Yup, if only I had known how hard it was to quit and how bad it affected my body.

I like Mike started to look cool, more or less to impress a girl......

What amazed me was as Mike said the increased lung capacity but also the increased sense of smell. I didn't realize how much of my sense of smell had been lost until after a few weeks of quitting. It increased from there.

I have never smoked and have a really good sense of smell. I never liked the smell of cig smoke but would tolerate it as I liked to go out and drink and socialize. Everyone of my friends smoked at the time, so I was the odd one out. Never bothered me, cause I could out-drink them, go liver!!!!

Anyways, a few years ago cig smoke started having weird effects on me. If I ate a decent sized meal and someone fired a cig up I would almost vomit. The smell stated making me annoyed, and aggravated. I used to be able to stick out a smoky bar till my eyes burned, but it stated to get to my lungs and throat, making me cough alot. So I had to curb my going out (good thing) and luckily my friends were always conscious of when I was around and would put themselves downwind of me. I have no idea why I starting having more issues, guess my body had enough. I have to deal with VOC (volitile Organic Chemicals) all day at work and I can imagine that is not good. I have always HATED the smell of car paint, gas, and alot of other items that evaporate.

My wife smoked, and I managed to ween her off the cigs. As long as she was around me she would cut down alot, seemed like drinking was her worst trigger. I have watched alot of my friends quit, and it does seem to be a very difficult thing to do. Good job to all those who have been successful, you will feel better and enjoy a better life. I have a 50yr old friend who quit in the last year and the difference is amazing. He looks younger, sounds alot better and his temperament is much better. I guess he just feels better now that he is not slowly poisoning himself!

I hope I'm right to say this, I need my smokes and most likely I will never quit. I quit herion, and meth. Yeah, I was on the needle many times a day, now new RC cars is my greatest joy. Too bad I can only afford used, just kidding:) BUT cigarettes, thats my last help when stress and anexiety claws at me. So I'm going out for a cig:lol:

Lucky ***** you are, that have never smoked cigs or worse!!

Thomas Garvik

Once you realize the cigarettes actually help cause the stress you feel that they relieve, you will be happier.

Maybe it's just me, but I never have seen a bunch of chipper smokers sitting around having a good time. The groups are usually solemn and depressed looking. I know, I was one of them.

i got my order from vapor4life the other day - i'm very impressed with the packaging, lol. as for the realism - it's probably 80% spot on. i got the highest dose of nicotine (36mg), and i think it's too much... it makes me cough when i take a hit! very realistic - it hurts the lungs.

i got a bunch of 'flavors' too - some close, some not. a menthol sampler pack, coffee (my favorite!), orange juice (weird), clove (close), and sour green apple (my 2nd fave).

it's not exactly like the real thing, but i'll be happy puffing away on it in bars, where smokes aren't allowed. :mdr:

i quit 4 years ago when my daughter was born. i started when i was 17-18 and i'm 37 now. it was a real bitch the first 3 months. everything and everyone pissed me off and i was like a mean old dog. Seriously. i was a real bastard to be around. :lol:

it was one of the best things i ever did....i had developed 3 different sleeping disorders from the smoking (Restless leg syndrome, nocturnal myoclonus, and periodic limb movement) and when my body finally got rid of the last of the toxins, i actually slept 6-8 hours a night for the first time since i was a kid.

that was incentive enough. no more do i have to twitch and jerk all night and try to survive on 1-2 hours of sleep....now...my body can REST.

i was a drug addict and a lush too. i quit smoking first, then prescription pills and then booze. all i gotta do now is drop the 50 pounds i gained from quitting all 3. :gasp:

i went out and got a treadmill this week and threw away all the sugar in my house. i'm going on a fruit and veggie detox to get rid of all of the fast food garbage in my body. i think that'll help alot.

anyway, good luck to anyone trying to quit. it's a terrible addiction and such a tragedy to lose anyone related to the disasters it does to your body. for me, it took the birth of my daughter to help save me from myself. now i have a constant reminder on why i stay clean. :party:

is there a 12 step meeting for RC? :lol:

Figured I would give an update on my experience with the e-cigs.

When I first got one almost a year ago I went about 3 weeks without having a real cig. Then I got a little complacent and I was going back and forth using both for about 6 months. Still usually had a pack of real smokes but maybe only had 1-3 a day which was a big improvement over the 10 or more per day before the e-cig.

In the past 3 months I decided to try going back to only the e-cig and so far it has been great. Haven't smoked any real cigs at all. Right now I'm at the 18mg strength, and my plan is to wean down the strength over the next 3 months or so until I get down to the lowest strength or even the no-nicotine liquid.

All in all my personal experience has been very good with the e-cig and it has helped me first reduce, then stop my use of real cigs. I still don't recommend them to people (nor do I recommend against them), I just feel it's the persons own decision to do the research and determine what is best. But I do share my experiences with others and tell them how it has been positive for me. I will update this again in a few months, and hopefully will have more good news then!

I want to send out my congrats to everyone that has quit!

Both my parents, and many of my family members (aunts, uncles, sister) smoke. My sister kind of started me when I was probably around 9 or 10... (she's 6 years my elder). I thought it was cool, and would steal snipes from my parents and what not. Never really addicted probably (lasting off of a half cig a week, haha) so when my sister left the incentive was gone. Had a couple friends as I was in 9th grade or so that smoked, so I would bum cigs from them to look cool, never did it on my own though. Now a days (senior in university, 22 years old) I hate cigarettes. I don't like the smell, and I can tell from a mile away if a person is a smoker (great sense of smell). I do occasionally have a decent cigar or smoke my pipe during a walk outside (1-2 times a year). I will probably splurge and buy a good one (over $20) for graduation May 14th! (anyone know where to get a cuban? :P)