I have not smoked in 5 years, this is all due to vaping. I’m Andrew and I am 48. I’m a veteran of 6 years active duty us army as an aircraft electrician, then after an honorable discharge from service I went back to school to become a registered nurse. I studied at middle Georgia college in Cochran Georgia, graduated with honors in the top of my class. I went on and passed boards in 1997 and have worked in the medical field ever since. I currently work at a Magnet facility in Macon Georgia, it is a level 1 trauma center and a teaching facility. It’s one of the largest and most progressive hospitals in my state. I started smoking as a teenager, my dad smoked and I would take a few from his pack when he wasn’t looking. I was very secretive because I was an athlete as well and I didn’t want anyone knowing. I guess I did it out of mere curiosity initially, but I enjoyed the buzz, so occasionally I would indulge. As I became an older teen the frequency became more and I started choosing friends who also smoked so I didn’t feel left out. By the time I was 17 I had dropped out of all competitive sports, was working and smoking daily. I couldn’t hide it any longer and my parents knew. I don’t recall having any difficulty whatsoever getting cigarettes from stores or vending machines were still in restaurants, this was 1985. Anyway, I joined the Army for the college funds because I dropped out of sports and lost all potential for a swimming scholarship. While in boot camp they didn’t allow us to smoke, but it didn’t completely stop us. We would sneak and buy a pack or two from the PX when our drill sergeant wasn’t looking and get together and smoke one at night hanging out of the 4th story window in the barracks so as not to have the odor alert the authority. I was caught a few times by my sergeant but it never made me want to stop. I remember the day I graduated from boot camp, but I don’t recall the ceremony. I remember them saying if you got em, smoke em and everyone digging into their pockets and firing up the long awaited, uninterrupted, relaxing smoke we had been dying to have for 10 weeks! It was magic. Time marched on I never felt like quitting smoking until I was in college, but there were still others who smoked, so I just teamed up with them and continued on. I remember feeling a good bit of shame when I was accepted to the Nursing program and was expected to exemplify the principles of a health conscious person and I was a smoker. I pushed that thought down for many years. My first job was in oncology and I think it was karma. I got to treat end stage cancer patients with chemo and a great many of them had been or were still smokers. I told myself that I was going to quit smoking someday soon. I was still saying that nearly 10 years later in 2006 when I first attempted to quit smoking. I was beginning to notice that I was getting short of breath with activity and I had become increasingly sedentary. I wanted to get in shape because I was nearly 40 and I was beginning to understand that I was mortal. I had children by this point as well, my father had died from cardiovascular disease directly related to smoking and I wanted to change. I chose to use the patch and use snacks for oral fixation. I ate a billion bags of twizzlers and wore my patch religiously. No one else in my life smoked and I had great support. I lasted about 3 weeks and I was back smoking. From that point forward I attempted to quit unsuccessfully for 5 years. I used every available smoking cessation tool in the pharmacy. I used Zyban, patches, gums, inhaler, and finally Chantix. Most of them more than once. I could actually quit smoking for a month or two, but I always gave in and returned to smoking. I still enjoyed the effects of the cigarette but I knew it was going to kill me, I KNEW it. I’m not a dumb person, in fact I have been recognized as an expert in my field and was well respected by my peers as a valuable asset and resource. Why couldn’t I do one simple thing like quit smoking? By 2011 I had basically given up trying and I had been rolling my own cigarettes for about 2 years because I felt less withdrawal symptoms from coming off natural tobacco and I knew that the tobacco companies were spraying chemicals on their tobacco to prevent fires I guess. The cigarette would go out in your hand if you stopped puffing. So by 2011 I had basically given up trying to quit. My wife had given up coaxing me as well, she was tired of the disappointment. I’m not sure how I came across it, but I saw an ad online for an electronic cigarette. I had a friend at work that said he used one from time to time, but I had been skeptical and I never tried it. Although expensive, I ordered a kit. It came with 2 batteries and 5 cartridges. I ordered some extra cartridges in different flavors too just to see what they were like. I didn’t know if ecigs were safe but I knew it probably couldn’t be any worse than my smoking, so what the hell. I figured I could use them some at work to keep from having to go out so often to smoke. The number 7 kit arrived and I naturally got right into it out of curiosity. I had been doing some research on it prior to arrival and realized by this point that there was no burning component, so it was going to be a safer alternative from that standpoint as far as I knew. I got it charged and ready. Following the instructions I took my first few drags. I immediately knew that it was much more than just a get by situation. I puffed again watching the vapor come out in astonishment. I had what I would call a life changing experience. Yes it was not as satisfying as a cigarette, yes it was foreign and bizarre, but I sensed that it definitely had the potential to serve the need as a replacement for what I had been hopelessly addicted to for over 25 years. I decided to try to quit smoking again using this little thing. I had some success over the next few weeks, but it was temperamental. Sometimes the atomizer didn’t work well, the battery life wasn’t good, the overall design was just not good at all and I know that now. I struggled and I smoked some. I finally realized that although it had great potential for success until I could find something more dependable I wasn’t going to be able to stop smoking. I finally gave up on that device, but it had kept my smoking at bay long enough that I continued to not smoke temporarily. About 2 weeks later I had a serious craving, I went to my truck to go get some smokes. My wife followed me out begging me to reconsider and not do it, but I wasn’t hearing it. So she said, why don’t you just get another ecig? She had seen one for sale at a local gas station and I agreed to give it a shot. I was tired of disappointing her. We drove down and I purchased this disposable ecig. I puffed and puffed till my nicotine level was good and I felt relaxed, it worked! Before we drove away, she made me go back in and buy about 5 more it was probably over 100 dollars but it was worth it. I told her I was going to find one that worked better and I was going to quit smoking for real. When we went home I got online and started researching. I found ECF, I found MAD VAPES. I ordered a rough stack that used an 18650 battery and some SMOK cartomizers that other consumers recommended. I ordered a battery charger and a bunch of liquids. I dragged through the couple days on the gas station ecigs until my vaporizer arrived without smoking. When my new gear arrived I set it all up and took a puff. Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable. This vaporizer had the power and performance I needed to get over the hump and I knew it. That was July of 2011 and I haven’t smoked since. I continue to vape, but I use 3mg and less nic liquid and I’m happy with that. The progress of the industry has allowed me to step down the nicotine level because of the increased efficiency of the vaporizers of today. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will never return to smoking as long as vaping is an alternative. My health has improved dramatically from 5 years ago and I am never short of breath. I’m very lucky to have found vaping when I did. I feel like it’s what I needed all along, and I have been able to persuade many others to make it a part of their lives as an alternative to smoking as well. I’m sharing my testimony in hopes that it will help keep vaping as a viable alternative to smoking. To make it unattainable or to destroy the technological advances made in the past few years would be a catastrophe of major proportions. There are still many who depend on vape stores and it’s their lifeline. I think that limiting it severely would cause many people to return to smoking and an untimely demise. I sincerely hope that this is helpful. Andrew