Hello ECF'ers! I wanted to introduce myself here in the new members forum and give a short (or not so short>you've been warned!) bio. I'm 33 and have been smoking since I was 18, so that's 15 years now. 
It's kinda hard to believe, when I picked up smoking out of boredom and also due to an increasing stress level. I can't really say that I intended to become a regular smoker, but then, who does? I am active duty Air Force, married, no kids. Though I've thought about quitting many times over the years, the only time I've successfully quit smoking was during basic training and tech school, and that's because in the military now, there's no choice. (I've heard stories of the glory days of "The smoking lamp is lit!") As soon as I could, though, I was hiking my .... off base to the closest convenience store to buy a pack of smokes!
So, about a year and a half ago, tired of getting really winded on runs, tired of coughs and colds hanging on much longer than they should, tired of lots of those crappy physical symptoms, I started looking into e-cigs. I thought to myself, what a great idea! I can still get the nicotine that I'm totally addicted to, without all the harmful stuuf, the tar and carbon monoxide, etc. I was almost persuaded by a gas station disposable, but I found ECF back then before I made any purchases. After doing a bare minimum of research, I ordered a basic 510 kit and started vaping away happily when it came in the mail.
Unfortunately, about that time, there was a bug going around my workcenter, and I caught it. I really don't know if what I was feeling was a bad cold, or possibly, looking back now, the beginnings of my lungs getting rid of all the crap I've sucked into them over the years. All I knew at the time was it felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest and I was coughing up all kinds of yuckiness. I seemed to have a harder time drawing on the 510 than I did a cigarette and of course, I still wanted the nicotine, so away went the e-cig and I continued to smoke full time, averaging a pack and a half of light menthols a day.
Fast forward to now. I was moved to a tropical island and I take to the water, getting my open water scuba diving certification. And guess what? Smokers end up with shorter dive times due to using up their air faster. And guess what else? When you're snorkelling on the surface, you work harder because you don't breathe like a non-smoker does. And guess what else? I don't want to be the last one up a hill on a hike through the boonies because I can't breathe anymore.
A good friend of mine wanted to talk to me one day a few weeks ago after we'd been snorkelling. It was just the two of us there on the beach, and he shared with me that he was concerned about my smoking because he had a friend in his hometown die of lung cancer. He said he had another friend who quit analogs and was now enjoying e-cigs...and I thought about that 510 sitting in the back of my kitchen drawer collecting dust.
At the same time, my husband made a friend at work, and I became friends with him and his wife, as well. A few months ago, we learned that this friend had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker as well. After he had to stop working, after he'd been through diagnostics and treatments at the hospital, he was sent home when there was nothing more that could be done. My husband and I went over to visit, and it was pretty rough to see this vibrant, funny and smart man struggle though the pain he was in, and his breathing sounded like he was sucking air through a crushed soda straw. Bless him, he passed a week ago Monday, the 9th of January. His memorial service was on Friday. And Friday was the day that I pulled that 510 out of the kitchen drawer.
So here I am, ready for a change, really ready this time. I've been intermittantly puffing on my 510 while waiting for my Go-Go kit and some juices to arrive in the mail. The plan is to curb the analog smoking while I begin to enjoy vaping again. Within a week, or thereabouts, I want to quit the analogs completely.
If y'all made it this far, bless your hearts.
I had a feeling it would turn out to the not-so-short side! Hello to all, and I'm glad to be here.
It's kinda hard to believe, when I picked up smoking out of boredom and also due to an increasing stress level. I can't really say that I intended to become a regular smoker, but then, who does? I am active duty Air Force, married, no kids. Though I've thought about quitting many times over the years, the only time I've successfully quit smoking was during basic training and tech school, and that's because in the military now, there's no choice. (I've heard stories of the glory days of "The smoking lamp is lit!") As soon as I could, though, I was hiking my .... off base to the closest convenience store to buy a pack of smokes!So, about a year and a half ago, tired of getting really winded on runs, tired of coughs and colds hanging on much longer than they should, tired of lots of those crappy physical symptoms, I started looking into e-cigs. I thought to myself, what a great idea! I can still get the nicotine that I'm totally addicted to, without all the harmful stuuf, the tar and carbon monoxide, etc. I was almost persuaded by a gas station disposable, but I found ECF back then before I made any purchases. After doing a bare minimum of research, I ordered a basic 510 kit and started vaping away happily when it came in the mail.
Unfortunately, about that time, there was a bug going around my workcenter, and I caught it. I really don't know if what I was feeling was a bad cold, or possibly, looking back now, the beginnings of my lungs getting rid of all the crap I've sucked into them over the years. All I knew at the time was it felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest and I was coughing up all kinds of yuckiness. I seemed to have a harder time drawing on the 510 than I did a cigarette and of course, I still wanted the nicotine, so away went the e-cig and I continued to smoke full time, averaging a pack and a half of light menthols a day.
Fast forward to now. I was moved to a tropical island and I take to the water, getting my open water scuba diving certification. And guess what? Smokers end up with shorter dive times due to using up their air faster. And guess what else? When you're snorkelling on the surface, you work harder because you don't breathe like a non-smoker does. And guess what else? I don't want to be the last one up a hill on a hike through the boonies because I can't breathe anymore.
A good friend of mine wanted to talk to me one day a few weeks ago after we'd been snorkelling. It was just the two of us there on the beach, and he shared with me that he was concerned about my smoking because he had a friend in his hometown die of lung cancer. He said he had another friend who quit analogs and was now enjoying e-cigs...and I thought about that 510 sitting in the back of my kitchen drawer collecting dust.
At the same time, my husband made a friend at work, and I became friends with him and his wife, as well. A few months ago, we learned that this friend had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker as well. After he had to stop working, after he'd been through diagnostics and treatments at the hospital, he was sent home when there was nothing more that could be done. My husband and I went over to visit, and it was pretty rough to see this vibrant, funny and smart man struggle though the pain he was in, and his breathing sounded like he was sucking air through a crushed soda straw. Bless him, he passed a week ago Monday, the 9th of January. His memorial service was on Friday. And Friday was the day that I pulled that 510 out of the kitchen drawer.
So here I am, ready for a change, really ready this time. I've been intermittantly puffing on my 510 while waiting for my Go-Go kit and some juices to arrive in the mail. The plan is to curb the analog smoking while I begin to enjoy vaping again. Within a week, or thereabouts, I want to quit the analogs completely.
If y'all made it this far, bless your hearts.
I had a feeling it would turn out to the not-so-short side! Hello to all, and I'm glad to be here.
