I started smoking at the age of 14. It was a typical case for me and other kids in the same area, we saw the older kids smoking at the school bus stop and wanted to be as cool as them. This lead me to be a pack a day smoker for many years. I never really saw a problem with it as I figured that it only affected me and no one else. I tried to quit several times using various methods, but it never stuck. Then I got married and had kids. My wife always wanted me to quit but never pushed me too hard. When we had kids she stepped up her efforts to get me to quit. I had my son in 2010 and wanted to quit for him and my family. I did quick research and found a rather well known electronic cigarette company. I was thrilled that I found what I needed to quit smoking, however I started smoking again after a short while as my initial experience was riddled with problems. My batteries started being troublesome and the nicotine wasn’t strong enough to keep me off of analogs. Then I had my daughter in 2013 and did more research into which electronic cigarette companies had the best customer satisfaction. It took a while for me to find what I was looking for but that lead me to the second fairly well known electronic cigarette company. It was mid-June and Minnesota just announced their cigarette tax increase, and that was the final death knell. I purchased my starter kit and made a promise to myself that, come July 1st I would never again buy or use cigarettes. I was successful. All the patches, the gums and any other method I used never worked but this did. I have been smoke free for nearly six months and, while I do still get the occasional small craving here or there, I don’t plan on going back. I have since done more research and found better and more user friendly products. I can order a myriad of different flavors and adjust the power of vaporization to suit my needs. The most important thing out of all of this is that my wife and children no longer have a stinky dad that smells like smoke and, although I never smoked around my kids or never let them see me smoke, they don’t have the propensity for the health effects that go along with having a parent that smokes. I feel better, I can smell better, I can taste things better. I only wish I could have quit sooner, not 14 years later. There is no way I can say enough good things about vaping but it works for me.