I was a smoker for 35 years. I don’t drink, I’ve never done drugs but, man, could I burn ’em up: 1 – 1 1/2 packs a day. And, while no one likes the smell and the burn holes in your good dress shirts etc., I LIKED smoking. If it wasn’t bad for me, I’d never have considered quitting. Over the years, I tried all the standard methods save prescription medication. Cold turkey, weaning down, gum, patches(gum AND patches), lozenges, stern talking to’s in the mirror, hypnosis, profanity, excess food consumption, reward/punishment, stamping feet, holding my breath until I turned blue, conniption fits–all of them. With virtually no success. I had decided that, despite being and educated and reasonably intelligent man, I was doomed to be smoker until it killed me. Finally, after hearing of e-cigarettes on the internet, I decided to give it another try. There were a couple of stops and starts finding the right device and e-liquid but eventually, I hit on the correct combination and, as of May 17, 2011, I’m cigarette free. That would never have happened without the easy availability of e-cigarettes. I felt better. I certainly smelled better. Within two weeks my breathing and stamina had noticeably improved and my doctor said my lung function tests were markedly better. My daughter was thrilled. I know scientists don’t put much stock in anecdotal evidence but I’m convinced my health is better and I know absolutely I would never have quit without e-cigarettes. Perhaps it won’t work for everyone but even if it only helps a few, it’s worth it. And, at the very least, it cannot be as harmful as tobacco cigarettes. My father, who was a 3 pack a day Old Gold smoker, quit the day I was born. As you can imagine, that caused me a lot of guilt when he expressed his disappointment over the years that I was a smoker. Fortunately, thanks to my e-cig, I was able to tell him I had quit about 6 weeks before he passed away. Dad was always almost irrationally proud of almost everything I did but to see him light up over that news was a truly humbling experience. And that would not have happened without e-cigarettes.