Great stories all... In a way, they're all very similar...
About three years ago, I happened past a Smoking Everywhere kiosk, so I was vaguely aware but not interested. I went to my mom's house on my birthday a couple of weeks later to find that she had bought one for me. One of her friends had gotten one and swore by it, so she spent $300 or so on their top kit, extra everything, and carts.
I was really not happy. I wasn't ready to try them. They tasted terrible, the atty never quite worked right, the battery didn't last... Add to that the fact that I wasn't ready to quit. I was almost angry that she'd presume to buy something like that for me. It sat in my closet for years, never touched after the second day.
Fast forward two years. I worked with people who needed lung transplants, many of them from a lifetime of smoking. It's not easy to talk to someone who's more or less dying from smoking while you stink of smoke. I felt terrible about it, but not really bad enough to do anything about it quite yet. At this point, I started looking into it again...
I did a small amount of research, glanced at ECF, and really wasn't into it. I didn't think such a thing needed such a large community, and I didn't understand how involved all this was. So I researched the overpriced stuff that's so readily available. Due to the referral programs, there's PLENTY of information out there about the garbage.
Then, my life changed. I found out I was gonna be a daddy. That's what did it. I went ahead and ordered $175 worth of garbage from V2. Like so many of you, it just wasn't quite doing it for me. I read their forum, which didn't have any good info. But I came across a discussion someone was having about this forum and a deleted post from the V2 forum, so I had to come check it out.
It's too late to make a long story short, but with info from ECF, I am now two months tobacco free. I use a ProVari with eGo tanks, and I'm as pleased as I can be. I still probably spend as much as I did before, but I think most of that was just finding the RIGHT stuff, and building up my DIY stock... Now I've got enough nic, pg, and vg to last a year, and I've got my hardware routine where I want it. I still spend a few bucks a month on attys and new flavorings and such, but I'm in a good place.
My fiance quit entirely when we found out she was expecting, and she doesn't like that I vape. It'll be interesting to see what happens after the baby's born and she doesn't have that keeping her from smoking... I've already got some menthol crystals I've been secretly playing with, trying to get the hang of using them... She smoked menthols, and I hate them, but I want to be ready if she picks them up again!
If you've made it this far, thanks!
W