I started smoking when I was almost 19 years old, it was just something that I wanted to do because I could. I started getting a smoker’s cough around the age of 22, however I never attempted to stop smoking. Over the years, I moved from smoking a pack a day to just about two packs a day by the time I decided to quit. At 37 years old, on September 13, 2012, I smoked my last cigarette at 7 pm. I never tried to stop smoking in the 17 1/2 years that I smoked. I realized that if I did not stop before I hit 40 years old, I would not live to see 60. Most of my relatives who smoked were considered lucky if they lived into their 60’s. My mother had been using an e-cigarette for about 2 years so I decided to try one as well. The fact is, I loved to smoke. I loved the hand to mouth action, the inhaling and the exhaling of the smoke, the feel of the smoke in my lungs. I knew that my only shot at quitting smoking was to find something that would help me with all of the above listed aspects of smoking along with the nicotine addiction; e-cigarettes were the perfect answer. I still miss smoking every day, but knowing I have my e-cigarettes makes it so much easier to not light a cigarette up. I was never a dual user, when I switched to e-cigarettes, I stopped smoking completely. My hacking smoker’s cough stopped completely a month after I started using an e-cigarette, it has never returned. I can breath better and deeper, exercise without any problems and I can now actually smell the fresh cut grass and the trees when I step outside. I started using my e-cigarettes with 24 mg nicotine juices, I am still using that mg; during stressful times, I will occasionally use 36 mg to help stop my cravings for an actual cigarette. I have no intention of lowering my nicotine at this time, it is what I need right now to ensure that I do not go back to smoking. I initially started with a pen style e-cigarette, but that did not last long. The pen style device did not help with cravings since it wasn’t powerful enough to deliver the feel of vapor going into my lungs, the inhale/exhale process that I love. I quickly moved to larger mod batteries such as the Vamo and Innokin iTaste SVD, as well as using refillable tanks like the Protank and the Kanger T3. These new devices allow me to feel the vapor as I take it in, and to see more vapor coming out as I exhale; they fully replace that part of smoking that I loved and keep me from going back to it. I love my smoke-free life! Yes, it is a struggle every day not to smoke, but e-cigarettes have helped to sooth that struggle. I am able to keep the aspects of smoking that I loved, while utilizing a much safer and harm reducing product; I can honestly say that without e-cigarettes in my life, I would still be smoking.