I’ve been off the forum over the last few days, I have just lossed a good long term friend to lung cancer. James " stax" bloomfield.
He smoked roll ups for most of his life.
It is absolutely awful to watch a man go through that. 18mth battle that destroyed him, he must of only weighed 5stone in the end. Heart wrenching, got a lump in my throat now while typing this. So,so sad.
Smoking IS a killer period. I don’t know anyone that chews tobacco, so can’t say, but seen first hand what smoking does to you. Thank god i quit.
RIP James. 
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Sorry to hear of your loss @Pattie !!! It is difficult watching friends pass on. If only Vaping was around 20 or 30 years ago many of our friends and family would still be with us today if they got off the stinkies. In my shop I have seen people get off the chew with vaping too though it’s a lot less. Chew delivers much more nicotine so it tends to be less effective for them. If only one life is saved then that’s a big deal and worth the effort in my book…
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Thank you my friend. The best of it was i let him have a mtl set up with some juice and he loved it, but unfortunately it was already too late for him.
I’ve never chewed my self but have seen lads doing it. Just never took my fancy. (Thank god) one less habit to kick.
I’ve already turned one of my friends into a vaper and hes stopped smoking, completely. Busy working on my daughter at the moment, so if i can help a few more mabey it just might make the difference in saving a life.
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Not sure of the date so I’ll just say 1-01-13. I was smoking 30 cigs a day. I had tried ecigs before, mainly as a way to get through a long flight. As soon as I got off the plane I would light up a cig though. Eventually my wife expressed an interest in quitting so we went to the vape shop and got set up with our Ego’s and 6mil nic. Three years later and I’ve had two physicals in that time. My doc says my health is constantly improving and I even run now! My wife occasionally has a cigarette when we are out drinking but I’d say that’s once a month, so definitely not a smoker by my terms. These days I vape 15 to 20 mil a day, probably 1.5 to 3 nic. My wife vapes maybe 2 mil a day, no nic.
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i quit smoking 8-19-13. a little over 40 years smoking 1-2 packs per day red cowboy killers. nothing i ever tried was really successful at helping me quit because down deep i didn’t want to.
in 1994 i had a severe pneumonia that put me in the hospital . i laid there for 11 days not responding to any treatments .i was referred to a specialist who ran a scope in my lungs and declared me tumor free. after a cat scan i never even saw that doctor again. when i got wheeled back into my room there was another doctor who introduced himself and told me i was scheduled for surgery the following morning to remove an abscess. i wanted to know my options and the doctor told me “none, by this time tomorrow you’ll be dead”. the surgery was successful and i felt like a million bucks. within 2 weeks of release i was smoking a few cigs a day. within 2 months right back at it.
in 2006 my mother was admitted to the hospital with a severe pneumonia which turned out to be lung cancer. odd coincidence it was in was in the exact same location as my abscess. she passed a week later and i thought “i really should quit”. kept on smoking and even increased due to the stress of settling an estate 500 miles away.
in 2010 my older sister was admitted to the hospital with a severe pneumonia that turned out to be lung cancer. she passed within 5 days. once again same exact area near the heart. i told myself “you really should quit”.
in 2012 i was starting to really get tired of smoking. my lungs hurt so bad i couldn’t sleep. even a cough would double me over and that’s when i told myself, there is very little reason to go on living in this much pain.
in 2013 a couple of ladies at my work began vaping and told me all about it and how happy they were. then a male friend also at work started and couldn’t say enough good things about flavors and how much better they felt. i waffled for a couple of weeks and then went and bought an ego starter kit and told myself “i am going to make this work”.
i haven’t touched a cigarette since. vaping gave everything i needed to quit smoking. i feel so much better and i actually have hope in my life.
the moral of this story is “you have to want it” . no one or anything can change your mind or attitude towards any addiction but yourself. good luck.
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Oct 29, 2014 - I was 38 at the time and set a goal of quitting before the age of 40. I gave myself two years as a long term goal and figured if I failed I still had time to do it. I smoked for 23 years too long at about a pack and a half a day, sometimes more. I would come home smelling like an exhaust pipe and had the yellow teeth even a month after a dentist cleaning.
I tried the gum, tried the patch and then the saviour came into my life. I ran into a buddy at hockey and he had just purchased an ecig. I tired it and before I knew I was giving him money to buy me one. It was the usual small battery evo with some cheap kangertech clearo. Then I bought another as the battery just wasn’t enough for how much I vaped.
The first few weeks were a little weird and had maybe 5 cigs enjoying each one less and less. I stuck with it after I noticed my body repairing itself and coughing black tar ashphalt especially in the morning. After about six months we were on vacation so after a few drinks and some great sex I had one of my wife’s smokes and It was like eating the ashtray. I was so disgusted from that experience that it just solidified what I was doing was the right thing. I kept telling myself that I never quit smoking, just started vaping.
A year and a half later I mix all my juices and make all my coils for pennies. I’m now working on the wife and try to feed her as much information as possible on why she needs to quit. now being smoke free the smell after she has a smoke is disgusting, as a smoker you don’t smell it like a nonsmoker
It takes 15 years to fully repair your lungs, so the sooner the better
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Hey guys, I’m Daniel an ex smoker of 20 plush years thanks to vaping. I’m an disabled vet from the gulf wars, 2 brain surgeries I had to quit smoking. I jumped right into diy because it gives me something to do and I really enjoy it. I’ve used up my starter kit from liquid barn and have about 25 new flavors showing up in mail Monday from bull city vape. Capella, flavor west, flavora and a few more. Thanks to you guys for all you do here and help people get started with the best flavors possible. Thank you for that. I can’t wait to put up more recipes and help in any way I can. I haven’t ever tasted a premium e juice so I have nothing to compare. Disabled vets don’t make alot and times get hard on my family of 5. But diy is a affordable solution to help me stay cigarette free.if there is anything I can do to help this community grow please let me know… I can’t say thank you enough… keep on vaping!
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I first tried to use ecigs to stop smoking in 2014 after smoking for 58 years, having tried acupuncture, patches, gum and hypnosis.
The first 6 months were only partly successful using first the cigarette look- a-likes, then the pen type.
Having seen the larger replaceable battery models on a market stall and done some internet searches I rang SRVapes for advice and in January 2015 purchased a Vamo and haven’t looked back. I have since bought a pack of 10 due of breaking the glass on my atomiser on the way to an all day meeting. Ended up throwing most away.
Waiting for the arrival of my new HP Spectre 15 computer and a Smok R200 with Steam Crave atomiser bought with the savings, may even be able to buy something for the wife!!
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I smoked for 26 years, a pack a day. I tried quitting with pills, patches, that stupid chewing gum and once cold turkey. The longest I stopped was 2 months.
Last year I discovered vaping through a colleague of mine. He advised me an Ego One VT and some juice. I finished my pack of smokes wile vaping and haven’t bought a new pack since. Never thought it would be so easy.
I’m now 3 months later and besides the occasional crave (which is quickly solved by vaping a bit) I haven’t had any problems quitting, even when standing with friends who still smoke.
The hobby on the other hand, I love it. Bought an eVic Mini, some RDA and RTA’s, started wicking and then making my own coils. And now starting to make my own juices. Who would have guessed that quitting would be so much fun! 
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Lost my dad 15 years ago to smoking and my father in law last summer. For my dad it was his heart because he smoked cigars and for my father in law it was menthol cigarettes. My father died quickly, he didn’t make it through a bypass surgery but my father in law did not die quickly. He lingered and suffered horribly. It took two years. We watched his lungs close up with the cancer at the end of this over a 3 day period. You do not want to see a person die like this or pass away yourself in this manner, he was in in a miserable hell in agony.For the love of God - quit smoking.
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I started smoking at age 14, by the time a quit (quite recently) I was a 30 a day smoker.
I got a eGo one for christmas last year which I used along side my normal smoking habits. It wasn’t untill new years that I did what every smoker says every year(this is the year I’m going to kick it)
However this time I meant it. So on the first of January I got rid of my last stinkie and while I was at it decided to give up booze as well.
Since then I have amassed quite a collection of juice, mods, tanks, and others goodies(go big or go home).
Now I’m just waiting for my vape mail so I can dive into DIY.
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DYI is fun. You are in the right place!
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It’s absolutely heart wrenching to watch something like that so my heart goes out to you.
After watching my friend basically disappear in front of my eyes (about 5 stones in the end) i will continue to try my best to get ppl to stop smoking. But until they experience something like that it does not sink in.
Horrible absolutely horrible.
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Thanks Patti, it’s real and I wish more people understood. These were both good men and they both left us way too soon. Lots of good people smoke and vaping is the best way out if you like your inhalant habit 
Incidentally - my vision has slightly improved since I quit! Just found out from eye doc!
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Since my 2 year anniversary is coming up this month,
thought about my switch from cigs to vaping.
Like most of my generation, started young.
Joined the military right out of High School.
Didn’t help that in the military ( at that time ),
the price of a pack or carton was extremely little.
Seemed everyone smoked ( smoke’em if you got em).
After retiring from that, the Cigs had me.
Friend at work got me started by getting me a starter kit.
Stuck with it. Now that is a true friend.
( I now pay it forward when I can )
I now have found my sweet spot with equipment, so
my concern is about what goes into my ejuice.
Which brings me to this very helpful site.
A very large ‘Thank You’ to those who help us beginners.
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I wrote this in another similar topic, last night. Couldn’t remember the exact date I actually quit, but I just looked it up (as i had told someone on facebook I was quitting) and turns out it was Valentine’s Day this year, so actually just under a month. Thought I would just repost what I had written, into here anyway, and expand on it a little…
I started smoking when I was 10, My friend Eddie at the time used to steal Marlboro’s from his dad, and we would go hide behind his shed in his back yard and smoke them, by 13, I was smoking much more regularly, as i was friends with some older kids who had easier access to them, and by 18, I was smoking a pack a day. That continued on and off, but mostly on, until recently, the last few years, with better vape equipment coming out seemingly daily, it has been easier to put down the habit of smoking cigarettes, and with my first sub-ohm kit, I felt I was ready to drop it 100%, however losing that mod has made it harder lately…
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I had my last cigarette Nov 16 2014 I had my first cig in 1970 something not sure but got my first carton when I got my learners driving permanent in 1973 no longer needed to hide my smoking from mom and dad . I got a bad chest cold in around 1993 and figured if this is what breathing is going to be like later i dont want it so i stopped for a week .I also have worked most of my life around harsh chemicals including asbestos when I was a kid . So my way of thinking my lungs are fried anyhow I also did industrial spray painting and Welding. I tried to stop on few occasions but did not last long sort like it was a waste of time then my son who been on this new e cig deal for some time had one he just replaced. We found a broken wire in it fixed it and I started using it never intended to stop smoking. I knew it was a waste of time I was also getting lot of heat from my doctors . all of them about not smoking at the time I was just finishing up radiation treatment for skin cancer that would not stop .any rate my son and I were on the back porch talking about a lot of different things and I had been using the ecig for about 4 hours. and it dawned on me no cig my son told me that if I could get past the first cigarette in the morning.that it would get easier. And it did first morning was tuff but no stinky next morning two and half packs sitting on my night stand almost light one by habit .so moved them to the kitchen on top of the fridge .the closest I came to picking up was 4 days in my atomizer burned out at midnight next morning got a cig hot boxed the hell out of it nothing shit now can’t smoke can’t vapor looked up B M aka ecig store walked in asked them to help me before I killed someone he laughed fixed me up with 3 atomizers two bottles of juice all cost less than two days of cigs would last a week. one was to be my favorite for months to come tobacco can’t stand it today the money I saved I started buying juice ecigs never turned back now I got spares on top of spares enough juice supplies to Last a long time .the big plus for me building coils working on mods keeps my mind occupied I still enjoy going to the brick and mortars .I got to compete in a couple of cloud comps last year my health ain’t what i would like it to be but it is what it is .and I know it’s better without the stinkys my doctors all say just keep doing what I am. when I started with the ecig vaping I had been using breathing treatment every morning to help me breathe stopped that a month into vaping and only needed my inhaler once
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Been smoking since I was 16, ramped up to 2 packs a day by 29, working construction outside will do that. I had bought many vapes over the past 3 years and they worked for a few weeks, then they’d break on me or burn because I’d chain vape em.
Finally said fuck it last july, wife was 5 months pregnant and I wanted to be around for our daughter, so i bought a new setup (IPV3 li and I belive the arctic horizon, could be wrong here). On the way back home from the vape shop I gave a hobo a full pack of smokes I had on me and I haven’t bought a pack since. I’m feeling much better, I used to wake up most nights coughing. shits great.
My daughter was born oct 6 2015 and will never witness her daddy smoke a dart 
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No exact day, but August 2015 I was smoking almost 50 a day, after starting smoking again 12 years ago, going through a stressful time and I made the mistake of bumming a smoke as a way to chill out… Bad idea! (I’d experimented as a school kid as most of us do, but was convinced of the error of my ways after about a year of sly fags). Anyhow, having tried so many times with patches, sprays, cold turkey and always going back, I tried a cheap ecig, and although I didn’t stop, I managed to cut back on the cigs, until it broke, then more stress through redundancy led me back to full time smoking, I gave up trying, typical addict behaviour.
My son came over one day with a Kanger Evod, which I tried and found quite good, and didn’t give it another thought. It wasn’t until 3 hours later I realised I hadn’t lit up since he left, which was a long time for me. I bought an Evod 2 the next day, and I was down to 2 a day inside a week.A month later I bought a Subox mini and haven’t really looked back, the real turning point was finding a good all day vape (Ruthless Slurricane), but I save that one for a treat a couple of days a week.
Since then I’ve had a few periods of falling off the wagon, maybe 5-10 a day, but they’re few and far between now, and I’m down to 3mg, partly due to the sub ohm being too much to take on any more than 6mg.
While I dont see myself as a truly quit, ex smoker yet, (I wont feel like that until I’m down to 0 nic), I’m amazed that I’ve got to where I am, I never thought I’d manage to kick the cigs, but thanks to the knowledge of my local vape shop staff, and the support of my wife who keeps me in check when I feel like lighting up, I’m happier and healthier than I’ve felt in years, and the satisfaction I get from tinkering, building coils and now DIY liquids is great.
I’d urge anyone like me who has tried and failed to try this, you won’t regret it!!
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I quit two weeks before Thanksgiving. The problem for me was, what to do with this extra, empty hand??? Anyway, vaping is keeping both hands busy and a new hobby. Congrats to all who’ve made the switch, 95% less caustic than cigarettes is a good move.
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