Sslip

Ela right from the outset you have been so very supportive. It's great to see you reach 8 months quit and here's to the next 4. Make sure you make the most of that Finnish summer!

Martian huge congratulations on hitting the 6 month mark. You are doing a great job and it is always good to read your posts here. Lead the way, I'll follow close behind.

Wow Rory, another one of our merry band hitting the 6 month mark. You have done an awesome job, with some fantastically enlightening posts along the way. Hope you celebrate well.

Octain, huge congratulations on reaching the 6 month milestone. Great work!

Justine, you show a lot more wisdom than many folk here, particularly myself in quitting at an early age. I left it so many years. This is really one of the best things you can do for yourself and your son. Picture yourself as his role model growing up and how you can set him a good example and how you can speak to him as a voice of experience as he grows. Stay strong, read plenty and ask for help from our community any time you feel you need it.

I'll start off by declaring interest here. I have vaped heavily previously and while I no longer vape a number of my family still do so. I certainly hope vaping is the lesser of two evils and more qualified people than me seem to think that it is. During my annual physical a couple of years ago, the doctor recommended that I switch to vaping if I was not prepared to give up smoking. Terminology is probably where we should start in framing the discussion. A little while back Public Health England endorsed a statistic that assessed vaping as being 95% less hazardous than smoking. Now it is important to look at the wording there. I don't like the way people actually throw around the word safe or safer in relation to vaping. We should be talking about how hazardous it is and it falls short of abstinence. And here we also get onto the fact that there is more than one way to vape with a myriad of different devices. Certainly the basic devices, that are similar in usage to cigarettes, seem to largely be falling by the wayside and a more common sight is sub ohm vaping. Think the vast clouds that you see spewed forth from any number of people walking along the street these days. I think most people who use these do so because they actively want to vape and some people will continue to do so for ever more. This doesn't mean that electronic cigarettes can't be used to give up nicotine, but it is unlikely that those people will be thinking in that way. Martian makes a good point about the addictive nature of vaping, although I believe it to be a little more nuanced than a question of pure addiction. I think what you are seeing is people with compulsive behaviours using vaping at extreme levels as you don't tend to get the same negative physical feedback when you over indulge. I know I used vaping in a fairly extreme manner and I think one of the things we are in danger of is seeing illnesses develop in different ways. For me I was unhappy with the mental turmoil. My compulsion meant I wasn't enjoying the precious time with my family as I was constantly looking for an out. In terms of a push to allow people to vape anywhere they want it should not be given the time of day. It is ignorant, ill mannered and puts the desire of the individual to do what they want, when they want, above having the best possible environment for a community as a whole. I am not surprised that young people are trying vaping and some will go on to smoke regular cigarettes beyond that. However I don't buy the arguments that I hear about it being a gateway to smoking. Most people will choose the things that they want to experience in life up to the point where the potential negative effects scare them too much to try it. I think those kids that vape and then move on to smoking were always going to smoke. Ideally people will choose not to smoke and for those that do, when they give up, the best outcome would be that they manage it cold turkey. If they can't stop cold turkey and need an aid then by using Champix/Chantix or the route I took in NRT. But here's the thing. If the people I love were to say to me it is smoking or vaping, I can't go without, then I'd plead with them to switch to vaping. I would love both my brother and sister to do so, because smoking will get them all too soon. I'm near certain that vaping would not be doing them the same level of physical damage. So really the question is what does quitting mean? Is it getting off nicotine in its entirety or is it getting off cigarettes? I think that is going to be one for the individual to make their minds up. There was an interesting programme on TV here a couple of years back, a copy of which has been loaded to the dailymotion site for anyone that wants to watch it. It is informative, but given the subject matter, obviously doesn't have all the answers by a very long way. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5875ke

Came searching for my Friday Fluffy hugs from @Wee fluffy me, but they're nowhere to be found. Despite the quivering bottom lip, Nope!

? Happy 4th July. And by the way this is the kind of confrontational and aggressive post that littered your exchanges with Jo and Fluffy over the past few days. If you can't see it then I suggest you get someone with a little more empathy to explain it to you.

What shot? And as for cyberbully you're an idiot. Scratch that, you're a paranoid idiot and you may want to read those guidelines again. And I won't explain my usage of the site to a myopic prat like you.

@Whispers, where the hell do you get off trying to censor what people post in their own nope or by trying to dictate the style in which they do it? And just how is your claim of caring about an inclusive environment consistent with your confrontational posts of the past couple of days? If you have a problem with a post I suggest you are specific with what is troubling you otherwise it's simply a petulant act of someone who is old enough to know better. As for the comment about the meds, that was a cheap shot and an unnecessary and contemptible betrayal. I'm angry that you have made this site that kind of place. @Whispershappy 4th July. Does that make it all better? No thought not.

I can imagine you having a great deal of fun turning the horse into a unicorn. Thought it would be the kind of bold statement you might make.

Doreen, not much I can say other than thank you for having the strength to share this. Sending my love and best wishes.

Congratulations on 4 months quit CAquitter! You are doing a fantastic job.

I hope that 3 is the porkie. Yep definitely 3, surely she wouldn't do that to you.

Snake

11 ... Morning Fluffy

Which one did you put on there Fluffy?

2 is the lie, cos 1 and 3 go together as part of a meal.

@Wee fluffy me, so you do need sunglasses in Glasgow. The reason for them though is to tone down the whiteness of the skin. My poor eyes! I'm feeling peckish. How good is Glasgow's best value burger?

Hadn't realised it was a spectator sport now. Whose got the TV rights?

Reci, where did you disappear to, fluffy's phone was nearly dead!

So a couple more posts and we'd have been fine? ?

-18 fluffy's post won it I think

-18

-17. What just happened?