Smoker to Vaper to mixologist

gmuxx (67) in health • 7 years ago (edited)

I was a smoker for over 25 years. I started when I was 16 and quickly developed a 40 a day habit. It cost me a fortune, made me unhealthy and I stunk of cigarettes. I tried many times to kick the habit: going cold turkey, nicotine gum and patches...no matter what I tried the evil drug had me in it's grasp.

A few years ago I stumbled on e-cigarettes. My father in law was taken ill and he wasn't allowed to smoke so we got him a disposable e-cig to tide him over. He didn't get along with it so I tried it. I was shocked at how it kept the cravings away and soon upgraded to a simple refillable one. Within a day I had stopped smoking!

Over the course of the following few months I upgraded my vaping gear with more powerful battery mods and larger tanks, trying all sorts of different flavours, slowly dropping my nicotine intake, much to my good lady's approval. She still moans when I 'accidentally' fill the room with vapour but at least I smell good now.

Good premium e-juices can be expensive, especially now I build my own heating coils for my clearomiser (vape tank) and it goes through juice quick, so I looked into mixing my own. Whereas a bottle of premium e-juice would cost upwards of £12 I can make almost the same thing at home for just over £1. I can tailor the flavours to my own tastes and I never run out.

The main ingredient of e-juice is vegetable glycerin and I can get 200ml bottles from my local pharmacy for just over $1.50. Add to this a little propylene glycol, some nicotine and flavourings and you have your e-juice. There are many different flavours available to buy from lots of different manufacturers.

a small selection of different flavours

These are food grade flavourings and quite safe to use. I usually start with a recipe I find on http://e-liquid-recipes.com and then tailor it to my taste. Occasionally I will just make one up from scratch if I am in the mood for a particular taste, such as fruity or biscuity or something with custard. My office resembles a lab at times: I have over 40 different flavourings which I mix at the correct percentages, using an app called JuiceCalculator. It works out how many grams of different ingredients I need to mix. It saves messing while measuring with syringes and the like.

So there you have it. I have kicked one habit and started a new hobby, making my own e-juices - saving lots of money along the way.

Source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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health life vaping smoking

7 years ago by gmuxx (67)

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sacred-agent (61) · 7 years ago (edited)

@GMuxx... Thanks 4 sharing Your experience with Vaping & quitting cigarettes...

I posted 2 weeks ago what I think is probably the best movie/documentary made regarding the Global mis-information intentionally created by the Tobacco Industry of Vaping vs Cigarettes...

https://steemit.com/life/@sacred-agent/a-billion-lives-can-be-saved-and-fully-explained-in-the-movie-a-billion-lives-watch-movie-free-with-link-provided

The movie is rated very high by IMDb at 9.3 and is called "A Billion Lives" because that is approximately how many people's lives could be saved IF they switched to Vaping to quit Cigarettes. Posted a link to watch this movie for Free.

Have a Good Week !!

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gmuxx (67) · 7 years ago

I watched that and agree with everything they showed

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wakeupsheeps (57) · 7 years ago

Good for you @gmuxx! I'm a 30 year smoker and now at 45 feel I have to quit. Good to know that is an option. I've never tried to quit and am feeling a bit nervous about it.

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gmuxx (67) · 7 years ago

As you can see it is totally possible

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dswigle (70) · 7 years ago

My sincere congratulations for kicking the habit. You make your own juice ?? That is outstanding! I have never heard of anyone doing that. Keep up the good work, I know your lady will love you even more.

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samest (61) · 7 years ago

@gmuxx what make some people kill themselves about an habit they will say it is impossible to change from one to another. You proof this theory and claim it by saying change is the only constant thing in life. When you are determine to do something and you take action the result will surely come.

Nice one @gmuxx.

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bleedpoet (60) · 7 years ago

Smoked till I was 30, then bought a Vapor Zeus and worked myself down from 24mg to 0mg over a course of a year. Stuck to a Virginia tobacco flavor. At the end of the year, I looked at it and realized I didn't really need it. Two years later I took it up again, constantly surrounded by smokers at work. This year I went with Champix. So far so good, after the first few days after quitting the desire fades and the taste turns your stomach a little. It's awesome you learned to make your own juices, I'd considered it, but finding pharmaceutical grade nicotine without a pharmacist or lab license is damn near in possible, my e-juices kept getting confiscated at the border 😕

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brianjuice (50) · 7 years ago

Good stuff @gmuxx, I'm currently using Juul, check it out! I prefer Juul over the mods since it gives a strong hit with less smoke. It's great for being out and about as well as at home so it doesn't produce huge clouds.