nice thread, first time seeing it
i started smoking around 2008 cannabis and ocasionally cigarettes, tho i mostly just mixed a little tabacco into my cannabis so it burns better
then around 2012-2014 after really feeling the negative effects of smoking i switched over to vaping cannabis and really liked it, the taste is miles better than smoking, the high is really different and it actually is kinda scary how much the other compounds of smoking alter the cannabis/nicotine effect if you can compare it with vaping
i was really start feeling the lung benefits of vaping a few weeks in and around 1 to 2 years later it felt like i gained "normal" lung function again
2015/2016 i got into ecigarettes because i wanted a substance that can get me "high" without relying on cannabis all day so to speak (i wasnt hugely addicted to cannabis i would say but i "regularly" vaped cannabis), at the time disposables and pod systems were kinda crappy so i started to make my own coils with a RDA, tho it always felt like a hassle to me and it wasnt always "perfect" like probably most of you know... burned coils/cottage and trying around tho i never really was happy even after trying a few RDA`s / devices
im not sure why but im someone who doesnt really get addicted to nicotine, i do it because i enjoy the effect but i have little problem with stopping so i started/stopped vaping nicotine a few times with a few months long pauses
unfortunaly, and i really regret this, i started smoking again around october 2022, mostly because of the hassle of ecigarrete maintanance (and lazyness to be honest) but i tried recently "elfbars" and thought to myself i really should get into vaping again before i damage my lungs -again-, so i looked for cheaper alternatives to disposables ( 5-10€ a day is just too much, too much in the sense that i dont wanna spend that money) and read that pod systems (and disposables) improved hugely the last few years (i guess mostly because of mesh coils)
so last week i ordered a "Aspire Flexus Stik" which seems overall getting good reviews, specially in taste, many also say its better than caliburn`s which seems kinda popular too
and i actually really like the idea of pod systems (if they work well)
1. auto draw function
2. no battery hassle
3. reliable coils and because of mesh coils less likely to get hot spots and (maybe) a bit better taste
4. smaller and lighter designs
5. good vape production, its actually around the same amount of vape i got out of my DL RDA`s (tho i never was a fan of huge wattages because of even more hot spots and burned cottage etc)
basicly all the benefits of disposables in regards of convencience but its cheaper and you can use your own liquids, i probably wont look back to make my own coils etc either
THO regardings liquids.... this is also a point that got me into smoking cigarretes again, im not sure if im the only one but i just like a very few liquids... trying out new liquids is most of the time a waste of money for me, either they taste terrible or i even get a itching throat from them or its straight up "painfull" to inhale (i look at you "Dinner Lady - Lemon Tart" and many really like it)
this is also what surprised me about elfbars, they really taste good and i get way many people say they just wanna vape disposables
unfortunaly here in germany we got now huge taxes on all things related to eliquids, longfills are about 60% more expensive than a year ago and nicotine shots cost 4€ for 10ml with 20mg/ml nicotine where a year ago you got 5x 10ml for 5€, even VG/PG got now taxes if they are sold "for ecigarretes" (100ml cost now 35€ instead of 1L for 12€ a year ago), this is overall a huge hit for the vape market i think.... im gladfull i bought 3L base and around 150 nicotine/nicotine salt shots last year for around 10-20% of the current cost
im kinda curious of where the decline of vaping comes from, even now where its way more expensive than smoking (i would say i pay around 3x to 5x now in comparison to getting cigarretes) i would rather pay it for health reasons, kinda still baffled of how much bullsh*t around vaping floats around "how dangerous" it is, yes breathing air is more healthy (tho im not too sure about that if you live in a big city) but it still is 90-95% more healthy than smoking and inhaling 4000 dangerous compounds