So I gave up real hot fire and burning tobacco for e-cigarettes. It’s the first time I’ve been off cigarettes without either A) losing my mind, B) being a complete B***H from somewhere that makes Hell itself look like Key West or C) giving up and going back to cigarettes.
It turns out that there’s a lot of stuff in those burning sticks. Some of the compounds act like MAOI anti-depressants. If you’re looking for a prescription analog it would be something similar to Eldepryl. Others things act like Zoloft or Prozac. So not only is the nicotine messing with your brain chemistry, so are other things in the smoke. Other things cause the release of dopamine that’s on par with many of the lesser amphetamines like Ritalin.
If you smoke, you’ll get what I’m about to say. There are no “hot loads” or “wash outs” in e-cigarettes. For the non-smokers in the crowd, allow me to explain. Not all real cigarettes are created equal. Sometimes you get one and that’s all you need all day because you’re so buzzed from it. Other times you have “wash outs” and you have to smoke 5 to get enough nicotine. It’s all in the luck of the draw and you tend to get a whole lot more “wash outs” than you do “hot loads”.
Not so with the e-cigarettes. Since it’s a liquid, it’s all created equal. All of the nicotine is pre-measured for you. It’s right there on the label. I started this two months ago and I have to say that I’m pretty happy with my progress. This lets me carefully monitor and control my nicotine usage. I’ve been able to taper my nicotine usage down and I’m currently at 18mg/ml or 1.8%.
You can go as high as 36mg or 3.6% depending on how your liquid is labeled. I don’t recommend this since that’s the same amount of nicotine as smoking 2 packs per day. However, if you’re a two-pack a day smoker, this might be just what you need to kick the habit.
In case anyone was wondering the correct answer is all of the above.
Musings 