I gave up cigarettes for good and started vaping in August last year. I had been smoking since around age 15 or so, and had tried to quit several times, but just couldn't stay quit. Then something happened that gave me that boost.
Where I work, I'm on the HAZMAT team. That means I sometimes have to dress up in the full protective "Level A" suit, and wear a respirator. Because of this, every year I have to undergo a pulmonary function test. The test involves blowing into a plastic tube until you're about to pass out, then repeating a couple more times so the computer can score you. Invariably, the sadistic nurse will forget to hit the start button and you'll have to do it again.
The test score shows the "age" of your lungs. In the years past, I had always scored a few years lower than my actual age, so I wasn't really worried. But last year, the test felt a little tougher to perform, and at age 49, I had the lungs of a 48-year-old. I know that's still a year younger, but I'd done better in the past, and that really hit me. That week I was at the local vape shop buying a starter kit.
Fast-forward to a year (and several mods and tanks) later. A couple weeks ago, it was time to take the test again. Honestly, I was so afraid of the results, I'd discussed with our Safety Manager about either leaving the team, or being assigned to a task that doesn't require me to use the respirator.
I walked into the room, blew into that tube until I thought I was going to pass out, and....
After a year of no more tobacco, and only vaping, I now, at age 50, have the lungs of a 33-year-old. I guess I could say that vaping made me 15 years younger.
Where I work, I'm on the HAZMAT team. That means I sometimes have to dress up in the full protective "Level A" suit, and wear a respirator. Because of this, every year I have to undergo a pulmonary function test. The test involves blowing into a plastic tube until you're about to pass out, then repeating a couple more times so the computer can score you. Invariably, the sadistic nurse will forget to hit the start button and you'll have to do it again.
The test score shows the "age" of your lungs. In the years past, I had always scored a few years lower than my actual age, so I wasn't really worried. But last year, the test felt a little tougher to perform, and at age 49, I had the lungs of a 48-year-old. I know that's still a year younger, but I'd done better in the past, and that really hit me. That week I was at the local vape shop buying a starter kit.
Fast-forward to a year (and several mods and tanks) later. A couple weeks ago, it was time to take the test again. Honestly, I was so afraid of the results, I'd discussed with our Safety Manager about either leaving the team, or being assigned to a task that doesn't require me to use the respirator.
I walked into the room, blew into that tube until I thought I was going to pass out, and....
After a year of no more tobacco, and only vaping, I now, at age 50, have the lungs of a 33-year-old. I guess I could say that vaping made me 15 years younger.
