Weekend Column – Up In Smoke – Or Vapor

Jul 13, 2014 by winjaw

As of today, it has been 12 days since my last cigarette.

After 30-plus years of smoking anywhere from a pack to two packs a day (depending on how my day was going), I finally decided enough was, well, enough. There were various reasons why it was now and not one of the countless other perfectly good times to quit.

Before sending all the congratulatory cards, the battle is not over. I am still addicted to nicotine and I still get a nicotine fix daily. It’s just different.

Habits are hard to break. They are especially hard when you enjoy the habit. Let’s face it, I loved to smoke. I enjoyed the smell, the feel, the inhaling of the smoke and exhaling.

I promised the Little Black Dress I would quit once we were married. I made it a day. I promised the day Eldest SON of Thunder was born it would be the last. I lasted a day. I went Cold Turkey with one of those support groups; I lasted about five days. I did the patch and the gum and … name it, I did it.

Then it was Chantix. An amazing drug. It worked. So did all the side effects. Note: if the warnings take up more than three times the benefits, you are hosed. Just trust me.

At some point you finally realize your life is somewhat screwed up when your friends, co-workers, family, wife and sons can’t get you to change for the better.

At the urging of The Dress, I went and visited one of our local vapor stores. For those not familiar with vaping, it involves warming up a liquid containing nicotine and inhaling it, similar to a cigarette. But it’s not smoke, it’s a vapor like steam.

The only negative thing you are inhaling is nicotine. With a cigarette, it’s not only nicotine but tar, carbon monoxide, smoke, ammonia and a host of other deadly things.

I was without a doubt the cliched deer in headlights when I first walked in. Fortunately, the owner was kind enough to help a newbie out. We discussed my smoking habits and type of cigarette I smoked – Camel Blues, previously known as Camel Lights.

Buying cigarettes is so much easier. You have your favorite brand. The only decision you make is whether you want a hard or soft pack.

Vaping is another world.

Moisturizing the area so generic viagra cheapest that the skin doesn’t crack and become dry should also be in your medications, with your doctor’s help and in your hands. It is order cialis online Go Here which is cheap and is available easily. Don’t expect to get two cheap viagra from uk extra inches in a few weeks. This may additionally leave affect on every part of cheapest cialis from india your life by truly influencing your mind-set, body and musings. First your battery, which comes in a myriad of sizes and strengths to last a few hours up to a few days. Some even allow you to charge your cell phone. And you can even get variable batteries, which let you adjust the voltage and/or wattage.

Then there’s the atomizer or clearomizer or glassomizer, depending on your preference. Those hold the liquid. And most now prefer dual coils to single coils (the element that warms up the liquid). And those, in turn, have different ohms to fine tune your vape.

And lets not forget to determine your PG/VG ratio, or propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin mix. I learned the more PG liquid, the bigger the “throat hit.” The more VG, the more vapor produced. And finally, you have to determine your nicotine level.

My head was hurting.

The industry looks out for people like me. I went with the suggested starter kit consisting of two vaping units – two batteries, extra coils and two clearomizers. I’m good to go.

Not yet. Now it’s time to pick a flavor. I look at a list of offerings, ranging from strawberry to lemonade to blueberry muffin to bubble gum to … wait, bubble gum?

There is no way I’m going to ease my cigarette addiction by vaping something that tastes like bubble gum. I maintain some degree of dignity.

“Anything along a tobacco flavor?” I ask. Thankfully, there are. I’ve got a dozen or so to sample, and that’s exactly what you do – sample.

And so now I vape. The beauty of this is that there is no smell. I can be right by the LBD vaping away and other than seeing the vapor, she would never know. She is happy. The SONS, who call me Darth Vapor, are happy.

Yes, I am still getting nicotine, but I’ve already reduced my nicotine levels three times now.

I am not where I want to be yet, but I am much closer to my goal. And that’s the point in breaking any habit.