Hi guys - I hope I can give a background story based on my personal experiences since starting vaping.
Throughout my years of smoking, I haven't really felt any major issues perhaps because I am still relatively young. I have never had a smokers cough, and generally felt very well. However during my annual body checkup, the doctor does mention I have a slightly higher blood pressure than normal and recommends I quit smoking - although the lungs seem perfectly fine.
Being based in Macau/Shanghai the last 5 years, the culture here almost encourages smoking. Most men smoke, and it is customary to hand out cigarettes to friends, family upon introduction. Growing up in Sydney, you almost felt like you were patronised when smoking, so when I relocated here, it seemed like a "breath of fresh air" (pun intended).
The prices of cigarettes here are comparatively cheaper than western countries (mostly bought during duty free trips across the border) Mevius International/555 International about 30USD a carton. When I left Sydney, I was paying around 130 USD for a carton of Kent cigarettes. With cigarettes relatively cheap, I would binge quite often- some days playing mahjong with friends or cards, or drinking or having coffee with clients or friends, my intake would sometimes hit 2-3 packets a day. I used to wake up every morning with a redbull or coffee to my morning cigarette in a complete state of bliss. However, once the red flag of high blood pressure kicked in, I knew something had to be done. Off to try out vaping.
June 2017
Age:28
Years of smoking:14 (yes,started very young)
Smoking history - 1 packet a day - Mevius International, 555 International, Chunghwa Red - all medium strength cigarettes
I go into a vape shop one day in Shanghai, and as I used to enjoy fruity hookah/shisha smoking, the fruity flavours such as orange and grape NOS eliquid was my first initial experience. I decide before I buy to do a little research and eventually buy an Aspire Zelos with a Nautilus 2 tank.
I find during my early days, since my eliquid is 3mg, and im running at 20W with 0.7ohm coils, quitting smoking is very, very difficult. I did try some 6mg liquids as well, however as most of the enjoyable fruity flavours were at 3mg, I was still smoking analogs while vaping.
However, by the end of 2017 I had stopped vaping mostly as I found other than being used as a substitute "filler" during my hectic smoking sessions with clients or friends, I was still a packet a day smoker. I also didn't really like the nautilus 2 very much either. The coils didn't last (I later realized I was vaping far too much for them to be useful for more than 2-3 days), the liquid would sometimes leak, the tank would sometimes get too tight and stuck on, and I found the tank just far too displeasing to use.
March 2018
My health is still fine, however I do feel my conscious telling me that smoking so many cigarettes can only be a burden to my longterm health, an I end up youtubing a lot about smoking diseases, vaping and its benefits, and eventually decide I'll give vaping another go.
This time, I decide I must get a more powerful tank in order to take on this battle full on. I do my research and decide this time to upgrade to a Atlantis 2 Tank with SSL coils suitable for temperature control ( I used to dry hit coils quite often as I would vape constantly). I bought another Zelos, and now since I was able to punch 40-50W off my new coils, the battery was draining much faster even in TC SS mode at 190C, and having 2 tanks would keep me running the full day.
The Atlantis 2 tank for me, was a dream come true. The build quality compare to the nautilus 2 is much better, a larger tank (albeit eliquid is gulped faster), and some fascinating large clouds. I am chain vaping like a monster though, and have stopped smoking cigarettes completely. I feel the first week was a little difficult, however eventually I converted over.
Coils were lasting me around 3 days and I was using around 15-20ML of liquid a day, and I was fighting my addiction to analogs by chain vaping. I did feel like I was breathing a little easier and vaping was becoming very enjoyable as I no longer would face any social stigmas. I could vape when I wanted where I wanted.
May 2018 - Now
I have now been almost smoke free for a few months(albeit an occasional cigarette here and there). For my birthday, a Japanese client of mine bought me what could end up being the best or worse thing during my vaping journey. An IQOS with a full carton of heat sticks. I actually had the IQOS for around 2-3 days researching as much as I could before I committed to using it, trying to scour vaping forums and YouTube for a definitive answer on which was better/safer and so on. I decide there is not enough information that is conclusive for me, and I embark to find the answer to this myself.
An Amateur Try at controlled experiments
I decide to project manage myself, and decide to see how I felt during a few test weeks. I had already been an exclusive vaper most of the time, so I decided to compare how my body felt with vaping against the IQOS.
Results
The taste, aroma and general satisfaction of an IQOS is that it imitates smoking completely. It heats tobacco and gives you a quick nicotine kick. I feel that when I vape, the nicotine hit takes a little longer to register. The nicotine delivery on the IQOS is very quick, and I feel like I've been smoking. In fact I feel the IQOS hits harder than a traditional cigarette, and I only smoke around 10 HEET sticks a day, with some intermittent vaping in between. My vape usage has dropped to around 6ML a day at most.
However, I do feel like I'm breathing something in - its hard to explain. I feel like if my lungs and general wellbeing was 100% when vaping - with the IQOS I feel like I'm 80%. It is my belief other than the ammonia and nicotine and other chemicals in the IQOS, there must be some other impurities (it is afterall still tobacco just heated)- as I have no such feelings when I vape. Vape just feels like breathing in steam in the shower. There is just the taste of liquid aromas from the food colourings. That's it. I know what a pure nicotine hit feels like, and the IQOS does not deliver it in the same way as vaping does - there must be certain chemicals - possibly carcinogens and toxic matter that is breathed in by the user that just does not happen when you vape. However, I am no expert - this is just how I feel when I use it. It also requires frequent cleaning and I can't help but notice the cigarette like smell of the pod when using it and cleaning it.
The IQOS in its favour though does have some standout qualities: If you are a trying to give up smoking completely, and vaping isn't cutting it for you, then perhaps the IQOS is the way to go. The general feel, nicotine hit is like a cigarette, however I can say if you can stick to the vape the whole way though, then that should be better for your long term health. I can say vaping just feels cleaner to me and my lungs.
Currently, I am using around 6-7 HEET sticks a day, and vaping 1-2 tanks of eliquid a day and have not picked up a single cigarette in a long time. I believe I'm off the cigarettes for good, although my next challenge is seeing if I can give up the IQOS completely as I am still quite unsure of what's used in it, and the long term health effects compared to vaping. Judging by early data, it seems Phillip Morris International has a history of misleading its consumers and I just wouldn't be surprised if there is future data released saying it is clearly not as safe as vaping, however still safer than your standard cigarette. This is my introduction to the forum. Hello once again.
Throughout my years of smoking, I haven't really felt any major issues perhaps because I am still relatively young. I have never had a smokers cough, and generally felt very well. However during my annual body checkup, the doctor does mention I have a slightly higher blood pressure than normal and recommends I quit smoking - although the lungs seem perfectly fine.
Being based in Macau/Shanghai the last 5 years, the culture here almost encourages smoking. Most men smoke, and it is customary to hand out cigarettes to friends, family upon introduction. Growing up in Sydney, you almost felt like you were patronised when smoking, so when I relocated here, it seemed like a "breath of fresh air" (pun intended).
The prices of cigarettes here are comparatively cheaper than western countries (mostly bought during duty free trips across the border) Mevius International/555 International about 30USD a carton. When I left Sydney, I was paying around 130 USD for a carton of Kent cigarettes. With cigarettes relatively cheap, I would binge quite often- some days playing mahjong with friends or cards, or drinking or having coffee with clients or friends, my intake would sometimes hit 2-3 packets a day. I used to wake up every morning with a redbull or coffee to my morning cigarette in a complete state of bliss. However, once the red flag of high blood pressure kicked in, I knew something had to be done. Off to try out vaping.
June 2017
Age:28
Years of smoking:14 (yes,started very young)
Smoking history - 1 packet a day - Mevius International, 555 International, Chunghwa Red - all medium strength cigarettes
I go into a vape shop one day in Shanghai, and as I used to enjoy fruity hookah/shisha smoking, the fruity flavours such as orange and grape NOS eliquid was my first initial experience. I decide before I buy to do a little research and eventually buy an Aspire Zelos with a Nautilus 2 tank.
I find during my early days, since my eliquid is 3mg, and im running at 20W with 0.7ohm coils, quitting smoking is very, very difficult. I did try some 6mg liquids as well, however as most of the enjoyable fruity flavours were at 3mg, I was still smoking analogs while vaping.
However, by the end of 2017 I had stopped vaping mostly as I found other than being used as a substitute "filler" during my hectic smoking sessions with clients or friends, I was still a packet a day smoker. I also didn't really like the nautilus 2 very much either. The coils didn't last (I later realized I was vaping far too much for them to be useful for more than 2-3 days), the liquid would sometimes leak, the tank would sometimes get too tight and stuck on, and I found the tank just far too displeasing to use.
March 2018
My health is still fine, however I do feel my conscious telling me that smoking so many cigarettes can only be a burden to my longterm health, an I end up youtubing a lot about smoking diseases, vaping and its benefits, and eventually decide I'll give vaping another go.
This time, I decide I must get a more powerful tank in order to take on this battle full on. I do my research and decide this time to upgrade to a Atlantis 2 Tank with SSL coils suitable for temperature control ( I used to dry hit coils quite often as I would vape constantly). I bought another Zelos, and now since I was able to punch 40-50W off my new coils, the battery was draining much faster even in TC SS mode at 190C, and having 2 tanks would keep me running the full day.
The Atlantis 2 tank for me, was a dream come true. The build quality compare to the nautilus 2 is much better, a larger tank (albeit eliquid is gulped faster), and some fascinating large clouds. I am chain vaping like a monster though, and have stopped smoking cigarettes completely. I feel the first week was a little difficult, however eventually I converted over.
Coils were lasting me around 3 days and I was using around 15-20ML of liquid a day, and I was fighting my addiction to analogs by chain vaping. I did feel like I was breathing a little easier and vaping was becoming very enjoyable as I no longer would face any social stigmas. I could vape when I wanted where I wanted.
May 2018 - Now
I have now been almost smoke free for a few months(albeit an occasional cigarette here and there). For my birthday, a Japanese client of mine bought me what could end up being the best or worse thing during my vaping journey. An IQOS with a full carton of heat sticks. I actually had the IQOS for around 2-3 days researching as much as I could before I committed to using it, trying to scour vaping forums and YouTube for a definitive answer on which was better/safer and so on. I decide there is not enough information that is conclusive for me, and I embark to find the answer to this myself.
An Amateur Try at controlled experiments
I decide to project manage myself, and decide to see how I felt during a few test weeks. I had already been an exclusive vaper most of the time, so I decided to compare how my body felt with vaping against the IQOS.
Results
The taste, aroma and general satisfaction of an IQOS is that it imitates smoking completely. It heats tobacco and gives you a quick nicotine kick. I feel that when I vape, the nicotine hit takes a little longer to register. The nicotine delivery on the IQOS is very quick, and I feel like I've been smoking. In fact I feel the IQOS hits harder than a traditional cigarette, and I only smoke around 10 HEET sticks a day, with some intermittent vaping in between. My vape usage has dropped to around 6ML a day at most.
However, I do feel like I'm breathing something in - its hard to explain. I feel like if my lungs and general wellbeing was 100% when vaping - with the IQOS I feel like I'm 80%. It is my belief other than the ammonia and nicotine and other chemicals in the IQOS, there must be some other impurities (it is afterall still tobacco just heated)- as I have no such feelings when I vape. Vape just feels like breathing in steam in the shower. There is just the taste of liquid aromas from the food colourings. That's it. I know what a pure nicotine hit feels like, and the IQOS does not deliver it in the same way as vaping does - there must be certain chemicals - possibly carcinogens and toxic matter that is breathed in by the user that just does not happen when you vape. However, I am no expert - this is just how I feel when I use it. It also requires frequent cleaning and I can't help but notice the cigarette like smell of the pod when using it and cleaning it.
The IQOS in its favour though does have some standout qualities: If you are a trying to give up smoking completely, and vaping isn't cutting it for you, then perhaps the IQOS is the way to go. The general feel, nicotine hit is like a cigarette, however I can say if you can stick to the vape the whole way though, then that should be better for your long term health. I can say vaping just feels cleaner to me and my lungs.
Currently, I am using around 6-7 HEET sticks a day, and vaping 1-2 tanks of eliquid a day and have not picked up a single cigarette in a long time. I believe I'm off the cigarettes for good, although my next challenge is seeing if I can give up the IQOS completely as I am still quite unsure of what's used in it, and the long term health effects compared to vaping. Judging by early data, it seems Phillip Morris International has a history of misleading its consumers and I just wouldn't be surprised if there is future data released saying it is clearly not as safe as vaping, however still safer than your standard cigarette. This is my introduction to the forum. Hello once again.
