I am Mike G. I live in St. Charles Missouri, which is a suburb about 30 minutes west of St. Louis. I have lived here all of my life. I wasn’t the typical kid growing up. I didn’t play any sports, I only had a few friends, and I pretty much kept to myself. In 1984 when I was 13 years old, I tried my first cigarette. I of course coughed and coughed. My other two buddies tried to smoke along with me. We ended up only smoking for about 6 months or so. My friends mom caught us smoking in the back yard one afternoon and she said either we stop or she would tell our parents. So we did. Fast forward to 1993, and me being 22 years old, I picked up the habit of smoking again. I kept smoking until 2002. I quit cold turkey for 7 months. It didn’t last. I started smoking again. I again tried to quit that next year, with no luck. I only went 3 months before I started to smoke again. Then on June 15th 2011 I had an appointment to have a tooth removed by an oral surgeon. He told me once the tooth was extracted, try not to smoke for at least 3 to 5 days. I thought this was a perfect time to try and quit smoking. The first day was rough, but the next thing I knew, 4 days went by, then 6 days went by. After a week went by, my wife started to notice I was on edge, being crabby, having a short fuse, etc. She said I was becoming hard to live with and to either start smoking again or possibly try and electronic cigarette. After all I did see a commercial for one during my week of not having any cigarettes. So that next day I went to local gas station and picked up a electronic cigarette starter kit. It came with 2 batteries, chargers, and 3 nicotine cartridges. My first thought was, wow, this thing is pretty cool!. I really was liking this new way of vaping. I continued to keep with it, trying not to give it up. Then a few weeks later, out of the blue, one day I went to work and left both of my batteries at home. I thought, well, I can probably go most of the day without it. I did. I ended up quitting the electronic cigarette. After 4 days of not using an electronic cigarette, I had my mom pass away unexpectedly, and I really needed something to get me though this rough time. I needed my go to crutch. I was always used to grabbing a cigarette during times of stress, but, instead, I reached back for my electronic cigarette, and I wasn’t craving an actual cigarette. That was my ultimate test for me. After some time passed after my moms passing, I still use my electronic cigarette, but only a few times during the day. I have dropped my nicotine level from 20mg’s when I first started and dropped down a few nicotine levels every few months. Today I am down to a nicotine level of 0mg’s. That’s pretty good for being a smoker for 18 years, and being able to drop down my nicotine levels down to nothing in 2 years. No way cigarettes would have done that. My goal is to completely quit the electronic cigarette. Now that I am down to a 0 nicotine level, it shouldn’t be too much longer. Since I quit smoking cigarettes, and switched to the electronic cigarette: I have gained back my sense of smell and taste. My skin and my fingers aren’t yellow. I can walk and not get winded. I can breathe deeply now. I can wake up and not have my chest hurt like someone was standing on it. My apartment and my car doesn’t smell like smoke. My clothes don’t smell like smoke. So, in light of my experience with the electronic cigarette, I would recommend them to anyone who wants to quit smoking.