A quiet celebration

[vulgarweed]

It's been exactly two years since my last cigarette!

Still vaping, now down to 3 mg/ml nicotine, a very low dose. Hope to be down to 0 by this time next year.

Comments

[donut_donut]

I hope this isn't an odd question, but it's been bugging me for months now, and you seem particularly suited to address it.

As a vaper and a Sherlockian, can you explain to me what the hell Sherlock is talking about in this scene?

SHERLOCK: And you’re trying to give up smoking, unsuccessfully, and you once had a Japanese girlfriend that meant a lot to you but now you feel indifferent about.
KINGSLEY: How the hell ...? Ah. E-cigarettes.
SHERLOCK: Not just that – ten individual e-cigarettes. Now, if you just wanted to smoke indoors, you would have invested in one of those irritating electronic pipe things, but you’re convinced you can give up, so you don’t want to buy a pipe because that means you’re not serious about quitting, so instead you buy individual cigarettes, always sure that each will be your last.

What's the difference between an e-cigarette and an electronic pipe? And if someone generally buys individual e-cigarettes, why would they have ten at one time? Especially if they are intending to quit? Plus, I thought e-cigarettes could be used indefinitely with refills, so why would anyone need more than one?

I think I don't know enough about e-cigarettes to follow this deduction, and I was hoping you could shed some light.

[vulgarweed]

YES! I know exactly what he's talking about in that scene.

Kingsley has 10 of the cheap disposable e-cigarettes that look like this, available at gas stations and convenience stores everywhere: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OCxdLmYaxos/U5sBbsKuwZI/AAAAAAAAEUs/t5cnQ1XTfL8/s1600/origin_11359245033.jpg

They're not refillable. They might come with an extra cartridge, that's it. They're also very limited in flavor choices.

The cheapies are not cost-effective nor very satisfying. People who start out with those tend to either go back to smoking cigarettes OR invest in one of the more sophisticated refillable vape machines that are the real meat of the industry, due to the proliferation of artisanal flavored juice houses. People who like those tend to stick with them since there's so much variety and customizability in terms of flavors and nicotine strengths (lots of vapers use juice of 0-nic, they just like the vaping itself.) They vary widely in appearance, they tend to be sold at specialized shops, and the most popular ones look like this: https://www.directvapor.com/media/catalog/product/cache/28/thumbnail/600x600/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/m/smgx3k-2.png

They're a bigger investment up front but will save you a LOT of money over time.

But I really don't think anyone would have 10 cheap e-cigs at a time. They cost about $10 each and last about 3 -4 days, why carry so many? I also disagree that vaping is at all the same thing as smoking. It really, really isn't (note, for example, the lack of smoke). I look a little bit askance at whoever wrote those lines, because it's just a little bit off.

I do agree with Sherlock about the commitment-avoidance, though, that rang true. Someone opting for the pricier and less-satisfying option because they're not being honest with themselves - oh sure, the industry rests on that. :D

[donut_donut]

Thank you! You did help clarify some stuff. And you also confirmed my suspicion that Gatiss doesn't really get vaping. (Gatiss is, I believe, a never-smoker.)

I agree that it's silly to regard someone who vapes as having "failed to give up smoking," and so it makes no sense that buying an electronic pipe is like admitting defeat.

Also, if you were sure that each e-cig (or cig, or ANYTHING) was your last, you most certainly WOULDN'T buy ten at a time. So that never made any sense.

In fact, from your description, ten e-cigarettes would actually suggest that Kingsley *did* just want to be able to smoke indoors. In that case, he would still have regular cigarettes for most of the time, but keep the cheapies around for when he's on a train or at his in-laws' or something. And then it would make perfect sense why he didn't want to invest in the fancy "electric pipe" (which I'll assume is equivalent to a refillable vape machine) -- because he has no intention of quitting, and just keeps e-cigs on hand for convenience/politeness.

so yeah, I think Sherlock's deduction here is entirely wrong and backwards. The clue means the *opposite* of what he says, which Sherlock, as a sometimes smoker, would surely know.

I'm calling this a creator-error. Thanks for the consult!

[vulgarweed]

In fact, from your description, ten e-cigarettes would actually suggest that Kingsley *did* just want to be able to smoke indoors. In that case, he would still have regular cigarettes for most of the time, but keep the cheapies around for when he's on a train or at his in-laws' or something. And then it would make perfect sense why he didn't want to invest in the fancy "electric pipe" (which I'll assume is equivalent to a refillable vape machine) -- because he has no intention of quitting, and just keeps e-cigs on hand for convenience/politeness.

Yes, exactly! the cheapie e-cigs are useful for when you want to top off your nic jones discreetly or somewhere that smoke isn't welcome. They don't give off the big clouds of vapor that the better vape mods do, so you can even get away with them in, like, a movie theater bathroom or whatever (NOT THAT I KNOW THIS FROM EXPERIENCE OR ANYTHING LOL) but no one really uses them for the experience. Smokers enjoy the sensation of smoking. Vapers enjoy the experience of vaping. Those basic e-cigs satisfy neither. But they can be handy in a pinch.

Though, I think with that 'lack-of-commitment-to-quit' thing, Sherlock could possibly be displaying a certain type of quitting-smoker snobbiness that I've definitely seen in the wild. Some smokers who try to quit going cold turkey or using patches or meds like Chantix do look down on people who try to taper off the nic addiction by vaping. It's "cheating" in their minds. It's soft and coddling and relatively Kids These Days, and it's not REALLY quitting if you've still got a hint of a nic monkey on your back even if it's tiny and cute now as opposed to an enraged mandrill trying to rip your lungs out, metaphorically.

Also, no one calls it an "electronic pipe." UNLESSSSS....come on Sherlock, you know you want one....https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1dyNrLpXXXXbhXVXXq6xXFXXXQ/original-Electronic-cigarette-ePipe-618-Single-Kit-Best-Quality-Smoking-E-pipe-618-2-5ml-Atomizer.jpg

[donut_donut]

It's hard for me to see why someone who uses patches would be snobbish about vaping, since they're both supplying nicotine, but I'll take your word for it, lol. People are strange.

no one calls it an "electronic pipe." UNLESSSSS....

HA. I did wonder if "electronic pipe" might be a brit thing, but it does seem odd, from a marketing standpoint. People who smoke cigarettes don't generally want to be associated with pipes.

all in all, the passage gives off a whiff of "old man writing about something he's only seen on TV". ;)

[eldriwolf]

First off, Congratulations!


Second ,well, it is nice -
-*Except* why the plastic fake wood bit?
(I see not all of them are)
Part of the joy of pipes (for me ) is the beauty of the wood--each chunk of burl unique--the lifetime achievement of That plant, added to the skill of the human who sculpted the pipe from the wood.
Art you can carry-and-use

[vulgarweed]

Thank you!

There are handmade ones with real wood - they are very, very pricey but they do look nice: http://www.pipesmithepipes.com/gallery.html (there are several crafters who make them, that's the first one that pops up on Google).

[ancientreader]

This is straight-up wonderful news. I remember when you first mentioned quitting, on Tumblr -- I had my fingers crossed for you hard, because having been through it myself I know exactly how excruciating the farewell to cigarettes can be. Your lungs must be so happy!

[vulgarweed]

Thank you so much! I really really feel the difference - I started to in just a few weeks, and now I'm pretty sure I'll never go back. (That was touch and go for a while).

I still have really vivid dreams about it from time to time!

[ancientreader]

So do I (TWENTY-FIVE YEARS after quitting). Not as much lately, but I still do occasionally dream that I've started again, and wake in the morning full of horror and dismay. The actual dream-smoking, of course, is blissful, which the real thing stopped being long before I quit.

[espresso_addict]

Kudos!

[vulgarweed]

Thank you!!