I’m a 32 year old male, and recently decided it was time to turn my health around. I started dieting, and over a year and a half period, I lost just over 100 lbs. the next step was to quit smoking. I’ve been a smoker since the age of 13 years old. I’ve always smoked Marlbro Reds. It started out as a pack a week, and by the time I was 18, it had grown to 3-4 packs per day. I work in a high stress occupation, which contributed to my chain smoking. I was a smoker for a total of 19 years. I tried to quit smoking several times, during my years as a smoker. My first attempt was using Chantix, at the recommendation of my doctor. That time lasted all of 2 weeks. I found it simply didn’t help me at all. The next time, I tried Nicoderm patches. That lasted under a week. I experienced very graphic dreams while using patches, and it interfered with my sleep, therefore my job, too badly. The third time, I was just highly motivated, using exercise as my help, I quit smoking for 6 months. An incident at work, at a time when I was highly stressed, and needed a break from work, led to my starting smoking again. If I would have taken a vacation at that time, it may have been my answer. As stated earlier, this time I decided it was time to turn my life, and health around. I began thinking about my family, and their dependence on me. I thought of my children, and how I want to be here to watch them grow up. I want to watch them get married, and have children. I want to be a grandfather. Before trying to quit this time, I did a ton of research over a 2 week period, to determine my best option, to make this as easy as possible for me. I searched forums on e-cigarettes. I searched forums, and websites on quitting smoking. I had tried electric cigarettes in the past. Mostly the cigarette look-alikes. They were very sub-par back then. They were very unreliable, and nothing a smoker could count on. The units that were more reliable were way too big to be logical. This time I decided to try a kit from V2 Cigs. My wife joined me on this attempt, which helps. When our kits came in, we went ahead and ditched the cigarettes. The V2 cig-alikes worked great for my wife, but not so much for me. Due to my being a chain smoker, they just couldn’t keep up with me. I’d constantly overheat the batteries, putting them in protection mode, before I could satisfy my craving. As soon as I realized this, I decided to order a mod and a tank, as I had read that they give a much better nicotine hit. They do work much better, and end my cravings with a couple puffs. The mod works great for home, but is still a little big for when on the go. I then ordered myself some larger cig-alike type batteries, rated at 650mAh. These work wonderfully for me. Between the mod and the large batteries, I’m equipped to fix any cravings that may come on. Myself and my wife started with 24mg/ml liquids. We went that strength because my research showed that was closest to the nicotine content of the analogs we had been smoking. This level of nicotine quickly became too much for us. We still use that strength if a really bad craving comes on, which isn’t happening often now, but we mainly use 10-12mg/ml liquid now. We plan to drop lower once we feel we are ready. We have been on e-cigs for a month now, and see absolutely no reason to go back to analogs. We can still enjoy the stimulant effects of nicotine, which is roughly equal to a caffeine addiction health wise, without the cancer risks associated with smoking tobacco. Most importantly, we can maintain the habit of smoking, which is the hard part of quitting smoking. This is what many non- smokers don’t realize. It isn’t the nicotine that makes it so difficult for people to quit smoking, it’s the habit. Smoking a cigarette becomes a part of you. Many smokers have smoked more years of their lives than they were non-smokers. It’s the same as trying to diet, stop over-eating, after you’ve done it so many years of your life. Imagine trying to quit talking. Quitting smoking is a very similar situation. So in conclusion, as I stated earlier, we have been completely off analogs for a month now. We feel great, and see absolutely no reason to go back to them. We don’t smell like an ashtray, our breath doesn’t stink, and our respiratory health is steadily improving. Plus, our e-liquids taste so much better. We can have whatever flavor we feel we want that day. There is absolutely 0 downfalls to this alternative that we have found thus far. Once you find the gear that’s right for you, there is no need, and very little desire to go back to analogs. E- cigs truly should not be called e-cigs, as you do not smoke them. There is no smoke. They are simply personal vaporizers. No different than the vaporizers you use with a sick child; other than their containing nicotine, which over time you can reduce to 0. Take it from a 19 year chain smoker, this is no doubt the best alternative out there for heavy, long time smokers. Hopefully our government agencies will soon realize this, and promote this alternative. I hope soon to see public promotion of this alternative, backed with research from government agencies, to help both smokers and non-smokers understand and accept this alternative. Thank you for reading this. If this convinces even one person to attempt to quit analogs, it was well worth the time I took to tell all of you about my success.