Vapouround magazine Special Issue 02 | Page 74

F E AT U R E n o r a e y one DIARY OF A VAPER w i t h Pau l Caplin Va pouround Editor S o it is a year on and I am still going strong. I can literally say that vaping has changed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. So let’s start with the health aspects and a year later I feel more energised and full of life. I don’t get out of breath so easily and I don’t constantly have the horrible wheezing feeling I had when I was a smoker. While smoking I also used to cough up all sorts of disgusting stuff and thankfully those days are long gone now. Socially I don’t constantly stink of cigarettes and this means that my wife doesn’t turn her nose up any more when I walk through the door. In addition my kids don’t say: “Daddy you smell funny,” when they see me and that is clearly a good thing. I can also spend time with my kids not worrying about the smell of smoke from my clothes aggravating them, although I was always careful not to smoke around them because of the dangers of passive smoking. When out drinking, I don’t plan my night around when I can smoke. Every smoker knows that no matter how much you are enjoying the company of friends on a night out or how good the conversation is, when it is time for a cigarette then that comes first. Now there seems to be a lot more vapefriendly establishments where I have been able to socialise inside as a group without dragging non-smokers into cold smelly smoking areas. On this note I have met and made many fantastic new friends within the vaping 72 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE USA industry and I continue to make new friends all all the time. Generally I have found that the numbers of people I see vaping has increased ten fold in the past year although I am not sure if that is because I am noticing vapers more now or whether it is the numbers dramatically going up - it is probably a mixture of both actually. Whatever the reason, it is great to see so many people vaping and making the switch from cigarettes because of the undoubted health benefits they get from switching. Obviously having a vape business has done wonders for my life, my family and my future. Vaping has so many different aspects to it, from the beginners to the hardened professionals, the culture, sub-culture, competitions, shows, meets and expos. Vaping has taken me around the world, made me money and improved my health, why would everyone not want to make that switch? When I first quit smoking for vaping I was on 12mg of nicotine to begin with and that seemed to work well for me. I was able to gradually reduce it over the course of the year and for the past four months I either vape with absolutely no nicotine at all or occasionally use 3mg. So not only have I managed to quit smoking but I have been able to totally give up the nicotine habit which is something I always wanted to do but never thought I would be able to achieve. I now vape because I enjoy it although I consider myself to be quite a boring vaper on a daily basis these days with coca cola being my every day vape but when I am out and about I like to experiment with a range of different flavours and try new mods, with my personalised rig mod being my absolute favourite. As for flavours, my current flavours are mint choc chip ice cream, apple crack (an apple crumble from Diamond Vapor) and Beach Bum from Captain Obvious. Vaping can and does change lives. It has transformed my life and the lives of many people I know personally. This is why I care passionately that vaping regulation must reflect the fact that it is an amazing power for good by allowing people to quit smoking.