Instead of 
HOW I got started, I'll tell you 
WHY I got started...nicotine fits and desperation from spending an entire day in an auto with my non-smoking parents!!!  
  
They are so sweet and as ex-smokers, were okay with waiting for me while I had a smoke, but the trips to one of the 3 nearby towns took between 30 and 90 minutes, depending on which one we traveled to.  Trust me, by the time we got there, I was ready to scream for nicotine, getting a bit (?) snippy and...
  
...okay...
      ...honesty here...
...I was feeling positively 
EVIL!!! 
When my first disability check came in, I had googled "nicotine substitutes" and found out about e-cigs.  I kept searching until I found someone in the area who sold them.  Unfortunately, it was a guy selling the ones that I have since heard such bad things about; I couldn't reach him for refills, and I gave up on them...but not on my dream of a relaxing drive with my parents.  After 2 years, and losing my fear of buying anything online, I checked on the e-cigs again.
Ta-da...I found this place, read the forum for many weeks, and finally decided to join ecf so that I could ask questions.  
End of the first book in this trilogy.  Look for book 2, "Sanity Awaits", coming soon.