At the age of 9 I smoked my first cigarette in my parent’s garage. After that, I continued to sneak a smoke from time to time until I reached age 15 and started working. There was a cigarette machine near the place I worked and I could buy a pack for 50 cents. I looked older than my age and no one ever questioned me. From that point on I was a daily smoker. I quit or cut down through out my 3 pregnancies but I always went back to smoking no matter how hard I tried to stay smoke free. I never smoked around my kids but when we moved to a cold climate I would occasionally smoke in my bathroom. I felt like the worst mother in the world. My youngest son had constant ear infections and I somehow convinced myself it had nothing to do with my smoking in the house. At the age of 21 he still has problems with his ears and his hearing. I’ve tried patches, gum and drugs to quit smoking. I couldn’t do the gum because smoking for 30 years ruined my oral health. I couldn’t do patches because I was terribly allergic and would break out in painful rashes all over my body. The drugs made me depressed and suicidal. Cold turkey made me go into terrible panic attacks where I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. In 2011 my husband gave me the best birthday gift ever! He gave me an electronic cigarette starter kit. I was skeptical but after a few months of thinking about it, on April 1st I made the decision to quit smoking cigarettes by tapering off and then having e-cigs as back up in case I had strong urges to smoke. As of April 28th 2011, I’ve never smoked another cigarette!!! I have vaped since then. My health is 100% improved. My dentist has seen an 80% improvement in my oral health as well. Vaping saved my life and has improved the lives of my entire family. My sisters,dad and a couple of my kids were all smokers as well. I was able to share my knowledge of e-cigs with them and they are now non-smokers as well. I also have many friends who I have recommended e-cigs to and they have been able to kick the habit after years of trying to quit. Thank you to the electronic cigarette industry for helping me and those I love to quit the awful and deadly cigarette habit at last!!!