Looooooong time member, first time poster! It's funny to see all these noobs with thousands of posts. 
I joined ECF back in 2009, and I've been lurking in the shadows ever since. Now that I'm increasing my e-cig usage, I figured it was about time I came out of the closet so I could add my point of view to the many threads I've read recently that have helped me in my journey.
Warning: the following contains language of a frank and explicit nature. Parental discretion is advised.
My wife and I have been long-time closet smokers, due to society's (and our non-smoking friends') disdain for tobacco users. We've always been light smokers, with her smoking 2-3 cigarettes most days, and me with 4-5. Some days there would be no smoking due to lack of opportunity, and some days there would be more-- like if we were alone on vacation somewhere or the kids were gone for a few days. There's more to my story-- I am a fan of "smoking glamour"-- I like women who smoke. My wife is aware of this and has occasionally satisfied my fascination. For me, smoking was less about the nicotine and more about the visual and oral aspects. Of course, the nicotine sure helps to get your heart going. OK, enough about that.
Back in 2009, around the time I first joined ECF, I purchased a Joye 510 starter kit as my first step in the e-cig world. My wife thought it was odd, and it wasn't all I thought it would be back then, so I stashed it away for a while. It wasn't until we started vacationing in less-smoking-friendly locations that I again started looking into e-cigs as an alternative again.
I ended up purchasing a Vapor Couture setup on Black Friday a year ago, and have occasionally used it. The lousy battery life and limited compatibility wasn't an issue due to my light usage of it (while still smoking). It was the form factor I was most interested in, as it closely mirrored the sleek and slim style that we enjoyed in the Capris and Virginia Slims we smoked. (Yes, I'm a straight guy who liked slim cigarettes-- it's what I most enjoyed seeing my wife smoke.)
Earlier this summer, both of our employers announced they were implementing tobacco-user rates or surcharges for the company-sponsored group medical insurance. The good news was that my company defined the non-tobacco user as one who hasn't used tobacco more than 3 times in the past 6 months. My wife's company wasn't as generous, defining a non-tobacco user as having NO nicotine in the past 12 months, so we made the mutual decision to quit smoking, which we accomplished without any problems back in September. Since that time, I learned how to refill the VC cartos and purchased some Halo e-liquid samples in 0-nic, and this past Black Friday, I picked up another VC starter kit (for the extra charger and fresh batteries) and a Halo G6 starter kit with a couple of mini-tanks and some more sample flavors.
The only odd thing (to me) of my current situation is that my wife continues to see the e-cigarettes as "weird", and has never even tried a vape. I would never pressure her to start vaping, just as I did not pressure her into smoking-- she was already an occasional, closet smoker when we met. However, I have very little doubt that if I were to pick up some cigarettes for an adults-only weekend trip away, she would have no issue lighting up again (nor would I). Maybe if/when that happens, it will open up more dialog about using the e-cigs as an alternative.
Thanks for reading! I hope I can be of some benefit here to the closet smokers, closet vapers, and closet smoking glamour fans. So if you'll excuse me, I've got some catching-up to do with all you noobs and your thousands of posts.
BTW I think the members here are nice and helpful. Maybe too nice, from what I've seen. As a long-time forum & message board user (here and elsewhere), I've seen some recent newbies posting links out of the blue, and the membership here doesn't bat an eye. I tend to be a little more cynical in that regard and would immediately label that new member as a spammer. Maybe you're just trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, which is commendable. I only hope I'm received as well as the spammers.
I joined ECF back in 2009, and I've been lurking in the shadows ever since. Now that I'm increasing my e-cig usage, I figured it was about time I came out of the closet so I could add my point of view to the many threads I've read recently that have helped me in my journey.Warning: the following contains language of a frank and explicit nature. Parental discretion is advised.
My wife and I have been long-time closet smokers, due to society's (and our non-smoking friends') disdain for tobacco users. We've always been light smokers, with her smoking 2-3 cigarettes most days, and me with 4-5. Some days there would be no smoking due to lack of opportunity, and some days there would be more-- like if we were alone on vacation somewhere or the kids were gone for a few days. There's more to my story-- I am a fan of "smoking glamour"-- I like women who smoke. My wife is aware of this and has occasionally satisfied my fascination.
For me, smoking was less about the nicotine and more about the visual and oral aspects. Of course, the nicotine sure helps to get your heart going. OK, enough about that.Back in 2009, around the time I first joined ECF, I purchased a Joye 510 starter kit as my first step in the e-cig world. My wife thought it was odd, and it wasn't all I thought it would be back then, so I stashed it away for a while. It wasn't until we started vacationing in less-smoking-friendly locations that I again started looking into e-cigs as an alternative again.
I ended up purchasing a Vapor Couture setup on Black Friday a year ago, and have occasionally used it. The lousy battery life and limited compatibility wasn't an issue due to my light usage of it (while still smoking). It was the form factor I was most interested in, as it closely mirrored the sleek and slim style that we enjoyed in the Capris and Virginia Slims we smoked. (Yes, I'm a straight guy who liked slim cigarettes-- it's what I most enjoyed seeing my wife smoke.)
Earlier this summer, both of our employers announced they were implementing tobacco-user rates or surcharges for the company-sponsored group medical insurance. The good news was that my company defined the non-tobacco user as one who hasn't used tobacco more than 3 times in the past 6 months. My wife's company wasn't as generous, defining a non-tobacco user as having NO nicotine in the past 12 months, so we made the mutual decision to quit smoking, which we accomplished without any problems back in September. Since that time, I learned how to refill the VC cartos and purchased some Halo e-liquid samples in 0-nic, and this past Black Friday, I picked up another VC starter kit (for the extra charger and fresh batteries) and a Halo G6 starter kit with a couple of mini-tanks and some more sample flavors.
The only odd thing (to me) of my current situation is that my wife continues to see the e-cigarettes as "weird", and has never even tried a vape. I would never pressure her to start vaping, just as I did not pressure her into smoking-- she was already an occasional, closet smoker when we met. However, I have very little doubt that if I were to pick up some cigarettes for an adults-only weekend trip away, she would have no issue lighting up again (nor would I). Maybe if/when that happens, it will open up more dialog about using the e-cigs as an alternative.
Thanks for reading! I hope I can be of some benefit here to the closet smokers, closet vapers, and closet smoking glamour fans. So if you'll excuse me, I've got some catching-up to do with all you noobs and your thousands of posts.
BTW I think the members here are nice and helpful. Maybe too nice, from what I've seen. As a long-time forum & message board user (here and elsewhere), I've seen some recent newbies posting links out of the blue, and the membership here doesn't bat an eye. I tend to be a little more cynical in that regard and would immediately label that new member as a spammer. Maybe you're just trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, which is commendable. I only hope I'm received as well as the spammers.
