked them what type they tried it was invariably a cig-a-like, then when you tell them that those ones they tried were rather useless and that they should try a 2nd generation type they've already been put off by the cig-a-like. Now that is such a shame. In their minds all e-cigs are the same and they won't be bothered to try anything else out coz as far as they're concerned no e-cig works, no matter what you say to them.

You can even offer them to try yours, but they don't even want to do that, coz they are so convinced they don't work.

[4madcats]

& now you've discovered the age old problem, just because the words coming out of someones mouth are are saying I want/need to give up smoking, doesn't mean they really mean it.

Lost count of the number of times I said this but didn't really do much about it, or went into it in a half-arsed way. When I discovered vaping it was like the final piece clicked into place, but only because I really was in the right mindset & willing to make that extra bit of effort, the tipping point had finally come down in favour of giving up the ciggies.

Yes transitioning to vaping was easy peasy compared to NRT, but in the beginning I still had to make a conscious decision that I wasn't going to roll a ciggie.

When they're really ready to give up they'll probably just surprise you one day by appearing with whatever kit they're comfortable with.

[chykensa]

I gave up smoking almost by accident. I read about e-cigs on another unconnected forum and thought I would give it a go as I was getting concerned about my wheezy cough and general smelliness.
I had my first puff on my ego battery and ce4 on a Friday morning before school, and have lapsed 3 times in 18 months.
As has been said above ^^^ you will only be successful if your friends really want to make the change - continue to vape openly in front of them and perhaps in time they will have a change of heart about the whole matter.

[djs]

Apr 4, 2014 0:32:34 GMT BrenD said:

He took one look at my MVP before laughing at it/writing it off completely and stating that the best ones look like cigarettes.  Ejit.  I talked him into holding and trying my backup eGos as I politely explained that he didn't know what he was talking about, but he thought they were too large and didn't feel right in his hand.  Despite my best efforts to convince him otherwise, he bought a couple of disposables, didn't get on with them and still smokes.  

Should I laugh or cry? How frustrating.

[collie2011]

I know a lot of smokers and i've only ever managed to convert one person, she took my advice and got an ego/evod setup which she is really happy with. I know a few part time vapers, one of those drives for a living so vapes while he drives because he can't smoke in his van.