A recent study shows that e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular among young people in Germany, with even elementary school kids picking up vapes. Health experts are alarmed.
I argue that vaping is far far worse than cigarettes given that the ability to “smoke” indoors is much greater.
I recently quit smoking after 6 or so years. I had no choice due to $$ and problems maintaining a state id (super fucking hard if you don’t have a physical address mailbox). I used to walk 3 to sometimes 15 miles a day as long as I had smokes. It was forcing me to get the fuck outside multiple times a day. Chain smoking plus cardio seemed to have a extremely positive effect on my blood pressure, because when I quit smoking, I completely stopped going outside 100%, save it for a minute or two throwing out the trash. My blood pressure SKYROCKETED and remains so ever since I was forced to quit smoking 🚬. Crazy but true.
I had literally zero issues going through the quitting process thanks to the nicotine gum (niccorette branded gum, the Amazon off brand had zero sweetener). It completely killed off the intense cig cravings I would usually get during no smokes periods. After a month and a half, I completely stopped going for the gum without even thinking about it. Done and done.
I’m constantly hearing others switch to vaping to stop smoking. I imagine if I was vaping, my addiction to nicotine would be much worse than with smoking, because the temptation to smoke (vape) would be easier to succumb to if I were able to smoke (vape) indoors. Above all, it is the nicotine that drives the urge to smoke (vape), it changes certain brain receptors and it’s irreversible. It takes many years for the receptors to return to normal after smoking cessation, at least that’s how it was for me the first time I quit smoking around age 21 two decades ago. Back then I quit cold turkey and it took 2 years for the random cig cravings to go away.
I’ve found quitting vaping is easier for the cravings than with cigarettes, because the tobacco has other stuff in it that makes the craving intense when I don’t have those, but vaping is something that I can set down and not be bothered so much. Circumstances of the present moment are particularly stressful and I’m working on staying sober, too, so as I’m alone right now, I’m smoking, but I’m only smoking 3-4 puffs before putting it out. I agree, the ease at which I can grab a vape would make it easier to take a small hit, and I would instinctively do that, but under ideal circumstances, vaping has made it easier to set it down for an extended period of time before stress really took off.
I once observed a time ago whilst on mushrooms and DXM, after a very specific type of closed-eye hallucination was going on, where I was being carried through a vibrant, breathing, living world, and I stopped to smoke some tobacco, and upon returning by closing my eyes, I was on the same “screen” as I left, but I was no longer being “carried” through this landscape. There was just a woman in a gazebo with a river and wind, all moving independently. This experience showed me that nicotine stops a process in my head that I discussed with a friend who was a cognitive scientist, but I forget the terms he used.
I have quite a lot of experience with DXM. I binged on it for 3 months straight. One or two 8 oz Robitussin syrup bottles per day. The local flea market was selling them for a goddamn nickel each the bastards!
Anyhow, one night I was swimming around in head watching the movie “21 grams”. It’s one of those mixed up puzzle type of movies where all the scenes are out of order. It was very jarring and intense.
After it ended, I went to lay down in my bed. My mind reeling, thinking about what I just watched. Trying to process it. After a minute or so, I started to doze off, in the DXM hazy type of doze. In that very moment, I had this intense sensation of two massive big rigs hitting going Mach 10 crashing into each other at the center of my mind. A psychotic break of some sort. Super crazy shit.
On a lighter note, I had a couple sleep screaming episodes during this DXM binge. I was repeatedly falling asleep and instantly SCREAMING my head off. This according to my roommate laying down in the bed across the room.
I argue that vaping is far far worse than cigarettes given that the ability to “smoke” indoors is much greater.
I recently quit smoking after 6 or so years. I had no choice due to $$ and problems maintaining a state id (super fucking hard if you don’t have a physical address mailbox). I used to walk 3 to sometimes 15 miles a day as long as I had smokes. It was forcing me to get the fuck outside multiple times a day. Chain smoking plus cardio seemed to have a extremely positive effect on my blood pressure, because when I quit smoking, I completely stopped going outside 100%, save it for a minute or two throwing out the trash. My blood pressure SKYROCKETED and remains so ever since I was forced to quit smoking 🚬. Crazy but true.
I had literally zero issues going through the quitting process thanks to the nicotine gum (niccorette branded gum, the Amazon off brand had zero sweetener). It completely killed off the intense cig cravings I would usually get during no smokes periods. After a month and a half, I completely stopped going for the gum without even thinking about it. Done and done.
I’m constantly hearing others switch to vaping to stop smoking. I imagine if I was vaping, my addiction to nicotine would be much worse than with smoking, because the temptation to smoke (vape) would be easier to succumb to if I were able to smoke (vape) indoors. Above all, it is the nicotine that drives the urge to smoke (vape), it changes certain brain receptors and it’s irreversible. It takes many years for the receptors to return to normal after smoking cessation, at least that’s how it was for me the first time I quit smoking around age 21 two decades ago. Back then I quit cold turkey and it took 2 years for the random cig cravings to go away.
I’ve found quitting vaping is easier for the cravings than with cigarettes, because the tobacco has other stuff in it that makes the craving intense when I don’t have those, but vaping is something that I can set down and not be bothered so much. Circumstances of the present moment are particularly stressful and I’m working on staying sober, too, so as I’m alone right now, I’m smoking, but I’m only smoking 3-4 puffs before putting it out. I agree, the ease at which I can grab a vape would make it easier to take a small hit, and I would instinctively do that, but under ideal circumstances, vaping has made it easier to set it down for an extended period of time before stress really took off.
If there’s one thing nicotine is great for it’s handling stress. As long as you have some on hand 😊
I once observed a time ago whilst on mushrooms and DXM, after a very specific type of closed-eye hallucination was going on, where I was being carried through a vibrant, breathing, living world, and I stopped to smoke some tobacco, and upon returning by closing my eyes, I was on the same “screen” as I left, but I was no longer being “carried” through this landscape. There was just a woman in a gazebo with a river and wind, all moving independently. This experience showed me that nicotine stops a process in my head that I discussed with a friend who was a cognitive scientist, but I forget the terms he used.
I have quite a lot of experience with DXM. I binged on it for 3 months straight. One or two 8 oz Robitussin syrup bottles per day. The local flea market was selling them for a goddamn nickel each the bastards!
Anyhow, one night I was swimming around in head watching the movie “21 grams”. It’s one of those mixed up puzzle type of movies where all the scenes are out of order. It was very jarring and intense.
After it ended, I went to lay down in my bed. My mind reeling, thinking about what I just watched. Trying to process it. After a minute or so, I started to doze off, in the DXM hazy type of doze. In that very moment, I had this intense sensation of two massive big rigs hitting going Mach 10 crashing into each other at the center of my mind. A psychotic break of some sort. Super crazy shit.
On a lighter note, I had a couple sleep screaming episodes during this DXM binge. I was repeatedly falling asleep and instantly SCREAMING my head off. This according to my roommate laying down in the bed across the room.
“DUDE SHUT UP!!”