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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
13513
CiA
WILLIAM QUIT SMOKING WITH ECIGS. William is 70 years-old, and lives in Florida. William quit smoking with ECigs. William began smoking at the young age of nine. By the time he was 13 years-old, he was a pack a day smoker. By the time he reached his 57th birthday and a 2 pack aday smoker, he had had a heart attack. During his youth, William spent some time in a juvenile detention facility. It was then that he realized how addictive smoking was. Deprived of his cigarettes while he was in detention, he experienced withdrawal symptoms so intense his wardens thought he was coming off an illegal substance. Growing up in Pinellas County, William had always been athletic. He set records in track during his high school years. He was a weightlifter. After his recent heart attack, William’s doctor told him to get off cigarettes. “He told me I would be dead in ten years if I didn’t stop smoking.” William tried the nicotine patch, but he found it to be too expensive. Then in 2012, William tried electronic cigarettes, and he hasn’t looked back since. William’s doctor found that William’s lung function has improved “100%”. William has better energy. His wife is an ex-smoker, so she is very happy with the fact that William is not a smoker anymore. Now that he is using e-cigs, William said that he will never, ever go back to regular cigarettes. As William pointed out, regular cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. Many of these chemicals are toxic or carcinogenic. “I can smell it a mile away if someone has smoked a cigarette.” Many people who switch to e-cigs report the same sensitivity to the smell of cigarettes.

11+ years

03/17/2023

13512
Apathy Miller
I started smoking daily @ 11 yrs old as I had a brother who was 7yrs older than me, so I got into everything very early in life. I tried quiting dozens of times. With hypnosis, acupuncture, Allen Carr's as well as several other quit smoking and self help books. I tried patches, gum, lozenges, nicotine inhalers, aromatherapy. I tried Varenicline, desmoxan, Wellbutrin, & Chantix medications as well as several herbal remedies. All without more than a few days success. So I smoked 30 cigarettes a day for the next 24yrs. I thought I would die a smoker. Both my parents smoked, all 4 grandparents smoked. All passed from smoking related illnesses. I resigned myself to dying a smoker. I had early stages of COPD. I would get bronchitis every year, sometimes twice a year. Upper respiratory infections, ear and sinus infections. So once Blu came out on the market, I had high hopes & bought it in 2011. It did keep me off cigarettes for a couple weeks. Longer than anything else, but unfortunately I did go back to smokes. I then forgot all about vaping and the cigalikes. Then 1 day in January 2014 I had a coworker who's new year resolution was to quit smoking. On a smoke break he had a vaping setup. This was not a cigalike though. Hey had a dual battery mod and a rda. He was vaping a cereal eliquid. He let me try it. That was all it took. I went home that night and researched any and everything i could find out about vaping. The next day i went to a local vape shop on lunch. I bought a setup and some 24mg liquids. A tobacco and an apple jacks cereal liquid. And that was that, I had my last cigarette driving over to the vape shop. I was done smoking. I tried every flavor of liquid I could get my hands on. For me that's a HUGE part of the appeal. I can get the nicotine I want and it tastes like fruity pebbles, a twinkie, or chocolate chip cookies. The last thing I want is something that tries to mimic the taste of tobacco. As eliquids have to have a tobacco flavoring added in order for it to taste like tobacco, and they're not very good. I'd much rather have a liquid that tastes pleasant. Having to vape a tobacco flavor as an exsmoker is like making an alcoholic drink water that tastes like beer or vodka. But just like that, I was done smoking. I just passed 9yrs as a vaper as of February 28th. I'll never forget my quit date, because it has saved my life. I no longer get bronchitis or any respiratory infections. My copd is now gone. As I go to the doctor on a monthly basis due to other health issues, my doctors say that I have the lungs of a never smoker. They can't even tell that I ever smoked. I feel so much better! I've lost 50lbs, my high blood pressure is gone. I can now walk a flight of stairs or take my dogs for a walk without being out of breath, without struggling to breathe. I feel so much better! I can taste and smell again. My house, my car, nor myself smells like an ashtray anymore. So thank you vaping, YOU SAVED MY LIFE! I will forever be grateful!

6-10 years

03/05/2023

13511
Dave
I tried cigarettes at an age of 12 tears old - which was easy, as my older brother was an established smoker at young age already. But until being drafted after highschool into the army, I just smoked very occasionally as a teen. Cigarettes were then easy to get & cheap. After army service, during college I increased my use to a package per day of filtered cigarettes. With the occasional fine cigars, cigarillos and pipes in the following years. At the end of my meanwhile almost 18 years long daily smoking career, I've switched (for financial & health reason) to half a bag of untreated RYO tobacco over the day and several heads of flavoured tobacco in my pipe. During these years, I've tried cold turkey (after surgery) and NRTs (gum), but nothing worked. My first contact with vaping was in 2012, when a colleague switched to dual-use, but the devices felt too clumsy for taste at this time. Though, in spring 2016 good friends of mine began to dual-use and switch (intermittently) completely (after childbirth). I was impressed, how the devices had developed, went online and watched various German and international YouTube-channels to get the basics. On the evening of April 9th 2016, I went and bought my first vaping Kit (a third generation mod with a pre-mare coil clearomizer/ rebuildable head) at a pop-up vaping store in a mall together with just 2*10ml of rather blunt "vanilla" & "menthol" liquids. I lit my last cigarette/ touched any combustible tobacco on the following morning of the 10th of April 2016, after almost 18 years of daily smoking. Since then, I didn't relapse once. I've never felt better in the following month. Beside the obvious smell of burnt plant matter stuck onto everything being gone, my smell & breath volume returned. I didn't even took on weight, other than smokers trying to quit with "established methods". Shortly after switching, I immediately began to research DIY-liquids, bought semi-professional equipment and stocked up on flavour. I also started to built my own coils. Suddenly, quitting smoking became a hobby. But it didn't take long, for legislation to draw dark clouds on my newly discovered paradise. The second version of the EU's tobacco products directive (2014/40/EU) was about to become national law in Germany, crashing down on the blooming market. That was also the begin of my time as an vaping advocate in social media (and amongst my still smoking family and friends). Although working close to high ranking national politicians at that time, I wouldn't even have imagined, how much corruption, lies and bullying is actually going on behind the curtains in legislation & regulation, when it comes to a deny smokers a safer alternative to combustible tobacco. In summary, I can just do my best, to make/ keep switching to vaping products possible (again) for all those people who still (begin to) smoke, Unfortunately, my government declared me (and thousand others) a criminal for creating my own DIY-liquids, because I don't pay them their horrendous new sin taxes for and don't return to smoking cigarettes (which would be essentially less expensive with taxes included). The fight isn't over.

6-10 years

03/03/2023

13510
Rob
I quit smoking and started vaping 33 days ago. I’m also diabetic and have high blood pressure. Since I stated vaping my A1C levels are at an all time low, I’m also taking much less insulin. My blood pressure is back to normal and I’m no longer on blood pressure meds. Vaping has saved my life.

Less than 1 year

03/02/2023

13509
Grandma D
Vaping was the tool that helped me quit a pack a day smoking habit that started when I was 17 ( I am currently 62 years old)I. Vaping has been an absolute blessing. Unfortunately I live in a state which through political propaganda, lies and the ballot box has now banned the sale of Vape products, but that won’t prevent me from buying Vape products as I live close enough to cross state borders to buy vape products. As an adult I should have the freedom of choice with regards to vaping.

6-10 years

02/25/2023

13508
Vaper841
I smoked cigarettes for 17 years and always ran out of energy quickly. My sister and her husband would go jogging and in the first month (while smoking) I couldn't keep up with them. Along with the lack of oxygen from smoking cigarettes I also suffered with bronchitis once or twice every year. In February 2016 I decided to invest in my first vape device and a bottle of e-liquid and the following month, not only could I keep up with my sister and her husband, but I could taste food so much better and no more bronchitis. I've been vaping 3mg e-liquid for almost 7 years now and it has been the only thing that has helped me kick smoking. Vaping in my opinion is a much safer alternative to smoking and a much needed one.

2-5 years

02/09/2023

13507
Robert Anderson
I feel that people over the age of 21 should have the right to vape any flavor of vape juice they choose. Tobacco causes cancer. Vaping is 92% heather than smoking.

02/06/2023

13506
Dave999
Smoked from age 16 to 33. A proper addict. Lied about it., packs hidden in car and in locker at work. Tried vaping. Chose a flavor I liked, at a nicotine strength twice the level stated on my cigarettes. I quit in 2 weeks and slowly over 6 months ramped down the nicotine. I have never looked back. Tried 1 draw from a cigarette after 3 weeks. It made me wretch. Sense of taste, sense of smell, general fitness all improved. I put on no weight. Best move I ever made. I quickly learned to only follow UK based research and studiously ignore anything published in the US. So much is biased, the US establishment is turning this into another culture war for no good reason.

11+ years

01/29/2023

13505
Leatherman
I started vaping a little over 13yrs ago after doing my own research on vaping. I was a pack and a half cigarette daily smoker and looking for an alternative. At first I would vape some but still smoked cigarettes. As I finally changed over completely to vaping I started feeling better, food tasted better, and I realized that my health was improving. Over the first year and a half I found that my living environment improved dramatically. My clothes and home no longer reaked of tobacco smoke. My lung capacity was improving and I was able to breathe without coughing or wheezing. After about two years of vaping only I found that I had a lot more stamina and no longer struggled to breathe. My sleep improved significantly and my appetite improved considerably as well. I’ve decreased the nicotine content from 24mg to 3mg in a period of 6yrs. For the past 7rs I have stayed at the 3mg nicotine level. According to my doctor my lungs are clearer and my lung capacity has increased from 38% (when I smoked) to around 72% since vaping only. Unfortunately the damage done to my lungs from 55yrs of smoking can’t ever be fixed. But by vaping my lungs have recovered significantly. I don’t know if I will ever totally quit nicotine as it is an EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE Substance, but vaping has given me the ability to reduce the amount of nicotine and vaping for me seems to be less harmful. I no longer look like a chimney belching out smoke and now primarily vape out of the long term habit of smoking.

11+ years

01/22/2023

13504
Emir
I started to smoke at 13 years old. I'm now 32 years old, in the past 6 years I have noticed that my Stamina and Energy levels are getting worse. I couldn't walk for 1.5 Kilometers without having to stop at least one time to catch my breath, my skin looked oily all the time, my energy levels were depleted already in the morning after my first 3-4 cigarettes, felt lethargic most of the time, no motivation to do stuff and I have developed stomach pain as soon as I smoked my first few cigarettes. A month ago I switched to vaping and I have noticed within days that it's easier to walk long distances, no need to stop and people looking at me more often. I am more motivated to do something and have a bit more energy, people that know me for a longer time ask me what did I do to my face that it looks so clear and vibrant now, stomach problems are getting rare. Smoking for some people isn't making any difference but for some it causes whole lots of problems like for me. Since I vape my Diet has changed for the better, I rarely eat now fast foods and rarely drink sodas. I cant imagine what will happen in 1-2 years from now on if I continue this way... I use 6mg nic. Liquids ********** and ******* and the same with 3mg Nicotine. I use 6 mg when I'm out, on workplace or driving and 3 mg I use at home. Vaping is really a great way to stay away from Cigaretttes and to get you motivated to have a healthier Lifestyle.

Less than 1 year

01/18/2023

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