I tried my first cigarette at a very young age. It was the summer between 3rd and 4th grade, I was 9 years old. By the time I turned 14, I was smoking a pack a day. By the time I turned 25 it was a pack and a half, and I was woken up every morning by non-stop coughing. I am 36 years old, and have not had a cigarette since February 4, 2012. I had tried almost every method of quitting in the past without success. My first attempts were cold turkey as I could never afford the over the counter quitting aids. Those first attempts never lasted more than a couple of days. My first attempt using a nicotine replacement therapy was the patch, and it worked for exactly two weeks. I tried SO hard to not give in to the cravings, but the patch just could not deliver the satisfaction of smoking. About a year after I tried the patch, I tried the gum. I didn’t even get through an entire day. A year or two later I tried the patch again, with less than successful results. Chantix became available shortly thereafter, and I tried it, but my wife begged me to quit taking it after two weeks because I had become very depressed. As soon as I quit taking the Chantix the depression disappeared completely. In 2010 a co-worker bought an e-cigarette kit off the internet, and let me try it. I was unimpressed to say the least. However, a electronic cigarette store opened in my area in 2011, and I decided to give e-cigarettes another chance. With a portion of my tax return I bought my first electronic cigarette kit from the local vendor. I used my e-cigarette at work exclusively the first week I had it. The first week I had my electronic cigarette I went from a pack and a half a day down to half a pack a day. The first day I went an entire shift without a single cigarette I went home, and told my wife, she too wanted an electronic cigarette after that. The second Saturday after I bought my electronic cigarette was the day I smoked my last cigarette, that was 1 year, 4 months, and 20 days ago. My dentist has commented on how much cleaner my teeth are, I no longer have to take my high cholesterol medicine, I competed in my first 5K, I have more energy, and I feel healthier than I ever have. Without my electronic cigarette none of that would have happened.