I had smoked off and on for a number of years, and then became a regular user of cigarettes. My daughter also started smoking. We both developed a regular habit of smoking, and smoked continuously for quite a few years. About 7-8 years ago, when sub-generic cigarettes hit prices above what I, and then my daughter, had been paying for branded cigarettes when we first started, we quit. We tapered off our consumption of cigarettes until we were out of cigarettes, and then did not smoke anymore for quite a while. It was very hard, but we managed. The temptation was still there, and the desire, especially during stressful times, but we managed to stay off cigarettes. A couple of years ago, the stress levels really ratcheted up, and we both started thinking about smoking again. We managed to hold off, but the feelings of I need a cigarette kept growing. My daughter did some research, and suggested trying electronic cigarettes. We started looking into different electronic cigarette brands and suppliers, even started a couple of orders that we did not follow through on to complete. We both felt that we were failing by desiring cigarettes after we had been off them for so long. We held off for a couple of more months, then one day she called me to say that she had gotten a Blu disposable at Walgreen’s. I asked her to get one for me, too. We both really enjoyed the disposables, they satisfied the desire for a cigarette, and again discussed the possibility of ordering online. The original company we were thinking about ordering from had had a special price on one of their starter kits, but by the time we decided to order the kits we wanted were out of stock, with no mention on the website of a possible date for getting them back in stock. We decided to go with the Blu starter kits for ourselves. The Blu electronic cigarettes and cartridges satisfied the desire to smoke, but they are not designed to be refilled. The Blu cartridges are expensive. We did order ejuice and tried to refill them, but made the mistake of ordering very low nicotine juice. Between the hassle of trying to refill the Blu cartridges and the low nicotine level, we were unsatisfied, so we started using the prefilled Blu cartridges at a higher nicotine level. These kept us from going back to tobacco cigarettes, but we were finding that the Blu cartridges that we were purchasing tasted stale, possibly from sitting on store shelves for who knows how long before being purchased. The flavors were not fully coming through half the time, and we were getting duds with no flavor at all. We went back to the company we were originally going to order from. They had the kits we wanted in stock, so we ordered them. We also went back to the ejuice vendor we had originally tried, ordered juice with a higher nicotine level, and have not looked back since. We order empty cartridges from the vendor when we need them, and fill them ourselves. There are a great many flavor options available, and different nicotine levels. When we are ready we plan to cut down on the nicotine level. The electronic cigarettes have been a lifesaver. They have kept us from going back to tobacco cigarettes. They are less expensive than tobacco cigarettes. They do not have all the chemicals that are put into tobacco cigarettes. We feel more in control with the electronic cigarettes, in that we can control the nicotine level that goes into the juice that we order. There is no second hand smoke – only vapor. Once we stopped using Blu products, we have stuck with the same vendor for our hardware – batteries, cartridges, etc., and have also stuck with our original choice of vendor for ejuice, and have been very happy. Both companies are USA based, and satisfy our needs as far as pricing, shipping, customer service, etc. Bottom line – Electronic cigarettes have kept us from going back to tobacco cigarettes, period. We are really happy that we found them. No stinky clothes and house, no dirty, smelly ashtrays. Just satisfying vapor that takes care of the nicotine cravings. We have been using electronic cigarettes for about a year and a half now, and have not thought about going back to tobacco cigarettes at all. When the time comes, we plan to taper down on the nicotine level, but will probably continue to use the electronic cigarettes because we do enjoy them.