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Testimonials

Real People. Real Stories.

The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) is collecting successful vape stories and testimonials from smokers who used smoke-free alternatives to quit or reduce their smoking. The testimonials are posted publicly on our website for everyone to see, and may be sent to lawmakers to fight anti-vaping legislation.

This public collection of successful vape stories is a powerful response to those who want to restrict access to e-cigarettes and other smoke-free products. Our goal is to present a large collection of compelling individual reports that will make it impossible for anyone to claim that substitution of low-risk alternatives (e-cigarettes, snus, and other smoke-free tobacco/nicotine products) is not a proven method for quitting smoking.

You are free to write your own story and include or exclude any details as you like. However, if you would like a few suggestions, below is a list of questions to consider:

  • How long did you smoke?
  • How long ago did you start using a smoke-free alternative?
  • Exactly what type of smoke-free products do you use (please do not include company/brand names), and has this changed over time?
  • Do you still smoke, and if so how much have you cut down?
  • Did you both smoke and use the smoke-free product for a time before quitting smoking entirely (if so, how long?), or did you switch immediately? Did you stop tobacco/nicotine entirely for a while and then start using a low-risk alternative?
  • What methods (NRT, Chantix, counseling, etc.) did you use to try to quit smoking before switching to a smoke-free alternative? How long were you able to go without smoking using these other methods before starting again?
  • What changes in the quality of your life (both positive and negative) have you noticed since adopting the smoke-free alternative?

You may prefer to write your story in a word processor and paste it here. You need to enter your entire story at once – you cannot start it and come back. There is no maximum length. Please remember that by submitting this, you are agreeing to have it posted online.

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Latest Testimonials

All Testimonials
# Name Testimonial Experience Date
13534
Trey
I can't figure out is people want to ban vaping when there has been proof of state legislators and state politicians in my state that have taken money from Big tobacco to push the ban. Yet cigarettes are perfectly legal to be sold in stores like they have for the past hundred years, they want to curb youth intake of vaping products so what's the stop youth from getting cigarettes like they used to? I admit when I was 15 I smoked cigarettes. I quit smoking in 2010 started vaping and vaping ever since had an x-ray for the last five times over a course of 10 years and my lungs are clear I feel better I have no problems. But big tobacco and the government want people smoking cigarettes so that way they get sick and have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on medical fees in this corrupt world we live in.

11+ years

11/17/2023

13533
Christopher Cameron
Started smoking around 15 and I’m now 30 and have been using vapes for about 4 years. Made the switch when I ended up in hospital after smoking caused me to have an infection which I had to go under and have surgery as it was quite serious. I’m glad I made the switch because my clothes don’t smell anymore, I feel much better, I don’t have to stand in the cold anymore and I’m generally just feeling good. I’ve used many vapes from disposables, pod systems and replaceable coils. Never going back to smoking. I appreciate vapes so much!

2-5 years

11/10/2023

13532
James
Had to post this up as I think vaping may have literally saved my life. I'm only 38 and had been a heavy smoker for 22 years had gotten to the point where I couldn't do exercise and was eating badly because I had literally resided to the fact I was going to die very young. 2 months ago I got unbelievably sick so much so that I was struggling to breathe 24/7 (I would literally breakdown in tears every day) and going for a walk up the driveway caused me to collapse and get rushed to hospital. It was at this time I made a conscious choice that I have to give up smoking so committed to giving vaping a good go, I honestly wouldn't have been able to quit without it had tried everything else previously. From there my life has just got better and better I'm walking 5km per day, strength training 3x per week, eating well and no longer think I'm going to die young. My friends and family have been amazed by the dramatic turn around - they have never seen me this happy and full of energy - and vaping was the thing that changed all of this for me.

Less than 1 year

10/01/2023

13531
Yves
Smoked for 45 years non-stop. Began vaping with disposables at 20 mg nicotine. Am now with reusable pods at 10 mg. Didn’t touch a cigarette since I started vaping.

Less than 1 year

09/24/2023

13530
Leslie
After smoking a pack a day for over 30 years and many attempts to quit, I tried vaping. After just 2 short weeks, I was able to put down cigarettes for good. My morning hacking cough went away. I didn't gasp for air walking up a flight of stairs. My house and car no longer smelled like smoke. Over the years I've been able to ratchet down my nicotine level and currently vape at just 2mg. A cigarette has WAY more nicotine and no way to decrease it. I fully believe that switching to vaping has extended my life span. I felt better almost immediately. Harm reduction WORKS!

11+ years

09/21/2023

13529
Gordon
Vaping and flavors helped me quit smoking I breathe better my blood pressure is better I feel better vaping helped save my life

2-5 years

09/03/2023

13528
Allison
I started smoking cigarettes when I was 13. I smoked menthol cigarettes of pretty much any brand most of the time that I smoked. Later in my smoking career I moved to Cheyenne Wild Cherry and Al Capone cigarillos. God got on to me about smoking, and I knew I had to quit. Vaping was available, and I tried it. Vaping and smoking are a bit different as far as the inhale, which took some getting used to, but I liked that I could gradually decrease my nicotine amount. I also liked the flavors. While I was trying to quit I would literally go down the road with the vape in my right hand and the cigarette in my left hand near the cracked window of my car. I am happy to say that within 6 months I was fully free of cigarettes. I have now been cigarette free for about 12 to 13 years. I don't get three to four sinus infections a year, I can actually jog a mile or more once I work up to it, and I feel better overall. I recently went to a country where I let my vape run out of charge, and I had to smoke cigarettes for a couple hours. I hated it. But smokers understand how the habit is. I was very happy to get back to my hotel room and my other vape waiting for me. Outlawing vape is the worst idea ever. I am grateful to have been able to quit. My house doesn't stink, my clothes don't stink, my hair doesn't stink, and my bank balance is higher. I spend less on vape juice and replacement coils then my husband does on his Marlboros. My dad says cigs taste different now than they did when he was young. They put more garbage in the tobacco. I imagine the cig industry would have fewer defectors if tobacco still had the same pure, rich strength it used to according to my father. Smokers would still be demonized, but big tobacco and big pharma would both be happy. I'm happy to have quit.

6-10 years

07/10/2023

13527
DB Miller
I smoked 2 packs a day for over 30 years. I had resigned myself to never be able to quit and was just waiting for the inevitable health issues. Then I got married late in life and started a family. At 44 I had a baby on the way and I realized that I wanted to see him grow up and that meant getting my health under control and that meant quitting the cigs. I tried the gum and patches but that just helped with the nicotine it didn't help with everything else related to smoking. The physical sensation the little breaks you get when you do smoke. So those didn't help even a little. I decided to try vape. I found a rig and some smoke flavored juice and it felt ok, once I got used to it, and tasted ok but I still liked my smokes. But then I found that you could get flavors of juices. I found Deep Fried Cake Pop flavored E Juice. I loved it so much that after a month I just didn't want to smoke a traditional cigarette. I quit the 2 packs a day and it wasn't the huge dramatic problem I had envisioned. Since I switched to vape my lungs have done a 180. Physically I'm 100% better and no longer worried about all the issues associated with smoking. I've become a huge advocate because of what vaping did for me. I plan to watch my son graduate in 20 years and I'm now confident that I will be there for it.

2-5 years

07/06/2023

13526
Grizzly618
I started smoking B&M Cigars when I was around 15 years old, when I was around 16 Vaping Products became the norm, and after a friend of mine recommended I switch for the sake of my life, I did, I used Vaporizers for many years and have never had any ill effects that could be proven to have stemmed from my very heavy Vape usage. It is a harsh reality that we must accept, we should all be open to accepting the fact that teens are likely going to use some form of E-Cigarette or Tobacco Product at some point in their teenage years, and it is simply unavoidable regardless of how far we raise the age to purchase these products. The goal of Harm Reduction is a just one, and should be accepted globally, as I'd of much rather I started out with an E-Cigarette than ever touching Cigarettes in my lifetime. Fast forwarding to now, I will keep my exact age undisclosed but I am in my 20's, I am now a dual user of Smokeless Tobacco, and E-Cigarettes, my preference for smokeless Tobacco stems from the taste and the effects of it being highly pleasurable to me as well as the fact that since Vaping in virtually any public place is Outlawed, I use smokeless Tobacco in order to satisfy my cravings when I am at work or any other Public location such as Bars or Restaurants. I have seen no ill effect from Smokeless Tobacco, in fact, smokeless Tobacco feels better than Vaping for me! usually if I vape all day, I tend to get a winded quicker and feel a bit lethargic, but if I use Smokeless Tobacco more than I vape during the day I do not suffer any of the same effects, and I can confidently say the same about Tobacco Free Nicotine Pouches, which I have used in the past, but due to their low potency and higher cost, I no longer use alongside my E-Cigarette. In terms of changes in the Qaulity of life, the effects are numerous, but the most important ones are clear, I spend LESS money than your average pack a day smoker does in a week or month, by far, since I have cut down on my Vaping drastically and primarily use Smokeless Tobacco, I only need to buy Vapor products once every other week and smokeless tobacco about once a week, the Smokeless Tobacco products are exponentially cheaper and higher quality than most Cigarette brands you can find in my area, with most Can of Dip costing $5-$8 while cigarettes will normally cost about $8-$12 Second and most importantly, the Physical changes have been extreme as well, while Vaping is far better than Cigarettes, I can wholeheartedly say that cutting back or outright quitting is a great option too, and if that isn't an option, look into Smokeless Alternatives, there are many completely Tobacco Free Dipping Products out there that are very cheap and can get the job done for most people, ever since I cut back exponentially, my energy levels have increased, cravings have decreased, and Physical Conditioning has become far better in the long run. In terms of negative effects, it has been difficult to put down either for me, I actually went about 1 month without Vaping, I was completely smoke free, I was using Smokeless Tobacco, however, it is very hard to use Smokeless Tobacco in the Industry I work in because you cannot use it where you cannot spit and because Spitting is a bit tasteless to do at your place of work in my opinion, I felt I had no other choice but to pick up a Vape again in order to have some sort of Nicotine delivery system while I was on break at Work. All in all, the bottom line is this, I was one of the Kids that they were talking about whenever the "underage epidemic" thing hit, and while what they were saying was relatively true in terms of how many Teens were vaping, the truth is, at least it's not cigarettes!

6-10 years

06/24/2023

13525
Ben G
I started smoking when I was around 13. (I'm now 59). At first it was just one a day, but quickly escalated to a 1/2 pack a day. I quit many times but it never stuck. I always knew that cigarettes would eventually kill me but that didn't matter (since we can't think/act in the long-term). Around 2015 I discovered vaping and that changed everything. I started off with tobacco flavor bit still smoked cigarettes since the taste of the vape was so objectionable. Then I found flavors and that changed everything. I was finally able to give up cigarettes since I now preferred vaping. The think I like best about vaping is there's not disgusting smell that lasts for over an hour. Cigarettes are DISGUSTING!! But if vaping (or flavored vaping) was banned I'd probably go back to smoking cigarettes. So please - do whatever you can to keep kids from starting, but don't ban something that's improved my life and millions of other adults all around the world!

6-10 years

06/22/2023

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