Hello everyone,
I, like so many others, was addicted to smoking for a long time (in my case, over 20 years). Over the years, I got to witness many transitions on cigarette smoking. I am only 39, but when I first started smoking at the age of 18, cigarettes were $1.24 a pack for name brands. In my area today, a pack of Marlboro's are now $5.50 (and from what I gather, that is cheap compared to other places in the country!). When I began smoking, you could smoke...EVERYWHERE! Hospitals, restaurants, bars, movie theaters, grocery stores, airplanes, you name it! Today, a smoker is lucky they are still allowed to smoke in their own cars. The whole time I was a smoker, I would resent smoking bans and higher cigarette taxes like you wouldn't believe. Why did I have to go outside the bar to smoke?! It was a BAR!!! I felt like our government was sticking it to us smokers everywhere we turned. Yep, I use to feel this way...
It is amazing what we as humans get use to over time. If you really stop and think about it, we truly are 'creatures of habit'. We put ourselves on a daily routine and stick to it. That is why smoking for so many of us was such a struggle to put down (and for some, continues to be so). It became our routine - our sustenance - just like eating and drinking. It is very difficult to try an explain this to a person whom has never smoked (my girlfriend for example). They may say they get it, but they simply cannot.
Society at large has declared war against smoking. There are very few places left where a person is allowed to smoke nowadays. Smoking bans topped with ever increasing cigarette prices is proof of that. Since it is becoming harder and harder to smoke freely in society like the good ole days, many of us began to think about quitting, or at least to find a different alternative. Nicotine patches, gum, hypnotism, acupuncture, cold turkey, etc - chances are most of us had tried many different techniques to stop smoking in the past with no luck. When I first heard about electronic cigarettes a few years ago, I laughed. I thought to myself "Come on...an electronic cigarette? Really? That's never going to catch on! Smokers need to smoke, period! There is just too much comfort.". Well, the last few years has seen a $2.75 price increase per pack in my area as well as a city-wide smoking ban. Think about how many times we all have had to get up just to go outside to smoke? If any of you are like me, I HATE to be cold, but yet, it never stopped me from feeding my addiction throughout the winter months. Nope, what comfort that was once associated with smoking is now a distant memory...
As I now sit here vaping away on my eGo and thinking back, I can't help but wonder if cigarette smoking itself will some day go the way of the Dodo altogether. As the laws get tougher on the smokers, and the cost keeps going up, more and more people are going to be trying to break free from the habit by any means. Just like all of us, many people are going to get educated about electronic cigarettes. I believe we are all playing a part in history in the making right now - an evolution towards a healthier society. Sure, we are a long way from that future still, but for every person who is able to make the transition from analogs to ecigs, that future beckons a little closer every time. It is an exciting time we are living in right now!
I never thought I could stop smoking cigarettes. I honestly thought they would have to quit me. Every time I reach for my ecig I want to hug the darn thing!
vaping has changed my life in every positive way imaginable. No more smelly clothes and hair. No more accidental burn holes. No more going outside on freezing winter days and nights just to smoke. No more looks of disgust by non-smokers whenever I would light up. No more watching the clock at work for my smoke breaks. No more killing myself and harming those around me! I am no longer a slave to smoking and I owe it all to a simple little device. If it had not been for a peaked interest in ecigs that got me to 'give it a try', I would still be smoking today without a doubt in my mind about it.
We truly are 'The Ambassador's of a Healthier Tomorrow'...
I, like so many others, was addicted to smoking for a long time (in my case, over 20 years). Over the years, I got to witness many transitions on cigarette smoking. I am only 39, but when I first started smoking at the age of 18, cigarettes were $1.24 a pack for name brands. In my area today, a pack of Marlboro's are now $5.50 (and from what I gather, that is cheap compared to other places in the country!). When I began smoking, you could smoke...EVERYWHERE! Hospitals, restaurants, bars, movie theaters, grocery stores, airplanes, you name it! Today, a smoker is lucky they are still allowed to smoke in their own cars. The whole time I was a smoker, I would resent smoking bans and higher cigarette taxes like you wouldn't believe. Why did I have to go outside the bar to smoke?! It was a BAR!!! I felt like our government was sticking it to us smokers everywhere we turned. Yep, I use to feel this way...
It is amazing what we as humans get use to over time. If you really stop and think about it, we truly are 'creatures of habit'. We put ourselves on a daily routine and stick to it. That is why smoking for so many of us was such a struggle to put down (and for some, continues to be so). It became our routine - our sustenance - just like eating and drinking. It is very difficult to try an explain this to a person whom has never smoked (my girlfriend for example). They may say they get it, but they simply cannot.
Society at large has declared war against smoking. There are very few places left where a person is allowed to smoke nowadays. Smoking bans topped with ever increasing cigarette prices is proof of that. Since it is becoming harder and harder to smoke freely in society like the good ole days, many of us began to think about quitting, or at least to find a different alternative. Nicotine patches, gum, hypnotism, acupuncture, cold turkey, etc - chances are most of us had tried many different techniques to stop smoking in the past with no luck. When I first heard about electronic cigarettes a few years ago, I laughed. I thought to myself "Come on...an electronic cigarette? Really? That's never going to catch on! Smokers need to smoke, period! There is just too much comfort.". Well, the last few years has seen a $2.75 price increase per pack in my area as well as a city-wide smoking ban. Think about how many times we all have had to get up just to go outside to smoke? If any of you are like me, I HATE to be cold, but yet, it never stopped me from feeding my addiction throughout the winter months. Nope, what comfort that was once associated with smoking is now a distant memory...
As I now sit here vaping away on my eGo and thinking back, I can't help but wonder if cigarette smoking itself will some day go the way of the Dodo altogether. As the laws get tougher on the smokers, and the cost keeps going up, more and more people are going to be trying to break free from the habit by any means. Just like all of us, many people are going to get educated about electronic cigarettes. I believe we are all playing a part in history in the making right now - an evolution towards a healthier society. Sure, we are a long way from that future still, but for every person who is able to make the transition from analogs to ecigs, that future beckons a little closer every time. It is an exciting time we are living in right now!
I never thought I could stop smoking cigarettes. I honestly thought they would have to quit me. Every time I reach for my ecig I want to hug the darn thing!
vaping has changed my life in every positive way imaginable. No more smelly clothes and hair. No more accidental burn holes. No more going outside on freezing winter days and nights just to smoke. No more looks of disgust by non-smokers whenever I would light up. No more watching the clock at work for my smoke breaks. No more killing myself and harming those around me! I am no longer a slave to smoking and I owe it all to a simple little device. If it had not been for a peaked interest in ecigs that got me to 'give it a try', I would still be smoking today without a doubt in my mind about it.We truly are 'The Ambassador's of a Healthier Tomorrow'...
