I started smoking cigarettes when I was 18, I’m now 36. I tried to give up the first time about 6 years ago after seeing my aunt with severe breathing problems and noticing my mother start to sound the same. I tried patches that time and lasted almost a month, but after going out drinking with friends one night I started again. Then about 3 years ago I saw a doctor who put me on Champix(I think that was the name, here in Australia). That time I was determined to stop for good after the death of my grandfather from lung cancer. It worked a lot better then the patches but again I failed. I tried to cut down, tried to ween myself off, tried only smoking after meals and before bed and tried cold turkey. For a short amount of time these things would work,or my determination would keep me a way from them, but in the end I would start smoking again. Every time I failed, my self confidence would take a beating and I seemed to smoke more than before. After trying hypnosis, and failing, my Mum tried electronic cigarettes. Her and my step father have been using them for over a year and got me a starter pack on October 14 2012. The pack contained 2 ego batteries and 3 clearomizers and they also got me some tobacco flavoured nicotine which was 1.8%(or 18mg as we refer to it now) and I haven’t had a smoke since that day. Now my mum sounds like a human,and not Darth Vader, and my girlfriend hasn’t had a real cigarette for 6 months. I have not felt this healthy since I started smoking. I no longer wheeze and cough, and my teeth look and feel much better. As sad as it sounds to outsiders we have our own little club, We get together every few months and talk bout flavours and hardware. When I was trying to quit, I couldn’t go out to a bar/pub as I would always end up smoking again after a few drinks. This has given me a social life and the opportunity to meet new people from all walks of life. I don’t think I could ever have quit smoking without these products and while I still wish I had never started smoking in the first place, this is the best alternative I’ve tried. Cory