My mother and father passed away from emphysema after smoking tobacco cigarettes most of their lives. That was my wake up call. It was shortly after being a smoker myself of 20 years that I decided to quit. I tried the nicotine gum for close to a month, it made me nervous and gave me heart palpitations as well as headaches along with weight gain. I soon went back to smoking. I considered the patch and after listening to other testimonies of those I knew telling me that it would make me even more nervous and give me more heart palpitations along with headaches– I decided against that. I thought about using Chantix, however seeing all the possible side effects, such as suicidal behavior , it scared the hell out of me. I wanted a SAFE way to quit smoking. My daughter recommended the electronic cigarette. Though I am not in the medical profession, common sense prevailed after much research I decided this was the safest way to achieve my goal to quit, considering there are no harmful ingredients contained in e-juice with exception to how much nicotine is added(by ones own choice) even with that, one has the option to omit it entirely. Eventually my doctor agreed this was a good and safe way to quit smoking after badgering me to quit. I learned that nicotine is really no more harmful then the caffeine found in coffee. It is a stimulant. If you have too much coffee, you may get nervous, in my case if I have too much caffeine I get very nervous. It is the same with nicotine. It has been reported the nicotine level found in the patch or the gum is much higher then the nicotine I use in the e-juice, with that I control the amount I wish to use. Since using electronic cigarette devices my intake level of nicotine is much lower then when I first started. I do not suffer with any nervousness, heart palpitations, weight gain or headaches, and thank God, no suicidal behaviors. According to medical reports nicotine like caffeine is not stored in the body and eventually flush’s out of your system within a 48-72 hour period of time. The other two main ingredients along with water found in e-juice are found in many common foods that are ingested, Propylene Glycol and or Vegetable Glycerine. There are no harmful chemicals in e-ciggs or the e-juice used with these devises such as the life threatening long term harmful chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes. I have had NONE of the side effect issues associated with all options of quitting smoking mentioned above. Also the vapor emitted from the e-cigarette does not offend, harm or bother anyone around me and depending on the flavor I use everyone likes the smell. On some occasions someone may remark, I smell cinnamon rolls not realizing I was using an electronic smoking device. The vapor from an electronic cigarette is just that, vapor with no harmful chemicals. It has now been 10 years since I quit tobacco products and I will NEVER go back to them. I would hate to think how much worse my health would be if I never chose this safest of all options to quit smoking tobacco. I no longer wake up hacking in the middle of the night with shortness of breath and my health over all has improved greatly, even my sinus’s have cleared! I only wish that e-ciggs had been around much sooner, when I think of how many lives it could have saved. My parents might still be here with me. With electronic cigarette devices there are no short term or long term effects where health is concerned and it is the safest way possible to quit smoking. These devices have been a life saver for me and I have recommended them to all the smokers I know who are also non tobacco smokers now with much better health.