September 5th 2014 was a day I will not soon forget. After 25 years of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, I stopped. I started at 11, stopped at 36. Watching my father battle late stage lung cancer from the same life choice really hit me hard. At first I did it to show support, the feeling of if I can do it, so can you. Luckily for me I chose the single best method for quitting in my opinion, which is vaping. After 15 hours on nothing but vapor, my mind convinced me I would rather have a cigarette. I gave in and lit up…and next to the vapor I had been on, the taste was somewhere between a sweaty goat’s testicles or a sumo wrestlers armpit. That was my very last cigarette. As I approach my one year anniversary of being smoke free I find myself eternally grateful to the youtubers who guided me with tutorials and reviews, and the companies who put out the products I use. To be clear, I used no other method to stop other than vaping. It was my first attempt to quit, and minus one weak moment (that wound up being my last cigarette) it worked flawlessly. I have never lit up since, nor do I have the urge to. That is nothing short of a miracle for me, I suffer from familial tremor, a nervous system disorder. Smoking always seemed to level me out somewhat and if i went to long without it I would shake like a leaf. I started on 18mg of nicotine in my juice and have stayed there. I do use 3 and 6mg, but only when I am getting a lot of vapor at once. That way no matter what I get the same nicotine level. For me I think what actually sealed it was not the nicotine relief from vaping as much as it was the vapor itself. Feeling a nicotine inhale is the physical part, and it is important however the mental side is also potent and seeing myself blowing something out after an inhale helped tremendously in my opinion. That is the advantage over things like the patch that only target the physical need. The fact vaping has not been listed as a means to quit is frankly a joke to me. I am NOT alone, I see stories like mine all the time. Have a look on the indoorsmokers youtube for proof of this, a comment section full of real people whose lives this method has literally saved. The health benefits for me? I no longer sound like I am drowning in mucus when I breathe. My doctor was absolutely amazed when she examined my lungs and told me they were clear. The same doctor who treated me for breathing problems during the flu and put down COPD from tobacco abuse on my chart barely a year ago. I have increased stamina to the point where I can walk or run for extended periods without gasping for air, my skin is clear and does not look stained from tar and nicotine (this is most common in a smokers hands) and when I wake up I am not coughing up a lung. There are other smaller benefits as well such as a clean good smelling body and home, but for me to be able to say my lungs are clear? That is a blessing. I am in better physical condition in my mid 30s than I was at 18. The negatives? nothing is perfect, for me the main negative is it is an expensive alternative. Depending on the equipment you use, it can cost as much or even more than smoking. However it can also be less, it just depends how you vape. It also makes the throat dry, which actually led me to drink more water not soda. So in a sense a small negative led to another good life choice for my health. This method has a learning curve, it is not easy as you advance. the beginner stuff is not that hard, but as you upgrade into building them it requires a lot of knowledge. youtube is your friend for this problem. In a world where everyone is trying to legalize pot, it is beyond me why people are trying to ban or restrict vaping. It is saving lives by the thousands and doing what people like the truth movement claim they want to do…put the tobacco industry out of business. I see people upset over lost tobacco taxes and want to tax vapor to make up for it. That is not only sad, it is shameful. I will defend my right to NOT smoke, NOT to die of cancer and to vape to achieve that goal and I will do so with my last breath. Trust me I now have plenty of breath to do it. If I am capable of doing this, anyone is. I fought a massive battle in that one day. 25 years of habit, bad nerves, a combination of OCD and ADD that had me an absolute slave to cigarettes. You CAN do it. I am living proof.