For Ellie

I have been a long time tobacco user for twenty years. I had always enjoyed different products and learning about the history of tobacco and being exposed to tobacco culture. As a younger guy I never gave much thought to what dangers I was exposing myself to or what harm I may be doing to myself until I started to notice small differences in my health and wellness in my early twenties. I smoked throughout my teens and and I also used smokeless tobacco products. I quit smoking around age 22 and began chewing off and on up until my early 30’s. That was until I had the worst feeling wash over me one day in the E.R. As I sat there waiting to be examined by the doctor I was scared out of my mind. It wasn’t just the mere thought of having Cancer. It was looking at my almost one year old daughter in that room with a big smile on her face, happy as a clam as I imagined her walking across a stage and being handed a diploma and looking out into the crowd with that same big smile on her face only to see her mom sitting alone next to an empty chair. I then saw her with that same bright smile on her wedding day standing at the alter in a beautiful dress but I wouldn’t be there. I wouldn’t be there for my daughter on the nights she needed a shoulder to cry on, or the days when a proud smile could make all the difference in the world. That day was the day I put down the tobacco and walked away from it for good. Vaping ecigs not only helps me stay away from tobacco, but its become a hobby that I enjoy very much. My clothes don’t smell, I don’t have a bunch of stuff in my teeth, I don’t leave spit cans around and I am no longer worried that I won’t be able to be there for my daughter whenever she needs me. Vaping saved my life and in turn, gave my daughter the ability to have a loving parent in hers. It’s hard to understand what something means to someone if it isn’t drawn out or explained. I just wanted you to know that there IS a safer alternative to tobacco, It can be a helpful tool and a much less harmful means of stress relief, hobby, or habitual cessation. The studies have been done. The proof is out there. Question everything, do your research, keep your eyes open and your chin up. It could save your life.