My name is Daniel and I’m a 31yr old Vaper of 3 weeks! Yes only 3 weeks, but my recent change from smoke to vapour has been nothing short of a revelation to myself much like countless others that have found the benefit of taking up vaping. I didn’t jump in to vaping without doing my research first, and whilst no-one can state that vaping is 100% safe, we can all agree cigarettes are 100% not safe. There are thousands of chemicals and harmful substances in cigarette tobacco and the second hand smoke and only a handful of seeming harmless ingredients in vaping juices with no second hand effect. I started smoking around 14-15yrs old and have smoked ever since. That’s half my lifetime smoking cigarettes while aware of the obvious health risks due to addiction to nicotine and partly due to the enjoyment and physical part of smoking. I can get quite fidgety at times and found I was smoking more in times of boredom or whilst waiting for anything! I have tried to give up seriously, maybe 2 or 3 times before and my last time was most successful. I was in the right frame of mind, Ihad read the Allen Carr book and I wanted to quit! I started on patches and came off after 3 weeks and fought hard with my will power to stay off. The problem was, I would still have a cheeky cigarette or two on a night out with friends and drinks. But I still struggled on and for the most part stayed off the ciggies for around 8-9 months. The trouble is, once you’ve been a smoker, it’s so easy to fall back into it and have ‘just the odd one’ which eventually leads to being a full time smoker again, as I became once more! The biggest difference I’ve found is that once I bought a decent vapourising setup with an e-juice containing what’s considered a medium amount of nicotine (12mg) I no longer want, nor do I even think of having a cigarette. Genuinely, I have had no pangs for a cigarette for 2 weeks, as far as I’m concerned, while I can vape safely, I get the same enjoyment if not better and at a significantly lower risk, if there’s any risk at all! I started 3 weeks ago on an e-cigarette purchased from a pharmacy in NZ (0mg nicotine cartridge) and while my head said I’m giving up, and the e-ciggy helped me with the physical part, but in that initial week I had 4 cigarettes or rather rollies actually. Point is that setup offered didn’t satisfy the nicotine or throat hit I desired and was trying to replace. Now, the 2 weeks following since purchasing my new setup which consists of a better and bigger battery, clearomiser (which holds the ejuice to be vapourised) and 12mg nictotine ejuice (considered a medium to low amount of nictonie), I am totally and 100% satisfied just vaping. I’ve had no cravings for a cigarette, have turned down offers from other smokers and just plain don’t want one! I’m not going back! I’m worried where all this talk about regulation and it being banned, or considered and labelled as a medicine and the subsequent restrictions from that are only going to unnecessarily make things harder for smokers that wish to give up and for those that already have. At worst, vaping is what, only 99% safer than smoking!? Of course the real reason is that the tobacco industry and governments are trying to make this as hard as they can because they can see their revenue being severely reduced by this and want to get their cut and control this industry too! What about our health? Basically, I think for anyone wanting to give up there is currently no better option that effectively satisfies like vaping while drastically reduces the health risks involved. One thing I haven’t mentioned is Chantix or any other side effect inducing medicine! I wouldn’t even contemplate taking pills or something like Chantix for a second, nor should anyone else, and why when there’s a solution like vaping available. I support vaping and am myself evidence that it works. I’ll be telling all my friends and family and anyone else who smokes that’ll listen in order to try and help them kick the habit too! Vape on!