It's hard to believe, but yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the day I received my first e-cigarette . . . and in a few days, I'll be celebrating my two-year anniversary of being smoke-free. 
For me, it's a rather momentous occasion. I was a so-called inveterate smoker, someone who was simply unable to quit successfully (long-term) using government-approved NRTs or smoking cessation drugs. I resigned myself to being a smoker, and then set about trying to reduce the number of cigarettes I was smoking since I was fast-approaching a 3-pack-a-day habit, and years of smoking were taking their toll.
I value the work CASAA does not just in terms of fighting bans, but also in getting accurate and truthful information to the public, government officials, and health care professionals. I value having a credible, responsible organization presenting the face of vaping to the general public. I value having an organization that embraces the concept of tobacco harm reduction.
In short, I value CASAA. And because I value CASAA, I want to show my support in a tangible way. Even though CASAA is run by volunteers, there are costs . . . costs to print and mail out legislative packets, costs to print those wonderful CASAA business cards that are shipped to members for only the cost of postage, costs to maintain a website, costs to . . . well, you get the idea.
To celebrate my anniversary, I have decided to make a modest contribution to CASAA each and every month during 2011. $25 a month isn't much, but I figure by the end of the year, I will have donated $300, and truthfully, that represents only a tiny fraction of what I've saved by not smoking.
I'm posting this not because I'm looking for any kudos . . . frankly, I should have done this a year ago. But I'm hoping that by posting about my pledge, it might encourage others to think about the importance of supporting an organization that represents the vaping community with such tireless dedication and competence.
For me, it's a rather momentous occasion. I was a so-called inveterate smoker, someone who was simply unable to quit successfully (long-term) using government-approved NRTs or smoking cessation drugs. I resigned myself to being a smoker, and then set about trying to reduce the number of cigarettes I was smoking since I was fast-approaching a 3-pack-a-day habit, and years of smoking were taking their toll.
I value the work CASAA does not just in terms of fighting bans, but also in getting accurate and truthful information to the public, government officials, and health care professionals. I value having a credible, responsible organization presenting the face of vaping to the general public. I value having an organization that embraces the concept of tobacco harm reduction.
In short, I value CASAA. And because I value CASAA, I want to show my support in a tangible way. Even though CASAA is run by volunteers, there are costs . . . costs to print and mail out legislative packets, costs to print those wonderful CASAA business cards that are shipped to members for only the cost of postage, costs to maintain a website, costs to . . . well, you get the idea.
To celebrate my anniversary, I have decided to make a modest contribution to CASAA each and every month during 2011. $25 a month isn't much, but I figure by the end of the year, I will have donated $300, and truthfully, that represents only a tiny fraction of what I've saved by not smoking.
I'm posting this not because I'm looking for any kudos . . . frankly, I should have done this a year ago. But I'm hoping that by posting about my pledge, it might encourage others to think about the importance of supporting an organization that represents the vaping community with such tireless dedication and competence.
