I wanted to take this opportunity to share my story with anyone who will listen. I started smoking when I was in college. It was just as stupid for me to start as it is for anyone else, but doubly so because I was a vocal major, and I knew it would eventually end up harming my voice. I thought just one or two wouldn’t be a big deal…it’s not like I’m addicted or anything. I was a social smoker for a couple of years, reaching up to 1/2 pack a day at my worst, so when I became pregnant with my first child, it wasn’t too difficult to quit cold turkey. I did not start back until she was a few months old. By the time I became pregnant with my second child, I was up to a pack a day. It was much harder to quit, but I knew I had to for the good of my child. (I would sneak one here and there, but it made me feel too guilty.) After she was born, it wasn’t a week before I started smoking again. Slowly over the years, as my health declined, I smoked more and more. I used the nicotine to help with chronic pain, but ironically, it was ruining my health even more. I had asthma, I woke up every morning with headaches, I had frequent upper respiratory infections, and what is even worse to me, I had lost my singing voice. I smoked up to 2 packs a day for over 20 years! Every time I tried to quit, the withdrawal symptoms were so bad that I would start right back up. I tried quitting with nicotine gum, but chewing it hurt my jaws and it tasted nasty. Then I tried with nicotine patches, but they did absolutely nothing to reduce my cravings because they only addressed one aspect of the behavior of smoking. Skip forward to 3 months ago. I finally decided to try something my mom had used to quit 2 years ago…an e-cigarette. Just to be sure that it was something I could do, my family bought me a disposable Blu from a convenience store. I tried it and thought that it was awesome…almost exactly like smoking. I was still smoking my Marlboro lights, but when questioned about why, I realized that the only reason I had was that I didn’t want my Blu to run out. I really liked it much better than the cigarette because it was giving me the same sensations, but without the guilt. That was when I gave up smoking for good. We bought me an eGo-C Twist and some clearomizers. I chose flavors I wanted to try, and found over time that I didn’t even like the taste of tobacco anymore. Now, I prefer the bakery flavors. I always get 16mg or 18mg strength juice. I upgraded recently to a Vamo and a cardomizer. I will never go back to smoking again. Every excuse for not quitting gets thrown out the window, when you have an alternative that addresses every facet of the addiction. Vaping allows me to get the same pleasure and relaxation that cigarettes did, without all the harmful side effects. I have not had one upper respiratory infection since I started. I don’t wheeze and cough like I used to, and the coolest part was when both my daughters told me that my singing voice is coming back! So please listen: If you are a smoker…there is a way out. You don’t have to slowly self-destruct. Vaping may well have saved my life, and if I can do it, anyone can. If you are a lawmaker or someone who has the power to make sure the vaping industry stays in the hands of independent people and not big tobacco, please please make your voice heard. We the people must take our health back.