Introduction

Hello to everyone out in cyberspace that might also be a vapor.  I'm Serenity and you've stumbled into my blog.  I'm hoping to be able to write in here once a week about my vaping journey.  So I'll start with my story - you know we all have one :)

I began my journey on October 31, 2010.  I was told to pick a day that meant something to me as the day to quit smoking.  I chose Halloween because I've always loved it.  There are other personal reasons attached to why I chose that day, but as Oprah says - that's a whole other show.  I don't think that I would consider myself an expert on vaping, but I am a veteran.  As such, I've seen some things regarding vaping that really just annoy me to no end.  So I wanted my first post on this new blog to be about some myths that I would like to dis-spell.

Myth #1:  Easy Transition
When I was researching the type of equipment to purchase that would begin my vaping journey, I remember that my primary goal was to stop smoking.  I found myself becoming very excited by the idea that I could purchase this gadget that looked like a cigarette and emulate the act of smoking.  There is a plethora of information out there where you can read inspirational stories written by people who have successfully quit smoking and enjoy vaping a great deal.  I found myself very inspired by it and extremely excited.  I did my homework and I purchased a nice starter kit.  I even got a good deal because the company was having a 25% off sale at the time.  I got a 10 ml bottle of liquid to start me off with.  Plus, I purchased a variety of 5 ml bottles in different flavors and different nicotine strengths because I had no idea what flavor I would like or how much nicotine I'd need.  In spite of the fact that I had what was considered the best equipment at the time, I still had trouble giving up my smoking habit.

That makes no sense.  How can THAT many people be wrong?  It's not that they are wrong.  I discovered that it's not just nicotine in cigarettes that causes some of us to keep returning to them over and over again.  There are over 3,000 various chemicals that can be found in 1 cigarette - based on the information that I have read.  Some people are also addicted to MAO's (L-Monoamine Oxidases.  They break down neurotransmitters and this has a lot to do with why people are addicted to certain things.  Medical studies have been done to show there is an increase in dopamine production in the brain while smoking.  Since nicotine can't account for this elevated rate, it is thought to be a result of something else present in cigarette smoke.  It has also been reported that adolescents are more sensitive to these changes, which makes me wonder if this happened because I was a teenager when I started smoking.  At any rate, I was one of the people that was addicted to something in addition to nicotine that I got from smoking traditional cigarettes.  This means that when I tried vaping, I was STILL smoking.  I thought I had failed and that vaping did not work for me either.  I met a guy on an electronic cigarette forum who explained to me that some people are addicted to another substance found in the traditional cigarette.  It was because of this one person that caused me to stick with it.  Had it not been for him, then I may still be smoking and thinking that I failed again.

I'm going to give you a very realistic idea of what my e-cigarette experience looked like in the beginning because I know you've read the same information that I have likely found and if you are on the fence, then you are probably thinking that you can pick up an e-cigarette and as if by magic your smoking addiction will vanish.  At least, that is what I thought going in.  I was able to cut the number of cigarettes I smoked per day in half during my first week.  That was an accomplishment in itself.  I smoked a pack a day for almost 20 years.  My first week of vaping got me down to half a pack because I reached for my electronic cigarette instead of a cigarette most of the time.  There were moments when I ran outside in defeat so that I could have a cigarette, but I chalked it up to being part of my learning curve.  I found that looking at it from the perspective that it was a learning curve and not a failure on my part helped me to continue my journey.  I was essentially re-training my brain to become addicted to vaping.  As someone else put it, look at it as beginning to vape and not to quit smoking.  The following week, I made myself reach for my electronic cigarette more.  By my third week, I was leaving my cigarettes in a drawer at home and taking my electronic cigarette with me while I was out.  I smoked a cigarette in the morning with my coffee and then the rest of the day I used my electronic cigarette.  I allowed myself to have another cigarette when I got home and then one final cigarette before I went to bed.  I went on like this for a few months.  I did cut out the cigarette in the middle of the day though.  On December 30, 2010 I quit smoking.  Why that day?  It's my birthday.

I know there are loads of stories out there of people who pick up an electronic cigarette and they just don't feel they want a cigarette anymore.  That's really awesome for them.  However, what happens for those of us who aren't so lucky?  Well, you need some determination and a support system filled with great people who will keep filling your head with words of wisdom to keep you going.  If you can't find someone, then email me.  I'll be your cheerleader.  It can be done and there are even people who start out with 18 mg or 24 mg liquid and then decrease their amount slowly weaning themselves off nicotine all together.  I wouldn't call e-cigarettes smoking cessation devices.  Some don't give up smoking, but will vape in situations when they can't smoke.  I don't really care about that.  I only wanted to be able to breathe and live a more active lifestyle again.  I consider vaping to be a hobby.  I don't believe that it is healthy for me.  It's healthier than smoking, but it's not healthy for you.  There may be risks involved that we haven't discovered yet, but I can breathe and I do live a more active lifestyle than I did 4 years ago so I consider it a victory.  I accomplished exactly what I set out to do.  Hmm....now about these extra 20 lbs I've put on over the years....

I hope you enjoyed my article and that you'll check back here next week because I'm going to dis-spell more vaping myths that you can find on the internet.  I believe I'm going to write about Myth #2:  Vaping Is Cheaper Than Smoking.