I'm a former smoker who quit on April 10, 2000 at 3:30AM. Haven't smoked a cigarette since.
A couple of my friends vape and when I learned a little bit about it I realized this was everything I loved about smoking with none of the things I didn't - PLUS, it tastes great! I have always struggled with my weight (and at 5'2" and 43 years old it's pretty easy to pack it on). When I would hear people saying "Oh, it's like vaping apple pie!" or "Oh, this chocolate is rad!" I was intrigued. I love food, and I have a massive sweet tooth. I often suffer from the "body's not hungry but mouth wants it" syndrome. I often wished there was a way to just taste the food without the calories.
I started vaping to see if it would cure the "I'm bored and oh look! A chocolate covered pretzel!" thing. I've lost weight before - several years ago I lost 70 pounds, then gained back 40, then lost 20, then gained back 30, etc. etc. In each case, for me, to lose weight it takes an enormous effort to make sure I'm tracking everything I eat, sometimes weighing portions, way too much time at the gym, a constant feeling of deprivation, and basically a level of focus that is really hard to maintain in the long run. I've done Weight Watchers, paleo/primal, smaller portions, etc. It can be really physically and emotionally exhausting sometimes especially when trying to juggle a career and family and household at the same time.
Since I started to vape several weeks ago, I've lost 10 pounds. I am still eating; I'm hardly anorexic (this afternoon I had sour cream enchiladas and a salad, then sliders and chips for dinner). The difference is that I am no longer snacking or overeating at meals and I'm no longer prone to eating things just for the taste instead of hunger. I started out at 0mg, but have moved to 6mg because it also seems to help with ADD. I'm not sure how much of an appetite suppressant that low of a nic level is. The sweet tooth is satisfied and the chocolate covered pretzels on the counter are still sitting there weeks later. There's no effort, all of the focus is on something I'm really enjoying, and there's no emotional component because there's no deprivation. There's just the pleasure of seeing the extra pounds come off a bit at a time because I'm not consuming all of those extra calories even though I'm totally satisfied.
So that's why this vaper started, and will continue. At some point I will probably plateau and start eating a little healthier, but for now I'm just coasting along. Vaping for me is very satisfying since I was a pack a day smoker from when I was 13 til I was almost 30. The action feels very familiar (I was French inhaling on my first vape) but there's none of the things I hated about smoking tobacco.
Thanks if you read this far. Only bad thing? I need to buy new pants!