I smoked cigarettes for just over twenty years. I remember at five years telling a friend that if a pack ever got up over $1.50 I was done. When I did finally quit, I was paying over $7.00 per pack. Not only was I losing a lot of money but with every cigarette I was taking minutes off of my life. About 16 months ago I woke up and had just had it. Months before I was smoking and began to hate both the cigarette and myself for being so weak, so incapable, so powerless. Those feelings grew and months later I went online and within a few moments had ordered a ‘cigalike’ starter kit. When it arrived I immediately felt regret. I thought to myself that there was little chance it would work. Two days after my first cigalike I put down combustion cigarettes for the last time. I have not had a real cigarette since. My equipment has advanced but it’s the same idea and it keeps me from smoking. I am an ex-smoker. Vaping is not ‘cheating’ anymore than other pharmaceutical NRT products. But not only am I am an ex-smoker, I have reduced my nicotine level. When I began vaping I used 24mg of nicotine when available. Every few months I lowered it and now use 6mg or even 4mg if offered. I have gone slowly but it has worked. I am an ex-smoker. I don’t smell like an ashtray today. I don’t have to avoid people (I work in healthcare) after ‘sneaking away for a smoke. I save money and I feel good about how I have done this. I have more energy, have only been sick (cold/flu like) once since quitting and again, I work in healthcare where most of us get sick at least once a year. I can taste food again and take stairs two at a time. I sleep better and I don’t have the notorious morning cough. Cigarettes (over the years) cost me in many ways. I lost a dad who smoked for decades to lung cancer and a best friend (he was 43 when he died) as well. They are both in my thoughts often. I wish they had lived long enough to consider vaping. I wish they were here today. I have no illusions about vaping. I know I’d be better off without nicotine. Bit there are grocery stores filled with racks of things people would be better off without and those things are legal and available. I want vaping to remain legal and available too. I want it to stay that way because prior to finally quiting I did try nicotine gum and nicotine patches. Neither kept me off nicotine and in the end, I went back to cigarettes. Today I am an ex-smoker using an amazing product that gives me small amounts of nicotine without thousands of toxic chemicals. I know it’s not perfectly safe and I also support keeping it away from kids but it has saved my life. Please read that again. It has saved my life. Restrictions should be applied to minors and I don’t recommend anyone who has never smoked picking up vaping as a hobby. I also believe that I should (and am) a responsible vaper. I won’t blow vapor near others and I respect that not everyone wants to understand what it is and how it works. But if a person does, I will stop what I am doing and show them this product that has saved my life and countless lives of people just like me. There are amazing studies that can be found with little effort and there are people like me who have been granted an extension of life by way of this product. For that reason (and many more like it) we need to keep this product legal available for people looking for harm reduction strategies. Vaping has saved my life. I am Drew, an ex-smoker.