I started smoking cigarettes in high school. That was back when anybody could buy cigarettes and everybody smoked wherever they wanted to smoke. I tried to quit many times, but I was sneaking a cigarette here and a cigarette there so my 3 years quit wasn’t really accurate. I always wanted to go back to it, and I always did. As I got older, I knew I should quit but I honestly didn’t want to quit. I knew I was doing damage to my heart and my lungs and my skin, but smoking overpowered that knowledge. I knew I reeked of smoke, I knew I was becoming an outcast when I had to go outside of eating establishments and into my car in the parking lot at work to smoke, and I knew the students I taught were occasionally bothered by the smell of smoke on my clothes and I was setting a bad example…I have always wished I could be a non-smoker without the pain of quitting and without the withdrawal. I tried everything; cold turkey, Nicotine replacement, Wellbutrin, Chantix, hypnosis and counseling. Nothing made me give up combustible cigarettes for more than a few days. NOTHING! One year ago last month my father was hospitalized while we were on vacation all the way across the country from home. He was taken by ambulance and the hospital had no smoking areas and I wanted to stay close to him while he was there. The Shopping Mall across the street had a kiosk that sold e-cigarettes (rechargeable battery, charger, and disposable tips in menthol which was my flavor of choice). I bought one so I could smoke in the rental car and in the bathroom while visiting my Dad. I started with 24mg because that was the highest strength they had. At first, it felt weird inhaling and it didn’t taste as good as my real cigarettes so I thought, I’ll go back to real cigarettes after this is over. However, the next real cigarette I smoked tasted awful and made me really cough and smelled and made me feel dizzy, so instead I ordered more e-cigs. I dropped to the next lower level of nicotine after 2 months and then the next lower level after 6 months. Three months later, I dropped another level and 2 months ago I dropped to the lowest level (non-nicotine is the only thing lower than what I have and I expect to drop to that within 6 months and quit entirely within the next year). I went to my doctor for a checkup after 6 months with the e-cig (he is certified as a pulmonologist as well) and he ASKED me what I was doing differently because my lungs sounded so much better and my blood oxygen level had increased. While he told me he would rather I not put anything in my lungs, he was pleased with the results and he shared some studies showing that propylene glycol has some antibacterial properties and is also found in many foods. And in fact, my colds and sinus infections have dropped significantly during this time. I am so pleased to have the option of e-cigs! For my health and for those around me, for the convenience, for the vapor and the lower nicotine without all of the carcinogens and other chemicals that clog the cilia in my lungs, for my sense of smell and lack of sinus infections, for the flavor and the ability to get that flavor while still lowering the level of nicotine and aforementioned chemicals. I would not smoke a real cigarette again unless they took away my e-cigs, and if I can continue using them to step down the nicotine to 0mg, I have no doubt that within a year I will be a former smoker. E-cigarettes have saved my life and my sanity and the students I teach now have a much better role model! IF the conversation comes up, I share all of this with them because I wish I had never STARTED smoking and I explain the reasons why I hope they never will, and I want to show them that there are alternatives that will help them quit early while they still in the early years of what is likely to become a more detrimental habit as the years go by. I am proud of what I have done and I have e-cigarettes to thank for so many positive improvements in my life and my health!