Good Karma

[StringDancer]

A dear friend, business partner and crazy good visual artist (I added a DSE801 to his original drawing of the six-eyed goon to make my avatar) and non-smoker came up to me the other day and said, "Jeff, I want to take you to meet my sister-in-law, who's been a smoker all her life, and it's taking a toll... I want her to learn about your e-cig." Of course I said yes. We arranged a meeting a couple days ago, and I picked up my buddy and traveled the few miles over to his brother's home. I brought along a brand new 801 starter kit just in case.

Well, we've all seen ladies who have been hard-core smokers for decades. This sweet woman is of average height, but if she weighs 90 lbs I'd be surprised. Her face was ashen, gaunt and weathered from a lifetime of smoking. Her husband, my buddy's brother, is concerned for her health... the whole family is. She's in her 60s, maybe, but she has that worn-down, prematurely aged look that long-term smokers can get.

She's one of those devoted tobacco addicts (I know the type, because I was one of them) who know the risks, but love their tobacco and all the ritual that goes along with it, and in spite of everything (or anybody) would smoke to the end. After I showed her the ropes and got the e-cig up and vaping for her, she seemed encouraged that this device might actually make a difference in her life. She took the starter kit, and I threw in some JC 24mg Tennessee Cured juice, figuring a nice strong tobacco flavor will encourage her to vape. Time will tell.

On the way back to my buddy's place, he was quiet for awhile as we twisted my Blazer through the rolling hills of southern Indiana. Then he said, in that quiet artist's voice of his, "Jeff, do you realize that you may have just saved her life?"

We who have transitioned from analogs to e-juice have, at present (or until the damned FDA decides to indulge the lobbyists and finish their ill-conceived crusade against e-cigs) an opportunity to rack up some seriously good karma by introducing our smoker friends and family to e-cigs. Now, what I did was nothing special in the sense that many (perhaps most) of the vapers on this site have also introduced people to e-cigs and helped them to begin, at least, a transition to a healthier way of life. But my buddy's question brought it all home to me. Here's a woman, his sister-in-law of many decades, a beloved member of his family, with whom he has long and deep ties, and he's hoping and praying that she takes to e-cigs and can make the transition to vaping.

It made me happy to make the introduction, of course. But... if she has the will to modify her inhaliatory habit a bit and take up vaping full-time, it'll do much more than just make my buddy and his brother happy. They will be ecstatic, and will remember my trip over to their house as the day I saved her life. Nevermind that it is actually SHE who must do the saving... that's just the way we humans perceive and recall little events like this.

We're not mere salespeople out to make a buck here. Unlike virtually any product we can name, e-cigs hold the potential to save countless lives from a nearly certain unfortunate end. In addition, the more people we can recruit as vaping converts, the more testimonials we can help create by promoting e-cigs to smokers... all this leads to more voices that will rise in defiance, distrust and disdain for the machinations of governmental indulgence of well-financed lobbyists and anti-smoker fanatics, and the greater our chances of seeing this delightful little device spread across the nation as the new, improved and preferred paradigm for inhaliatory pleasure.

So if you can, the next time you buy a starter kit for yourself, consider buying a spare to resell or give to a friend. Toss in an extra atty, throw in a small bottle of good tobacco-flavored juice, teach them the ins and outs of vaping so they don't have to learn things the hard way as many of us had to do. Our government, corrupted by money, influence and a near-total disregard for the truth, will not give us this wonderful alternative to smoking willingly... we must demand it vociferously and in great numbers. When we turn a smoker to vaping, their family also becomes an ally in the coming struggle, as they see for themselves the positive changes vaping makes in the life of their loved one, and by extension, in theirs.

Given the nature of a legislative government body bought and paid for by corporate dollars, we the people will always eventually lose the liberties we do not insist upon retaining. When the great national debate over e-cigs begins, we'll want as many vapers bitching like banshees as possible. Our chances of success will be greatly enhanced if we can crank up the volume.

[Christopher]

Wow that has to be one of the best posts I've seen on the site so far. I totally agree. Hats off to you sir.

I suppose we're all life savers in our own ways. I just hope the ecig can withstand the FDA battles. I also hope the SE and NJOY Lawsuit provides some clearance for us, but again only time will tell.

Great post!

[Sean]

I too can only say, Wow.......

I agree in saying that I think this is by far the best post on our entire site yet. Chris maybe we can make this like the new Mission Statement or something for the site. At least Pin it up at the top of this site forever, I mean the damn thing practically brought tears to my eyes.

Dancer,

Thank you for the great post. I think you have just "re-lit the spark" for me. I have to admit I was kinda starting to think it was a hopeless battle but, if I can just accomplish something sooo great as well, I know I would never give up hope. I once again would like to thank you for this post, Thank You. This post alone has made all our sacrafices well worth while and seem as though they are not enough. I'm ready to get things going like we were in the beginning, all over again. Lets do this s*it!

[StringDancer]

Gracias, amigos. You're very kind.

I get mouthy when I'm drinking. If I drink just enough for inspiration, but not so much as to overwhelm my typing skills, I luck out sometimes.

Pin if you like. Or not, it's cool. I just enjoyed writing something from the heart.

Thanks again. Love this forum.

[Sean]

Gracias, amigos. You're very kind.

I get mouthy when I'm drinking. If I drink just enough for inspiration, but not so much as to overwhelm my typing skills, I luck out sometimes.

Pin if you like. Or not, it's cool. I just enjoyed writing something from the heart.

Thanks again. Love this forum.

Lol, you crack me up Dancer. I hope we are graced with some more of your drinking and typing. Lol, TUI (Typing Under the Influence).

[StringDancer]

More drinking and typing? lol Your chances are... well, it's inevitable, Sean.

There's a big glass of merlot by my side at the moment. Not an exotic vintage... arid enough... absurd yet flaccid... OK....

[Christopher]

Ahh another Wine Drinker, I think we'd get along well StringDancer. Nothin like a good glass of wine and some music. (well it starts out with one glass and I usually polish of the bottle, but I'm a fun drunk so it makes it ok

[Genet1c]

Another WOW... from me. That is by far the most moving speech/story Ive ever read...ever. You should totally be the spokeperson for ecigarettes. Hell I'll get u drunk and put u on a stage if u can memorize that passage. Thanx for this. Just like Sean said, I feel like its reignited my need to spread the word. I, too, recently have turned a friend of mine onto the electric cigarette. I recommended a model(510 ofcourse) and gave him the sites, and for the past week since he's had it, he's been a non-smoker. Everyone I know who smokes cigarettes, will soon hear about this device, and hopefully be intrigued enough to try it, and maybe end up saving their life as well.

P.S. You should prolly see my friend richie (the now ex smoker) on the forums within the next couple of days. He's ecstatic with his 510, and im sure he cant wait to brag about it

[kathyst]

Stringdancer, thank you, and yes, as the others said, this was a beautiful story you tell. It is so wonderful and cool and important for us to introduce people one at a time to the e-cig, and each person and all the people around them will be affected by it. Besides helping other people (and we as smokers really the best ones to help other smokers), we're helping ourselves also, by helping the cause -- we need to get more people doing e-cigs so we can have a bigger voice.

I love spreading the word, and giving my "demonstrations." I mean, it is serious, but I do have fun with it, "ham" that I am. I love my PCC for a demo prop And if I haven't told people in person, I've emailed my smoking friends to get them hip to it. I'm surprised when they don't know about it. Not really surprised actually, as I only vaguely knew of it until a couple weeks ago when I made the concerted effort to research e-cigs.

The more I know, the more little bits of discouragement are creeping in for me also, about the FDA. It's not even perfectly clear-cut as to what these should be categorized as, as far as to keep them freely available to us. That, besides the ridiculousness of the illogic of the anti- people. Sometimes I can't even follow it, it starts to really bug me.

Meanwhile...loving my 510.

kathy

[Christopher]

Yea it's really hard not to let the whole FDA thing get to you. It's inevitable at one point they will either be regulated or banned. Which one? Only time will tell..

[PoppaC]

Great Stuff!! Great and inspiring post to say the least.... why can't we get it to those in congress who want to smash e-cigs..... Love it!!

[VaporKings]

I've tried and tried to convince several people to switch and they are just hell bent on smoking cigarettes. Why anyone wants to pay a billion dollar company $5 a day to kill themselves I have no idea. As an analog smoker for 25 years and now having been tobacco free for over 70 days I just don't understand it...well actually I do understand it but I don't understand why people aren't interested in a better alternative. I tried Chan*ix ($400 ****ing dollars with insurance!) and that stuff made me crazy. Tried gums and all that crap. None of it worked. I used to be a Copenhagen dipper for a while so I tried switching to that exclusively for a while...still wanted to smoke. Hell I'd smoke while I was dipping!

I just like to smoke but I'm freakin happy as hell that I can say I'm tobacco free now. I could care less about any risks of nicotine really...I think if you sum up every harmful thing you are exposed to daily that nicotine is just a drop in the bucket. Just think about all the chemicals you expose yourself to everyday...is the long term exposure really safe? Deodorant, hair sprays, toothpastes, soaps, lotions, food preservatives/additives, cologne/perfume, residual aerosol from household cleaners, clothes soap/softeners, etc. What's in your water folks?

Rob (listening to NIN Portland 2008 Live and kicking back tonight)

[InsteadECigs]

Any time I get discouraged about the e-cig situation I go and read some comments on the e-cigarette petition. That is always good motivation about why this is an important product and worth fighting for.

Banned or regulated....yes. My goal is to keep the regulation reasonable so we don't push small suppliers out of the market. The ECA has begun putting together standards for manufacturing and we hope to beat the FDA to the punch. Most suppliers agree that the best thing for the industry is to have standards and best practices before we are required to. We aren't there yet, but given a little time we will be.

Banning this product has complications. The underground eliquid making business would boom and this, of course, would have no requirements, standards, or ability to track down problems should they arise. It would also push it out of the mainstream and take a viable option away from users of tobacco.

Some have told me a new category for e-cigs is impossible. Others have told me that industry based regulation is impossible. But if our options are: ban it, only sell it in pharmacies or make it a tobacco product and let big tobacco sell it, then I pick the impossible.