I started smoking when I was 14 and had smoked for 39 years. I enjoyed smoking and didn’t really want to quit. I smoked about 3/4 to one pack a day but only smoked about the first half of the cigarette. I never re-lit a cigarette to smoke the rest of it because it tasted awful. So, it was costing me quite a bit of money. Then there was the stigma. I hated feeling self conscious around non-smokers but knew that I probably smelled like an ashtray to them. (I also was cutting out a large portion of my possible dating pool.) Additionally, for the past few years I was getting a severe case of bronchitis two or three times a year. So, last August (2012) a friend told me he was getting an eGo starter kit and I went ahead and ordered one too. The day after it arrived (August 28, 2012, my first vape mail), my sister-in-law, who had been vaping for a while, gave me some menthol juice with some sweetener. I have not had a cigarette since that day. I don’t feel like I quit smoking. Wait, I take that back. I don’t feel like I gave anything up. (That’s more accurate.) I now regularly vape a sweetened peppermint mixture. I’ve moved from 18 mg. to 12 mg. and will continue to slowly step down the nicotine level until I reach zero. I love vaping. I love the taste. I love that I don’t have to have more than one or two hits at a time. I love that I haven’t had a NICOTINE! NOW! panic attack since I started vaping. I love that I’ve met a group of vapers through Facebook and local vaping meets who are friendly and willing to answer any questions I have. I love that I’m not spending $100 a month on cigarettes. I love that I can vape in my home. I love that I didn’t have to crack a window in the car all winter. I love that if I do date again, he can be a non-smoker and I won’t have to feel constantly self conscious about the way I smell. I love that I haven’t had bronchitis in almost a year. I love that my mom is happy that I no longer smoke. Actually, I can’t think of one down side to vaping other than the constant spectre of big tobacco and the fear that their influence will, eventually, take away my ability to continue to happily vape away.