I have been vaping for the past five years in order to quit the fags. I had started smoking at 15 years of age and was up to twenty cigarettes a day. That rose dramatically if I was socialising. Indeed, If I was still smoking during this pandemic, the boredom would have me smoking an awful lot more.
Efforts to quit cigarettes over the years had failed. I tried the gums and the patches to no avail. Then I heard about the success of vaping in helping people to quit. A local shop began selling them and I decided to give vaping a try.
It took about six weeks to get used to them. After that I had no urge to go back to cigarettes. They taste totally different to cigarettes and I have got use to the flavours. I tried a few and now use the apple flavour.
Vaping works for me because it has a small amount of nicotine to stop the craving and replaces the physical action of smoking as well. I think that’s why the gums and patches failed for me. Smoking is an addiction and it is known that those with addictions are committed to the rituals as much as the substances. Vaping provides the less harmful physical ritual of smoking without the tobacco.
When I started, I was only vaping every now and then. There were times when I was out driving and did not have the vape with me and was very close to stopping at a shop and buying cigarettes. Thankfully I didn’t, but I now bring the vape with me and used it when I need it.
Today, I don’t need to vape as much as I did in the beginning and I am certainly not vaping as much as I smoked cigarettes in the past.
I am feeling much healthier now and I am also saving a lot of money the cost of vaping is much less than cigarettes.
I want to make it very clear that people who do not smoke should not start vaping. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that we should encourage smokers to try vaping as a way of quitting tobacco.
I think it is dangerous nonsense for any Government to treat vaping the same as smoking in terms of health and addiction, as they are very different. I strongly urge those working on the proposed legislation on vaping, including TDs, senators and public servants, to read the facts from every sector, at home and abroad, and to listen to the people, like me, who have finally given up smoking thanks to vaping.
As most smokers in Ireland are in the low-income bracket, it would make sense for the Government to get smokers to switch to vaping. The benefits would be significant in terms of improving their health and reducing the need for medical treatment.
The savings gained by switching from cigarettes to vaping are also significant for the individuals on low incomes and, indeed, for their households. This has been backed up by international research.
