I began smoking very young, more than 30 years ago. At 12 years old, it was 1 or 2 cigarettes a day, by 16 years old it was a pack a day. In my 20’s, I tried to stop cold turkey – didn’t last a day. In my 30’s, I tried to quit using patches – that lasted all of 3 days. In my 40’s, I tried using nicotine gum – that was great for business meetings and air flights, but didn’t keep me off of cigarettes, I just ended up adding nicotine gum along with my tobacco cigarettes as my delivery method and ended up addicted to both and using both each day. In my late 40’s, my PCP recommended Chantix; I researched that drug and decided that I really didn’t want my brain chemistry to be affected as drastically as Chantix is shown to do. My neurologist recommended e-cigarettes – I hadn’t even considered them, and knew nothing about them. I researched, and made the plunge. What an amazing difference! I placed an order online, and while waiting for them to arrive, bought a few disposables. Over the few days it took for the rechargeables to arrive, i used the disposables interspersed with my remaining tobacco cigarettes. Then, when my rechargables arrived, I threw away my remaining tobacco cigarettes, switched to 100% vaping and have been smoke-free since then – 4.5 months! I now make my own e-liquid so that I am sure of the ingredients and their purity/safety, and will never go back to tobacco cigarettes! I know that my health is better since stopping smoking and switching to vaping, and I will never smoke tobacco again. I have also convinced my husband and 2 friends to stop smoking and switch to vaping, and all of them are in better health by doing so. I started vaping at 36mg strength – that’s what it took to equal the 1.5 packs cigarettes per day plus 10-12 pieces of 4mg nicotine gum per day level that my addiction had reached. Now, 4.5 months into vaping (with no cigarettes or nic gum) I am down to 12mg strength, alternated with 0mg strength, liquid. That’s the benefit of making my own liquid – I can adjust the strength at will to get to the amount that’s right for my body at the time. I love vaping, and I consider myself a lifelong vaper. Even if I drop down to 0mg liquid full time (at which point it will be purely recreational and not subject to ANY state, local or federal legislation) I will continue to flavor my FDA-approved VG and PG bases with FDA-approved food flavorings and vape the resultant liquid blend to my heart’s content and no ‘secondhand bystander’s’ detriment – not that there is any detriment to bystanders proven at all! And yes – I both vape and drive, and vape in front of my child and grandchild. When it comes down to it, given the two alternatives, I’d much prefer my granchild vape than smoke – smoking kills, vaping doesn’t. To me, it’s a no brainer that that should be the proverbial ‘end of story’.