I started smoking at the age of 16, and that is now 26 years ago. I used to smoke between 15 and 20 cigarettes a day – and had done so all 26 years. For the last 3-4 years I’ve been trying to quit smoking, with the help of chewing gum, lozenges, patches, mist-sprays and inhalators containing nicotine – but none of these products worked for me. They only drained my wallet, and left me with the feeling of being stupid, as to believe that my craving for nicotine could be stopped that easy. Desperate to kick the habit, I went to my GP, since I had heard of a new wonder drug, Zyban, that would tell your brain that you didn’t need nicotine. I had been on Zyban for about 1_ weeks, when my family, friends and colleagues started to notice some drastic changes in my behaviour – I seemed distant and not at all focused, and all I really wanted was to sleep, and never wake up again. My family convinced me to see the doctor once more, and he told me to get off Zyban. I was left with the notion, that I would never quit smoking, and convinced myself that cigarettes couldn’t be that bad – otherwise the government would have banned them years ago. My health was more or less OK, but I feared that my life could end prematurely, unless I stopped smoking. I used to wake up at night, crawing for a cigarette, and the first thing I did in the morning, was light up the first (or second) cigarette of the day. In early February 2013, I heard of the e-cigarette – and immediately started roaming the internet for more information. I had seen the cigarette-look-a-likes that was sold in the supermarkets, and I also bought one of them to try 6 months earlier – but they were such low quality and bad in use, that I threw it in the bin, and dismissed them as a way for me to quit smoking. My roaming the internet, led me to buy the first starter set, 2 batteries and 2 clearomizers – and since the sale of e-liquid containing nicotine is prohibited in Denmark, I ordered my first batch from England. On the 9th of February, on day one of vaping, I smoked my last cigarette, and I haven’t smoked since – and I don’t think I ever will again. Unfortunately one of the side-effects of stopping smoking, is an improved sense of smell – and suddenly I could smell how I used to smell, when I was smoking. I felt sorry for my family, that they had had to put up with me and my smell for so many years. A smell that I didn’t realise was that bad. The good morning and good night kisses I sometimes didn’t get, could that somehow have been because of me smoking? Of course, a better sense of smell and taste is a good thing, and I don’t need to put salt on my food as often as I did before. Food tastes better, my overall health has improved drastically. I’ve joined a gym, since I don’t get shortness of breath when exercising anymore. My craving for sweets has diminished – since the e-liquid I use tastes like chocolate, coffee or liquorice. When I started vaping, the first e-liquids I used tasted like, or tried in vane to taste like tobacco – but why use the tobacco taste/flavour, when they reminded me so of the product I was trying to escape? I can now sit among my friends – none of them feel bothered by me vaping. Our home doesn’t smell like the inside of an ashtray – in fact on day three of vaping I cleaned the entire house, washed all the drapes and all of my clothes, and started washing down the walls and windows – just to get rid of the smell… I have more energy, sleep a lot better, I’m a more enjoyable and positive person to be around. I don’t feel like a five year old child, being told what to do and what not to do, as I did when I was smoking (being told to stand outside to smoke, and feeling guilty when leaving a party to have a cigarette) I still enjoy the nicotine – I don’t regard myself as being a smoker – but a vaper. I made the switch from cigarettes to vaping, and I urge every smoker to do the same. Vaping should be widely accessible as a consumer product, and NOT be classified as a tobacco or medicinal product, since the e-liquids doesn’t contain tobacco and since vaping doesn’t claim to cure anything. Vaping as I see it, is not a decease – and therefore doesn’t need a cure. Vaping should be seen in the same light at having a cup of coffee or enjoying a piece of chocolate. Nicotine should be classified as a consumer product, in the same category as caffeine (coffee, tea, cola, energy drinks) or theobromine (cocoa) – since it gives the same relief and feeling. I have a hard time believing, that the legislators can’t see (or won’t see) all the benefits and potential savings there would be, by keeping e-cigs/vaping free from heavy regulations. The only thing certain is, that heavy regulation means more people continue smoking. I urge politicians to make sensible choices, get information about vaping before passing the sentence: Guilty until proven innocent. Give people the free choice, to choose for themselves if they want to live longer, have better quality of life – by switching from cigarettes to vaping … I made the switch – will you?