“ It has now been more than two years
since Paul’s last cigarette. His switch to
vaping marked the end of his 20 year,
20-a-day smoking habit. ”
“That night we went to the Expo afterparty. My nights always
consisted of standing around outside in smoking areas and beer
gardens. I spent three or four hours talking to show organisers
Lee and Jay when all of a sudden, the bar was closed, and I
realised I hadn’t been outside all night. I hadn’t even thought
about smoking once.
“The one cigarette I had just after as we left was the last I ever had.
I’ve been smoke free for almost the entire run of the magazine.
Working with me was a nightmare for non-smokers; I was always
a moment away from slipping out for a cigarette.
“When you vape, you realise the hold smoking had on you. It
seems as natural as breathing. Take travel, for example. Before
you go through those doors to check in, you light up a cigarette.
Then you have another one because you know it might be hours
before your next one.
“You can’t smoke in the airport, you can’t smoke on the
plane. You’re waiting for your luggage, and all you can think
of is your next chance to smoke. Before you realise what’s
going on, you’ve planned your entire trip around smoking.
“It’s the same for long car journeys: I wasn’t going to smoke in
the car around my wife and children, so I’d plan. When’s the next
service station? When’s the next roadside stop? This happens
every day, it takes over your life. The consequences of decades
of big tobacco. That’s what you’re up against when entering the
world of the vape business – you’re not only breaking that cycle
for yourself if you smoke, you’re helping others do it, and you’re
taking back all the territory in business that tobacco holds. It’s
a struggle.
“Vaping has got such a bad name from tobacco company
propaganda. It may be the only workable quick fix for the average
smoker. Cold turkey, nicotine patches and similar delivery systems
– they don’t work as well if we’re talking quick fixes. Maybe for one
in fifty cases, one in a hundred. Now that vaping has come along,
it gives you the throat hit, it gives you the nicotine if you need it.
“I’m now vaping without nicotine. I haven’t used it for a long time,
and I’ve come down from 1.8mg to 1.2 to 0.6 to 0.3 to zero. I’ve
gone from being addicted to smoking cigarettes to kicking nicotine
addiction outright. The smell and taste of cigarettes makes me
sick now, and I can’t believe I ever took it up in the first place.”
Paul continues his journey in the next edition and looks at the
effects of regulation, the complexities of running a global business
and touches on his plans for the future.
VM13 | 49