I was a 33 year menthol tobacco smoker that used electronic cigarettes (further more to be referred to as e-cigs), to kick that habit. I suppose this page does not want my full life history, so will leave that statement as is. In May of 2012 I was introduced to the world of e-cigs, and since I was having very difficult times in the early morning hours of coughing so hard I would be sick, decided to give them a try. So I bought my first pack at a retail giant, and they were not all that bad. Between the months of May and June 2012, there was much experimenting with what fit my habit, and a bit too this day. When a person first decides to stop analog cigarettes using the electronic version, there should be more helpful information on the internet. There is not, you are pretty much left to ??Caveat emptor.? And so it was. I had to find what worked for me. But I was tired of the morning dry heaves from coughing so hard. On August 8th 2012 I had my last cigarette, and have only moved forward since then. I compare what I am spending vs. the carton a week of off brand smokes and it balances mostly. It could be cheaper if I put more time into doing all the little things, but much as with smoking, I look for quick and convenient. Someone, somewhere in the government should take notes of this type of action. Admittedly nicotine ??may?? still kill me, possibly one of the newer chemicals in overseas produced liquids, may not meet specification, (let??s keep a long drawn out sentence going,) PG otherwise known as Propylene Glycol (USP-grade) is used in food flavorings, cosmetics, asthma inhalers. VG known as Vegetable Glycerin used in many food supplements, the mixtures of flavoring have unknown chemical balances when inhaled through a system that heats liquid and supplies fundamental supplication of the need to see exhaled smoke. What I do know, is I still hack and cough, after 33 years smoking tobacco cigarettes, you don??t get over it in 8 months. But my bouts over the bowl, have only occurred twice since using e-cigs. I should mention something here also. I use 36 milligram nicotine liquid, up to 5 milliliters per day to sustain the nicotine that I was getting from 30 non light, 100, off brand name cigarette. There are over and I quote ??Over 4000 chemical compounds are created by burning a cigarette ?? 69 of those chemicals are known to cause cancer. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanides and ammonia are all present in cigarette smoke. Forty-three known carcinogens are in mainstream smoke, sidestream smoke or both. It’s chilling to think about not only how smokers poison themselves, but what others are exposed to by breathing in the secondhand smoke. The next time you’re missing your old buddy, the cigarette, take a good long look at this list and see them for what they are: a delivery system for toxic chemical and carcinogens. ?? I can fairly well say for certain, since certain agencies do not want to investigate, possibly due to loss of funding?, the means of smoking cessation, that the pure amount of chemicals are reduced, and if nothing more, I urge them to pause the investigations into the larger budgets of tobacco companies and explore this area. Using e-cigs is not the same as the quick buzz from regular cigarettes. The delivery system is a bit hard to get used to at first. You puff on a more regular basis, to keep the nicotine levels going. But in the end, when you light up that cigarette, you have at most 10 minutes to finish it off before it burns out, and becomes a stub in the ashtray. I no longer have ashtrays, the windows in my vehicle are clear of the exhaled smoke. I feel better, as much as could be expected, I no longer heave every morning trying to get the tar out of my lungs. Again will take longer than 8 months to fix the damage I did in 33 years, but what can I say? It does make a difference Thank you for your understanding and patience if you read this whole story. Michael A. Steele Abingdon, VA