I started smoking at the age of 18. I smoked until I was 20. Then after a stressful period in my life started smoking again at the age of 25. I tried so many times to quit again over the next 13 years but nothing worked. Definitely not cold turkey. Nicotine gum was a failure as well. I really hated that my rights were slowly being taken away. It made me feel like a second class citizen as a smoker. I was no longer allowed to smoke in restaurants or bars or even at my place of work! I hated the smell, the taste, and the effects on my health. However much I disliked those things, I did like the break from the world they gave me. I could walk away and have a few moments of peace and the fix I got from nicotine. I am not the resolution type of girl. I had seen a few commercials on the e-cigs and was curious. The ad man was standing there all confident and not hiding in a corner or alleyway with his newfound device for freedom. Freedom from a foul smelling ball and chain I myself had as of that moment been unable to escape. I looked at my husband who was also a smoker and said ‘Can you imagine?’ my doctor, my family and most of all my son had begged me for years to quit. Years. Years with the stain of shame, a yellow ashen smell of shame. So as a gift my husband drove me to a premier electronic cigarette store and I walked in absolutely sure I was going to fail. Again. They had a flavor bar but as a hard core menthol smoker I walked past it and onto the counter to find my device to freedom. I had done the calculations on price for the upfront cost versus my pack a day habit and was sure that were this a success it would be infinitely better both for my wallet and my body. That was January the 5th 2013, the day I smoked my last analog cigarette. I have not smoked since. I started at an 18 mg nicotine level and I am down to a 6 mg level. I am free of everything I hated about those cigarettes and my family, my doctors and most of all my beloved son and husband are proud of me. My husband quit shortly after I did. We did it. We are free! No longer second class, smelling like ashtrays and stale air. No more Bronchitis or respiratory infections. No more burns to clothing or upholstery in the car. I have even helped my fellow ex- smokers, friends and family members make the big step and quit by using these miraculous devices. E-cigarettes work. They give you a better way. They work, they absolutely work.