My testimonial

48 Years of smoking, 18 years of failed attempts to quit, quit first day with e-cig. Started smoking at age 12, daily smoker by age 16. After my second child I started trying to quit in earnest using most all of the “approved” methods. Cold turkey, gums, lozenges, Wellbutrin (Zyban), patches, all failed past one month. By age 55 I was rolling my own filtered cigarettes due to the high artificial costs of cigarettes imposed “for the public good”. Second longest period of abstinence was 2 weeks during recovery from angioplasty due to CAD at age 57. Set a goal of quitting for my 60th birthday but with two weeks to go I recognized the familiar signs of impending failure and started looking for new alternatives. Thanks to the internet I finally found e-cigarettes and started doing research. Convinced that e-cigs were a FAR less harmful (if not potentially harmless) alternative, finding them sold at my local drugstore was critical to me trying them. I purchased my first “cig-a-like” at 10:00 am on Jan 20, 2012. I have not had a cigarette nor a craving since 10:30 am on Jan 20, 2012. I am currently using a more effective vaping device as well as nicotine level more appropriate for my requirement. After 3 years I have improved breathing, physical stamina, senses of taste and smell, improved cholesterol and blood pressure, improved physical and social environments, reduced congestion and allergies. I still have my rolling equipment and tobacco in a desk drawer just so I can occasionally look at them with contempt for shortening my life. Through their own dogmatic doing by considering vaporized nicotine as harmful as tobacco, I also hold contempt for the FDA, AHA, ACS, and other tobacco control groups for shortening my life through actions and statements that delayed my awareness of e-cigarettes, and through denormalization of vaping and vapers such as myself. I raised two non-smoking children while being a smoker. I am an adult, I like flavors and variety, I am not ashamed or worried about my use of nicotine. I will NOT allow myself to be considered weak, second class, be bullied or denormalized any longer. I have taken appropriate steps to improve my health and lengthen my life.