Debbie's Journey of Vaping - Oh this wonderful world of vaping - Part 3.

Hi, Thank you for coming back and joining us as we take a third dip into Debbie's experiences as she became a vaper.

Let's sit back and relax as she tells us more.....

And so it began, this journey into the unknown. I was still very dubious that I could do this once and for all and really “kick the habit”. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to show THAT government that they could not do this to me and get away with it. However, I was terrified.

I often think back now to that time in my life when all I did was to blame the government. It seemed easier somehow to put the “blame” that I had had to stop smoking, at someone’s door. Why not them? After all, it was the extra 37p in increased tax that gave me the final push into the world of vaping.

The first few days were weird. I could not get used to the pretend cig. I felt very conspicuous; like everyone was looking at me….which actually they were.... because at that time all this was still so new. It was very uncommon to see another person with a pretend cigarette back then.

As I got used to using my pretend ciggie it was quite astounding how many people came over to ask me about it. Where was it from? How I was finding it? Did it 'work'?.… My little “cig-a- like” stick had become a part of me, I would cling on to that little thing like a baby clings to a dummy, it was my lifeline and was permanently stuck to my hand.

Recalling how incredulous it was to my daughter that I had decided to stop smoking, imagine my surprise when after 3 days of vaping, my daughter said “I think I will try them too”. I was so happy!!! I’d been trying to get her to stop smoking for years. Yes, I know. It was rich coming from such a dedicated smoker as myself… It was more a case of “do as I say and not as I do”. As parents we none of us want to see our children smoking and damaging their own health do we?

So, we got together and a week later, hers arrived and it felt like I had a partner to share all of the joys of being a non-smoker with. We would ring each other every couple of hours to see how the other was doing. It was like our own little club, with just 2 members…..but our membership was soon to grow.

A day or so later my neighbour came over to drop a key off and saw my electric cigarette in my hand, and with great interest she asked me all about it and I passed it to her so that she could try it out and then our little gang became 3.

I felt so good about converting 2 more people to the electronic cigarettes. I couldn’t believe how easily I took to it. I did have some help along the way though. For instance, after about a week of not smoking I nipped upstairs for a cardigan in my “other” wardrobe (you know how it is girls) and as I opened the door, the smell of old cigarettes hit me full in the face, it was horrible. I shouted my husband to come up so that he could also smell it. He looked at me and said “You’ve been smelling that for the last 30 years” and he turned right around and walked off laughing.

Oh my god, it stinks. I was horrified. Have I really been stinking like that all this time? I dragged everything out of the wardrobe and promptly stuck it in the washing machine. I was not going to be smelling of old fags and dirty ashtrays. Oh no! Those days were gone.

I found myself on a mission to convert as many people as I could, especially my family and friends. They did not know what they were missing and so my quest to get the nation vaping had begun.

I couldn’t understand how in just a few short weeks my sense of smell and taste had come back… food tasted so much nicer. I’m not just saying that and nobody is paying me to say it. I have to also say that at this point, I’d noticed how much better my breathing had become. I wouldn’t get so out of breath by the time I reached the top of the stairs. It was unbelievable how quickly my health was improving! I couldn't be happier.

I guess I was using the 'cig-a-like' for about 8 months… I found it OK. It had after all got me this far but I felt as if something was missing.... I was frustrated that the battery only lasted about 2 hours before it died and therefore I’d always carry around 8 batteries with me just to be on the safe side! My friends thought I was mad. I had blue ones, red ones, green ones and black ones! I loved having the variety but the need to have so many with me as a back up was getting a bit silly!

But imagine being out for the night and your battery dying and having no spares???? I was terrified I would go back to the ciggies and did all I could think of to ensure I was never ‘caught out’. 

I also struggled to find my ‘perfect’ menthol replacement which led to me trying about 6 different suppliers in the 8 months I was using the cig-a-like.

And then I discovered it… A shop, an actual physical bricks and mortar shop, selling all kinds of electronic cigarette gadgets…..I was like a child at Christmas, so with tentative steps, I walked inside. Two hours later, I exited the shop with my very first 3 part Ego-T in PINK (and a much lighter purse) but I knew I’d found what I’d been looking for. 

Back at home I quickly got the hang of filling and re-filling the little cartridge and learning all about atomisers and stuff. Oh yes my friend, I was motoring along with this ‘ere vaping business and I have still not succumbed to the dreaded cigarettes. 

But my biggest test was yet to come….Plans were afoot for us to go on holiday and I was asking myself if I had the will power to walk past the duty free cigs???

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Oh Debbie! That was wonderful! I here ya about always making sure you have enough batteries when going out and about! Instead of checking to make sure we have enough cigarettes and that our lighter is working, now we check our batteries are charged and that we have enough liquid in the tank!

I could just picture the grin on your husband's face when you called him up to sniff at the contacts of your 'other' wardrobe before he spun around and walked away chuckling!

Will you join Debbie again next time and see if she had the power to resist the prices in the duty free as she prepares to jet off on her holidays? I can't wait!

See you soon!