What's your e-cig/PV discovery story?

[iVaporgirl]

Hello!

This will be my 2nd thread post (for some background info check out my first post "non-smoker intrigued by the ecig"...or whatever I called it, lol) woo! Anyway, I wanted to start a different topic with this:

What is the story behind your discovery of the e-cig?

Here's mine to start:

As I said in my first post I am a non-smoker, but my boyfriend smoked for about 15 years. He did the whole quit, start over, quit again thing a couple times then totally quit with Chantix. But his place of work (a nightclub) had a bunch of smokers in it that had gotten a hold of ecigs and were "vaping" during their shifts. So he got one himself and wished they had been around while he was trying to quit - he loves it.

Since I was also going to the club I'd seen his coworkers use the device and was pretty curious - but I also kind of thought it was dorky looking (maybe it was the model they were using at the time).

But then through the persuasive influence of my b/f (and better look ecigs probably, hehe) I have tried out vaping myself! I use zero nicotine fluid and I don't inhale. I find it to be rather fascinating. So much so that I kind of "marketed" it to another friend who had mentioned something about wanting to quit smoking. He purchased a manual 510 I think per my introduction - and commenced to NOT VAPE. *sigh* Sad but that's another story.

But my boyfriend still loves it And I am still intrigued by it myself and occasionally like to show it off now and then.

So, how did you find the e-cig?

 

[420GypsyGirl]

 

[vicks]

one day on december 09. while lunch in a restaurant in Madrid. behind me had a man with a false cigar in his mouth.

At first I thought, that cigarate was the tipycal menthol cigarette. but suddenly voila¡ that man expelled smoke.

that evening. when arrive to my office. began a search in google. and found a chinese web where can buy a e-cigar for 10$


ohhh so cheap. why not buy it¡¡ i made my order.. and later i was start to look information about that cheap cigaretes
looking some web pages in spanish.. Cigarrillo Electronico Foro Vapeando. there i read. bad recomendation for that cheap cigarete.. bad quality
and bad tastes.

the people in that web, said. the bitter cigarete to start is 901 or 501. imediatly i cancel my order and buy a started kit
mini on TW.

later looking more information found this forum. dificult for me, becouse is in englsih language..but very sucesfully

 

[dwillings]

I was browsing the news on Foxnews.com when I saw an article titled "Can smoking be healthy?" So of course (as a smoker) I had to investigate. The article was essentially about the e-cig company Smoking Everyone. I unfortunately read more about e-cigs on their website and got suckered into ordering one of their e-cigs. Luckily through the glory of google I found this forum and then canceled my order as fast as possible lol..Now i've been vaping for about 3 months now and I haven't smoked a real cigarette since I started vaping..

 

[iVaporgirl]

I was browsing the news on Foxnews.com when I saw an article titled "Can smoking be healthy?" So of course (as a smoker) I had to investigate. The article was essentially about the e-cig company Smoking Everyone. I unfortunately read more about e-cigs on their website and got suckered into ordering one of their e-cigs. Luckily through the glory of google I found this forum and then canceled my order as fast as possible lol..Now i've been vaping for about 3 months now and I haven't smoked a real cigarette since I started vaping..

lol, yes it seems much of the PR that's been done on these devices has been from really dubious sites and companies. Glad you were able to get some better information before you actually "started"

Thanks for sharing!

 

[OMB]

A guy I work with told one of my supervisors about e-cigs. She ordered a Blu (and seems to be happy with it??). She loaned me one of her Blu's...it was okay, and I liked the idea. I went online and ordered from SmokeEverywhere....long story....got ripped off. I decided to look around and found this forum!! What an amazing amount of VERY HELPFUL info!! I now have a 510 and plan to order stuff as I have money. I am not off analogs yet, but hope to be soon.

 

[VapingRulz]

A co-worker showed me her e-cig (Greensmoke) in September when we met up outside on a smoke break. I had never heard of them at that point and I thought the whole idea was very cool, so I started to research e-cigs. A couple of weeks later a friend of my husband was raving about her e-cig and the minute he heard how effective it was, he got excited and asked her to give me info. (He quit several years ago and really wanted me to quit, too.)

Long story short, she recommend the Vapor King UU kit so I ordered it. It arrived on October 16th and I smoked while I was opening up the package and poring through the contents. That was my last cigarette.

I think that I enjoy vaping even more than smoking.

Oh, and the co-worker who started it all with her Greensmoke? She went back to analogs after less than a week because her e-cig was too weak and she couldn't get a handle on her cravings for cigarettes. She says she's going to try again, but next time she'll buy from Vapor4Life.

 

[Garnoch]

I heard about them this last November from my mother actually. She knew my wife and I wanted to quit for quite a while. We had been smoking just over 20 years. Then on Christmas Eve, my wife an I saw one in action. Her cousin was using one with us outside as we had an analog. He quit smoking the day we started using his ecig which had been almost a month earlier. A week later my wife said lets do it, so I started my research and a couple days later placed an order. We both quit the day we started vaping 15 days ago.

 

[Bekinder]

Saw an ad on AOL and clicked on it; read the small particulars about it; and it was a monthly type charge thing. NOPE, not going to do that. Then I searched and found ECF and began reading. I really wanted to quit smoking as it was affecting my health. Took to it like a duck to water immediately. Likely over did the buying at first, but now I have
good supplies of most needed items. That was Nov. 1 and still going strong. Nice to
breath again.

 

[Woodawg]

She explained what it was and had purchased it "Across the Pond" which piqued my interest.

A preliminary search turned up "Smoking Everywhere"

After a drill-down investigation of their page revealed follow up charges to their "Free" trial I clicked the "X" and left asap.

Unfortunately they had already aquired my email addy and 'round about Christmas the email came offering that $100+ starter kit for under 40.

Wanting to try vaping and seeing the cost of so many other models I took the bait.

Now I have it and while so far have been less than impressed ... I am not ready to give up.

 

[tig]

Saw the topic about the court ruling on a political/news forum i belong to and another poster recommended this site for more information.

 

[iVaporgirl]

@OMG - good thing you found the forum! it sucks that there is so much bs information out there and slick & sleazy company's that dominate the market. glad you were able to educate yourself and get a better experience/device question tho? if your boss bought from Blu why did you go to SE for your first purchase?

@vapingrulz - that is awesome your friend from work inspired you! I joined one of my friends for a smoking break and used my own ecig (evo I think) to sort of "get him" to see how easy it was. I failed to convince him they were better than his Swiss made cigs the tragedy of this was that this was about 2 mos AFTER he'd purchased a 510. I'm wondering the psychology

@garnoch that is awesome! hope you keep it up and it gives you many "happy returns"

@bekinder good to hear! and the transition was easy? that's cool. I of course took me a little while to get used to it (gesturing and all). And I wonder if your easy experience is the norm or not? nice Avatar avatar btw hehe.

@woodawg sorry to hear about your initial experience with SE (god, they are prolific aren't they? it's sad). that is very interesting a flight attendant was using it though! I mean I know these things are advertised as "smoke anywhere" but some folks have found it a bit awkward on some airlines I've heard. hope you find a device much more to your liking soon - it's totally worth it!

 

[iVaporgirl]

@garnoch btw I just read your "Two Weeks of Experience: The Novel" post and was really impressed. Yes it is a novel but has great information and gives people a great sense of what to expect and how the process can work for them

 

[OH Tommy]

Hello! . . . . So, how did you find the e-cig?

.

Hello IVaporgirl!

Similar to some of the others ... I heard a commercial on WLW Cincinnati radio while I was driving and tried to write down the 800 number. It was one of those, "We'll send this absolutely free, just to help you ..." deals.

I Googled when I got home and, luckily, found all the SCAMMER'S sites first. By Fate or by Accident, I found this forum through Google. I read and read and read and asked questions on here and got great answers and great information.

Somehow (LOL), I was able to decide not to pay $20 S/H, not to pay $200 and not to commit to automatic monthly shipment of refills for the rest of my life! 8-o

I learned here about the $35 501 and Cignot and now I'm happy!

.

 

[Riptides]

Found out about e-cigs via slashdot via CES 2010 worst things segment linked on there. I was very intrigued by the e-cig and by comments on Slashdot wondering how in the hell the e-cig made that "worst" list as there were a fair amount of people championing the product in their comments.

Did a google search came across the various bullcussing links and websites trying to sell high dollar inferior products and others with lock in "nicotine cart subscriptions" that were listed as FREE TRIALS. Things like Volcano and Blu looked the most promising but kept finding references to "stock up on ejuice" and "it's just another Joye ### renamed" so I pretty much knew there was more to it than slick marketing websites and cart subscriptions.

Kept digging via google and kept finding BS site after BS site until I was fortunate to Google "E Cigarette Forum" and came here. Spent a week just browsing studiously and reading up and came to the decision there's nothing to it but to do it and threw down for a 510 starter kit from RockyMtnVapes with some of their "cheap" 50ml juice.

And here I am.

 

[ajduran]

My brother mentioned something to me that my dad (long time chain smoker) started with e-cigs cause he couldn't smoke anymore in his office - in the business he owns - due to recently enacted no-smoking laws. I thought 'e-cigs, what the heck??' and did some searching on Google. I found this site and it really got me interested, I thought as a smoker for 20+ years if it helps me cut down, quit, or even just save some money, why not give it a try?

And no, I'm not embarrassed that my 70 year old dad is more tuned in than I am... !

 

[auTONYmous]

My experience is pretty different: To start, I haven't officially begun e-smoking (yet!)...but I just ordered a 902 from MondernVapors.com...and my smoking/quitting buddy also ordered a SideSho today.

I first saw e-cigs, of all places, on the Vegas Strip. I was in front of Fashion Square Mall, and there is a kiosk out there selling them. Of course, I never buy anything over $20 without researching it first. On the Strip, no time to research. First time I saw this kiosk was in July, then again in October, the last two times I've been out there. Since I completely forgot to go Google what that kiosk was selling, I never thought again about it. Not to mention, either it was the cheesy kiosk or the un-slick selling them, they just seemed like a gimmick.

Fast forward to two days ago. My smoking/quitting buddy calls me up. (He and I work together, take smoke breaks together, and have even tried Chantix, Wellbutrin, and patches at the same time. None worked for either of us). He told me about the Blu, and IM'ed me the url. I checked it out, googled some 3rd-party reviews, found out about the Volcano, started reading more about dripping, dipping, 510s, then the Revolver, then the SideSho, and had just about settled on getting a Revolver Gemini, when lo and behold:

I get another IM from my buddy. He'd just bought a SideSho, after I had urged him to cancel his Blu order (which he'd been waiting a week to process), and get something "better". I'd also steered him to sites featuring all the PVs I listed above.

Now, I'm a forum ...... I can spend all day on forums because I love the genuine nature of folks sharing info. And it REALLY makes my day to not only get a good deal, but also get the latest "toy". So, imagine my curiosity that the 902 seemed to be just now getting "set up" on ModernVapor's site. And didn't have much written about it. But what HAS been written is all consensus that "It's the best of the 901/510 in one device".

 

[auTONYmous]

(Can a brotha get a "edit post" button???)

Long story short, I "believe" that a manual is the right one for me, but I'll take the autos as well. I just about NEED a passthrough, since I work on my computer 10+hrs a day, and it's so damn cold here, I really look forward to being able to "light up" in the house for once. (My son has bronchitis, so it's outside for daddy and his Cancer Stix).

I'm satisfied with my purchase, I'm waiting like a kid on Christmas Eve for it to get here, and I'm REALLY eager to get off analogs once and for all. I only smoke about 1/2 pack a day, but I'm so short of breath I can't even make it through a Jillian cardio workout without nearly passing out. Pitiful. THAT's why I'm here.

And for what its worth: DonDaBoomVape's "Welcome To.." post is worth about 80 sites worth of miscellaneous info. THAT thing should become a FAQ page, forreal! Really helped me narrow down what I'm looking for without ever actually trying a PV. Lookit that! I'm already using the acronyms!!!

Anyway, I'm auTONYmous, and that's my story. I hope I can be of some help in return for all the help I've already gotten here in just 1 day. You guys are truly the best.

 

[ddunbar55]

My son in law started using the BE103. I followed his progress with it. It worked great for him to reduce his smoking to virtually 0. I thought what the heck. I'm trying it.
I bought the same model. I liked it at first. But, after about a week, the draw seemed very inconsistent.
My son in law informed me of a supplier that would give me support. I tried the supplier and got the DSE901. I love it. I would mention their name, but, I don't know if we are allowed to do that.
I've been vaping for about 2-1/2 weeks now. I've cut my over 40 years of cigarette consumption down from 1-1/2 to 2 packs a day to 5 or 6 cigarettes a day.

 

[lightinup]

Great question and very interesting answers!

My story is up until just last week, I had never even heard of an ecig. I live overseas in the Middle East and even though I am on the comp quite a bit, never heard of such a thing.

Anyways, last Thursday night, my husband and I were at Starbuck's in the Mall, drinking coffee and I was smoking my cigarette. Yes, the Arab's love their coffee and cigs and they smoke everywhere! Even underneath a No-Smoking sign, they will light up! I look over and see this gentleman smoking but I notice that the "cherry" is this weird looking red. So I am sitting there starring at him and I guess I just annoyed him so after a few hits, he left. I was just in such awe that I didn't even think about asking him what that was, I just stared like a newbie! My husband then says that he had heard something about an electronic cigarette.

Needless to say, as soon as we got home, I fired up that comp and started my search! Luckily for me, I found this forum very quickly. I read, read and read some more. I have since placed my order with Cignot for my first ecig, a Joye 510 and am already eyeing my second PV. But of course, I am waiting for the order to arrive to make sure that this is for me.

Right now, I just feel like a kid at Christmas! I am so excited and can hardly wait til it arrives!