I started smoking cigarettes when I was 18, mostly due to peer pressure and going to college. I was hooked instantly, it was a way for me to get away from whatever I was doing and take a break, and they went well with alcohol. Dumb, I know but I don’t regret it it was a very enjoyable couple years of my life. After college I tried to quit but once in the workforce found that it was a great way to get away from my desk and socialise with other people. As the years went on I started noticing my health declining. In high school I was a State level swimmer and had broken several school records, but now I couldn’t swim a lap without feeling completely winded. So what did I do, I quit swimming and working out all together. That started my weight gain which increased my lack of activity which inevitably lead to depression and anxiety. I met my wife, a non-smoker, who didn’t say anything about the smoking until we wanted to have children. I tried everything to quit including the patch, gum, lozenges and Chantix. None of them worked as I would still find myself smoking while using these product, and the Chantix just made me angry. My wife started nagging me about the effects of smoking. She was afraid I would get cancer or emphysema. I told her that it wasn’t as easy as just quitting and she new the other methods were not working. She got pregnant and gave birth to twins, a boy and girl, and I was still smoking. I kept smoking and every time I looked at them I thought about how much of a toll the smoking was taking not only health wise but financially. On March 17th 2013 I bought my first disposable e-cig. It was mostly purchased as a convenience as we were going on a long trip and I knew that the plane ride was going to be a bitch without a fix and the place we were going I wouldn’t have access to purchase cigs. I liked the taste of the ecig I purchased but it didn’t last as long as advertised and by the end of the trip I found a place to buy cigs and was smoking again, but didn’t forget about the ecig. In April of 2013 I told myself that I would quit smoking before my birthday and new the only way that would work for me was with ecigs. I did a lot of research online about the different types and decided to buy a starter kit from an online store. This was great but now I was at the mercy of running out of juice and that’s when I found that there was a local store dedicated to the sale of ecigs and juice. I made a trip there, talked with a very knowledgeable employee. From that day forward I have tasted over 100 different flavors, learned about the different delivery methods and have found that I prefer Menthol/Mint and Cinnamon flavored juices using a cartomizer as it produces the best taste and vapor for me. I haven’t bought a pack of smokes in over 4 months and have cut the cost of my habit by roughly 3/4. My wife no longer complains, and actually likes that I don’t smell like smoke. She let’s me vape in the house as the smell is minimal, as long as I don’t vape in the same room as the kids as we both don’t want them to get hooked on nicotine. I can run and play with my children without needing a break to catch my breath. My skin color has returned to a normal color, I feel less tired and have lost a ton of weight because I can now run and swim without feeling like I’m dying. I like the act of vaping, I don’t have plans to quit anytime soon but I am slowly decreasing the amount of nicotine in my favorite juices and haven’t had an issue with that.