FEATURES
DIARY
OF A VAPER
Featuring Alex Brown , 28 , from Nottingham .
I started smoking when I worked in pubs as a way to get more breaks during my 12-hour days . As well as their lunch hour , smokers were allowed extra breaks throughout the day to light-up . At first , I asked a friend to buy me a packet of Marlboro so I could pretend to smoke , but by the time I was 21 , I was smoking a pack every two days . I ’ m really into my fitness and would regularly go rowing and visit the gym , but I continued to smoke until a friend gave me one of the old cigarette-style vapes which came in a box that looked like Marlboro Reds . I realised I could feel a lot better and go out running without getting out of breath every five minutes and I don ’ t think I smoked again after that .
“ Vaping was a really great bridge for me to stop smoking and I don ’ t think I would have successfully quit without it .”
Within weeks I could breathe better , my sleep and fitness had improved and I got my sense of taste and smell back . I rediscovered new layers of flavour to food and I didn ’ t get as many colds as I did when I smoked . I also took up kickboxing , which eventually led to an interest in CBD vaping . A lot of the MMA fighters and pro-athletes use it to help with injury recovery and pain relief . When I first began vaping , it was completely new . I had no real ideas about it before I started and there wasn ’ t really a vaping industry or culture at the time . In the early days of lockdown , when things were stressful and it felt like the sky was falling in , I did pick up some cigarettes again , but I ’ ve basically stopped that now as I think the worst is over and done with . Vaping was a really great bridge for me to stop smoking and I don ’ t think I would have successfully quit without it . I couldn ’ t have continued smoking long-term , there were too many health risks and it was limiting what I could do with my life . Vaping gave me a way out and took all that away .
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