My name is Julie Woessner, and I am 50 years old. I smoked for more than 30 years and was smoking 2 ?« packs a day (American Spirit menthol) when I picked up an e-cigarette in January 2009. I have been smoke-free for more than 4 years now thanks to e-cigarettes. I wasnƒ??t trying to quit smoking when I first tried an e-cigarette. I had tried to quit many, many times before, all without any long-term success. I tried the patch (two quit attempts), which did nothing for me other than cause a rash. Nicotine gum (six quit attempts) upset my stomach and didnƒ??t really ease the cravings. I tried Wellbutrin once, but had to quit that in less than a week because it left me feeling confused, like I was trying to think through cottonƒ??and I still wanted to smoke. The nicotine inhaler (two quit attempts) was an utter failure. Not only was I reluctant to use it because it looked like a tampon, but it tasted terrible. I had high hopes for hypnotism, but the first thing I did after walking out of the hypnosis session (one quit attempt) was light up a cigarette. Chantix (one quit attempt) was a disaster, causing dreams so real that Iƒ??d be confused as to whether an event actually occurred or whether I dreamed it. And even more terrible, I wound up seriously depressed (for the first and only time in my life), a condition that lasted well after I discontinued Chantix. In fact, the only moderate success I had with quitting smoking for any length of time (before e-cigarettes, of course) was with cold turkey (at least five quit attempts), and even then, I still found myself going back to smoking. I think people understand it is extraordinarily difficult for some to quit smoking. What I donƒ??t think they understand is that for some of us, itƒ??s almost impossible. I say ƒ??almostƒ? because I did manage to quit during pregnancies, but the entire time the craving for a cigarette was almost overwhelming (and I did ultimately go back to smoking). They say that it gets easier with time, but even during my longest quit attempts (during pregnancy), the intense desire for a cigarette never went away, and I simply couldnƒ??t imagine living my entire life feeling like that. The well-meaning comments of support from friends and family did nothing but make me feel more anxious and more guilty when Iƒ??d inevitably fall off the wagon. At first, I believed the American Cancer Society when they urged me to keep trying, that it sometimes takes 10 or more quit attempts before success. Well, in my case, each failed quit attempt left me feeling more demoralized and defeated. My final quit attempt involved Chantix before its side-effects had been widely reported. That rather disastrous failed attempt was my last quit attempt. I resigned myself to continuing to smoke and eventually dying a smoker. And, of course, the really terrible part of it is that I knew what smoking was doing to my body. I couldnƒ??t climb a flight of stairs without pausing to catch my breath. In fact, taking a deep breath would prompt a coughing fit. Mornings consisted of at least ten minutes of a painful, productive cough, and exercise was all but unthinkable since even a few minutes of strenuous exercise resulted in either a coughing fit or an inability to catch my breath. A simple cold always morphed into a severe upper respiratory event, and it was a rare winter where I didnƒ??t have at least one or two bouts with pneumonia or bronchitis. And, of course, there was the certain knowledge that every puff I took was bringing me closer to death. And it wasnƒ??t just my health that was at stake. My children, especially when they were younger, were terrified that Iƒ??d die of cancer, and even knowing how scared and worried they were, I still couldnƒ??t quit. My husband, a non-smoker, never could quite shake the feeling that somehow I loved smoking more than him since I couldnƒ??t quit. As time went on, I found it difficult to do the things I enjoyed. Going to a movie tested the limits of my endurance, and flying was agonizing, not only because I couldnƒ??t smoke on the plane, but because there was rarely a place to smoke at the airport. My family was physically active, but I increasingly was not, limiting my ability to fully participate in family activities. Like I said, when I picked up an e-cigarette in January of 2009, I wasnƒ??t trying to quit. (I had by then quit trying to quit.) At that point, I was smoking 2 ?« packs a day, and I was trying to cut back. However, when Iƒ??d attempt to cut back, Iƒ??d find myself right back at 2 ?« packs within days. I thought that maybe an e-cigarette might help me cut out at least a few cigarettes a day. After I took my first puff, I thought, ƒ??You know, I might actually be able to quit using these.ƒ? At that moment, I told myself that I wasn’t going to think of this as a quit attempt and that if I wanted to smoke, Iƒ??d try to vape through the craving, but if that didnƒ??t work, then Iƒ??d give myself permission to have a cigarette. That simple actƒ??giving myself permission to smoke if I felt I needed itƒ??reduced my anxiety. Three days later, I had my last full cigarette. I say my last ƒ??fullƒ? cigarette because about two weeks after starting to vape (and not smoke), I had an urge for a cigarette, and I was unable to vape through the craving. So I lit up a cigarette, and I was surprised that the first puff tasted terrible. (This was a new pack, not previously opened, so it wasnƒ??t stale.) The second puff tasted just as terrible. In addition, I was feeling lightheaded and nauseatedƒ??all that after only two puffs. After the third puff, I put out the cigarette then proceeded to brush my teeth and wash my hands. Even after that, I could still smell the cigarette (although I suspect that was at least partially my imagination), so I got a shower and changed my clothes. The thing that is so remarkable about this is each time I had quit previously, the first cigarette when Iƒ??d fall off the wagon was absolutely wonderful, even the time when I quit for 10 months during pregnancy. I was shocked to find that after vaping (and not smoking) for only two weeks, the taste of a cigarette was actually repulsive. Iƒ??ve been smoking abstinent for more than four years now, and after somewhere around 1 year or so of vaping (and not smoking), my doctor told me that my overall physical condition is what she would expect of someone who had quit smoking for several years. (In other words, my physical condition was better than she would have expected of a former smoker of one year, even though I was vaping and using nicotine.) My sense of taste and smell started to improve within a few months. (I also use less salt and sugar in my foods now, which I attribute to my improved sense of taste.) Within several months of vaping (but not smoking), my smokerƒ??s cough was but a memory. My lung capacity improved rather remarkably, and at about six months, I was shocked to realize that I was able to take deep breaths without pain. My increased lung capacity allowed me to become more physically active, and now when I stop exercising, itƒ??s because Iƒ??m tiredƒ??not because I canƒ??t catch my breath. Iƒ??ve also noticed that I rarely get sick now that Iƒ??m vaping. Oh, Iƒ??ll sometimes get a cold, but it doesnƒ??t morph into some serious upper respiratory event like it did when I smoked. I used to have to get my teeth cleaned every 3-6 months as a smoker. Now, I go once a year, and the cleaning itself is much shorter. My dentist, who had seen me when I was smoking, was amazed at the difference. The other rather interesting thing about my vaping journey is that over time, without even being aware of it, I began to reduce the amount I vaped. When I first made the switch, I was vaping somewhere between 7 to 9 ml a day of 3.6% nicotine e-liquid. Now I still vape a 3.6% nicotine solution, but I typically use less than 1 ml a day. Interestingly enough, after a few years of vaping, I discovered that my body effectively self-regulated the amount of nicotine I’d use. For example, if I vape a 1.8% nicotine solution, I wind up vaping almost exactly twice the amount of liquid as I would vape at a 3.6% concentration. (At this point, I choose to use a higher concentration of nicotine in order to reduce the amount of liquid that I vape.) Early on, I deliberately tried to reduce my nicotine concentration, thinking that all things being equal, Iƒ??d prefer not to be dependent on nicotine. I got down to very low or no nicotine for several weeks, but found that I started getting a craving to smoke, which became more and more intense the longer I stayed at low/no nicotine. Obviously worried about the possibility of starting smoking again, I chose to increase my nicotine levels. Once I did so, my cravings for a cigarette ceased. Even though I am still nicotine dependent, I believe that over the course of time, that dependence has lessened. Not only has my nicotine intake decreased over time, but the length of time I can go without vaping is substantially longer than I could last in between cigarettes when I was a smoker. When I smoked, it wasnƒ??t at all unusual for me to wake up in the middle of the night craving a cigarette. When Iƒ??d wake up in the morning, the first thing Iƒ??d do is smoke a cigarette. Now that Iƒ??m vaping, I donƒ??t wake in the middle of the night, and when I wake in the morning, it might be a half hour or more before I pick up my e-cigarette, and even then, Iƒ??ll only take a few puffs (as opposed to smoking at least two cigarettes, often three, first thing in the morning when a smoker). Also interesting to note is that when I was a smoker, Iƒ??d ALWAYS finish the cigarette. In fact, itƒ??d sometimes take two to three cigarettes for me to feel comfortable after Iƒ??d gone for more than a few hours without smoking. With vaping, I can go several hours without discomfort, and then only a puff or two will relieve my discomfort. I’ve thought a lot about why e-cigarettes worked for me when nothing else did. I think part of it is, obviously, the similarity to smoking–holding something in my hand, bringing it to my mouth, inhaling and exhaling. I also think the ability to customize the experience has been extraordinarily helpful. I’ve tried many different devices and liquids over the years, and I finally found a combination that is completely satisfying. Also, the variety of flavors has helped enormously. I found that moving away from tobacco and menthol flavors into sweeter flavors (including fruits) helped mentally distance myself from my smoking habit. I also think that the ability to use my e-cigarette in places where smoking is not permitted helped, especially in the beginning, make vaping a more attractive alternative to smoking. In public, I typically vape discreetly, releasing no visible vapor upon exhale. In all my years of vaping, I’ve only had one negative encounter in public, and it wasn’t in a nonsmoking area. I was outdoors in an area where smoking was permitted, and a woman accused me of poisoning her, a rather outrageous claim in the base case since I was quite a bit of a distance from her. In fact, all of my interactions in public have been either neutral (no one even noticing or paying much attention) or positive (people wanting more information or congratulating me for no longer smoking). Not only has my health improved, allowing me to become more physically active, but it has also allowed me to participate more fully in family activities. Now I donƒ??t need to constantly excuse myself to go outside for some ƒ??fresh airƒ? (a rather ironic phrase for going outside for a smoke, I know). And best of all, there is no longer a source of tension within my family. Theyƒ??re all incredibly supportive of my vaping and thrilled that I am no longer smoking. In fact, my sister (a long-term smoker) was so impressed with my success with e-cigarettes that she decided to try them. While it took her longer to make the complete transition, she is now smoke free for more than a year using e-cigarettes. While I know it sounds rather dramatic, I firmly believe that vaping has not only saved my life, but it has also immeasurably improved the quality of my life.