Happy New Year
by Quitter on Jan.01, 2010, under Our Adventure
Just a short post today, hope everyone had a safe and smoke free New Years Eve. Or to those whose resolution is to quit this year let’s hope you never turn back! Seems like one of the most popular new years resolutions is to quit smoking, but I’ve been doing some reading and apparently many people relapse within a few weeks. For those of you guys looking for some solutions I’d suggest you do some online reading and make sure you’re fully equipped in the fight against cigarettes. One of the biggest helps I’ve had in my attempt to quit has been my wife. She is always there for me and we provide each other strength. If you know anyone else who smokes, especially if they are trying to quit, get them to quit with you. It’s always easier to do something when you aren’t going it alone. Maybe you quitting with them is just the boost they’ll need to make the choice and better their life.
Best Wishes In the New Year!
So Far So Good
by Quitter on Dec.27, 2009, under Our Adventure
So we’ve had our Green Smoke electronic cigarettes for about a week now and the wife and I both agree they are much more convenient than regular cigarettes. With the exception of finishing the pack we had open at the time we got them, neither of us have had a craving for a regular cigarette since we started smoking the electronic cigarettes. It’s certainly not the same thing, but it is damn close. I didn’t get around to ordering new flavors yet, but we are almost out of the cartridges we ordered, so when I refill I’ll be sure to get some different flavors and post what I think of them. The nicotine level we got seems to be working fine for us now, so we have decided we’re going to stick with the same level until we get used to the e-cig some more, and have some more time to adjust ourselves to it.
We don’t live in a state where smoking is outlawed in public places, but many of our favorite restaurants have frowned upon it if not banned it from their establishments. Almost everywhere we have gone in the past week, though, has accepted the card that came with our kit as proof enough and allowed us to continue “smoking” our electronic cigarettes. We definitely get some odd looks lighting up in areas where it is prohibited, but we explain to anyone who asks and most everyone seems intrigued. No one has gotten upset with us so far, there really is not that much of a secondhand effect. It is great to be able to go about our day not smelling of cigarettes. At work I feel much more professional and I feel much more comfortable in public without the distinctive smell.
I was skeptical at first, but they’ve made a believer out of me. Even if we don’t end up quitting 100% (knock-on-wood) I would feel much better raising a child in a household where we smoke electronic cigarettes rather than a household that reeks of old fashioned cigarettes.
I’ll post some updates about our progress later one, and hopefully some reviews of some different flavors. Hope everyone had a good holiday season and here’s wishing you a happy new year!
It’s Here!
by Quitter on Dec.20, 2009, under Our Adventure
Hey! If this is your first time here feel free to read one of the first two posts. In the first post I introduce myself and explain our situation. My wife and I are quitting cigarettes because they are just too expensive and we want to have a child and would prefer he or she grew up in a smoke free household. In the second post, which you can also read by clicking the math above, I go over how I save almost $300 a week just by smoking electronic cigarettes compared to regular cigarettes. Now onto the good stuff!
My wife signed for the package while I was at work today, and we opened it together when I got home. It came with everything we expected. We each got our long and short “cigarette”, it came with the chargers we needed, some USB adapters, and our 10 cartridges. It also came with another interesting addition. Inside the box were these cards…
Our Greensmoke Club Card
I suppose with the prevalence of smoking bans in almost all public places around the country this card is our ticket to smoke almost anywhere we’d like. Without the second hand smoke (and there is none that we have noticed so far) smell and annoyance I see no reason why these shouldn’t be allowed inside.
We each decided to “light up” at the same time, so we inserted a tobacco flavor cartridge and started smoking. There was one thing we both agreed on, it was almost exactly like a cigarette. I can see how people can quit regular cigarettes with these machines. At first I was a bit doubtful, but since we got them earlier today neither of us have smoked an “old fashioned” cigarette in hours. It truly is amazing. We should have picked up some different flavors, for now all we have is a tobacco flavor.
I’m going to try to get online this week and order some different flavors, maybe we can pick some up as a Christmas present to ourselves 
I’ll write a new post soon and let you know how these things work out after our first few days.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Is it worth it to switch?
by Quitter on Dec.14, 2009, under The Math
In my first post I said I would write something new going over the math and laying out the upfront cost of switching. How much you can save, and why overall it really is a good deal. My kit is not here yet, but it should arrive soon and when it does I’ll hopefully get around to writing another post.
I’ll be using the prices from Green Smoke since it’s where I ordered mine from. I’ll use my wife and I as an example first, and then I’ll run through a few more scenarios that could apply to your average smoker.
My wife and I each smoke about a pack a day. Where we live that comes out to about $15 a day for the both of us, at just about $7 a pack. We bought the Love Birds Kit which cost us $270 dollars and came with 2 short cigarettes, 2 long cigarettes, the chargers, and 10 cartridges. One cartridge is about the equivalent of one and a half packs of cigarettes according to the website, but for this lets say it’s about one pack. Since cigarettes around us cost about $7.50 a pack, we can say that those 10 packs that came with it saved us about $70 dollars right off the bat, $75 if you want to be exact. That leaves the upfront cost of this kit right at $200. Still a heft price, but just over 2/3 of the $270 face value. It cost about $3 for a replacement cartridge (one pack of cigarettes) so we are spending $3 a day each instead of $7.50 or $6 combined instead of $15. That saves us $9 a day as a couple. At that rate it will take 23 (22.22) days for the Love Birds Kit to pay for its self. After we have the kit payed for we are saving ourselves an average of $270 a month ($9 a day * 30 days). That kind of money adds up quickly. In a year we will have saved $3,240. That is quite a significant amount of money, and is definitely a big help for any couple living in today’s economy.
Now let’s say your just an average single guy or gal looking to kick the habit. The Basic Starter Kit cost $140 and comes with 1 short, 1 long, the chargers, and 5 cartridges. Depending where you are the math will be a little different but lets assume one pack of cigarettes cost $7. Since this kit comes with 5 cartridges it comes with the equivalent of $35 (7 * 5) worth of cigarettes. So the real cost of this package is $105 dollars, which makes sense at just about half the cost of the Love Birds Kit. Assuming you smoke about a pack a day you will save, on average, $4 a day on cigarettes by switching. That means it will take you 27 (26.25) days for the kit to pay for itself. After that you will be saving yourself $120 a month, or $1,440 a year. If you smoke two packs a day you can double those numbers meaning that the kit will pay itself off in about 14 days, and you will save $8 a day, $240 a month, and $2880 a year. If you don’t quite smoke a pack a day it is definitely still worth making the switch. You will still pay off the kit in under 2 months, and be saving yourself $2 a day, $60 a month, and $720 a year. $720 is no laughing matter.
All these calculations are assuming you are paying full price for everything. On the Green Smoke website you can enter the coupon code disc10-10601 and save yourself 10% off your total order if you are buying a starter kit ($100 minimum). If you are just stocking up on cartridges you can change that to disc5-10601 and save 5% off your order of any amount.
Hope this helps, I’ll put a link to it up at the top of the site so it will always be here as a reference.
Until Next Time!
Getting Started
by Quitter on Dec.08, 2009, under Our Adventure
Thanks for visiting the site. Just getting everything set up I figured I would start with some basic information. My name is Fred Warward. I have been smoking since I was 18 years old. At this point in my life I smoke almost 2 packs a day. My wife is similar. She has been smoking since she was 20 years old, and smokes a pack a day. It’s a habit that is killing us slowly. As a married couple living in today’s world money is short, and to be frank we can’t afford to spend $20 a day on a product that is killing us in the long run. We’ve tried quitting cold turkey, but that is most certainly easier said than done. We’ve tried the gum, patches, and prescription medicine, but none of that was really working for us.
The two of us have decided we are ready to start a family, but before we do we have agreed that the cigarettes have to go. Raising a child in a home with 2 smokers is not something I, or my wife, want to do. I grew up with parents who smoked and it was most likely the reason I smoke now. If at all possible we would like to keep our little guy/girl as healthy as possible. My dad died of lung cancer when I was 23 years old, and my mom is not doing well. My wife’s parents are also both in poor shape. It’s a shame to think that by the time our child is born he might not have any grandparents whatsoever.
Having exhausted most of our options we decided we would try electronic cigarettes. I had read about them in an article online and from what I read they seemed to be a pretty viable option. They deliver the nicotine to satisfy your cravings without the harmful combustible tobacco and without the dreaded secondhand smoke. They do not contain tar or carbon monoxide like a normal cigarette. With all the countries / states across the world banning the smoking of cigarettes virtually everywhere this also might come in handy or convenient in our everyday lives as well. I did some research and finally settled on the Love Birds Kit from Green Smoke. It cost $270, which seems steep upfront but when you do the math it really is a good deal. The kit itself comes with 10 cartridges, and one cartridge is equivalent to a pack and a half of cigarettes. That’s $70+ worth of cigarettes right there depending where you live.
We’ve figured that not only are electronic cigarettes a safer option, but they are going to save us a ton of money over time also. One replacement cartridge costs $3 and is equivalent to a pack and a half of cigarettes. That will save me alone almost $4 a day if I can switch off of old fashioned cigarettes completely. In the end it will only take 40 days, or just over a month, for the kit to pay for itself not even including my wife. With the holiday season right around the corner all this extra money certainly will help! When I get the chance soon I’ll make a post, or maybe a new page, laying out the math for anyone else that might be interested. I placed the order so hopefully it will be here soon and I’ll update you on our progress. In the mean time, feel free to click “why are we quitting cigarettes” up at the top to read a bit more about us!
Thanks until next time!
