I started smoking at 18 and continued to smoke a pack a day for 17 years. I tried quitting a few times using the gum and patch, but was unsuccessful in the long term. When a friend of mine was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, I was determined to quit. My sister introduced me to ecigs, and after a day or two of using them exclusively, when I lit a cigarette, it tasted awful. It was very easy for me to switch over completely. I have been vaping for 5 years now – but the health benefits were almost immediately evident. Gone is the smoker’s cough. I no longer hack up brown phlegm. My seasonal asthma troubles me much less – I no longer need the Symbicort or Advair. I used to get bronchitis twice a year, but I haven’t had it at all since I switched to ecigs. I feel better. I breathe better. I smell and taste better. I also love that ecigs don’t stink. They don’t cause nicotine stains on hands or walls. There are no ashes. I don’t singe my hair or burn holes in clothes, rugs, furniture, etc. I don’t have to go to the store in a blizzard for a daily smoke run. I can vape in my car with the windows up and not choke to death. Ecigs are much cheaper than cigarettes. There are so many benefits to vaping, and I can’t find a downside. Well, except to big Pharma and big Tobacco. God forbid we have an alternative to smoking that actually works, that THEY don’t own. The law makers are in their pockets. Seriously, we KNOW smoking kills – but cigarettes are legal. I firmly believe ecigs pose a much smaller risk to my health than regular cigarettes do – based on my own improved health since switching. Even so, I’m willing to take the risk that someday, someone will prove that vaping is harmful. If that day comes, I assume responsibility for my CHOICE as an adult to vape. However, I seriously doubt that vaping will ever be proven to be anywhere near as dangerous as smoking or drinking.