I became interested in e-cigarettes when I came across an article in the New York Times regarding them and the potential issues with propylene glycol that is widely used as a base for the liquid in them. I thought I would do a search to find out if there was such a thing as an e-cigarette that didn’t contain this substance. I found exactly that, and that there were a couple of options to choose from. So I placed an order for a starter kit and waited for the mail to arrive. Like most other people just starting out on this journey, I chose a product that was similar in size to a regular tobacco cigarette. But I also wanted something that wouldn’t be mistaken for an actual cigarette, so I chose a black color for the casing. Once it arrived, I put it together following the directions and took a drag. I thought, maybe I got a dud, or maybe I’m not doing it right. I did some more searching and found the ECF site which contained a ton of information, including instructions on the proper way to use an e-cigarette. So I gave it another try. It still tasted pretty airy to me – I was using a tobacco flavored cartridge – so I decided to light up a regular cigarette to compare. I can’t express how surprised I was to find that I really didn’t like how that tasted either. Since my kit came with a few flavors, I decided to try the others – chocolate, vanilla, cherry – and it was an epiphany. Wow! These were really good. This is exactly what I have been looking for – something that tastes good, that has only a few natural ingredients without the cancer causing agents, and still provides the calming and focusing effect I got from cigarettes. I started smoking when I was 13, to hang out with the cool kids. I quit cold turkey a few times, sometimes for a few days and sometimes for a few months. Every day was a test of will, and I know I wasn’t always pleasant to be around. Being around people smoking was always tempting. And always, when something stressful happened or I felt like I couldn’t focus on anything, cigarettes would be my crutch and I would always go back. I wasn’t really looking to quit even though I know cigarettes are bad – I always said someday I’ll stop. But I also knew that if I couldn’t stop even while deathly sick with the flu, it was pretty unlikely that I ever would stop. I am an accidental quitter. Once I tried e-cigarettes, I had no interest in lighting up a regular tobacco cigarette. I did light one up a few days after I started using my new kit, just to see, and I thought it tasted awful and felt like it would burn a hole right through my throat and lungs. That was one puff – my last. After 30+ years of smoking, I have no interest in cigarettes – no desire, no longing, no craving, no crankiness, no anxiety. I also have no coughing in the mornings, no stuffy nasal passages, no offensive odor on clothes and hair or in my car. I can climb a flight of stairs without being out of breath. My teeth are actually getting whiter! During the first month I did a ton of research, looking up information on e-cigarette ingredients, equipment, studies and clinical research results. I have since moved on from my first cig-a-like kit to the slightly larger batteries and tanks that can hold a quantity of liquid. I have found several vendors that create liquid with 100% organic ingredients. I enjoy the flavors they create with these natural, chemical-free, ingredients. The variety and quality of these different flavors is something that truly adds to the experience and is a big factor in choosing e-cigarettes over burning tobacco cigarettes. As long as these are available to me, I would never go back. I hope they are not restricted, or worse, by people who have not studied the facts nor listened to the voices of so many who have been able to improve their health and lives by switching from cancer-causing cigarettes to less-harmful personal vaporizers. Thank you.