I smoked for over 20 years – the last 15 of those years attempting to quit …. multiple TIMES AND FAILING. After my last attempt with “approved cessation” and adverse effects from Chantix – I quit trying to quit smoking. I gave up, convinced I’d die a smoker. I picked up an e-cigarette June of 2010 in a half-hearted attempted to cut back on what had become a 4+ pack-a-day habit. Within 3 months I was tobacco free. The results? I have lost 85 pounds, I no longer have to take diabetic medication to control my blood sugars, I my breathing has improved greatly! Yes I know and acknowledge the risks involved with e-cigarettes – not everything is known about the long term effects….. but I still CHOOSE – the E-cigarette over Smoking! I choose a reduced harm approach. Some groups and advocates need to go beyond the confines of their ivory tower ideology and start talking to the people they are supposedly trying to help. People who live in the real world, one in which existing smoking cessation products are highly ineffective. One in which electronic cigarettes are filling a void by offering an alternative that replaces the behavioral and physical stimuli of cigarette smoking, not just the pharmacologic reinforcement. E-cigs are a life-saver for those of us who have repeatedly tried to quit smoking without any success.