I’m new to vaping, what should I expect?
Obviously vaping is not smoking. There are some huge differences, so it’s important to understand that you won’t get the same experience that you currently get from smoking when you switch to vaping.
Quitting the cigarettes is hard enough, without being let down by an expectation that vaping will be a direct replacement for it.
Another thing to take into consideration is your “familiarity” with smoking. You’ve likely smoked for a good part of your adult life, and have therefore gotten used to the act itself. You’ve gotten past the coughing, the raw feeling on your throat and the nicotine spins from smoking too many at once.
Vaping has it’s own learning curve that you might not be expecting.
What is the vaping experience actually like?
Unlike cigarettes, where you’re inhales are short and quite restricted, like breathing through a filter, vaping is a little more open. There is less restriction and more air that comes through which can confuse first time users. The extra air or openness of the inhales, is something that you will need to get used to. Often you will cough, purely because your throat and airways are not acclimatised to inhaling in this way. It will feel strange at first, more like breathing through a snorkel, than a filter, and you may feel that it is somewhat less than a satisfying experience.
Personally, in the beginning, I likened it to trying to smoke water. Obviously it wasn’t quite that drastic, but you will feel it lacking the flavour you expect, and of course that combustion that you are so used to.
This is where many will not continue. You’ll feel like that it just doesn’t live up to your built up expectations, that it’s not an instant cigarette replacement, and it’s just too difficult.
Vaping IS NOT an instant cigarette replacement, and IT IS a difficult transition to make. Some have an easier time with switching, and others will find it really hard. There are of course many factors here that might influence whether you will be one or the other, don’t let that stop you though. Persisting with this WILL be beneficial, and you WILL become used to it, and rather quickly, despite how it may feel at the moment.
What should I buy? I really don’t know much about any of this….
That’s ok, we were all where you are once. And we all also understand that vaping can be very confusing to beginners, it’s easy enough for even a seasoned vaper to get confused with all of the new equipment that comes out every day!
Start off simple. After all, you are doing this to get away from the cigarettes, so you need to make this as less complicated as possible.
If I were to quit smoking with vaping all over again, I would likely go with a POD system. Something where I can purchase the pod, fill it up, attach it to it’s battery and be able to vape straight away. No messing about, no fussing with coils, wicks, batteries, clouds, watts, ohms, or anything else that might confuse you. Just a simple “pick it up and go” type of system.
At the time of writing this, the “Smok Nord” was the POD system to go for. But as with everything, this article will age, and the vaping world would have already added hundreds or even thousands of new products by the time you are even reading this.
My advice would be to visit a popular vaping store, in person or even online, and look through their beginner’s kits. Spend some time asking questions, contact them, ask them for a system that is dead simple for a beginner that you would like to avoid anything overly complicated. Any good store should understand that and be able to advise you on which of the products they carry will be appropriate for you.
How can I make this transition easier?
If you’re having an easy time making the transition, that’s great! Excellent news, welcome to the vape world! Unfortunately, there will be just as many out there that are having a more difficult time trying to make the transition.
There are various reasons you may be having troubles, and just as many answers, but let’s try and put this down in a simplified way, so that you can get the help that you need! Or at the very least, give you a rough idea of how you can overcome this hurdle.
General uncertainty, vaping just isn’t the same as smoking.
This one is probably the easiest to get past. Once you realise that vaping is not the same, but can still appreciate that it will help you get past those cigarette cravings, you’ll be on top of it. It may not feel like it at first, but you will get used to it, and eventually you might even find yourself enjoying it even more.
If you fall off the wagon briefly, don’t beat yourself up about it. We all slip from time to time, and the most important thing to remember is that you are attempting “harm minimisation”. That starts with you making a drastic change to your lifestyle, which by this point you have already done. Keep at it, Rome wasn’t built in a day, the important thing here is that you are trying your best.
Hardware or equipment issues
This is another easy one to solve. There are a heap of communities out there now that vaping has gotten fairly widespread. You can literally ask a question on any vaping facebook group, and have someone helping you within minutes.If you have hardware or general use issues, don’t be scared to ask for help, we have all been there before and people are generally eager to help.If you really don’t want to jump onto social media, your local vape store will also be eager to help you with any issues you might have.That gruff looking tattooed bloke sitting behind the counter, has been where you are before, and trust me, wants you to successfully quit smoking just as much as you do.
E-liquid troubles
This one may not be so easy. We all have different tastes, not only preferences, but also levels of taste. Some of course can taste very light flavours, whereas others may need to vape stronger profiles in order to enjoy them.You will find when first quitting or in the process of, your taste-buds may not be as accommodating as you would like.
Cigarettes damage your taste and smell receptors and your true ability to smell and taste may take a while to come back to you. My advice, if you’re only new to vaping, give it some time, choose some basic flavours to start with, something that is ok for you and you’re happy to vape all day long. Don’t go wasting money on the latest and greatest flavours just yet, as your tastebuds will need time to recover and you won’t want to be stuck with 100’s of dollars worth of e-liquids you may not end up liking.
I’ve tried to quickly cover the basics here, to avoid making this any more confusing than it needs to be, and you may be having other issues that aren’t catered to in this article.
If you are having any other issues, I really do advise you to contact your favourite online vape store, via their contact forms, or your local physical shop for assistance. You’ll quickly find that they all have a wealth of knowledge, and will be all too happy to help you out with any advice you might need. We are a pretty friendly bunch, and we were all beginners ourselves at one point!
Leave a Reply