I have been a smoker on and off (mostly on) for over 40 years. I have long realized that continued smoking was bad for my health, and made a number of unsuccessful attempts to quit both going cold turkey as well as using the nicotine patch, but it never lasted. As I am rapidly approaching 60, this to me has been a bench-mark, could not see myself still smoking at that age. One day at work, a woman who also works in my building (not a close friend, an acquaintance) was in the elevator with me while I was on my way to a smoke break. I thought she was too, when she mentioned that she no longer smoked, but was now using an electronic cigarette. I immediately thought about this, as I had seen the blu ecig commercials recently on t.v. That evening I bought my first ecig starter kit, and after charging the batteries, have not had a single cigarette since. Saving money has certainly been a part of the allure, but to me, I love the process of smoking, and being able to retain most of the smoking sensation while doing away with the tar, smoke, and other negative aspects of tobacco has been the driving reason that I have switched. Surprisingly, this has been the easiest stoppage of smoking that I have ever encountered. I can actually say that I have not been tempted even once to pick up a cigarette to date, which has been going on 4 months now.