I began smoking regularly when I was 18 years old. I was in the Army and our country was entering into Operation Desert Storm at the time. The idea of smoking made me feel like less of a child as I prepared for war (I was, after all only 18) I soon found it to be a valuable mood stabilizer as I was faced with issues I was in no way emotionally prepared to face. I remained a pack-a-day smoker for most of my adult life while attempting to quit every few years or even months over the span of more than 20 years with no long term success. * My first attempts to quit were when nicotine patches were a new thing. I had some limited success with these and quit for approximately 3 months at a time 2 or 3 times using this method in my early to mid twenties. I would ultimately start smoking again at first gradually, one or two cigarettes ‘bummed’ at a bar with friends until I would eventually buy a pack and resume my pack a day habit. * The next thing I tried was Wellbutrin/Zyban. This drug made me sleepy and anxious at the same time and did nothing to curb my desire to smoke. After about a month of Zyban, I quit the drug without ever altering my smoking habits. * Then I tried hypnosis. I had a cigarette within ten minutes of waking up and even remember smoking while listening to one of the meditation tapes that were handed out as supplemental support material. Again, I enjoyed no success with this method. * Tried the gum, nearly vomited, spit it out, had a cigarette. * I cycled through patches again with the same, limited success of quitting smoking for up to three months at a time only to resume at a pack a day. * Cold turkey worked with about the same rate of success as the patches, and I quit cold turkey for two to three months at a time several more times in the years that followed. * When I was in my thirties, Chantix came out. This one worked great. I quit within a week of taking Chantix and stayed off for about a year. This was my single greatest success in the twenty years I had been trying to quit, but eventually, even this failed and I smoked again. Six months after resuming smoking I decided to quit using Chantix again, only to find that I had a new sensitivity to it and suffered terrible mood swings and anxiety. After my second attempt at quitting with Chantix, I finally resigned to live a short, smelly life as a smoker. I had tried everything there was to try to quit. I literally started trying to quit smoking after only doing so for two years but even in that short time the addiction was too strong for me to overcome. I hated everything about smoking, the smell, the taste, even the way it made me feel. I hated the looks of disgust I received from people on the street, I hated that I had to be outside whenever I smoked regardless of the weather (I live in Philadelphia) and ultimately I hated myself for not being strong enough to quit. I was beaten. I eventually saw a display for disposable e-cigarettes at the convenience store I regularly bought cigarettes from. I laughed the idea away for a few months afterward but eventually saw an ad somewhere online for Blu Cigarettes and decided to do some research. I read everything I could and decided this was going to be my last chance. I researched e-cigs for about two months and finally ordered starter kits of Pro Smoke and Blu cigarettes. I have never to this day even tried a puff of tobacco flavored liquid, so strong is my aversion. So I ordered apple flavor with each. It took about three days after trying my first e-cig to throw away my beloved pack of Parlaments but I did. It has now been 10 months since that day and I have not even entertained the idea of smoking an analog cigarette. I love that I no longer stink, that I no longer risk the lives of those around me with my habit and yes, I love that I can still have all of the things I liked about smoking with about 90% less risk to my longevity. My three-year-old son is significantly more likely to have his father attend his wedding and hold his his children. I have since discovered mods, mini tanks Organic VG fluids and ego batteries, and my enjoyment has grown exponentially. I feel better, I can breathe again, I smell nice and most of all, I no longer feel like a dreg, an outcast or a weak, loser. I feel so much better about myself I can’t properly give words to it. I have kept myself at the equivalent of a pack-a-day nicotine level (1ml/1.8mg) through vaping for the last ten months so that I could completely separate the withdrawal from nicotine from the other triggers associated with smoking. Next month I will begin to use e-liquids of lower and lower nicotine concentrations. (I’ve made a chart) My plan is to eventually bring myself down to nicotine free vapor for a few months before finally setting the habit aside all-together but the real difference here will be that I can hold on to a battery and some liquid in my car or even use a disposable e-cig for emergencies and know that I will not be resuming smoking if I slip when my willpower is low. In any event, I will never, ever again inhale smoke. Vaping is not for me just a cool new way to deliver nicotine, rather I see it – no – I know it was the last and only hope I had of living a longer healthier life. I understand and believe in this technology in a way only someone like me could. I have since helped 6 lifetime smokers quit smoking by switching to e-cigs and not a single one has had a regular cigarette since. I’m not sure it is possible to overstate the magnitude of that. Those six people thank me every time they see me for that gift as do their families and children.