I stopped smoking last October. Vaping saved me and helped me through the most difficult times. Still vape now but have gone from 12mg nicotine down to between 6 and 3 mg, with the ultimate goal of 0 mg nicotine and off vaping completely. Within 3 days of stopping cigs, my smoker's cough which had gotten quite bad, disappeared. Amazing!! I always had "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking" book by Allan Carr on my bedside table, but never finished reading it. I have known of several die-hard smokers who got off cigs by his method and I am sure his method is a great resource and method for many.
In my case, it was a tv documentary I saw on vaping that made up my mind and stopped my procrastination. I bought a vape the day after I saw it and weened myself onto it and off smokes over a 1 week period. I know that I can't go back to smoking because the end result is seriously impaired health in our later years which can be avoided once we make the choice to get off that destructive path. Who wants to live our later years in such a compromised way? Life is too short and to have to have an oxygen tank accompany us 24/7 is just too tragic when there are alternatives. Ask anyone with serious emphysema who eventually did quit but it was too late. I have a dear friend in just that situation and it breaks my heart seeing him so disabled now.
In regards to vaping, there are a lot of different devices and if you seek out a dedicated specialty vape shop which is invested into helping people get off smokes (there are many!), I find them to be a wealth of knowledge and support. There are a ton of different vape models out there and you don't have to choke on them. During my first week or so being off smokes and onto vaping, I often stopped into my local vape shop asking them "when will I start feeling normal?" They were a great source of support and although it was a challenging first week or two, I did not have extreme withdrawals and I eventually did adjust after a few weeks. Yes, there are large groups of vaper people who are really into the whole making "big clouds" thing. But you don't have to go there. The only disclaimer is if you have a pre-existing heart condition or diabetes, it is not recommended. I do believe that the sugar content gets into your bloodstream (I have been googling this very thing and reading peoples concerns about this issue) but I believe it is by far the lesser of 2 evils and a great bridge/ stop gap method.
This is the documentary which convinced me it was the way to go:
If that link doesn't work, do a search on YouTube for a doc called E-Cigarettes : Welcome Back, Big Tobacco - the fifth estate.
I previously thought buying organic cigs would be a good alternative until this doc helped me understand that although organic tobacco lacked many chemicals that regular cigarettes have, the toxicity of cigs really comes from the actual combustion of burning tobacco.
I wish you and everyone the best of health and well being as we release ourselves from the tobacco demon addiction we got duped into. I smoked for over 40 years and know this addiction well, but also believe if I can get off them, anyone can!!
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