I am a 53 year old grandmother from Washington State who had been smoking a pack to a pack and a half a day (depending on stress levels) for roughly 36 years. I was resigned to never quitting, as it made me violently anti-social to exist without nicotine, but neither or my children ever smoked, or wanted to, and both were very disappointed when I tried, and failed, to quit cold turkey. Patch gave me a skin rash. Always hated any kind of gum, so that was out for me. Then, in June 2013, my daughter got me a cheap gas station e-cig. It wasn’t fully satisfying, but it was still an epiphany that it could satisfy my urge at all, so I was waffling back and forth between these cheapies and real cigarettes for roughly six months, telling myself that smoking less real cigarettes was still a health improvement. Then, in January 2014, my son got me an Ego Twist (and also introduced me to a real vapor store in the process) and it was leagues above the cheapie cigs, but I would still smoke analogs when I got up and around 5:00 pm and anytime a smoking family member visited. This went on through February, so about 2 months, and I would just tell people I would never ‘quit quitting’ Remember that I never thought I would ever be able to quit – I thought I’d die gasping for breath like my grandfather did – and naturally, as I waffled, the real cigs tasted worse and worse, until I couldn’t finish them. It was so effortless and natural, and in March I quit buying real cigs at all. So I have been tobacco free for six weeks, and, like so many others, I am never going back. These e-cigs are saving lives, and people with COPD, emphysema (grandpa), et cet can’t just afford to wait around and keep smoking analog cigs till they die because folks want to sit on their hands until we know the long term effects. Why aren’t they listening to us, long-term smokers who actually KNOW what weŕe talking about? How many more smokers will die while idiots make false equivalencies between vaping and smoking? There is NO comparison! Plus my daughter finally doesn’t flinch when I sit down beside her, something I had never noticed till I started vaping. Well, that would be a perfect world, but vaping is a miracle. I wish my grandparents had had access, but I’m glad Iĺl be around longer for my own grandkids. Vape on, brothers and sisters!