Hey look, I found out that formatting is a thing that exists!

God I really hate starting a post. I never know how to introduce whatever I'm talking about, but then I feel self-conscious for some reason if I just jump in.

Anyway, if you read my last post here then you know I'm talking about vaping. I assume most people know what it is by now, but just in case...

“Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the water vapor produced by an electric device called vaporizer (or e-cigarette).” [1]

One thing though, I want to distinguish a vape from an e-cigarette, for a few reasons.

1. Some people, like me and @stitchybitch, still remember how terrible the first generation devices (predominantly in e-cigarette form) were, and I want to make sure as many people as possible know how much better these new vapes are.
2. E-cigarettes are still sold (even though they should've died off), but I don't endorse them at all. Besides looking like a cigarette and being small (not always desirable), I don't see many other significant advantages. Because they're small, they hold very little charge and very little e-juice, and I prefer my nicotine consumption to be as streamlined as possible, as I'm sure many others do.
3. I'm not sure about this one, but it might help some people to break as far as possible away from any association to cigarettes, especially if they're quitting. Getting into something new is a good way to get your mind off old habits anyway.

Ok, so now you know that I'm talking about these:

Not talking about these:

And I know I touched on some reasons to switch to vaping last time, but I'll get more in-depth here, and finish with a concrete list of actions to take.

Why Vape Instead of Smoke, You Say? Why Not?! Say I

vaping is healthier for you and everyone around you, do I really need to convince you of that...

Apparently I do, because some people (or some conglomerate of tobacco companies/pharmaceutical companies/illegitimate organizations that coerce tax revenue from citizens under threat of violence) insist on attempting to make this a controversial issue.

So yea, I will have to bust out the block quotes, but let me appeal to your common sense first--do you think it's better to inhale burning matter into your lungs (along with literally thousands of other chemical compounds, many of which are carcinogenic), or vapor from e-juice comprised typically of just PG (propylene glycol, which is found in asthma inhalers), VG (vegetable glycerol, yes, literally made from veggies, can be bought organic, and is already used in medications, cosmetic and food items), nicotine, and optional flavorings (this is where you need to stay informed and exercise discretion)?

E-cigarettes aren't thought of as 100% safe, but most experts think they're less dangerous than cigarettes, says Neal Benowitz, MD, a nicotine researcher at the University of California at San Francisco. Cigarette smoking kills almost half a million people a year in the United States. Most of the harm comes from the thousands of chemicals that are burned and inhaled in the smoke, he explains. E-cigs don't burn, so people aren't as exposed to those toxins. A 2015 expert review from Public Health England estimated e-cigs are 95% less harmful than the real thing. [2]

BAM!

That figure is controversial and might be a little high, says Kenneth Warner, a tobacco policy researcher at the University of Michigan. But, he adds, "The worst critics of e-cigarettes would probably argue they're a half to two-thirds less dangerous. But from a practical view, they're probably on the order of 80% to 85% less dangerous, at least." [2

SMACK!

Some states and communities that ban smoking in public places also ban vaping. But, Warner says, while the danger from secondhand vapor isn't zero, "it's probably very low." [2]

POW!

Okay, we good? Moving on...

vaping is more convenient, more concealable, more customizable

Vaping can be adjusted to fit your very specific and individual lifestyle/desires/preferences/etc. This is because they areconvenient, concealable and customizable (like how they all start with "c"? yea, i did that), and you can't really say that about cigarettes. Want to get your fix without...stinking up your car (check), or being limited to one flavor--tobacco (check), or worrying about your parents/kids smelling smoke on you(check), or having judgmental SF Bay Area residents give you dirty looks all the time (not possible anyway)? You get the point.

vaping costs a lot less, financially, physically, emotionally, etc.

Another way to think about is how much it adds or subtracts from your life. Granted, I can't say that vaping will add so much to your life, but since I'm already addicted to nicotine and the actual act of smoking, vaping is the method that will take the least from me, in almost every sense. But let me break it down for you, in a purely financial sense because it's less ambiguous (and also that's what I was originally going to do anyway):

The Cost of Pack-a-Day Cigarette Smoking

a pack a day in California

= $7.50per pack

= $225 per month

= $2,700 per year

The Cost of Vaping Using Pre-Made Materials

initial purchase (1st month)

=$30 (for a decent vape mod) + $20-$60 (e-juice from online stores versus brick-and-mortar stores) = $50-$90

after the 1st month

=$20-$60 + $20 (replacement coils) = $40-$80 per month

= $490-$970 per year

This is already a third of the cost of smoking, and I used high estimates for the e-juice and coils. That's something to keep in mind, even buying pre-made e-juice online versus buying it at a brick-and-mortar store can result in major savings, like most purchases nowadays.

Vaping Using Self-Made Materials

initial purchase (1st month)

= $30 (for a decent vape mod) + $30 (bottles of PG, VG, nicotine, flavors, wire for coils, cotton for wick) = $60

after the 1st month

= $10-20 per month

= $170-$225 per year

This is not an exaggeration, and I don't even buy in bulk yet. I do like some of the pre-made flavors, and will get them sometimes, especially if it's something difficult to recreate (damn you fruit loops...). Either way, the cost at this point is almost negligible. The wire for making the coils and cotton for the wicks is a couple of bucks and I'm guessing for less than $20 you could have a lifetime supply (or at least a really long time, you know what I mean). Every few years, you could get a new mod, or a new tank, fresh batteries, etc., but that's really up to you. Though, it's really not a bad idea to have spare materials and equipment around...

This might also gives you an idea of why there's been so much opposition to vaping...

Let's revisit the first calculation, and take a look at the other side of the equation:

$2,700 per year, per pack-a-day smoker

$2,700 * 40,000,000 (approximate number of smokers in the US [3]) = $108,000,000,000 per year

$2,700 * 1,000,000,000 (approximate number of smokers in the world [4]) = $2,700,000,000,000 per year

That's over one-hundred billion dollars of annual revenue to US tobacco companies. And that's just in the US...there's about a billion smokers worldwide. That's almost 3 trillion dollars every year. I'm sure there are some people who would be upset about losing that. I definitely don't have any evidence that these corporations cooperate with each other to bribe scientists and politicians, but even a single one of them has more than enough to influence (buy) the outcome of a study investigating the "dangers of vaping" , and then publish/spam the favorable results. Then those same studies can be given to corrupt politicians to present to the public as justification to pass seemingly stupid (but actually just extremely lucrative and evil) and actually harmful legislation, so said company(ies) can retain more of their customers. So this would also apply to the even larger pharmaceutical industry too, you know, because they produce a ton of smoking-cessation products and drugs that don't do shit (not anything good anyway, like not smoking).

And how big do you think the vaping industry is? This is why people should automatically be skeptical of random articles citing studies to claim that vaping is worse than cigarettes, and also of politicians that want to ban vaping because they care so much about all of you.

Anyway, back to the post.

vaping is the easiest way to stop smoking, because it doesn't feel like you have to anything differently

I don't want to be too redundant, but I don't know how else to express this. You put the vape to your mouth, you inhale, get nicotine, and exhale. You can adjust the temperature of the coil so the vapor gets warm like smoke. You can adjust the ratio of PG to VG so that the sensation of the vapor hitting your throat is the same. You can adjust the level of nicotine to what you're used to. You can even get tobacco-flavored e-juice if you want! Not only, is it the easiest way to quit, it's probably the most effective too! That's my opinion, but...

I'm just gonna whip out these blockquotes again:

Among former smokers who were vaping daily at baseline, 6 percent had relapsed to smoking after one month and also 6 percent after one year.” [5]

BAM!

“In a large, international survey (emphasis mine) of current, former, or never users of e-cigarettes, 72 percent of users reported that e-cigarettes helped them to deal with cravings and withdrawal symptoms, 92 percent reported reductions in their smoking when using e-cigarettes, and only 10 percent reported that they experienced the urge to smoke tobacco cigarettes when using the e-cigarette. Moreover, of more than 2000 former smokers in this survey, 96 percent reported that the e-cigarette helped them to stop smoking.” [5]

SMACK!

“In smokers not intending to quit, the use of e-cigarettes, with or without nicotine, decreased cigarette consumption and elicited enduring tobacco abstinence without causing significant side effects.” [5]

POW!

If you care at all about your health, is it really not worth taking a few minutes and $50 to give yourself a much better chance to improve the quality of your life and of staying healthy in the future? All you need to do is make the decision, and I'll help you make the next move.

"So What Do I Do Now?" Let me you...

I'm guessing that you now find yourself in one of three categories, so to help you take action now, I suggest you find your category and just blindly follow the recommendations.

1. you're not sure if you want to quit smoking, or don't think you're ready yet, or don't think vaping will work for you, or other excuses

Just shut up and buy any vape mod and some e-juice already. Don't tell me it's about the money if you're still smoking cigarettes. Or are you just waiting until you're pretty sure you're gonna get lung cancer, or heart disease, or a stroke? Or do you just not care? Then why the hell are you even reading this? What are you, some kind of asshat? Hah, just kidding! ...you asshat...

This is also where I started, telling myself that I still liked smoking, and could put up with the downsides (that's lie). Or I'd think stuff like "I'm just not ready yet, and since I can't give it my best effort, I'll just wait" and "I have to wait until I'm ready because I don't want to get used to trying and failing" (all bullshit).

Look, I want to say, "I have for you, a new technological device, which will allow a person that is addicted to smoking cigarettes to instantly quit, and requires only the slightest desire to do so". It's not true, but if you play along with me for a few weeks you can make it happen.

I wasn't even all that committed to giving up cigarettes when I first got a vape. So really, it doesn't take much, just the smallest spark in your gut is enough to get started, and the rest will be easy, trust me. Okay? First, you just have to make the decision. You're either going to quit or you're not. If you're not going to quit, then you don't need to read the rest, bye, and goodluck to you. If you're going to quit, you're going to do it now. In that case, read on.

2. you want to quit smoking, but don't want to spend time figuring stuff out or have to change up your habits, you just want a smooth and peaceful transition to vaping

Ok, so the priority here is to not procrastinate, and just do it. So ASAP, go find a vape mod that you think you'll like, however you go about doing that. Research if that's what you like to do, or you can even ask me if you're too busy/lazy/indecisive.

You should also buy the e-juice along with the vape mod so you can start vaping as soon as it's delivered. I do recommend getting the vape mod and e-juice online because it costs so much less, and you can also ask me for recommendations in the comments (just trying to avoid accusations of advertising and solicitation). There are e-juice retailers that have sample packs, so that you can quickly get an idea of what type of flavor you like.

As for the mod, I'd recommend getting something a little cheaper first because a smaller investment means you're more likely to just do it quickly and not think about it too much. Also, as you use it, you'll be able to figure out what specific features you'd really like to have. Then buy a nicer model with everything you want, and then you'll have the first model as your backup.

Since you want to be able to vape quickly and smoothly without any trouble or experimentation, you could go with a device that's aimed intended for beginners. These devices will typically have a single button--click, inhale, exhale, and that's it. You can find a good one, that's been highly-rated, for about $20. For about $20 more, you can get a model that'll allow you to adjust the temperature, have an LCD to readout information, etc. Not crucial, but good to have.

When you've decided on a mod, see if you can buy the starter kit for it, which will usually include everything you need to get started right away, like batteries, cores for the atomizers, tools if necessary, as well as some replacement parts (but don't forget to get your e-juice!).

Finally, follow me @cyniclinic :)

3. you're ready to switch to vaping, and don't mind the idea of making your own wicks and coils, designing your own flavors and mixes--basically, messing around until you get it just right for you

In this case, I'd probably still have the same recommendation of getting a simpler and cheaper model mess around with first and to serve as a backup. Otherwise, there are a few additional considerations.

If you plan on making your own wicks and coils, then make sure the model you get will accept the tanks you want to use. The way some mods are built could prevent them accepting certain tanks. You'll be looking at RTAs (rebuildable tank atomizers) and RDAs (rebuildable dripping atomizers). There are other acronyms and distinctions, but those are the two main categories of tanks that allow the user to install their own coils and wicks.

And again, you might want to start with a sample pack of e-juice from an online retailer to see what's out there first. Either way, most of the same retailers will also sell the PG, VG, nicotine, and flavor bases that you need to mix your own e-juices. My advice is to use less flavor than you think you'll need at first, because you can always add more, but not the reverse. There are usually recommendations on the bottle somewhere, usually expressed as a percentage.

NOTE: PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH THE NICOTINE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN OR PETS.

Anyway, if you're motivated, you probably don't need much more direction, and I'm here if you have any questions.

Last step, follow me @cyniclinic :)

Okay then, hopefully I've made a good enough case and won't have to do much more convincing. I'll be moving on to more general topics directed to beginners, some tutorials and then maybe some product reviews and stuff.

Thanks for reading!

Sources:

1. https://quitsmokingcommunity.org/what-is-vaping/

2. http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/features/vape-debate-electronic-cigarettes

3. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/index.htm

4. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs339/en/

5. http://gizmodo.com/5-facts-that-everyone-gets-wrong-about-vaping-1659938937