I began smoking my freshman year of high school, at the age of 15. Admittedly, it was not the best choice I could have made, and it is one that I have regretted but have tried, fruitlessly, to quit many times. I was successful in quitting during 3 pregnancies, cold turkey, for the duration of those pregnancies, but always picked up again once it was over and some bout of stress came about that I just could not find a way to function through otherwise. I have been saying for the past 6 years or so that I should quit, as each change of season always brings with it a horrible cold, sinus, or other respiratory problem/illness. I’ve never fully enjoyed the smell or the taste, but giving up the crutch was just too overpowering. I’ve seen the commercials for pharmaceutical ways of quitting… patches, gum, pills, but patches were too expensive, gum never worked (and who wants to eat gum that tastes like oranges with black pepper?) and pills, when they come with side effects that are worse than the problem is, my thought was that I’d rather take my chances. Then, on April 1st, I was handed a Fifty-One Trio e-cig, because my mother had purchased it and it put her into an immediate coughing fit (for reasons we still don’t know). I was hooked. I had a lit cigarette in hand when she gave it to me and passed the cigarette off to her. I ran through the provided cartridges in just a few short days and had to fall back on regular cigarettes for an evening. Some friends rescued me, giving me some e-juice to refill my cartridges with. I honestly TRIED another cigarette one other time since then, about a week and a half ago, and it was so horrible to me that I could only take one drag off of it. The taste was so bad, I will never touch another one. I now use an Ego 900mah battery and refill dual-coil cartomizers, my preferred blend being 65/35 PG/VG in 36mg nicotine. I started with a much lower nicotine amount, but found myself constantly vaping. I eventually plan to wean myself down to a more manageable level, if not going to a zero-nicotine liquid. I enjoy the flavors most of all, not being bound to one particular flavor. Healthwise, and in relation to the flavors, I do have some blood sugar issues, and cannot always cater to my cravings for sweets. The flavored liquids gives me a chance to sate those cravings without throwing my blood sugar into a frenzy. Within the first week of making the switch, I noticed a drastic change in how everything tastes… subtle spices in foods were, for the first time in 20 years, noticeable. I have spent the better part of the last two years alone, coughing or clearing my throat very frequently. I know that this is a result of the smoking, because just in the first two days of using the e-cig, the coughing disappeared and I haven’t had to clear my throat except for a few times when my allergies have kicked in and created a problem. I’m waiting to see how the next few seasons go, as the switch into fall, and the switch into winter always wreak havoc on me healthwise, but I am positive there will be a noticeable difference. This has been the absolute best thing I could have done for myself. I feel better, I can taste things much better, and it has changed my quality of life completely!