These stories are great! I love reading them. I've told my story before but I'll go again.
I had smoked for almost 25 years, 1.5 packs a day. Tried to quit many times using patches, gum, Wellbutrin, cold turkey. Never took. I had given up trying to quit and just decided that even though I didn't want to be a smoker until I died, it looked like i was going to be.
In the summer of 2011 my neighbor kept telling me I had to try these electronic cigarette things. She smoked newports like a chimney, but said these were pretty good. She was still smoking, but she kept insisting that I should give them a try. I was skeptical and kept putting her off with, "oh yeah, maybe I'll check those out sometime". She kept asking me every time she saw me, so I figured what the hell. I was already wasting so much money on gum for when I couldn't smoke. Might as well waste a little more.
I went to the drug store that she recommended on August 16th, 2011 and picked up a 'Fuma'. It was a little cig alike with one battery and some expensive tobacco flavored cartomizers. Cost me about $50. I felt a little guilty wasting this money, especially since it was the day before my husband's birthday. i felt like i was buying myself a stupid present for his birthday, lol. I was still extremely skeptical that these would do anything, but thought maybe I could cut down a little at best. Amazingly, I only had one cigarette the rest of the day. I got online and started doing research. I stumbled on ECF while looking for cheaper options for cartomizers. I clung to the idea that the cig alike would be okay for a while, but after a few days charging those little batteries was starting to get on my nerves and I ordered a better set up. Even with the dinky little things I had still only smoked 2 partial cigarettes, mostly just to see if they would taste bad (they did). Since that time I have not smoked or, or even wanted a cigarette. Blows me away.
Ironically, my neighbor who had recommended the ecigs to me did not have the same success. I tried to share all the stuff I was learning with her. The better set ups, refillable juice, finding the appropriate nicotine level. She was also still convinced that the prefilled cartomizers equalled 2 packs of cigarettes and would use one long beyond the time when they could possibly have any juice in them. She must have been smoking filler. She was no longer really interested in the ecigs. Anyway, she was already terminal with cancer (not lung), so I don't know how much motivation to quit/switch I would have had in a similar situation. Sadly, she passed away in July of 2012, but I will always be grateful to her for nagging me relentlessly to try these things out.
