I smoked for 5 years like a madman, from age 17 to 22. I did not look into quitting, and then into electronic cigarettes, for health reasons – I was a Benson & Hedges addict and could not bear the $10-20 cost/day of cigarettes anymore. Also, my family was pressuring me to quit because of… all the obvious reasons. From age 19 to 22, I tried the accepted & proclaimed methods of quitting, starting with gums, then patches, then Champix. The gums and patches were big losers in my case, from all points of view. Champix was very efficient in terms of I really don’t care for a cigarette, but unfortunately I had to stop it because of the side effects (weird dreams and thoughts, depression, gastroesophageal reflux). I was going back to smoking tobacco cigarettes immediately after every attempt to quit, until I started e-smoking in February 2012. After several hours of research, I found an e-cig model that satisfied my needs at that moment – cigarette-resembling, not too expensive and not too good. Even though that model was very disappointing in terms of quality, it was enough for me to get the idea and realize that what I had in my hands really was the beginning of something great. I switched to a more advanced pen-style model and became, irreversibly, a full-time e-smoker. At first I was vaping a 24-mg e-liquid, then decreased to 18-mg. I am now fluctuating between the 18-mg strength and a 24-mg that I dilute myself to about 20-mg. I only vape tobacco flavours. Even though at first I was vaping and smoking at the same time, I liked to consider myself a full-time e-smoker nonetheless, because I was not smoking tobacco cigarettes out of pleasure (in fact, even the taste and smell of smoke were unpleasant to me), but because I had problems with that model and I had to have my nicotine. After I got a better model, I said ‘bye bye!’ to the tobacco cigarette definitively. Now, about the quality of my life since I started e-smoking… it’s indescribable. I honestly feel today that it changed my life and I regret not getting an e-cigarette the second I heard about them (it took me more than a year of meditation… before actually buying one). As I mentioned previously, I did not switch for health reasons, but for monetary reasons; however, it is impossible not to see an amelioration in your health status after a few months – no more sneezing lungs, perfect smell and taste (unfortunately, sometimes :)), I sleep better, I can concentrate better, I lost a few kgs because being physically active is not hard anymore, etc. Also, I had two surgeries – unrelated to smoking or vaping: one when I was smoking and one when I was e-smoking. The first one (light surgery) took looong to heal and I now have terrible scars; the second one (hard surgery) healed so fast that my surgeon said I probably have Superman’s genetic material (yeah, he was probably right). The funny part is that after the second surgery I was so bored of staying in bed all day that I was literally vaping non-stop (i.e a LOT more than I normally do). After this experience, I opened an online e-cigarette business (a few weeks ago) because I KNOW these little electronic devices are… life-changing. (I will not provide the link because this story is not for commercial reasons, but the plain truth about how e-cigarettes helped me do something I thought was impossible almost 2 years ago – stop polluting my body with tobacco cigarettes). If you are a smoker… don’t be stupid. And, most importantly, do not let newspapers shape your opinion – unless you know on whose payroll they are. Read independent studies and forums, and get yourself an electronic cigarette as soon as you can. There are plenty of online stores, and some of them actually have good products. You just have to do a little bit of research beforehand. If you need help or have questions, send me an e-mail at no.wisdom.teeth@gmail.com and I will give you advice. Remember – I was in your shoes, not long ago. Cheers, C.S.