I started smoking cigarettes at age 16 and continued to smoke because of my inability to quit because of the nicotine addiction until October of last year (2012) when I was 27. I then heard about electronic cigarettes from a friend and bought a starter kit and have not touched a tobacco cigarette since and I am so grateful for the existence off these products because I still get the nicotine that my body craves with no negative side effects and no disturbance of others around me from the use of these products. I started with a stick style battery kit and am now using a mod with an e-liquid tank. I have regained my sense of taste and smell, I have my full non smokers lung capacity again and don’t smell like an ashtray and I cannot pontificate enough about how much these products have helped me in my battle to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes. I lost one of my uncles to smoking related illness a few years ago and then another uncle about six months ago and my grandfather approximately a month ago, again all died from tobacco related illness. My two uncles from emphysema and my grandfather from lung cancer. My father has been a tobacco user since he was 14 and is currently 56. He has struggled with his smoking addiction for many many years and recently after seeing my electronic cigarette mod, he decided to give up tobacco as well and has not used tobacco for over a week now. You cannot understand how important these devices are and how they, in my opinion, have saved both mine and my fathers life. I wish they would have been around for my grandfather to use because they could have potentially saved him as well. I don’t understand how these devices could be viewed as negative. These could save an incalculable amount of lives and it seems like I am constantly hearing about imminent bans of these products because they are potentially not safe yet tobacco cigarettes which are full of actual poisons are still sold and will continue to be sold in almost every convenience store in the United States. Tobacco cigarettes will actually kill you. It’s not an if, it’s simply when. I am eternally grateful that these devices exist and without them I could have potentially lived a much shorter life than I will now and they have extended my fathers life as well. Please use common sense when making a decision about future sales of electronic cigarettes because if you are legally allowed to ingest something that will most definitely kill you, you should most definitely be able to use a much safer alternative without having to worry about it being banned because its sales are hurting the tobacco industry. Electronic cigarettes have changed mine and my fathers lives for the better and I really hope that the right decision is made regarding them.