I am male and born in 1964 living in Sydney Australia. I started smoking when I was about 12 and was a packet a day smoker for over 30 years. Both my parents smoked all through my childhood, my first smokes were stolen from them. My Father gave up smoking after a heart attack in the early eighties, but my Mother never managed to. She died from Emphysema in 2003. I quit smoking and started
vaping on 10th August 2013, just over 6 years ago.
I had wanted to give up smoking for many years. I remember the first time, saying to myself "there's no way I'm paying $2 a packet".......lol! It next became a priority when I had children in the early 90's. I tried to give up cold turkey a few times, with some success. I could always manage to stop for a week here, a couple of weeks there, until I underwent some kind of stress. This would always send me running for my smokes, and the relief I felt when I got some was immeasurable. I tried gum, lozenges and patches and they never worked. I tried Champix twice! I never had any problems with feeling sick or suicidal while using them, and they worked quite well while I was taking them. But it was the same old story when they ran out, at the first sign of stress I would buckle and run for a smoke, and one is all it would take to be straight back on a packet a day! I'm weak, I know!
My Vaping Journey started at a local markets one Saturday in 2011. I noticed a stall selling, what I now know to be cig-a-likes. I am very much a "Tech Head" and an "electronic cigarette" appealed to me on many levels. I purchased one and it was not cheap at $50. I was instantly converted and gave up smoking almost immediately - for a while. I was soon disillusioned, the battery in this thing would only last a couple of hours, and it seemed to take longer than that to charge! The cartridges were another hassle, they only last half a dozen puffs and were difficult and messy to refill. Then my battery stopped re-charging at all and I decided that smokes were a much easier option. I never gave e-cigarettes another thought until I went on holiday to Hawai'i in 2013. I saw many people in Hawai'i using a much larger device which sparked my curiosity. I wrongly decided to hold off buying in Hawai'i due to the whole 110v-240v thing but was intent on doing some research after returning to Australia.
When I got home I hit Google and found ECF and a local forum - AVF. I lurked for a few weeks, doing my research before ordering an iTaste VV/VW V3 starter kit, and some pre-mixed e-liquid. I started Vaping on 6/8/2013 and my last half a pack, which would usually only last half a day, took me four days to finish. I stopped smoking completely on 10/8/2013 and have never looked back. Whats more it was easy - very easy (for me). That iTaste lasted me over a year!
If this was the only equipment available, I am sure I would be quite satisfied. But it's not! It wasn't long before I got curious about Mechanical Mods, RDAs, RBAs, Kayfuns Gennies and Squonking! Soon, my new found disposable income was being consumed by, what had now become, my new hobby. My addiction to vaping gear hasn't slowed. I have moved back to regulated devices, they are just a bit more "high end" now. I've also started modding and DIY.
It was not long after I stopped smoking that I saw the changes happening. First I got my sense of taste and smell back, that was quite a shock! Then I noticed that when I went to bed I was no longer wheezing. I no longer feel like I'm going to pass out after walking up a steep hill. Bouts of cold or the flu are far less frequent and I have not felt this well since I can remember!
Since I started vaping I have dropped my nicotine intake from 24mg/ml to 9mg/ml, that's less than half! I drop the concentration of my e-juice when I feel I'm ready, about 2mg/ml at a time. I will continue to lower my intake for as long as I can without feeling like I need a smoke. Whether I get to 0mg/ml remains to be seen.
In my opinion Vaping is the only alternative nicotine delivery system that satisfies all the types of addiction that cigarettes create. I am getting the Nicotine I crave. I get the physical, "hand-to-mouth" action that mimics smoking and I don't have to change my routine, I can still hang with my mates in the "Designated Smoking Area" and not be tempted.
