"I first came across vaping way back in 2010, when the standard kit was an ego battery with a plastic cartridge that nestled up against a very rudimentary atomiser built onto the battery. Mods - as we know them today - were the realm of the super-geeky, and things like building your own coils were still way in the future. I tried my first setup and did kind of OK for about a week. I was a pack a day smoker - have been since I was a teen - and I just couldn’t get enough out of the cartridge to satisfy my cravings. So quickly, I was back to the cigs.
Fast forward to October of last year. I’d lost my job and paying $40 a day for cigarettes just wasn’t sustainable. I was terrified. How was I going to do without my nicotine? I was faced with the choice - give up (yuk), become a criminal (yukkier). Then I remembered, vaping! After some online research, I decided an AIO was the way to travel. I had to do something, and it had to happen fast, and it had to be cheap. I spent literally my last $70 on an AIO kit and some juice. They arrived October 5th 2017. I quickly assembled the coil onto the AIO, filled it with juice and with the stick still attached to the USB port of my PC took my first draw.
And cough. Cough cough cough. More coughing. Oh c**p. I’m stuffed, I can’t do this. I remember the original ego stick I had made me cough too, and I never managed to get past that. Had I made a mistake? More online research and I discovered coughing was a common problem for people converting from cigarettes. Stick with this. I got this. Had to keep telling myself. I tried drawing less, increasing the amount of air, decreasing the amount of air. Finally I got to the stage where i was coughing every 10th puff. By the end of the week I was golden.
I smoked my last cigarette on the morning of October 5th 2017. Within a fortnight I was able to walk up hills without feeling like death. I could actually run. My skin changed. For the better. My appetite changed. My mood changed. I’m still a slave to nicotine, but I’m working on lowering the content of my mixes. Six months down the track I bought my first mod and tank - I dropped the AIO on the driveway, so it was that or buy cigarettes. Even with the new gear, and the range of juices I’ve collected, I’ve still spent less than a single month of smoking.
I’m glad I gave vaping a second chance - and I don’t think I’m exaggerating to say I think it saved my life. "
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