Hey, Governor Inslee, Vaping Helped Me Quit Smoking Cigarettes After 9 Years

Today, Washington State's governor, Jay Inslee, passed a law that puts extreme regulations on all vape shops in the state. I find this decision to be maddening. I think it's a way for the government to create a further tax on those who have quit smoking (i.e. regaining all those tax dollars that they have been losing due to millions of people no longer buying packs of cigarettes)! I blame the tobacco industry and their co-horts for hiring lobbyists to "persuade" representatives in congress to get these harsh restrictions passed into law.

The first time I ever smoked a cigarette, I was thirty-one years old (call me a late bloomer, if you will). Most people start smoking much earlier than I did, and I only began smoking because a friend offered me a smoke one day to stop me from stressing out when I felt my life had hit rock bottom.

She was a well-meaning friend, I am sure, but that one moment in time started me on a journey of smoking cigarettes for the next nine years.

I grew up knowing that smoking was bad for your health. My grandmother smoked her cigarettes all day long and I hated the smell and hated the fact that she was "hooked" on them. I knew that smoking causes lung and throat cancer, but I still took my chances because I really needed to take a drag.

My habits in smoking changed dramatically once I found out that I was pregnant. I knew I had to quit smoking or my unborn child could be impacted in a host of negative ways. After I gave birth, I immediately increased my nasty habit of smoking. With the added stress of being a new mother, and a single mother at that, cigarettes were my outlet to relieve the immense stress I was feeling.

About two years ago, a friend of mine, Addy, told me that I should start vaping as a way to finally stop smoking. I had heard of vaping, but I wasn't really interested. I had tried quitting smoking on my own off and on, but nothing had ever worked. I wasn't one of those "special" people who could just quit smoking cold-turkey.

On my 40th birthday, I finally decided to quit smoking once and for all, but I knew I would be weak at times. I walked into The Vape Spot and bought my very first vape and some e-juice. I am so proud of myself.

I am very, VERY proud to say that after 9 years of smoking, I no longer have the urge to pick up a cigarette, and I owe all of this to vaping! It has been two years!

I don't want children to have access to vapes (or cigarettes, for that matter) and I agree that every vape shop should have the appropriate licenses required to run their businesses, but I highly disagree that they should be governed by the Liquor and Cannibus Control Board. Vape e-juice is neither liquor nor cannibus!

What gives?!