I’d like to begin with a message to the people who are so blindly and fanatically against eCigs. Leave us be, please. We are not the enemy, the devil, or criminals. We wish you no harm and don’t want to fight or argue. All we desire is the freedom to quit smoking (or even just enjoy vaping) without interference or condescension. If you do not like or approve of it, don’t surround yourself with it. I will likewise not crusade against you for not doing it, nor will I ever try and get your approval. Now then, my story. I was a pack+ per day smoker for over 20 years until January of this year (2013). I tried a few times over the years to kick the habit, never successfully for more than a couple of weeks. On the 21st of January I was taken to the hospital with severe abdominal pain which resulted in an emergency appendectomy. I of course wasn’t allowed to smoke for the six days I was there, and the nicotine patches the staff gave me seemed only to make me nauseous (anyone who’s ever had a stomach wound or surgery will know how painful vomiting is during this time). The same friend that took me to the hospital had been smoke-free for over a year, thanks to eCigs. He brought an extra eGo to me while I was still admitted, and believe it or not, the nurses/doctors allowed it. I couldn’t eat, drink (doctors orders) or even sit up without help, yet they let me vape. This in itself should be enough to hush the haters, but I know it won’t. After I was discharged I tried to smoke a cigarette from the pack I had before I was admitted. It was so awful I almost retched. I immediately ordered my own battery and the rest is smokeless history. I have graduated from pen-style batteries to DIY mods in the past few months, enjoying heightened senses of smell and taste, better stamina, not to mention a more pleasant personal aroma. On top of that, I’ve found a new hobby that has expanded my knowledge of electronic devices exponentially. How can all of these things be bad, for me, you or anybody? It is now September, and I am still a non-smoker. I have encouraged everyone I can to make the switch, without being belligerent about it or pressuring them. A few have tried. A few of those have succeeded. Please, leave us alone and let us choose a healthier lifestyle without belligerence or pressure from you. We all know that nicotine is an addictive toxin. So is alcohol. So are many pharmaceuticals. Yet these things are tolerated. Before you cry that they are also regulated, think of to what degree these things affect/alter the mind and/or body in comparison to nicotine. The answer is: there is no comparison. How many people have smoked or vaped, gotten in a car and killed themselves or others? How many marriages or lives in general has nicotine destroyed? Before retorting that cancer from smoking has killed millions, remember that we are trying to quit, and more importantly that nicotine itself is not the cancer causing agent. We don’t like smoking either. Let us kick it in our own way, in peace.