The vape in your pocketHabits

unbry

The vape in your pocket

A short book about vaping all day because it's always within reach, and the calm it seems to provide

24 chapters11,928 wordsAbout 54 minFirst edition

What's inside

·Before you startThis is a short book and you can read it in two or three sittings. It's about one habit. You vape through the day. At the desk, at the lights, in the…2 min
1The hand in the pocketIt's ten past nine and you've been at your desk for forty minutes. You've answered some emails and opened the thing you're meant to be doing. Your hand…3 min
2Why the vape seems sensibleBefore I argue with the habit, I'd like to be fair to it, because it has a lot going for it and you're not a fool for having kept it. If you used to…2 min
3"A cigarette had an ending"Think about what a cigarette was, as an object. It had a start, which was the lighter. It had an ending, which was the filter, five or six minutes later.…2 min
4"It calms me down"Now the calm, because it's the thing you'd defend. Nicotine leaves the body fast. The half-life in blood is about two hours, meaning that two hours after…2 min
5"But I never feel withdrawal"This is the objection I'd expect from a thoughtful reader, and it looks like a strong one. If the vape were a loop of fall and relief, you'd feel the…2 min
6"I only use low strength"A lot of readers will have an answer ready here, which is that they're on a low strength. Six milligrams, or three. It's barely anything. The people with…2 min
7"I've cut down loads since cigarettes"If you switched from smoking, you'll feel that you've already done the hard part. Twenty a day and now this. The vape is the reduced version. It's the…2 min
8"It's the deep breath that helps"Here's a belief I have some sympathy with. You'd say it's not the nicotine, or not all of it. It's the draw itself. The slow pull in, the hold, the long…2 min
9"It keeps my hands busy"Then there's the hand, and the mouth, and the object. You'd say, and it's true, that some of this is nothing to do with nicotine. The vape is a thing to…2 min
10"It's basically harmless"I'll keep this chapter short, because the book isn't a health lecture and because the honest position is a narrow one. Here's what the NHS says, and I'm…2 min
11"It got me off cigarettes and I'm not touching it"If you used to smoke, this is the chapter where you'll want to close the book, so let me say the first thing quickly. I agree with you. The vape got you…2 min
12"I'd just go back to smoking"This is the fear underneath the last chapter, and it deserves to be met on its own. There's a difference between a vape you use and a vape you carry. The…2 min
13"It's the last thing before I sleep"The bedside table deserves a chapter, because a lot of readers will have the vape there, and will say it settles them for the night. Nicotine is a…2 min
14"Everyone does it now"The last belief is a social one, and it's short. Everyone does vape now, or it can feel that way. There are four on the pub table. Half your office has…2 min
15What the drip costsI've argued about mechanism. This chapter is the bill. A day with no gaps. That's the first cost and the one that contains the others. From the hand going…2 min
16Putting the ending backThe method has three stages, and the first is the one everyone does, whatever they decide about the other two. It's putting the ending back. Nothing in…2 min
17Bringing the line downOnce the ending is back and the number is known, you can bring the line down. This is the gradual route, and it suits people who want the vape to fade…3 min
18Stopping in one stepThe other route is to stop on a day. It suits people who find the fade a place to live, people who never smoked and have no insurance question, and people…3 min
19The decisionYou've got the argument and the three stages. What's left is to decide, and I'd like the decision to fit in one sentence. The vape lives in a drawer, not…2 min
20Ex-smokers, never-smokers, partners, teenagers, pregnancy and when to get helpThe rule is the same for everyone, but the situations differ, and a few deserve their own paragraph. Ex-smokers. Chapters 11 and 12 are yours. The short…3 min
21When you've had a puffIt will happen. You'll be at a party and someone will hand you theirs, or you'll find one in a coat, or a bad afternoon will send you to the drawer that…2 min
22The hand in the pocket, againIt's ten past nine, some weeks on. You've been at your desk for forty minutes. Your hand goes to your pocket and finds your keys. It rests there for a…2 min
·NotesThis book gives general information about an everyday habit. It isn't medical advice and it's no substitute for a GP, a pharmacist, a midwife or a stop…5 min