After smoking cigarettes for nearly 40 years, with several attempts to quit using patches, gum, and medication with no success, I was diagnosed with emphysema and pulmonary sarcoidosis. If I continued to smoke, my lung function was expected to last 4 years without constant oxygen support. My pulmonologist explained that nicotine is not the culprit, although it is highly addictive. The damage to lungs is caused by inhaling burning plant matter, paper and chemical additive to the tobacco products to cure, flavor and preserve it. She suggested trying an e-cigarette if I could not put down the cigarettes immediately, so I purchased a sample kit at a local smoke shop. Good, bad or indifferent, I committed myself to using the e-cigarette for 1 week. During that week I researched the most reputable forums for quality products and proper techniques, and became more enthusiastic about electronic cigarette products. At the end of my one week trial, I tried a regular tobacco cigarette, and was completely repulsed by the taste of it, and was instantly short of breath and started wheezing. The truth of what I had been doing to myself all those years struck me like a bolt of lightening. I never lit up again. I will never have complete, normal lung function again, but it has improved, I am no longer wheezing and coughing, and have a little more stamina that expected. I have a brighter future thanks to electronic cigarettes, and so does my family. Evelyn Lowery Best of all, as a non-smoker, I am now eligible