Greetings Readers, My name is Edwin Bruce Jaques. I am a 43 year old maintenance technician for a 400+ unit apartment complex in Florida, and, I am a vaper. Once, I WAS a smoker. A HEAVY smoker. No longer. I smoked 2 packs a day from a name brand cigarette company ( Newport specifically ) for almost 25 years. Nearly one year ago ( July 2nd, 2013 to be exact ), I purchased my first ecig. My roommate had purchased hers 2 months previous, and I laughed at her.That will NEVER work!!! I chided and teased her. I myself have tried the patch, the gum, and even antidepressants that suppossedly helped others to quit. They never worked. This ecig thing won’t work for her I thought. Boy was I wrong. I watched her for the next 8 weeks, still skeptical, as she slowly reduced the number of cigarettes she smoked after she got off of work ( as those were the only one I could WATCH her smoke ), till the night before I purchased mine, I asked her if she wanted to come out after dinner and have a smoke with me like we had done nightly since I moved in with her. Nah. was her simple reply. I was STUNNED !!! Wait. What? I asked myself internally How can you NOT HAVE A CIG AFTER DINNER? I pondered this outside, not WANTING to realize the answer. I walked in after finishing my cigarette, just as my roomie let a strawberry scented plume of vapor waft up into the air. I was sold. July 2nd, 2013, I went to a local brick and mortar vape shop, and purchased my first device, ( the Innokin MVP v1 ), a large capacity tank to hold my eliquid ( a Vivi Nova Tank ), and a 30ml bottle of coffee flavored ejuice ( 32mg nicotine strength ). First, I was stunned by the ejuice. IT TASTED FANTASTIC! FAR better than my normal mentholated fare. It gave me that feeling in the back of my throat ( a term I now know as throat hit ) just like a cigarette did. Second, the devices I purchased had enough intriguing aspects about them to make the tech geek that I am, giddy with delight. So many things to figure out. How does this work? Why does this work THIS WAY? How long will my batteries last? So many questions, and all the associated fun stuff involved with learning something new. That ALWAYS excites me. Second, although the inital cost was fairly expensive (Just under $80), It wasnt much more expensive than what I paid for a carton of my cigarettes ( about $65 ).I was satified with my purchase, my flavor, and off I went, determined to kick this habit. I got home, and with a almost feverish need to learn as much as I could, I POURED through the internet finding NUMEROUS information sources on the subject of devices, juices, atomizers, batteries, drip tips, wicking, and MANY other aspects. I was AMAZED at the WEALTH of information out there on the subject. I had so much to learn, and with each day I didn’t smoke cigarettes, I had more time to learn it in. Which, as Ive already stated, always excites me. I absorbed it all, sitting in front of my computer, puffing away happily. So began my journey into vaping, and here I am, nearly one year later, tobacco free. It took me until March of 2014 to slowly reduce my nicotine strength from the intial 32mg I started at ( which I have come to find out is REALLY high ) to 0mg. Though it took me nearly a year to be free of my nicotine dependance, I found the transition from 32mg, to 24mg, to 18mg, to 12mg, to 6mg, and finally, to 0mg to be a smooth, flavorful, and STRESS FREE progression, which was a HUGE relief, since every other method Ive tried has NEVER worked, much LESS, been stress free. I also found in this revelation filled experience, that not only could I breath again, was more energetic at work, and didn’t wake up every morning hacking and coughing up green/grayish lumps of nastiness, I discovered that some of my senses were getting better. My sense of taste slowly came back, which shocked me, and made me ASTOUNDINGLY happy. I am, and always have been, quite the foodie. The revelation of my slowly re-emerging sense of taste was quite an awe inspring moment in my life. I began to realize that there was a whole new world of flavors, who’s complexity, sadly, I had been unaware of. Foods that I was INTIMATELY knowledgeable about, and THOUGHT I knew everything about, were MUCH richer in flavor. There was the most amazing tasting meals coming out of my kitchen due to my gaining palate, most that I had eaten or cooked dozens, if not HUNDREDS, of times that had entirely new subtle nuances. Nuances that I would have never become aware of, and were completely new to me. As someone who enjoys food as much as myself, having full usage of the 2 senses that determine how food tastes is, obviously, quite important. That brings me to the OTHER revelation that burgeoned in my vapor filled journey. My sense of SMELL. Let me tell you, not only did the GOOD smells become clearer, so did the BAD ones. One particularly significant incident comes to mind. My girlfriend of 14 years and myself were going to see a movie, something we do often. We went to the box office, got our tickets for the next show, giving ourselves time to grab dinner ( that way we don’t spend a BILLION dollars on consessions ) and headed over to our nearby regular little restaurant. The entrance of our little pre movie bistro is a few outside storefronts down from the box office, and tickets in hand, we strolled down the sidewalk, surrounded by other people walking in numerous directions, on their way to whatever activity they had planned. An older gentleman some 10 feet or so ahead of us stopped, stooped against the light wind blowing, lifted a cigarette to his lips and, cupping his hands around it momentarily, lit it. He puffed at it for a moment to get it started, then took his initial drag. He blew the smoke out, smiled, and continued on his way, leaving myself and my lady to walk through the resulting cloud he left behind. I nearly gagged. The smell was ATROCIOUS. I waved the cloying scent away, and IMMEDIATELY turned to my lady and APOLOGIZED for that HORRIBLE smell that I had exposed her to for the previous 13 years. She smiled, gave me a soft kiss, and said Its ok. I love you baby. Besides, you smell WAY better now. I blinked in disbelief, she grinned, and off we went to enjoy our night, with me silently scratching my head, deep in thought, as we walked into the restaurant. I couldn’t stop thinking about that smell all through the movie. Was THAT what I smelled like all this time? What about my clothes? My breath? My apartment? My car? I was ASHAMED. As soon as we got home, I apologized to ALL my long time friends for subjecting them to my bad habit, and relayed the above story to them as well. They all forgave me, and wished me luck and love in my efforts to quit smoking. That overwhelming positivity just reinforced my want to get rid of my dependance to nicotine. Its something I think about every time I get a whiff of cigarette smoke now. It always makes me shudder to be honest, and always serves as a reminder of what I DO NOT want to do again. The recent FDA propossals to regulate ecigs and ejuice have me quite frightened. Vaping is something I BELIEVE in. It worked for me. It has enriched my life, and even now, though I have completely broken the cycle of addiction to cigarettes AND nicotine, continue to vape. I ENJOY the flavor, the comraderie of my fellow vapers, and the pride I feel everytime I press that button. I DID IT! There is NO feeling like that ANYWHERE. Thank you for reading my testimonial. I hope my words reach you readers, and you weigh them carefully. Sincerely, Edwin Bruce Jaques