I wanted to think about and retell my story…let’s see…I can give you a long and a short version…so here we go…. The short version… I am a 45 year old married Caucasian female living in south central Florida. I have two elementary school age children, a girl and a boy, as well as an adult daughter who has given me two toddler age grand children. I smoked for 25+ years and moved from smoking cigarettes to a personal vaporizer in February of 2014. As a result of this switch, I feel better about myself and healthier. The long and detailed version… I relocated to a new area and a new school when I was 13 years old. I had a hard time fitting in at school and somehow wound up in a group of outcasts…kids who didn’t fit in anywhere else. In an attempt to find myself and to fit in, I started to steal cigarettes from my father’s packs and bring them to school and smoke…intending to be cool. (what a silly assumption) By the time I was 15, I had a pack a day habit. Usually stealing packs from stores or my father’s cartons…finding someone to buy them for me or even smoking butts out of other people’s ashtrays. (yup disgusting) At 16, I started working after school and was able to purchase them myself. I remember buying them for 75 cents a pack in the beginning. When the first price increase happened and a pack jumped to $1.00, I can still hear myself saying, If they go up again, I won’t smoke anymore. (BTW, the last pack I bought was just under $6.00) My life went on and it seemed that the only drawback to smoking was financial. At that time you could smoke on planes, trains, in restaurants , hotels, parks, beaches and just about everywhere! My father had always had a terrible cough and got winded easily, as I can remember. When I was in my early 20’s my father went to the hospital because of chest pains. He came home and said that the doctor’s had found a suspicious area on a chest x-ray. He then threw the remainder of his carton of cigarettes and his lighter in the garbage and he suggested I do the same. (Being the Rebel that I am…I fished his stuff out of the garbage can and continued to smoke.) On a side note…my father never returned to smoking, but the damage was already done. As I type this, his is still alive and kicking, but has COPD and gets so tired and winded that he cannot function as he feels he should be able to at his age. Mainly he attributes this to his history of smoking. My older sister and myself, who both lived at home were banned from smoking indoors and in the vehicles. The smoking bans were happening everywhere…second hand smoke was the big news and yet, I continued to smoke. My father would constantly tell us that we would regret it and that we should stop smoking now before we hurt ourselves more. We continued to smoke. Flash forward to my mid 20’s … I continued to smoke, now up to two packs a day and menthol flavored. I started feel alienated because of the smoking bans and then I found out I was pregnant. I tried desperately to quit smoking under the pressure of my family and my doctor. The inevitable truth that I lacked the will power and determination to quit led me to severe depression. It was a vicious cycle. I would try to quit, fail, get depressed, smoke more, try to quit. I was the first time in my life that I realized that I was hopelessly addicted! I tried hypnosis and acupuncture in an effort to quit smoking and neither provided much relief. The effects lasting hours or days at the most. I was able to cut back to about a pack a day through my pregnancy and eventually gave birth to a 5lb. 10 oz. baby. Low birth weight, but otherwise healthy. Fast forward a few more years… court dates, custody hearings, single parenting…my smoking reach an all time high of 2 and a half pack a day. I continued on like this for years. Hating myself because I couldn’t quit but just resolving myself to the fact that I would be one of those people that turn their oxygen tank off to go light a cigarette. (Sad, but I have met a few in my day.) Moving on to my thirties. Marriage and two more babies. Both of which I smoked my entire pregnancy. During this period of my life was a true eye opener to me. My husband had lost both of his parents to smoking related illnesses. His constant harassing of me, made me try to quit again. This time, I tried the patch and the gum. Both of which provided minimal relief of the withdrawal symptoms. The gum had a horrible taste and stuck to my dental work. The patches made me nauseous. Although I was able to sustain from smoking for two weeks, I returned to them on the third week. Actually doing on the sly. Hiding it from my husband, friends and family. A few months later, I tried laser surgery…all I can say there is I am glad I had the extra money to waste. Around age 35 I started noticing things about my health. I tired easily and woke up every morning coughing. Reminded me of my father. I talked to my doctor and we went over my history. Every year for the past few years in February or March I have had a severe upper respiratory infection, bronchitis, sinus infections and had been feeling run down. We attributed these problems as well as my dental problems to my long term smoking habit. I tried with earnest to quit Cold Turkey. After about a week, my husband told me either go buy a pack of cigarettes or file for divorce. He did not care which, but to do one of them TODAY! My withdrawal symptoms had me yelling at the kids and at him for no reason. I was miserable, they were miserable and he was miserable! So back to the smoking! At last we reach the present year…my 9 year old daughter had a Girl Scout function that we were both attending. We were to be locked in a mall overnight from 8pm to 5 am for a slumber party. There were 2500 girls registered to attend. I know there was NO WAY I was going to make it through the night without smoking. So, without any intentions of quitting smoking, I purchased an electronic cigarette with menthol liquid to get me through the night. I figured that I could use it at times when it was difficult to smoke, like in the rain, in the vehicles and the like. I survived the night and I was rushing to light a cigarette on the way to the car in the morning. I had lunch the next day with a friend, that also uses an electronic cigarette. We were discussing them and the types that were out there. She asked me why I was using menthol flavoring. I told her because that is what I smoke. She asked me why vape the flavor of something that you are trying to put in your past? She took me to a vape shop and had me try out some flavors. I bought several different ones. I had two packs of cigarettes stashed in the car, but I was really giving the electronic one a chance. I found over the course of the next week, that I would crave a cigarette, but half way through it, I was craving the flavor from the electronic cigarette. I gave away a pack and a half of cigarettes in the second week and have not looked back since! (Go Me!!) To conclude my story, I want to let you know what I have discovered since I started vaping and where my life has gone. First and foremost, medically. I guess I did not realize how bad I had gotten until symptoms started to alleviate. I no longer cough every morning or during the night. I have not had a sinus, respiratory or ear infection, which I have had EVERY February or March for 5 years. My skins appearance is improving. I sleep better. I do not wease at night when lying down. I do not huff and puff after being groceries in from the vehicle. I do not tired as easily. Both my family doctor and my spinal surgeon have applauded my efforts in switching to the electronic cigarette. Secondly, environmentally. I do not feel looked down upon by others. I do not feel alienated. I feel triumphant and empowered. I have people ask me every day about vaping and I am proud to tell my story of how I kicked the habit. My husband, my parents, my children and most of I am very proud of the accomplishment I have made. Had it not been for various flavors and the ability to try them out, I cannot say if this would have worked for me. I am constantly trying new equipment and flavors. I have several of my friends vaping right along with me and I cannot imagine not having these products available to me!