36 years ago when I was 12 I started smoking cigarettes. My best friend would steal a couple from her parents packs and we would go hide in the bushes and smoke them. We really thought we were cool. By the time I was 16 years old I had a pack a day habit. In the 70’s there was very little information given to kids about the dangers of smoking. We were told not to smoke because it was disgusting! I cannot remember anyone ever telling me that it would eventually fill my body with disease. As an adult I have tried most methods for quitting and failed with all of them. I tried nicotine gum, patch, meditation, hypnosis, Wellbutrin, and Chantix, none of which worked. Chantix might have worked except for the cost. My insurance company in its infinite wisdom would not pay for the drug, but were willing to pay for the medical care needed as a direct result from smoking! So Chantix could not work for me if i could not obtain it. I am 48 years old now and have been completely smoke free for one month. In 32 years this is the longest period of time that ever went without smoking. I use e-cig mods now, without them i would never have been able to stop smoking. My house smells good, my car smells good, my food tastes better, and people have told me that I smell good. I walked around the block recently and did not find myself winded! Most importantly, by quitting smoking I have halted the damage that was going on in my lungs and the rest of my body. I have just this week been diagnosed with emphysema a progressive disease that will not progress because I stopped smoking. I do not think it is an overstatement to say that e-cigs have saved my life. Now I hear that the government wants to regulate the e-cig business by banning the independent retailer and awarding contracts to the tobacco companys! Does our government want a nation of sick people? Does our government want only to line the coffers? Nicotine is an addictive substance, so is caffine. Nicotine obtained through smoke, which contains all manner of deadly substances, will kill. Nicotine on its own will not. Please do your research. Please help me to be able to get the smoking substitute that will keep me well and able to see my grandchildren grow up. I am 48 years old and I am a non-smoker thanks to electronic cigarettes.