This was my experience as well.

Actually, I quit accidentally. I mean, I was at the lowest nic level already, but not at 0. Until about one week (closer to two) I was extremely irritable. Realized that I had accidentally ordered 0's. Figured I was already past the worst of the withdrawals, so I just let it ride. Never smoked or taped again after that.

That's exactly what I did, except I just started ordering PG, VG, flavoring, and nicotine to mix myself. I came up with a recipe that worked for me and was about the equivalent of 3mg nicotine. I dont remember exactly but it was something like 10mg of nicotine mix per bottle, and the bottle lasted me about 2 weeks. Every time I remade it I lowered the nicotine by 1mg until I I was at 1mg, then I just quit.

The hardest part was the hand to mouth habit, and the weird way the "urge" would pop back up when I would do something again for the first time that used to be a vape trigger, even months or years later, like long drives, replaying an old game I used to play when I vaped, or visiting a place I hadn't been since I quit. Thankfully this has completely gone away with time.

I did this exactly too, swapped to vaping about 10 years ago and lowered the nic amount to 3mg for years. Finally decided to put it down in 2023, switched to 0 for 2 weeks and quit for ever. I smoked for over 20 years and tried to quit so many times, used everything, gum, mints, patches - vaping was the only thing that helped me. Its a shame that its just the new cigarettes now.

That's kinda how addiction works.

smoking makes your hands and fingers stink even after washed. you have to really scour the fuck out of nails and fingers to get them somewhat ok. and your face, lips, teeth mouth etc. I think this is why smoking jackets were a thing as well. if you smoke in your everyday clothing it'll all reek.

Someone needs to invent a head brace to hold a vape.

People have been smoking tobacco for THOUSANDS of years

Labor has changed as well. Computers made things more productive but less movements do to efficiency. Counting bills and coins, sorting them, arranging them to have them the way you like in a drawer/ wallet. Those were fidgets. Doing the math, writing checks/receipts, writing in general, pen goes click click click. Scribble scribble scribble. Need to ask someone something, or confirm information, walk over to desk, locate book, flip flip flip, scan scan scan, confirm, walk walk walk, tell so and so. We walk on average half as much as we did in say the 80s.

Also bright flashing lights and instant dopamine hits have trained us to expect them more often, crave them more often. Our televisions and phones show us content that looks more like casinos because it demands attention.

They are more fun than looping two paper clips through each other and dragging them through like a quick game.

I noticed in Turkey that men play with their prayer beads, twisting it and flipping it always in the same way. I asked my Turkish husband if they were praying on the train... Nope, just using it as a fidget toy.

I was just talking about something along these lines with people recently and it was pointed out that the further back in time you go, the more things you had to do which filled your time. Instead of ordering clothes online, you'd have to make them yourself. Instead of grocery shopping, you'd grow your own food. Instead of driving, you'd walk or ride an animal.

It turns out that when you can put any amount of nicotine in something, you could put less, or MORE! It just took capitalism a year or two to figure out the "more" part, and the rest is history.