I was born in 1977 – cigarettes were still cool by the time I tried my first cancer stick… around the age of… 14? Both my mother and my father were heavy smokers – both smoke inside the house… everything we owned was permeated with tobacco smoke. It’s probably save to say I was born to be addicted – she freely admits she couldn’t quit while she was pregnant. I didn’t start really smoking until I was 16 or 17. It wasn’t overly hard to stand in front of a convenience store, flag down a senior and say hey, here’s $5, go grab me a couple packs of Reds and keep the change. I SWORE I would quit when cigarettes hit $2 a pack – lol – who I am I kidding… I smoked for half my life (18 years). From age 18 until age 36, I never went more than 8 hours without a cigarette. Although my use fluctuated over time, I smoked somewhere between a pack and a pack-and-a-half a day for the bulk of it. I’ve tried to quit smoking no less than a dozen times. I tried cold-turkey at least half a dozen times – the running joke was that I quit every night when I go to sleep, and I start again when I wake up. I have a history of Depression – my doctor prescribe an antidepressant that was also prescribed off-label for smoking cessation – (Zyban/Wellbutrin). Wellbutrin made my depression progressively worse until I was suicidal – landed me in the hospital for a 4 days. I also tried the patches, which was unsuccessful… I still felt like I needed a cigarette. My use declined, temporarily, but I made myself sick by wearing the patch and smoking so I quit the patches. My doctor refused to prescribe Chantix because of my history of Depression. I finally quit smoking on 4-26-2014, the day I tried an ecigarette – I haven’t looked back since! I just celebrated my 1st ‘vaperversary’ – a group of people online gifted me a mechanical mod called a Baycity Surfrider to celebrate – good people, they are. I can’t say I ever tried disposable ecigs or cig-a-likes with one exception – a friend let me take a couple puffs a few years before I actually quit. My reaction was eh, not bad – then I saw the price. He said he was going through 1 every day – at that point – it was more expensive than smoking… I had no interest in spending MORE to support my habit. I was broke broke broke – I had just graduated with a Masters Degree in Clinical Counseling (with an emphasis on Drug and Alcohol Abuse and Dependence) – I needed to curb my spending because I walked with 60k in school loans and an impending $800/month school loan. My girlfriend, whom also smoked, mentioned in passing that I should get online and do some research on ecigs – she had a friend who quit using one and she thought she might like to try it, too. That evening I ordered about $60 worth of kit – two Variable Voltage Ego Style Batteries, two Kanger T3 Clearomizers, and about half a dozen small bottles of eliquid from two vendors. Of course the hardware (batteries and tanks) showed up before the liquid so I made my first venture into a local brick and mortar vape shop. The quality of the liquid was poor – even to the palate of someone who knew virtually NOTHING about vaping. The only redeeming part of the experience was that they weren’t pushy – they let me sit there and sample more than 100 different flavors before I settled on one… Mad Chai. It was palatable when I tried it in the store – damn shame they didn’t tell me that adding 24mg of nicotine to the liquid would dramatically alter the taste/experience… at that point, all I wanted to do was quit and more nicotine was better. Ghastly liquid – tasted obnoxious. Two subsequent orders came in, one from a reputable value vendor named Mt. Baker, and another from a Premium Vendor (read, more expensive)… Fuzion Vapor. There was an immediate difference in terms of quality and taste – I was impressed with one of the Fuzion flavors… overall, the Mt. Baker offerings were palatable but underwhelming. Shortly thereafter I started crafting my own eliquid (a matter of days). It wasn’t long before I conjured Betelgeuse – a 4 fruit blend – Strawberry, Mango, Pineapple, and Raspberry. I took a sample down to a local B&M and talked with them… they immediately wanted to pick it up. They said I had something special. I immediately went home and ordered more stuff – did a few hours of research and ordered enough base/flavoring/nicotine to make more Betelgeuse – and – invested in a website. My total investment – $300. I sold my first bottle online – June 11th of 2013. By July, I opted to retired from clinical counseling and pursue Nicoticket full time. 🙂 Through the date of this writing, I am up to over 16000 orders. I won the best of ECF 2013 Top Vendor Award, due in large part to world-class customer service skills… and garnered awards for Best Tobacco (H1N1), Best Fruit (Betelgeuse and Gravity, tied for 1st Place), and Best Bakery (Custard’s Last Stand, Creme Brulee, and Grandma’s Cinnamon Danish… 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places respectively). In less than 1 year I grew my 300 dollar investment into one of the most respected eLiquid companies on the planet. It should go without saying – I don’t smoke anymore. At no time did I engage in dual-use. I quit smoking the moment I tried an ecigarette – the first time I tried an ecigarette. Ladie and gents – vaping changed my life. My doctor has confirmed that my lung function has significantly improved. I lost almost 20 pounds due in part to increased activity levels – I no longer struggled for air. I quit snoring – much to the delight of my better half. My depression spontaneously resolved – I no longer require anti-depressants (after a 2 decade long battle with Major Depressive Disorder that I was told was intractable.) Not only have I saved money by quitting smoking, I used the money I saved to fund an eLiquid business that now serves as my sole source of income. I have personally assisted THOUSANDS of people, adult committed smokers, whom desired to try an alternative to smoking. Truth be told – picking up an ecigarette is probably the best decision I have ever made.