My name is Loraine Weirich, and I have been smoking 35 years. For the last 10 years I smoked a popular brand of Ultra Lite 100s cigarettes, about, oh I guess ?? of a pack a day on average. I have never wanted to quit smoking. I like the inhale and exhale, seeing the smoke, and having something between my fingers. I first heard about ecigarettes about a year ago. I was very skeptical. So I just ignored them. Then my husband (a pack a day smoker, at least) just up and bought a ecigarette. I still didnƒ??t want to try it. It could never replace a cigarette! But one evening he blew some strawberry smoke in my face. Wow, this was not what I expected. It wasnƒ??t harsh, smelled great, had a lot of smoke, and it didnƒ??t bother me (even being a smoker, secondhand smoke always bothered me). Well, that was enough for me to actually try it myself. It seemed a little different at first. My lungs were not used to the different type of ƒ??smokeƒ? in my lungs. But I liked the flavor, and it had a normal amount of ƒ??smokeƒ?. If I could not get the visual of seeing the smoke or cloud (as I like to call it now), there would have been no way I would have kept using it. So, I started on the journey of using a ecigarette. I still smoked, but not quite as much. I was slowly learning the benefits of the ecigarette. No burning leaves, no tar, I could use it in the house! Previously after living in a apartment for many years, then vacating, I saw (and paid) for the effects of smoking indoors. The apartment had to have a special paint to get rid of all the grime and smell from the smoke. After that I have never smoked indoors. So, along comes the ecigarette, no tar, nothing to gunk up the walls and permeate every piece of furniture (including TVs, fans, DVD player, and computers). This was wonderful! I could use my ecigarette (vape) indoors. Another advantage I like is my lungs are getting better. I donƒ??t have smokers cough anymore and am able to ƒ??exerciseƒ? my lungs by taking bigger breaths (when not vaping). This helps to make exercising easier and more pleasant. I experimented with different types of batteries, cartomizers, clearomizers, and flavors. I got the flavor I liked first (strawberry/melon) the rest I am still working on. All through this process, I find myself smoking a cigarette less and less. So now after about 8 months after my first experience with a ecig, I am down to around 2 or 3 cigarettes a day. So, maybe in another couple of months (I think I need to do more research on voltage, amps, mAh, stuff like that) I am pretty confident my actual smoking will reduce more, and ultimately end completely.