Smoker for 18+ yrs, 1.5 packs/day of Marlboro Lights. Got my first ecig and I've only smoked one (1) analog for the last 120 days.
I've always liked the smell of analogs when others smoke and I still like it today. I always thought of ecigs as a healthier compromise to the real thing. So 3 weeks ago (approx at my 3 month mark of zero analogs), I was in Vegas and all I could do was think about smoking "for ol' times sake" the enitre plane trip + taxi ride. When I got there, I actually left all my supplies in the hotel room to go down and buy a fresh pack of Marlboro Lights to smoke. I knew Vegas was going to be a challenge. The memories, the smoking indoors, the drinking, gambling, late nights, etc.
So upon my girl and me changing, I went downstairs straight to the store, leaving my 510, PCC and my 18mg Winston Juice in the room. Bought the pack, packed it and fired it up for the first time in 3 months. These were my observations that initially ran through my head:
1. Man, these things weigh next to nothing! My 510 weighs like 10lbs compared to this.
2. Upon 1st drag after 3 mos... where's the throat hit? As I recalled, analogs dont need breaking in!
3. There is a weird and foreign taste on my tongue. I can't believe it tasted so foreign after only 3 months... and I've been on analogs for 18 yrs.
4. Where the heck is the vapor/smoke? I asked my fiance why the smoke cloud is so wispy. She told me that this is always how it was.
Well, to make a long story short, I tossed the pack after I finished the initial analog, ran back upstairs and got my equipment. Didn't smoke another analog since then.
It was actually kinda disappointing (my analog experience). I've conditioned my mind into believing that analogs gave the best throat hit, the clouds of smoke and just everything nice (sans the lung cancer). It built up all the way and was a big letdown. I'm sure I could have forced myself back into the habbit, but why the heck would I want to do that? It was a blessing that I did not aquire a taste for it again.
To sum it up, I am not a person that dislikes smokers, or even the smell of smoke (I actually still like it). I am not anti-analogs and always associated smoking with all things exciting/stressful/fun/celebratory... but the ecig has really taken the analog's place in my life. I am so glad I found vaping!
As for health benefits, I've really only noticed two. I don't get short of breath as easily and I am able to breathe really deep without the feeling of a cough about to happen. My sense of smell/taste, my weight and sex life all remained the same.
I never really had a smokers cough and never went thru the hocking up black phlem stage after quitting (I wish I did). I didn't quit analogs from peer pressure or for financial reasons. I will stay off analogs not because of any benefits I get from quitting, but becuase I know inside it's the right path... and I wanted to quit before it's too late and while my mind was still a step ahead of my health.