I had my first cigarette when I was about 8 years old. My father smoked and he was my hero so I wanted to be just like dad. I was an on again off again smoker from my early years thru high school and college but started smoking in earnest in 1981 while working in the oil fields of Texas. My consumption of analogs increased when I became an over-the-road truck driver; when you have nothing to but look out the window for hours on end, you tend to smoke more to keep you mind occupied. This became an up and down habit for the next 20 or so years. When I started working in IT in an office building, I started trying to quit smoking. Patches, lozenges, inhalers, prescribed pills from my doctor were the order of the day up until I discovered vape. In the last several months, I have seen many on the internet talking about vaping; I became curious. I researched all I could; devices, liquids, nicotine levels, effects and the more I read the more I began to think that I might give this a try as it seemed people were finally getting the relief they were searching for in a form that both tasted good and caused no harm to those around them. I thought maybe this will be the answer to the issue I had with the nicotine inhaler I tried years ago; a vapor that took the place of the smoke I was inhaling that helped my lungs think it was getting a hit of smoke while transporting the nicotine I am addicted to without the harmful chemicals a cigarette has. I took the plunge. I decided I would jump in with both feet, spend a fair amount of money but at the same time stop giving my limited budget to something I knew was killing me in the hopes that this might stop that downward spiral. I purchased my parts and liquid, put it all together and WOW! it was good and I felt no lung pain or mental effects or cravings; I was obviously getting the nicotine I needed and the feel of the inhalation and the cloud of smoke (vapor) looked just like a cigarette. This, I thought was going to be good. Early the next morning after starting with vape, I finished my last real cigarette and today I feel great! I feel my lungs starting to work better than they have in years. I don’t get as winded walking around as I did. I don’t go to bed with a cigarette high after a long day at work and smoking too much from the stress and I don’t feel the guilt I was starting to feel when I would pull into the local store to buy a pack on the way to work. This is good. I also have discovered an added benefit that I had not considered when I took this step. My wife is very allergic to smoke; I still don’t know why she didn’t give me a harder time about my smoking. I never smoked in our home; she wouldn’t stay if I did and I didn’t want to devalue my investment by contaminating it with smoke. I also started noticing people at work would stand closer to me when talking. I ask a few of my coworkers and they told me that I no longer smell like an ashtray; another unconsidered bonus. Not to mention the money I am saving; no more expensive cartons of smokes; my maintenance cost for vaping is much less – more money for me now for other things… yeah!! All in all I wish I had found vaping years ago; I tried the weak, pre-packaged versions long ago and they didn’t do it for me. The e-cig with e-liquid that allows me to choose the flavor and strength I want has done what I thought impossible and since I like to have choices and control over what I do it feels much more likely I will finally quit tobacco for good. I’m even starting to believe that while I won’t get back my lung function that I had in high school, I may be able to get back a more active existence and enjoy life again instead of sitting inside in my offtime watching TV and only getting up to go outside for a quick smoke.