I never would have quit without vaping

I started smoking when I was 15 years old. Fast forward 17 years and I was still smoking at age 32. I didn’t really have a strong desire to quit because in the past it had seemed so impossible. There were so many things in my day to day life that I associated with having a cigarette before, during or after. It wasn’t about just giving up the nicotine it was also about trying to stop all these little rituals I had that caused me to compulsively want to smoke too. I knew all of the dangers, I hated the smell, cough and yellow stains on my fingers and nails and I had accepted that I would live with them because quitting was just to hard. In June 2013 I was in a car accident that required me to have surgery on my right foot. My foot was cut open approximately 6 inches up the inside from my great toe to almost my ankle. In the days and weeks following surgery my incision was not closing. My orthopedic surgeon began having me go get blood tests every couple days to test for infection. Specialty wraps designed for people with non healing skin ulcers were applied to my skin under my cast to promote healing. All of this and still my incision was not closing. I do not have diabetes or anything else that would cause this to happen. 4 weeks post surgery I had another surgery but before this I asked my doctor is smoking could cause somehting like this. I mean cigarettes have so many harmful chemicals it just seemed to be the only thing I was putting into my body that was toxic…. He said yes and that he encourages all his patients to stop smoking before surgery. So in the days leading up to surgery #2 I ordered battery and tank for vaping and tossed the cigs. At this point I really wanted to walk and get back to work sooner rather than later. I fully intended to start smoking again at the earliest possibility. I had surgery #2 was completely off cigarettes and only taking some generic multivitamins daily. By the end of week one post surgery 2 some of my stitches were being removed and replaced with little butterfly type strips. At the end of week to the rest of my stitches were removed. The healing skin was pink and healthy whereas before with surgery 1 the skin was angry and red and my body was producing a mucus type substance at the wound to protect me from infection ect. Gross I know! Unbelievable, right? I have the pictures to prove it. I took photos of my foot from day 1 before even my first surgery. The proof is there in vivid color should anyone want to see. I did not go back to cigarettes. I found a flavor I liked and tried different tanks for vaping to find what worked well for me. I started to feel better overall and my “smokers cough” went away in the months that followed. Each day I coughed up less and less of that disgusting brown tinged mucus. When i returned to work, my friends with the most sensitive noses and objections to cigarette smoke were thrilled that I had quit. They stated that I didn’t smell like cigarettes and that my car smelled good. I don’t have any coughing or shortness of breath anymore. Also I forgot to mention I’m asthmatic and used to suffer from wheezy labored breathing depending on the weather or activities. I don’t have any of that anymore either. With complete honesty I can say that all of my smoker friends are now vapers!! My husband started vaping and kicked cigarettes a few months ago as well. It makes me so very sad to see something that has helped so many be attacked from all sides of the spectrum. I live this everyday. I’m a proud vaper and quitter. I am proof that vaping works. I live that proof every single day now. Please don’t take away this opportunity from people who are still smoking.