Smokeless cigarettes - good or bad?

[Blaze]

What are your thoughts and feelings about smokeless cigarettes or electronic cigarettes?

[selmiak]

never tried it, I don't expect it to be *more healthy*... but it is less smoking and more of feeding a bad habbit/addiction...

[Blaze]

I kind of get your point, but I'm guessing that most people (like me) look to turn to them to actually give up smoking. Obviously they don't contain tar and most other harmful carcinogens of normal cigarettes. But thanks for the reply anyway...

Has anyone actually tried them?

Just wanted some feedback from a "user" before I take the plunge!

never tried it, I don't expect it to be *more healthy*... but it is less smoking and more of feeding a bad habbit/addiction...

[Stupot]

My brother-in-law has started smoking electronic cigarettes, as he is preparing for a half-marathon.  He seems to be pretty pleased with them.
Health issues aside, they are far far cheaper than buying real cigarettes.  Also, whereas previously he would smoke outside for various sensible reasons, he can now do so in the comfort of his living room, without passing 2nd hand smoke to the children and making the house smell like a speakeasy.

They seem to be seen as rather 'uncool' (among real smokers), and Noel Gallagher recently had a go at the drummer of Muse for smoking an E-fag at the Brit awards, saying it ruined his night.

Personally, as a non-smoker, I have my own opinions about smokers of any ilk, but that's for another day.

[mkennedy]

They're a hell of a lot better than the real thing. If it helps you quit then I would even support letting people pay for them with health insurance money.

[Slasher]

Having smoked for over 40 years (and still do but less) I can honestly say that without willpower they don't work.

Willpower is the key. It's Psychological.

For some it no doubt works.

Most of the stuff you get is a lot healthier, well, better than the real thing.

I suffered a stroke and was told that smoking contributed to it, well, that's what I was told.

I would say that they could be useful while trying to quit but never as a substitute.

I wish I had never started 

[Blaze]

Thanks very much for all the great replies.

My exact reason for wanting to try e-cigarettes is for health reasons too. I understand will-power is required, but I am really determined to give up. I've actually come across an e-cigarette recently in Tesco's (the supermarket for any non-Brits), the vapestick - www.vapestick.co.uk and have been doing my homework.

My guess is that if Tesco's are selling them in the same way they do patches and gum there must be certain health benefits to them.

[Domino]

I have used e-cigs in the past few months. It will give you the nicotine fix you are craving, but for me i still went back to smoking regular cigs. It might work for some people, but not for me. :-(

[cat]

A college of mine started to smoke them instead of real cigarettes. But now he doesn't even have nicotin in it anymore, just some fruit taste. He likes the taste of it.

[Darth Mandarb]

8 May 2004 ... my last cigarette.  Ever.  I have not smoked anything since then.  No cigars.  No weed.  Nothing.

How long did I smoke up to that point?  Over 10 years (about 16 on-and-off).

How did I quit?  I realized how stupid smoking is and I stopped.  Cold turkey.

Was it hard?  One of (if not the) hardest things I've ever done.

How did I pull it off?  Willpower.  Nothing else.

The first month was, I admit, sheer torture.  Constant cravings and withdrawals.  After a month it got easier.  After two months it became a personal challenge; I will not lose now!!!

Please stop smoking!!  In a month of not smoking you'll feel SO much better and be shocked at how much easier certain things are.  Even things you didn't realize you were having a hard time with (especially stairs).  I know a lot of people make all the excuses in the world (we've gotten into this on here before) but there really is no [acceptable] reason to smoke.  It's all willpower.  You know you should stop.  So just stop.  If you feel like the e-cigs are a good stop gap go for it.  But you're just substituting one vice for another and all it does is drag out the quitting process.  If you're still pretending to smoke it's a short step back to smoking.

Just my two units of currency!

Good luck!

[selmiak]

nice one darth... so, did you grow fat after stopping smoking?

[Darth Mandarb]

No real weight gain thankfully. 

I knew, when starting the quit smoking process, that a lot of people replace the cigarettes with near constant snacking so I made a VERY conscious effort to avoid snacking.

The trick I used was turning the whole thing into a challenge.  I will not let smoking win!!  I even kept my last pack of smokes on my nightstand next to the bed (a bit sadistic I know).  Stared at it for weeks refusing to let it win.  By making it a challenge I put myself in competition mode.

And I hate to lose.

[Grim]

You're making me want to quit smoking... stop it!;)

[miguel]

I second Grim, stop this nonsense!
I love my cigarettes!

[m0ds]

several of my friends started smoking e-cigarettes after being heavy smokers, now they don't smoke at all. I am very, very tempted to get one.

[NickyNyce]

I quit smoking years ago by using cigars as my crutch, and it worked. Just knowing that I had them to fall back on was a big help in having me quit. I soon after stopped smoking cigars too, and life was great.

After I got married I started smoking again. 

I bought the E-Cigarette and tried it for a while and must say, it does help take away the cravings. The problem was, it made me cough, it bothered my lungs. I know this sounds strange, how can real cigarettes not bother me but fake ones do?. Perhaps I was pulling too hard?...I don't know, but they did bother my lungs and make me cough at times.

Maybe it's just me, either way, I say go for it. Like Darth said....Be ready for war. You really need to want to fight this thing and kick its ass, because if you're not ready for war, you'll be smoking in three hours.

[Ryan Timothy B]

My brother stopped smoking for maybe a year. Then he got a new job and started getting that smoking urge again. He decided to look into the ecigs to "ease" the urge. It certainly stopped him from smoking while he had the ecigs, but then after a month his unit started leaking and put him into hard withdrawal (probably because he puffed back too much nicotine with the ecigs, likely more than he would with a real cigarette). Now he's back to smoking again.

Would I recommend them? I'd probably recommend them to person who can't shake smoking, so may as well take up the ecig as it's much healthier. But I definitely wouldn't recommend it to someone who stopped smoking and wants to try them because they're getting the urge to smoke again.

I've never been a smoker and I puffed back on it once. It actually made me cough. Odd.

[Anian]

Maybe about a year ago there were some stories about certain brands of ecigies having rather toxic chemicals in them, so you might want to check that before buying.

[waheela]

Hey, seems like I'm a little late to this thread, but I thought I would chime in if you're still considering e-cigs.

My boyfriend thought he would have trouble quitting cold turkey so he switched to e-cigs. He hasn't had a cigarette in 4 months since, nor has he had any desire to. He's now a pretty die-hard supporter of them. I gave his a try and enjoyed it so much I got my own, even though I was never a smoker (there are nicotine-free juices you can get as well). From what I've read, there aren't any provable negative health risks tied to them.

My boyfriend found this group on Reddit really useful when he was getting started. Maybe you will too: http://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette/

I know the information can be a little overwhelming at first, but if you're willing to give it a try, I would really recommend getting a starter kit and e-juices from Virgin Vapor. Their juices are delicious and natural, and I've never had any problems with them.

Hope this helps!

[FrankT]

Well... there's no tar in them, but they keep the nicotine... that's still a lethal chemical, isn't it?