Our vaping stories are some of the most powerful weapons we have when it comes to convincing politicians, medical professionals and the general public about how effective vaping can be.
Tell your story! Add it to the comments and it will be added to a growing body of stories from across the world in many languages and from every continent. Plans are afoot to create a database where every story can be found. Your story will be included in this database.
If you are happy to leave your real name and where you live that would be fantastic. It would help make sure these stories cannot be ignored by the sceptics, but the important thing is your story, so if you aren’t able to leave your name, PLEASE still leave your story.
Vapers In Power 
Hiya, Was a 40/day smoker over 45 years guy here, I had made a series of fruitless,maybe half-hearted attempts to quit over a 10 year period with NRT(Nicotine Replacement Therapy) using patches,sprays,gum even medication (Champix),hypnotherapy and the Allen Carr book – none worked for me
Purely by chance I was reading on a non-Vaping related forum the story of one mans transition over a month from smoking to Vaping. This was enough to make me curious to find out more and after joining a Vaping forum where some great friendly advice was obtained I purchased a simple eGo style kit from a reputable online dealer
The transition from smoking to Vaping was easily achieved within about 2 days using 2 or 3 different flavours,this was Febuary 2013 and since that date I have never touched or thought of smoking another cigarette.
The only negative I have experienced over the 30 or so months has been the continual negativity from various Public Health bodies and of course the dogs dinner of regulation that is the upcoming TPD due in May 2016. It is truly bizarre that an appreciably safer product could be effectively outlawed by ill thought out regulation brought forward by clueless regulators who ignored the informed science. Like most experienced vapers I can probably survive the restrictions to be imposed, but how much harder will it be for newbies or smokers yet to transition? its madness!
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+++ PERSONAL HISTORY +++
My name is Laurie, I am male and I was born in London in 1964, over 50 now! I am a Supervisor in the Manufacturing Industry in Sydney Australia. I started smoking when I was about 12 and was a packet a day smoker for over 30 years. Both my parents smoked all through my childhood, my first smokes were stolen from them. My Father gave up smoking after a heart attack in the early eighties, but my Mother never managed to. She died from Emphysema in 2003.
+++ HAVE I TRIED TO GIVE UP BEFORE +++
I have wanted to give up smoking for many years. I remember the first time, saying to myself “there’s no way I’m paying $2 a packet”…….lol! It next became a priority when I had children in the early 90’s. I tried to give up cold turkey a few times, with some success. I could always manage to stop for a week here, a couple of weeks there, until I underwent some kind of stress. This would always send me running for my smokes, and the relief I felt when I got some was immeasurable. I tried gum, lozenges and patches and they never worked. I tried Champix twice! I never had any problems with feeling sick or suicidal while using them, and they worked quite well while I was taking them. But it was the same old story when they ran out, at the first sign of stress I would buckle and run for a smoke, and one is all it would take to be straight back on a packet a day! I’m weak, I know!
+++ MY VAPING JOURNEY +++
My Vaping Journey started at a market one Saturday in 2011. I noticed a stall selling, what I now know to be cig-a-likes or 1st generation devices. I am very much a “Tech Head” and an “electronic cigarette” appealed to me on many levels. I purchased one and it was not cheap at $50. I was instantly converted and gave up smoking almost immediately – for a while. I was soon disillusioned, the battery in this thing would only last a couple of hours, and it seemed to take longer than that to charge! The cartridges were another hassle, they only last half a dozen puffs and were difficult and messy to refill. Then my battery stopped re-charging at all and I decided that smokes were a much easier option. I never gave e-cigarettes another thought until I went on holiday to Hawai’i in 2013. I saw many people in Hawai’i using a much larger device which sparked my curiosity. I wrongly decided to hold off buying in Hawai’i due to the whole 110v-240v thing but was intent on doing some research after returning to Australia.
After returning to Australia I hit Google and found Aussie Vapers Forum. I lurked there for a few weeks, doing my research before ordering an iTaste VV/VW V3 starter kit (a 3rd generation device), and some pre-mixed e-liquid. I started Vaping on 6/8/2013, stopped smoking completely on 10/8/2013 and have never looked back. Whats more it was easy – very easy (for me).
If this was the only equipment available, I am sure I would be quite satisfied. But it’s not! It wasn’t long before I got curious about 2nd generation devices, a new world of Mechanical Mods, RDAs, RBAs, Kayfuns and Gennies! Soon, my new found disposable income was being consumed by, what had now become, my new hobby. Thankfully my new addiction to vaping gear has calmed down a bit. I am now moving slowly back to 3rd generation devices, they are just a bit more “high end”.
It was not long after I stopped smoking that I saw the changes happening. First I got my sense of taste and smell back, that was quite a shock! Then I noticed that when I went to bed I was no longer wheezing. I no longer feel like I’m going to pass out after walking up a steep hill. Bouts of cold and flu are far less frequent, (touch wood). I have not felt this well since I can remember!
The only other thing that needs mentioning is the ultimate control you get over the amount of nicotine you ingest. By mixing your own e-liquid, you choose the concentration. I have been slowly dropping my nicotine intake from 24mg/ml, 2mg/ml at a time, when I mix a fresh batch. I will continue to lower my intake for as long as I can without feeling like I need a smoke. Whether I get to 0mg/ml remains to be seen.
++ WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SAY TO NEW VAPERS ++
In my opinion Vaping is the only alternative nicotine delivery system that satisfies all four types of addiction that cigarettes create. Firstly, I am getting the Nicotine I crave. Secondly, I get the physical, “hand-to-mouth” action that mimics smoking. Next is the tobacco taste in my mouth that I used to crave after food, coffee, chocolate etc. However, now my taste buds are working again, I don’t vape tobacco flavours anymore. And lastly, I don’t have to change my routine, I can still hang with my mates in the “Designated Smoking Area” and not be tempted.
Please Please Please do all your research BEFORE you purchase anything!
The hardest part of Vaping is finding the right flavours, especially when it comes to Tobacco flavours. Do not expect any Tobacco flavours to taste like your smokes, they never will. The key is persistence, as soon as your brain starts to associate the nicotine “hit” with this new behavior, and this new flavour, you WILL get used to it and enjoy it! Buy plenty of flavours in small quantities first so you do not get stuck with litres of e-juice you do not enjoy. Also make sure you start with high nicotine content. At least 24mg/ml for a pack a day smoker. This will ensure you do not crave smokes and soon the new habit will replace the old. Feel free to reduce your nicotine once you know you will not go back.
Make sure you have a backup, and a backup for your backup!
Make sure you educate yourself on correct battery safety!
I cannot tell you that Vaping is entirely safe, I can only tell you what my body is telling me, I feel much, much better now than when I was smoking!
Vaping is not for everyone, my partner tried it and she said it made her feel sick? If Vaping is not for you, please do not stop trying to give up smoking.
+++ WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SAY TO THE GOVERNMENT +++
I cannot understand the hypocrisy of the position of World Governments and Organisations on Nicotine and e-cigarettes, unless it is being driven by the dollar!
If this stand against e-cigarettes is being made because they are not PROVEN to be SAFE, then ban e-cigarettes, but only after you ban cigarettes, as they are PROVEN to be LETHAL!
Please please ensure enough research is carried out before making a decision on banning e-cigarettes.
Know that banning e-cigarettes will force thousands, if not millions of Vapers back to traditional cigarettes. But not me, I will turn to the Black Market that will flourish.
It is my hope that this testimonial will have positive influence on someones future decision, be it a new Vaper or a Polititian
Thanks for listening
Laurie (Sydney’s Western Suburbs)
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The following is my story from a vaping forum ,copied and pasted.
I am a 59 year old ex smoker.I started smoking at around 12 years old.
My form of addiction was White Ox tobacco . I would easily go through 3 or 4 , 50 gram packs a week.
I had to smoke White Ox as it was the only tobacco that I could actually “taste”,if a friend offered me a tailor made I would refuse as it was a waste of time.
Yes before switching to ryo I did smoke tailor mades for many ,many years but was starting to get no satisfaction from them but still had to smoke.
I work for a rail company in the stores area.
One day a courier driver showed me his ego set up and advised that he had cut down smoking heaps by using it.
This was the turning point in my life.
I had already tried to quit smoking so many times over the years and all had failed.
Yes I had tried Champix , patches and all the stuff offered by Quitline and some others including hypnosis but all have proved useless over time.
Twice I managed to stop for eight month stints.
I purchased a similar set up to what the courier driver had and anxiously waited for delivery.
From the moment my first kit arrived and was charged I have not touched one stinking,death wrapped cigarette.
Soon after this I discovered AVF with all it’s advice and helpful members. Yes I still go there now and again.
I now consider Vaper Cafe my home as I want to poke the bloody bear when possible.
I have progressed to gen 3 PVs and rebuildable atties and at this stage have found nirvana.
After over two years of being smoke free I have no plans to stop vaping. I may do in the future but part of this working is the actions involved.It feels and looks like smoking .ie all the habits that take some of the stress from life.
My health is gradually getting better.My taste and smell has returned ( and I no longer smell like an ashtray )
To anyone that reads this YOU CAN GIVE SMOKING THE FLICK by vaping.
Do not let scaremongering by self interest groups put you off.
Big Tobacco and Big Pharma (read into this so called health experts as well ) have shown their true colours re vaping.
Big Tobacco is getting into them as their sales of tobacco plummets.
Big Pharma are very worried they will lose millions from the sale of their virtually crap nicotine replacement therapies.(the same nicotine we use in our vaporisers)
Governments. Well they will lose the tax from cigarettes, tax from nicotine replacement therapies and hell they do not want us to actually enjoy our lives ! do they ?
As others have stated.
IF ANY GOVERNMENT BANS ECIGS IT WILL FORCE EX SMOKERS BACK TO SMOKING.
Jerry Hatrick aka Bruce in Esperance,Western Australia
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Hi Everybody,
My name is Dave,I’m a 43 year old male and live in Molong NSW Australia.
I started smoking at age 14 pinching one here one there of my father untill I got a part time job and could buy my own. By the age of 19 I was working on a exploration drill rig with a mining company and smoking a pack of winfield red a day(25 cigs a day).
By 24 I was driving trucks, just got married and smoking 40 cigs a day and did this untill I was 35.
About this time I started to have pains in my chest, small at first but got to the point were I couldn’t open the curtains on my truck without stabing pains in the chest and my neck, armpit and wrist on my left side would go numb.
I ended up having a 98% blockage of the main artery into my heart, I was lucky, I hadn’t had a heart attack and no damage was done to my heart.
I had a stent put into my artery to unblock it which went well.
I was told by my doctor I had to give up smoking and if I didn’t I would be lucky to make 45, it was the only bad habit I had and the only reason somebody so young could have such a large blockage,as I ate well ( most of the time) had normal blood pressure, colestrol levels and went to the gym regally. At the time my daughter was 5 and my son was 3 who i wanted to see grow up, I’d just bought a house with my wife who I wanted to grow old with so I went cold turkey.
This lasted about 6 months, it was a hard 6 months and the longest exempt at giving up the cigs for the next 6 1/2 years. I tried everything , hypnotise, all the nicotine replacement medicines ( gum, patches the sprays, losingese and chanpix) I believe chanpix is a very dangerous drug, I did stop smoking but had bad side affects and stopped using it after about 2 months.
It wasn’t untill a work mated introduced me to e-cigs that I found something that works.
I borrowed one from him for a day and it WORKED !!!!!!! At the end of the day I noticed I’d only smoked 4 cigs.
I ordered a starter kit the next day 2 ego battery’s with aspire dbc clearo’s .
I got 18mg ejuice and within 3 weeks I was smoke free and have been for 14 months and will NEVER smoke again.
I’m now down to 3mg of nic.I believe it’s the hand action involved with vaping is why it worked for me.
I can breathe again I don’t wake up in the morning and cough up a lung ,my sence of taste is back I’ve got more energy I exercise everyday now either swim or jog I’ve lost 15 kg
Vaping has saved my life, it’s the only way I’ve managed it give up smoking wich mite have killed me very very young.
Now I’ve got chance to grow old with my wife, watch my kids grow up and one day may be grand kids:)
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Hi, my name is Roger, and I have smoked in one form or another since I was 16, I quit tobacco when I was 52…..so, a 36 year smoker.
I tried everything to stop, and I mean everything:
Inhalers – jeez, they were disgusting,
Gum – tasted awful
Patches – they turned me into an itching patchwork quit, although the dreams were “interesting”.
Zyban – still craving tobacco after 3 months
Champix – I almost attacked boss about 6 weeks in.
and finally…
Cold Turkey – no bloody chance.
Now, I knew smoking was bad for me (which is why I had tried everything) and I knew I had to stop, so when I saw an advert for what turned out to be a Black “cig-a-like” I tried them.
Now this was better, much better but (I know now) the vaper production was next to useless, these kept me off tobacco for a couple of weeks, but I gradually gave in to the constant cravings.
After that I figured I was going to be a smoker for the rest of my increasingly miserable life…..until I was told about a forum called “Planet of the Vapes”, I join as it didn’t cost anything and I was confronted by this vast array of vaping devices.
Anyway, I tried to have another go at quitting tobacco and bought a 3rd gen device (A Sigelei Zmax and a Vivi Nova atomiser.
On the day they were due to arrive I had my last cigar on the way to work in the morning, the kit arrived at lunchtime.
I had my first vape after my lunch and I have never looked back, I still can’t believe it was so easy after all the previous failed attempts…….I truly believe E-cigs have saved my life.
PS My wife packed up the same way a month later.
Roger
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I am 60 years old and had been smoking for 44 of those years. I have clogged arteries due to smoking and have had two stents fitted. I was very highly motivated to quit when the stents were fitted. Tried patches, gum, inhalers, hypnotism and a very expensive self help course.
I was so desperate to quit that I got very depressed, my family suffered and it was hell for a time. Nothing seemed to help me quit, I was pretty desperate, my breathing was poor, constant wheezing through the night & permanently cold feet & hands.
A friend at work encouraged me to try an ecig, a cigalike device. I did manage to cut down on the real ones for a time, but still couldn’t break the habit. However, I did a lot of research, joined some onllne forums & facebook groups. Discovered the 3rd generation devices & stopped smoking immediately, haven’t had a cigarette since. In the end it was easy.
I am now a vaper, I have dropped my nicotine dosage & make my own flavoured ejuice. I have a variety of devices & am always looking for the next innovation in this fascinating and life saving technology.
I can now breathe easily, I am fitter, my circulation is vastly improved and I don’t smell of tobacco. I have at least 10 friends that have also quit using the latest generation of devices.
These things are life savers & should be encouraged at every opportunity
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My story is very simple. I smoked for 30 years. I tried an ordinary cigarette lookalike e-cig about a year ago out of curiosity. Hated it, did not want to give up anyway, so thought nothing more of it .
4 months ago, someone allowed me try their proper battery powered refillable atomiser. I liked it, so bought one, not intending to give up real smokes at all. However, after a week I was no longer smoking real cigarettes.
Have now been off the smokes altogether for over 2 months. Feel much better, can taste things better, breathing is easier, I no longer get constant colds. I’m now starting to cut down on the nicotine content, too, so easy to do with vaping.
I’ve become a total convert to not smoking.
This happened to a totally unrepentant smoker, and it happened because products like atomisers and e-juice are still available in such variety and at such a relatively low cost.
Also, I found there is a big web community out there who supported me every step.of the way in my journey from smoking to not smoking.
I am mystified as to why legislators are not actively promoting this.
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Hello, my name is Colin. I am 48 years old and have been a smoker since I was 13 years old.
In the 30 plus years as a smoker, I have tried to quit numerous times. From cold turkey and hypnosis, to the nicotine patch and prescription drugs. The longest I have ever gone on without smoking on these was 10 weeks and 2 days while trying the patch (which was 2 days past wearing my last patch).
5 years ago my father (a smoker all his life) passed from esophageal cancer. 3 months later my mother slipped on some ice and spent 3 months in traction in the hospital (she too had been a smoker for most her life, and was forced to quit as no one at the hospital would wheel her bed outside to smoke).
This left me the only smoker in my family, and one of 3 smokers in my circle of friends. Needless to say the pressure to quit was quite intense, and yet I continued to smoke.
5 months ago I needed to move into an apartment and at the time in Calgary there were not a lot of choices…especially for smokers.
A workmate asked if I had tried Vaping? I hadn’t and decided to research it a bit. The first few things I discovered were all quite discouraging. I found a report stating it produced mor formaldehyde than smoking. Another report said that as a smoking cessation tool it was ineffective.
I returned to my workmate with this information, and he showed me how the formaldehyde report was done with bad science, and then introduced me to several others who were now vaping instead of smoking. My last objection was start up cost, but when he took me to his Vape shop I discovered the starter kit and 30ml of juice would cost $80…I was spending over $100 on cartons of cigarettes every week.
I took the chance. The employee showed me how the starter kit worked, helped me sample various tobacco flavoured juices until I found one that was similar to my brand of cigarettes, and then suggested I start at 24mg nicotine.
Before leaving the shop, the employee made me promise not to have another cigarette until 9pm that night and before I did, I should take 10 hauls off my Vape pen first.
I decided to follow his instructions. That night at 9, I took 10 hauls off my Vape pen then went out for a cigarette. I took one puff and put it out.
It has now been 5 months now since my last cigarette. I have no interest or need for a cigarette. I have upgraded my equipment, reduced my nicotine to 3mg, and have begun to build my own coils (part out of hobby and part out of financial necessity.).
I am a non smoker and have no urge, need or desire to ever smoke another cigarette. That is a statement I have never been able to say with confidence.
Vaping has saved my life, I know it, I feel it everyday.
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My vaping story is that i tried to quit smoking using many of the methods that are advertised on tv and such they never worked vaping was the only thing that finally helped me quit and saved my life i love it i feel soo much better now because of it
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I smoked from the age of about 20 until I was 39… That was 5 years ago.
At the end I was smoking 30+ per day, chest infection or not. My family hated the smell, my teeth were stained, my fitness was shot and the health issues were obvious. I had no energy, my lung capacity was down, I had constant colds and chest infections.
And the money? Dear god, the amount I threw away on something that was killing me! Tens of thousands of pounds….
I’m a geek. I studied the sciences and Chemistry, have always been into computers and gadgets. So seven years ago I came across e-cigs, the early days. I bought one, tried it, didn’t work. But I kept trying….
Those were the early days, the cigalikes that look like (or in some cases are) the devices Big Tobacco & Pharma would have you use. The liquids were vile and the tech useless. I was a dual user.
Innovations came and went. Better cartridge fillers, capsule tanks, bigger batteries etc. Then the mini tanks, which were a big improvement. But still not quite it, not enough to get me off the tobacco.
Which is when the variable voltage and other more powerful devices started to turn up. Bigger, better tanks with proper wicking, replaceable coils. Better juices
Boom. That was 5 years ago and I’ve not touched tobacco since.
Regulations are not a bad thing, but the TPD is. It’s not designed to ensure product or public safety, it’s all about protecting vested interests and giving a concession to the tobacco companies.
Leak proof designs, small tanks, flavourings… all a load of nonsense. Everything we use at the moment that’s not fake or obviously stupid is SAFE ENOUGH. Product safety laws already exist and the powers that be don’t enforce them properly!
Please, for me and all the other smokers that can be saved, for their families…. Oppose the TPD and other anti-vaping laws.
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I am 64 years old.
From the age of 18, I was a heavy smoker for 23 years when I finally managed to quit with the aid of Cold Laser treatment.
I was smoke-free for 15 years and, during that time I socialised in all types of environments, most of them smoky, but the idea of having a cigarette never crossed my mind.
Then, in 2006, the Scottish government of the day banned smoking in pubs etc. From then on, whenever I was socialising with relatives & friends, most of whom still smoked, I had the choice of spending a lot of the time sitting on my own, or going outside to the smoking area with them, to continue our conversations. In that atmosphere my resolve gradually weakened and, to cut the story short, I started having an occasional puff and eventually became a regular smoker again.
This lasted until early January 2015, by which time I was smoking 30 a day. I was, by this time, retired on a modest pension and the cost of the cigarettes was in danger of jeopardising my financial situation. That and the fact that I was feeling lousy.
I had tried the supermarket version of e-cigs (the ones that actually look like cigarettes) and they were no help. I was beginning to despair of kicking the stupid habit.
Then, prompted by my Brother-in-Law, I bought a proper vaping kit. The effect was immediate, on two different levels: Psychologically, on the way home from the vape shop, I had the strong feeling that I had done something positive: Physically, as soon as I took my first puff, I knew that the vape stick gave me exactly what I needed, and that I was finished with cigarettes.
I am now feeling much healthier and saving a fortune. I am pleasantly surprised at the number of establishments locally which allow vaping without a quibble. And I’m disappointed by the number of public bodies who adopt a totally-uninformed and knee-jerk ban.
Johnnie Walker. Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
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Hello, I started smoking when I was 16. It was only a few a week, but once I reached 18 I was smoking 3-4 packs a day. I was addicted to smoking and it was very difficult to even attempt to stop. I smoked up to the age of 27 and only stopped because I went to basic training. After my training I went right back to smoking. I ended up having a tonsillectomy when I was 30 because I was getting strep throat at least once a month. All due to smoking, but that did not stop me there. I continued smoking until the age of 33 when I decided I had to stop. I gained weight and found a new habit…chewing. I substituted smoking 2-3 packs a day for 12 cans of chew a week. I continued to chew even though I was having issues with soreness of gums, bleeding gums, and blisters. My wife brought me a e-cig home one day to try. I done some research behind e-cigs and decided I would try it. I used the e-cig for two days and I threw the rest of my chew in the trash. Since I went to vaping my teeth and gums have gotten better. The spit bottles are no longer laying around which makes the wife a lot happier. I do feel it was only a matter of time before I went back to smoking but the vape has kept me from wanting any. I feel no cravings and do not feel the need to chew. Now, with my family history of cancer and high blood pressure I was going to be doomed if I kept smoking, but now I do not have to worry about that. Vaping saved my life, and while it is no great story, I do believe vaping saved me. I am a strong activist for vapors! Vape on my friends and keep fighting a good fight!
Robb Marshall, Virginia USA
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Hi,
My name is Dawn and I’ve been vaping for over 2 years now. My journey began like many others I guess, I’d heard about these electronic things and thought maybe it was time to give them a go. I didn’t plan to stop smoking, as it was something I knew was killing me, but I enjoyed it.
I did a lot of reading on various forums before buying anything, as I didn’t want to waste my cash and found a lot of very helpful people who guided me through what felt like a minefield. After buying my kit and juices, I was off. On the first puff of my new kit, I realised that this could be the answer.
That was that, from that first puff! My other half then said that I’d better buy him a kit too – he still dual fuels now, but I haven’t touched a cigarette since that day. I used to suffer with migraines and headaches all the time – but now, no migraines and the usual amount of headaches! My dentist is happier, my gums no longer bleed and are looking pink & healthy again. I am proud of the fact I’ve managed to sway 7 people away from cigarettes and on to vaping – that’s not bad for a hermit!
I wasn’t the worlds heaviest smoker, probably 10 a day or so, more if I was at home, but I can feel the difference and smell the difference! I no longer wheeze and will never know of health risks that I am now safer from. I’m also very happy that I didn’t put any weight on while stopping smoking as vaping doesn’t cause weight gain!
So that’s it, it’s a simple story, one I hope I can continue. Lets keep fighting the beaurocrats who seem so keen to take this away from us. Thanks for reading.
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Hi fellow vapers. I started smoking when I was 10 yrs. old, it was fashionable to have a fag in your hand in the 60s. I became addicted very quickly and by the time I was 15 yrs old I was on 10 a day, then by 20yrs old I was on 20 a day.
Loved smoking & anybody that tried to tell me that it was bad for me I would attack verbally with my own opinions on the matter. My dad would drive me crazy opening doors & windows or shutting me out in the garden because he could not bare the smell of smoke.
I would argue with people in lifts etc. that it was my right to smoke & if they did not like it told them to get lost in no uncertain terms.
Never tried to give up and did not want to. Main reason being I just knew I could not just give it up, what would I do with my hands, don’t answer that lol.
Then in 2012 I decided that I just really could not afford to pay £70 or £80 a week out on cigs and I started to think what I could do with £300 a month, so much money so I then decided to buy an e cig. I took to it straight away and it was just like smoking but without all the chemicals that are in cigarettes & it was only costing me about a tenner a wk. instead of a day.
It was brilliant, no more smelly hair & clothes, no more dirty ashtrays, no more hunting for lighters, no more stinky breath, better health, don’t get any colds since packing up. No more
standing outside in the freezing cold to have a fag, no more nasty looks from people, the list goes on and feeling like an outcast. Hopefully added another 10 yrs to my life. Can now afford to have a holiday and treat myself to a new item of clothing etc
Two and a half years later & I have never looked back, never wanted a cig. never felt like I needed one and its the best thing ever to say I am a non smoker,
I started on 18% nicotine and slowly reduced it and I now vape with no nicotine and I feel fantastic.
My daughter now owns and runs her own vape shop after training for 3 yrs to be a beauty therapist & masseur. She loves vaping so much and has made so many friends from all over the world who are in the vaping community
Vaping now has become a way of life for us, as it has for so many people and we have seen so many people in the shop that have had cancer, Lung desease and even drug addicts that have given up smoking and gone over to vaping.
Saving lives for sure and its just the best thing ever. Vape on ! Live Long !
Speading the love.
.
,
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Hello
I am now in my 71st year and have been a smoker since the age of 14. Quite a long time of inhaling tobacco smoke, but luckily, have had no ill effects throughout my smoking life. I know that smoking tobacco has coated my lungs with tar and other chemical contained in tobacco and that it has affected my breathing over all this time. But it is never too late to stop smoking, as long as I am still living my life to the full.
Five years ago I gave up smoking by going cold turkey, it wasn’t easy, but I did manage to go without a cigarette for about six months. It was at this time, I lost my wife due to a car accident, by a drunken driver. I was shattered and turned back to smoking again, as I felt that was the only way to cope with my loss. Eventually, I got over it and wanted to get off cigarettes again, so contacted my doctor and he referred me to NRT
This proved to be a waste of time and after a few months, I was back to smoking again. Two years ago, I decide to try e cigs, but even thse, didn’t seem to stop my craving for nicotine, until I decided to try the 2nd generation vaping devices. I bought a starter kit and have been vaping now for just over two years, without smoking any form of tobacco.
I feel much better in my health, my breathing has improved, I don’t get short of breath when climbing stairs or walking up hills, like I did when smoking cigarettes.
Since I started using e liquids, I have reduced my nicotine intake from 18mg down to 6mg and would say that this form of nicotine replacement, does work for me. Although my health from cigarette smoking is not 100%, I do feel much better and find that if I had carried on smoking tobacco, I would probably would not be here now, writing this testimonial about this alternative for long term smokers. I have no intention of giving up using these e-cigarettes, because at my age, it isn’t going to make any difference to my health, because what damage has been caused through smoking has already been done.
They can help long term smokers to kick the habit, and still give the enjoyment in a much safer way than smoking tobacco.
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I started smoking at the age of 13 in 1970. From 16 onwards I smoked roll ups, up to 25 grams a day of tobacco.
The smoking ban was introduced in the UK in 2007 and it started to effect me in the autumn of 2008. For a few days each month I was working long hours indoors where smoking was not permitted.
I tried various NRTs which did nothing then came across e-cigs on the internet. I purchaced one that came with prefilled carts and some 36mg e-liquid. Expecting to be explaining to my wife why I had wasted money on such a silly device I gave it a go.
It arrived on the 13th November 2008 and much to my suprise it worked OK.
I wrote the following as a forum comment the following morning,
”got mine yesterday. I got it to use on the occasions where I am working and the law stops me smoking. It was never intended as a general replacement for tobacco. On the first day I tried it to see if it would make a viable alternative for those difficult hours working and my standard roll up intake went down from 50 to 10 and 5 of them were due to battery problems. Today I woke up and didn’t realy mind which I smoked as first fag of the day. Its now 5 hours into the day and I have smoked one roll up and ordered 3 different flavours of juice and another e-cig starter kit.”
The next e-cig starter kit was terrible. If that had arrived first it would have gone in the bin.
I was so lucky to get a decent set up on day 1 that showed me vaping could be far more satisfying than smoking tobacco. That combined with information from other vapors on the internet and my own willingness to faf and play around with devices that were highly variable in performance and quality led to me never purchasing another packet of tobacco.
I have had the occasional roll up when offered in a social situation. The last one was nearly 2 years ago and no more than 3 or 4 a year in the preceding 5 years. None bothered me, they were pleasant enough but I no urge to smoke another one.
36mg eliquid was also essential for somebody like me smoking strong tobacco. Now its mainly 3mg liquid from tanks using regulated mods. Having gone through the development of e-cigs from the early prefilled carts on 801 & 901 to the high quality temperature controlled mods in a period of seven years is extraordinary.
To then realise that so much effort has been and still is been put into stopping the only effective nicotine harm reduction device I have come across is extraordinary. Coming from a mathematical and statistical background the presentation of the anti vaping lobby have looked absolutely ludicrous and seem to only have the purpose of protecting cigarette manufacturers from effective competition. The European Union Tobacco Products Directive, Article 20, the EU legislation due for introduction in May 2016 seems to have no other purpose than neutering the development of vaping and the continuance of tobacco smoking.
The best comment on my own health came from my daughters last winter. They both said how relived they were that I did not get the colds, flues and chest problems that I used to get every year when they were growing up. That it used to frighten them when they were teenagers to see me coughing and bringing up phlegm and then lighting another cigarette.
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Sometime in April 2013 I decided to go onto the internet and buy an ecig – I can’t remember why, probably a host of reasons. I’d heard a radio programme (You and Yours, Radio 4 maybe) that interviewed a shop owner that said that people would travel miles to stock up, they’d started to appear in Supermarkets and Garages, I was curious.
Was it a quit attempt? I’m not sure – I liked the idea of a sci-fi tube and I was always happy they were less harmful than what I was smoking (12.5g of Cutters Choice/day, a gradually increasing amount over my 20 ish years of smoking). It was certainly not like previous quit attempts (I’d tried three or four times), where I set a date and then spent every waking second agonising about not smoking. There was absolutely no pressure about just trying a different way to ingest nicotine.
Why didn’t I just try one from a supermarket? Again, I dunno, perhaps I was nervous about not really knowing what I was buying, it was probably just that as a new-ish product I knew there’d be reviews etc online, the internet is a frustrating place to shop sometimes, but it is potentially the best place to shop. Frustrating? Wow! I must have spent 3-4 solid days navigating spam sites touting cigalikes. Google is great but if you don’t really know what to put in the search bar you are easy prey.
I sensed most of these sites were dodgy, but I persevered and eventually bought a cigalike style device from JacVapour. It was a brushed steel tube, about the dimensions of a cigarette and it glowed green when I inhaled. I bought tobacco (still the only tobacco flavour I’ve tried) and apple. Battery life was pants, I ordered a second battery 5 days later but even two cigalike batteries can’t keep a smoker happy. When I had battery power I would happily use the ecig, when I didn’t I smoked.
Meanwhile I had persevered with the googling and finally broken through the spam sites circle – I discovered the forums toward the end of May 2013, shortly afterwards I ordered a Vamo from Fasttech 🙂 . I’d already added to the two cigalike batteries with an Ego Twist and a protank, but it was having the Vamo and two 18650’s that meant I would never be without battery power again. I was DIY’ing already (not with any great success) and I was finding out about the politics. I was still having a morning cigarette at this stage, but I was looking forward to vaping more than I was enjoying smoking it. At some point (still in May 2013 I think) I decided to try coping without. It was more of a clear quit attempt this time, but there was still no pressure – I knew I preferred to vape, it was just a question of whether I was happy with not having that headrush first thing in the morning.
Stopping wasn’t completely painless for me – I can remember getting annoyed when my partner would ask me to roll her a fag lol! And for months after going swimming I would have a real urge to light up, but to be honest, it was pretty easy – I was just having too much fun with my new hobby! Watching Grimm Green videos until the early hours, obsessively reading the threads on UKV and buying stuff! It took me 8 days to spend £100 on vaping gear in May 2013 (yes, I have a spreadsheet :p ) – a lot more than I’d have spent on tobacco, papers and filters!
By June 2013, the politics were really starting to interest me as much as the breakneck innovation in vaping products (an Aga T2 and an IGO-L were my purchases that month, I also bought some GVC) – I’d found out about VTTV and at some point accepted Dave Dorn’s amazing offer of a ticket to Brussels to protest about what the EU were cooking up (I think he paid for 50 Eurostar tickets!). I’d written to my MEPs and was actually flabbergasted (just did a quick google – being reduced to a jelly state because I was so aghast seems right) about what they were proposing. This thing that had so easily stopped me being a smoker – it was about to be banned!
Well, I was clear it was because the evil Pharma companies wanted to stop this product in its tracks. It would decimate their sales, not just of patches and gum, but all those medications for dying smokers too! Maybe the Tobacco companies had a hand in it? Maybe the Governments had realised their tax revenue from tobacco would dry up? Nowadays, I think its more likely to be ignorance with a nudge from the lobbyists, coupled with an inexorable desire by legislators to legislate that’s brought about the sorry state of affairs we’re in now.
The odd thing about vaping is that it was also expanding my life – I was making online and offline friendships and finding constructive things to do with my time, I was getting healthier by the day sure, but I was also becoming more alive.
When Szaxe first proposed a political party to fight the ridiculous EU requirement that: “any form of public or private contribution to any event, activity or individual person with the aim or direct or indirect effect of promoting electronic cigarettes and refill containers and involving or taking place in several Member States or otherwise having cross-border effects is prohibited”, among others, I was all over it.
I even stood for election – but that is a different story.
Today? I have three tubes and three boxes, four RTAs and two that need heads buying for them (grrr!). I’ve got a BIG tupperware box full of flavourings, and I know how to use them! I’ve spent £1793.14 (told you I had a spreadsheet) in my 907 days since I placed my first order (and in my approximately 880 days since I last smoked a cigarette). That’s a lot of money but its still (approximately) £1780.24 less than I would have spent on fags. I’ve made friends and gone places – I’ve advised SSS advisers and I’ve been to Vapefest 🙂
None of that will be possible next year 😦 .
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