Vaping has offered millions of smokers a second chance at life.
Whether it’s for their physical health, their bank accounts or their general wellbeing, making the simple switch has transformed millions of ex-smoker’s lives.
Vapouround has reached out to members of the vaping community who shared their impactful stories on how e-cigarettes have allowed them to do things that they wouldn’t have dreamed of as a smoker.
Steve Douglas, Daylesford, Australia
After 33 tough years of going through a pack of cigarettes each day, Steve decided to change his life for the better and started to vape.
After just one month into his journey, Steve, completely convinced by the reduced risk alternative, remarkably opened up his very own vape store in Australia.
Upon reflection – nine years into his cigarette-free life – Steve realised that the activity he’s able to do even better now as a vaper, is playing his music.
Now, when playing alongside his high-energy band, at the end of their set, he’s no longer left feeling exhausted but ready to do it all over again.
Steve Douglas said:
“My onstage energy has vastly improved since making the switch and my vocal range has extended, giving me more power and control when singing.”
Skip Murray, Minnesota, U.S
After failing to quit his smoking habit countless times, Skip Murray figured ‘I’d smoke until I’d die’.
That was until late 2014 when she started vaping as a dual user in public spaces where cigarettes were banned.
It wasn’t until a few months later that Skip noticed she’d accidentally quit smoking all together, with the help of her new friend…her vape.
Flash forward to eight years later and her horrid cough had disappeared.
Throughout her time as a smoker, Skip struggled to sleep as her ‘smokers cough’ would often keep her up at night leaving her with difficulty breathing.
Now, post-cigarettes, she often gets a full night’s sleep and finds herself full of energy, which she utilises to work on her passion for vaping advocacy.
Michelle Elliot, Florida, U.S.A
Vaping advocate Michelle said:
“Doctors told me I would not be alive at my age now if I didn’t stop smoking.”
Now at fifty-eight years old, making the switch to vaping all those years ago saved her life.
Michelle’s trusty e-cigarette facilitated her quitting what was a 43-year smoking habit and now, in her own words she says ‘everyday is a bonus day’.
After suffering with anxiety, she found that vaping was not only better for her physical health, but for her mental health too.
The device has helped to soother her anxiousness, even more than her heavier medications that she told us ‘are hard on my body’.
Chris Worall, East London, England
Chris said:
“I had gone into my final year of university and there was a group project…in the group was my now wife who hated smoking, when I was smoking up to 2 packs a day.”
After asking her out countless times and being met with a firm ‘no’, Chris subsequently quit smoking in order to get a chance with the girl he was longing for.
He quit completely for two whole years when they eventually moved in and began their new life together.
However, he unfortunately started to pick the habit back up again, leaving his wife feeling frustrated and her willingness to want to start having a family became increasingly less.
This was all down to his cigarette use, leaving Chris with an ultimatum…the cigarettes, or a future with his wife.
It was then that he made the all-important switch to vaping, which changed not only his life but his relationship with his partner, forever.
He said:
“It has reinvigorated our relationship and allowed us to focus on what is important…spending more time together.”
Christian Lippmann, DE Dirmstein, Germany
Motorbike enthusiast, Christian Lippmann knew deep down that he wanted to give up smoking for good.
However, after numerous failed attempts of going ‘cold turkey’…vaping was his saving grace.
Christian said:
“In 2012 I was at my motorbike regulars table when a female biker took a drag and when I asked her what it was, she told me it was an e-cigarette…I was curious to learn more.”
After researching the smoking alternative, Christian soon realised that it wasn’t the nicotine that was the issue, but the tobacco, that causes a lot of cigarette-related diseases.
Just a week into vaping, he dared to say goodbye to the cigarettes and before he knew it, he didn’t feel the need to smoke anymore.
Now, ten years deep into his vaping journey, Christian has helped his wife join him in a cigarette-free life after she saw the benefits first-hand.
The motorbike lover said:
“Longer walks, hikes and stair climbs are now possible without me getting out of breath.”
Duncan Watson, Derby, England
There were plenty of noticeable benefits to no longer smoking that Duncan could list, however, his favourite was no longer having ‘the smell of cigarettes lingering in my hair and on my clothes’.
Along with this and the added bonus of a variety of flavour, he found that vaping allowed him to exercise better and more consistently because he was no longer struggling for breath.
He said:
“Breathing as I lay down to sleep was a different thing all together as I could feel the pain in my chest and hear it in my breath.”
Duncan is now able to find pleasure in exercise with a gym membership and loves nothing more than hitting the open road on his bike.
So, when the sun is shining, you can find him peddling towards the peaks with his trusty vape in hand, giving him a breath of new life.
