From Jim

Phil

Let me start out by saying, Thank you.

I had been smoking for about 30 years, my wife about 25 years. Me, about a pack and a half a day or more, usually more. My wife, about a pack a day.

We are both retired U.S. Navy, and now work in the civilian sector. In any military branch, the important decisions were always made in the smoke pit (Smoking area). So neither of us ever considered quitting.

I have to admit, that cigarettes ran our life. It was always, do I have enough cigarettes for the day, or on trips, where can we smoke, where is the smoking area in this airport, and does the hotel have a smoking room? While out to sea, when will the smoking lamp be lit? I am sure you remember what some of that was like. I guess I was also married to Marlboro.

Well, for years, our families were always on our butts to quit. In our minds, we sacrificed over half our lives for freedom, which included our right to smoke, or slowly commit suicide from inhaling carcinogens.

A little over a year ago some people at work that I spent smoke breaks with, started Vaping, forced to vape in the smoke pit. Where I work, we are mostly Veterans of all branches of the military, so yes, it’s constant BALL BUSTING. Back to the vapors, yes we gave the vapors a hard time. I notice seeing them less and less at the smoke pit, and they said they were not smoking at all anymore. They would talk about the flavors, and the fact that they don’t smell like a dirty ashtray anymore. Also, how much better they felt, breathing better etc.

Back in October 2014 I started talking with the wife about the smokers at work who were now vaping. She was intrigued, but skeptical. So I started researching on-line about vaping. So many people out there saying so many things, most of it was a foreign language to me, but I came across your site and I learned stuff, lots of stuff. The language barrier was became easier and easier. You are the Rosetta-Stone of Vaping for us.

November 2014 came, the wife and I talked, and decided on Veterans Day, November 11th as our quit smoking date. The morning of the 11th we went to the local Vape shop, somewhat educated, less intimidated. I wasn’t intimidated into buying the expensive mods, we just wanted the starter kits to get started. Tried every flavor we could at the vape shop and picked the ones we liked, and we were out the door, and done with cigarettes for good.

As of today, we are at our 2 month mark, or 8 weeks and 5 days, which ever sounds longer. We both feel better, breathing better, smell better, and smelling better. We can’t stand the dirty ashtray smell, and we point it out to each other when we are out and about. I can’t believe we smelled like that.

At work, being the heavy smoker, people were shocked seeing me vape. They couldn’t believe that I totally gave up cigarettes for an electronic device. I received the same ball busting I had given others, but I could take it. Within a week they were saying if I could do it, they could too. I was getting tons of questions, I answered what I could about what was working for me, nic levels, devices, tanks etc… Referred them to your site, the “Getting Started” section. When they came back with questions, it was so much easier to answer them now.

Thanks to your inspiration, as of yesterday, I have converted 6 people from smoking to Vaping.

So from all of us, thank you for all that you do.

Jim