From the moment I picked up my first cigarette, I was hooked. I was 18, and (no joke) hanging out in jazz clubs when I first started. I went from a non-smoker to a die-hard, pack a day smoker in no time. I would go a few days here and there without smoking, but I never lasted long. Cigarettes dominated my life. I would buy cigarettes before I bought food sometimes. I’d feel ashamed to say something like that in a different context, but anyone who has smoked knows the siren song of burning tobacco. I made my first serious attempt to quit about a year and a half ago, after smoking heavily for 7 years. I tried nicotine gum–no help at all. I tried Chantix–it resulted in such a dramatic reduction in mental health, and no reduction in desire to smoke, that I gave up after a couple of months. I also tried my first electronic cigarette around this time. The technology was not where it is now, and I got suckered in by one of the tobacco companies’ brands, and it didn’t do the trick either. At this point, I figured I was doomed to be a smoker for the rest of my life. (Imagine the giddy laughter of tobacco executive at the thought!) Fast forward to three weeks ago: I was at a party, and saw someone puffing on a very strange looking device. I sauntered over, and he was explaining that it was an electronic cigarette. He offered a taste, which I took, and which immediately changed my life. I have not gone three weeks without smoking since I started smoking. But the simple setup I purchased the next day set me on the path towards success. I have no craving for cigarettes anymore (distinct from the craving for nicotine, which I can live with for the moment, as it is much less pronounced now that I am free of the cravings for the various other chemicals). The speed with which my health (sense of taste and smell, no more lung pain with deep breaths, much less nasal congestion) returned astounded me. I can say now that I am free of cigarettes for the first time in nearly 10 years. To make the claim that there is no proof that e-cigarettes help people quit smoking is, I suppose, technically true. There’s no proof because none has been gathered. This is akin to saying there’s no way to tell what the weather is like outside because the blinds are closed. But the anecdotal evidence from me and the dozens of people I’ve talked to is overwhelming. E-cigarettes helped me quit smoking. They’ve helped others like me quit smoking.