FEATURE
DIARY
OF A VAPER
Featuring Dan Forest
“I feel so much healthier vaping than I did smoking”
I must have been 11 or 12 when I first tried a cigarette.
I can’t remember who gave it to me. It would have been
a friend or someone who I wanted to impress by being
‘rebellious’.
Like a lot of kids, I’d smoke whenever and wherever
I found the opportunity to do so. I’d hang around in car
parks with friends passing a cigarette around. Then
I started working, which provided more opportunities to
light up. As I was away from home I could smoke on
breaks without the fear of getting caught by my parents.
I made multiple attempts at quitting over the years,
usually for around six weeks at a time. I tried gum but it
gave me a headache so for subsequent attempts I just
went cold-turkey. Usually, alcohol would knock me off the
wagon and I’d be back on the cigarettes. It’s a trap that a
lot of people seem to fall into.
The first vape device I picked up was one of those old
ones that looked like a cigarette. But it wasn’t satisfying
36 | VM17
at all. It just felt like I was inhaling air so that didn’t last
very long.
Then vaping got bigger, both popularity-wise and in
the size of the devices themselves. I decided to give it
another go so I bought a vape online. The big appeal for
me was that it felt like smoking a cigarette. That feeling
of nicotine hitting the back of your throat was always part
of the draw for me. And the flavours, of course. I’m a big
fan of pudding and custard flavours.
Unfortunately, I quit vaping and went back to smoking for
a while after I lost my vape on the bus. I’ve been back on
it for a while now, thanks in part to the guy at the vape
shop I go to who is always really helpful.
Overall, I feel so much healthier vaping than I did when I
was a smoker. I love that I can go out clubbing or to the
pub and not feel smokey all the time. Hopefully this is it
now and I can leave the cigarettes behind for good.