I had started smoking a little later in the game – around 22 years old – and now, 25 years later can finally say I’ve kicked the habit… Thanks to electronic cigarettes! My story is pretty common and straightforward. I had been started smoking 25 years ago, trying different brands and regular vs. menthol, when I settled on Marlboro Ultra-light 100s due to their lighter taste. During that whole period, I could never imagine myself not smoking, and there wasn’t a day that went by when I *thought* about quitting. I was a smoker, and that’s just the way it was. Priorities and perceptions change, however, when you get older, and by my mid-40s, with an older daughter (early 20s) and a young son (5 going on 15) I began to reflect more and more on my choice to smoke. I still never thought I’d be able to quit, and always considered I’d smoke. Now, however, I began to really think about how my kids would be should I pass on early due to my habit. It really tore me up inside to think of passing away early, in the prime of their lives, and how upset they would – how it would affect their lives as it affected mine. Yes, my father had passed away long before his time due to health complications due to cigarette smoking, and now I might be dumping that on my own kids. I had tried to quit a couple years ago, seeking my doctor’s advice, and trying Chantix. While I didn’t completely quit smoking, I did manage to curtail my habit from 2 packs a day to 1, so that was *something*, I figured. It wasn’t long after that I had started seeing e-cigs (NJoy)for sale at my local 7-11. I did some cursory research on what they were, and decided to try them. I continued smoking at the time, alternating between tobacco cigarettes and the NJoy. Unfortunately, I was completely unsatisfied with the product as the batteries wouldn’t hold a charge long, the cartridges would fall apart, or just not work, and the support was non-existent. Only a couple weeks later, I gave it up believing the technology just wasn’t there – nice try, but no cigar, as they say (pun intended). I was back on regular cigarettes until late 2012, early 2013, when my fiance was on the phone with her sister and I overheard the sister mention that her husband (another avid smoker) had completely changed over to electronic cigs, and was completely into it. It piqued my curiosity, as my experience was so different. I started doing more intense research into what they were, how they worked, and different brands – looking for quality, this time, not just whatever was sitting on the store shelf. I finally settled on trying the products from V2, and little did I know, my whole world would change. My plan was two-fold. I would attempt to go back on the Chantix while having my ecigs as a backup. If I couldn’t completely quit on the Chantix, maybe I could shift over to the ecigs. In the end, I figured, if I quit completely – excellent. If I, at least, moved over to ecigs, great! If I continued with regular cigs, I would mark that another failure. As fate would have it, I ended up with my ecigs in-hand and ready to go when I was down to my last couple regular cigs. I wasn’t ready to try the Chantix yet – my schedule was all off from what I had planned – so when I crushed out the very last cig in the pack, I started immediately with the ecigs. Little did I know, that last cig would, indeed, be my *last* cig! The transition was fluid, perfect. The routine was the same as smoking, and the product was flawless. Every cartridge worked, every hit was a mouthful of vapor. There were no withdrawal symptoms at all. The support at V2 directed me to a stronger nicotine level (2.4% or 24mg), as I was a pack-a-dayer at the time, and they were right. I tested all the flavors they had to offer and was totally engrossed in this new piece of wondrous technology. I was hooked, completely. Within 2-3 days, I could already start to smell and taste better. Within a week (of hacking up phlegm left from the cigs), I started to breathe easier. I was really shocked at how fast I was recovering what I had lost to smoking, and that just made the transition even more worthwhile. A side-effect I didn’t encounter until later was…there is no fire with ecigs! Only once had I ever fallen asleep with a cig in my hand, and fortunately I woke up before any damage was done – but it scared the *((&%#&$ out of me. The first time I fell asleep with my ecig in my hand, I panicked for a moment, then realized how funny that was – there’s no fire! (I couldn’t help but wonder at that moment how many accidental fires would be prevented from this little device!) As V2 was an online-only vendor at the time, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t caught short-handed, and began stocking up on hardware (batteries, accessories, etc.) and cartridges. I figured when I was done ordering, I had purchased approximately 6 months worth of vaping supplies for about 1/3 of what I would have spent on regular cigs! Insane cost-savings. And yet, I still couldn’t stop being engrossed by this new product. I began thinking ahead, of weening off the nicotine, and started ordering supplies for months 7-12, reducing the nicotine levels on those cartridges to 1.8% and 1.2%, figuring I’d be ready for the drop by that time. I started getting more into it – trying out blank cartridges (cartomizers and clearomizers) and buying the eliquid to fill my own (at even *more* cost-savings!). From V2 I started looking around at other companies with longer lists of eliquid flavors and purchased from there. From there, I went deeper, finding out what exactly what went into the eliquid and learning how to mix my own (52+ flavors and counting). For me, while vaping started out as a way to get off tobacco, it has ended up being a hobby, and I would proudly consider myself an enthusiast. To bring the story somewhat full-circle… That last cig happened mid-afternoon on August 11th, 2013 – a date that will stick with me forever – and I am happy to say I have been tobacco/smoke-free for about 5-1/2 months now – and not looking back. Who would? After discovering the benefits of vapor, the selection of flavors and nicotine strengths, I can custom-tailor my habit/hobby to what *I* want it to be, not what some company decides it should be. I don’t walk around smelling like an ashtray and I don’t have that smoke taste in my mouth all day & night long. Who would desire burning leaves when you could have so many other tastes to experience? And currently, I am vaping at the 1.2% (12mg) level – which I didn’t anticipate until my one year mark.) And something I didn’t quite anticipate – that I’m browsing around to see if anyone else has had the same results I have – my cravings in general for nicotine are greatly reduced. I used to smoke, religiously, on the hour, *every* hour. It was a drive to run outside to get my fix. I figured, while the ecigs are giving me my nicotine supply, I would still have that similar craving, but am finding I’m going 2+ hours between, and even when I realize it’s been that long, the urge to run out is not nearly as strong. Strange. Didn’t see that one coming. And…it didn’t stop there. During this period of transition…transformation…I happened into the political side of ecigs – the turmoil and back-and-forth fighting going on around the globe about ecigs and vaping: the FDA, vaping, Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, government, anti-smoking people, propaganda, harm-reduction advocates, lies, truths… and again I was swept in. I daily keep an eye on the pulse of things around world as they pertain to ecigs and vaping, and of domestic (US) goings-on. While I’d love to say it’s thrilling to see this little device do so well, and so may ex-smokers take to it, it’s quite scary to see how it is being treated so negatively everywhere. I can’t help but wonder – and worry – what would happen, now that I’ve been able to kick the habit, if ecigs were banned, or so restricted/controlled, that I couldn’t get a hold of them anymore? Would I revert back (knowing I wouldn’t *want* to, but also knowing there wasn’t much of an alternative)? I can’t imagine smoking anymore, but I also can’t fathom how such a live-saving piece of technology could invoke such a strong negative opinion all around the world. In conclusion…I will continue to vape, and continue to keep my eye on the headlines, hoping that, in the end, sense and science will prevail over fearmongering and big business, and ecigs will be kept in easy reach of the other millions of smokers who haven’t yet taken the plunge.