I’m currently 21 years old, and I started smoking when I was 12, right around the time my dad died. The first way I thought I could cope with the loss was by doing the things he did, and so I started smoking Kool’s as a way to feel closer to him. I never did stop smoking, even after getting over the initial shock of his loss. I learned to cope without having to emulate him, but the smoking stuck with me all through 7th grade and all through High School, too, despite playing Football, Wrestling, and being involved with the Drama/Theater department. When I turned 18, the habit and addiction only got worse. Being able to get my own cigarettes, I went from one or two a day for six years to pack and a half, two packs, sometimes even three packs a day for the next three years. Up until I was 18, my family didn’t know I had picked up smoking, but the day of my birthday I always smelled like smoke, and needless to say so did my car and my clothes. My family encouraged me to quit smoking over these last three years, but I never could let it go. I liked it way too much to just put it down, so I tried a lot of things to quit. The patch didn’t work, the nicotine gum didn’t work (and quite frankly, it tasted horrible). While they did help me cut back on smoking cigarettes, I never could go more than two days on the patch and/or gum before buying another pack of smokes. I heard about e-cigarettes through my sister-in-law’s cousin, and her husband. They had made the switch to e-cigarettes, and not only did they quit smoking a carton a week a piece, they even got off nicotine. At first I thought it was too good to be true, but I had already gotten it in my head that I was going to quit, for my health as the main reason, and because I had a lot of people supporting me to do so. On November 30, 2012, I went out and bought a Blu kit from Walgreen’s without doing any research. I was doing fine the first few weeks, but I felt disappointed that the cartridges and the batteries didn’t last any where near what Blu claimed they would, and dealing with their customer service was always a hassle. I went back to analogs a few times during my period with Blu, and every time I did, the cigarettes I loved so much had tasted horrible for the first time since I started. It got to the point where Blu was costing me more than when I was smoking analogs, so I did some research on the internet knowing that better things were out there. As bad as my experience with Blu was, I do have to thank them for getting me into the vaping world. I’ve gone through three different kits of e-cigs, but once I found a quality product I haven’t smoked a tobacco cigarette since. I used cig-a-like batteries for about a month at 12mg nicotine, and then I transitioned into an eGo kit and stepped my nicotine up to 18mg. I went to Spinners/Twists after that, before finally getting myself an APV and mechanical with some rebuildable atomizers, but my nicotine concentration stayed at 18mg all the while. I can use 12mg without a problem, but I end up using more e-liquid with 12mg than with 18mg, and I tried to use zero nicotine e-liquid, but three days on zero nicotine e-liquid, I caved and bought a pack of Kool’s 100s. When I switched back to 18mg e-liquid, I didn’t touch the last half of that pack of Kool’s and threw it away. My mom is happy that I quit smoking, and so is the rest of my family. My brother doesn’t make me change my clothes every time I see him in Denver anymore, and his wife doesn’t have sneezing fits because the stench is still on my skin. I knew getting off analogs would be a big change for me, but it turns out it’s an even bigger change for my family. I am happier, my family is happier, I don’t get out of breath walking to the bathroom, I don’t get winded walking down the stairs of my house, or walking between classes on campus. I can walk for hours without breaking a sweat, and when I go to the gym, I’m not out of breath within 30 seconds on the treadmill, or halfway through my first set of weight training. I don’t wake up in the middle of the night to cough up phlegm, matter of fact I don’t even cough up phlegm anymore. I can breathe. I can smell better, and food tastes better. And since I have a niece on the way, I’ll be able to be around her without harming her with second hand smoke. I’ll be able to hold her and be around her, knowing that she won’t hate me for smelling like an ash tray. Mike Johnson 21 years old, Colorado Springs, CO, USA