I started smoking in my teens and continued for 30+yrs. On the 30th of March 2015 I filled my tank with nicotine e-liquid, took my first vape, and at this exact moment, put down my cigarettes & never touched them again. To this day I haven't had another cigarette but I do still vape. I plan to continue vaping for the rest of my life. Make vaping easier to access. Encourage people to switch. Perhaps one day the Australian smoking rate will drop below 5%. Wouldn't that be a mas

I am just an ordinary person who has smoked for 30 plus years and now vapes. I am now smoke free and have never felt better. No more coughing and I can now do things I couldn’t as a smoker. All thanks to vaping. I am an adult and up until now had that right. Vapers should have the right of choice too.

I am 62 years of age, and I had been a heavy smoker for 48 years. I started smoking when I joined the Army in 1979 and hadn’t stopped until November last year 2023 when I tried vaping as a last resort. I’ve tried just about everything before including gum, patches, inhalers, lozenges and prescription medication, all with no joy. But I’m very happy to say I’ve not had any type of tobacco product since last year and also no cravings for cigarettes at all.

I have had incredible difficulty quitting smoking. I smoked for 25 years before switching to vaping. I tried everything but only vaping has helped me quit. I have been vaping for ten years. Its way cheaper and I don’t seem to have any health problems e.g. no cough which I had with smoking, and I work out at a fairly high level for someone my age.

I smoked for over 23 years and was constantly ill with chest infections, a sore throat and even coughing up black mucus. I switched to vaping 4 years ago after a family member mentioned it was like smoking but without all the tar and chemicals. Before I used my first vape I researched everything and found it was 95% less harmful than smoking cigarettes. Since switching to vaping I am no longer ill all the time, my chest is as clear as a non- smoker and I’m no longer coughing

I smoked for 30 years and tried to quit countless times using willpower as well as patches and gums that made me nauseous. By my late 30s my health was noticeably declining due to smoking. I was even told I already had emphysema in its early stages. Despite (this) I was unable to stop smoking until I finally bought a vape starter kit in 2018, intending to use it to reduce my smoking. After a couple of months I realised I would rather vape than smoke, and my dependence on ciga

In 2018 I suffered a heart attack and was advised by my cardiologist to never have another cigarette. That caused me great concern due to not being able to achieve this in the past. I have tried over many years to quit smoking. At that time I decided to try vaping with nicotine liquid. My cardiologist was happy with that as I would not be inhaling combusted tobacco or carbon monoxide. I believe that using my vaporiser has prevented me from returning to smoking cigarettes.

 I am a 73yr old female who began vaping 10 years ago as a last attempt to stop smoking after more than 50 years. It took me seven months of dual use to stop smoking and over a year after that to stop craving tobacco. I am still constantly astonished that I am alive after expecting to be dead within five years when I was very sick because of my smoking.  I believe it is my human right to choose how best to deal with my own health.

I am 60 years old, and I am a former smoker. I used to smoke cigarettes and occasionally a pipe. I tried to give up tobacco many times by various methods, each time eventually failing and returning to cigarettes. I finally succeeded in quitting cigarettes in the space of three days by switching to vaping with a commercially available vaporizer and nicotine vape juice. I have never relapsed since switching to vaping. Since switching to vaping my health has dramatically improve

I'm a 51yr old male that started smoking when I was 13yrs old. I used to smoke a pack a day until I quit smoking in October 2016. I'd tried quitting smoking many times in my life using everything on the market. I was told by the doctors that if I didn't give up smoking it was going to kill me. Within 3 weeks I'd managed to completely stop smoking with vaping. Within the first year I stopped getting lung infections/pneumonia, I no longer have the smokers cough, my sense of sme

I am a former smoker of 21 years who finally broke free from the clutches of tobacco thanks to vaping. In 2018, after decades of smoking and witnessing the toll it took on my health, I made the courageous decision to switch to vaping. Fruit flavoured e-liquids became my lifeline, offering a semblance of pleasure without the deadly consequences of combustible tobacco. The impact was profound; I haven’t touched a cigarette since.

I’m 37 years old. I was a smoker from 2004 until July 2014, when I made the transition to vapes. Since then I have experienced significant improvements in my health. I have more energy, can breathe better and my lungs are a lot clearer. My 70yr old dad was a pack-a-day smoker since 17. I introduced him to vapes in 2017 and he gave up cigarettes and now uses vapes as well. His health has improved dramatically as a result too.

I am a 36 year old male who comes from a family of long-time smokers and have a personal history of over 20 years smoking that was effectively ended through the use of vaping. The positive effect on my health was profound and immediate. Furthermore, my success has encouraged my mother to successfully quit smoking through vaping after smoking for over 40 years.

My wife and I both gave up cigarettes after some 50 years of smoking, thanks to vaping, literally overnight. We finished the remaining cigarettes, went to bed and woke to vaping and have not looked back. Over the years we tried many times to quit, we also spent hundreds of dollars on quit smoking programmes but inevitably drifted back to cigarettes. Our health and fitness has improved markedly and noticeably.

Cigarettes have impacted my family in the worst way they can, both of my parents have died from smoking related cancers. Knowing this, I still struggled with this harmful addiction. 3 years ago I educated myself on what vaping is. I focused on science and the proven health benefits found in countries that are promoting a healthier general public. Since then, I have successfully quit cigarettes, improved my health and lifestyle. My family has experienced a smoke free, health

I began smoking when I was about 19 years old. My smoking habit ramped up very quickly to a pack a day. I tried every conceivable method to stop as I could feel my health was suffering - patches, gum, hypnosis, cold turkey, nothing worked. A friend introduced me to vaping at a Christmas function in 2018, I ordered a device from the US which arrived on the 14th of January 2019. That was the last day I had a cigarette. My health has improved dramatically since then.

The prescription model does not address the needs and preferences of vapers like myself, who have carefully selected products that suit our specific needs without the intervention of a prescription and limitations on suppliers, product range, etc. It risks alienating a significant portion of the population that has successfully used vaping as a cessation tool, undermining public health objectives.

I am not alone in reducing my reliance on cigarettes by using vapes. Regulation, not prohibition, of vapes is needed. Regulation could ensure the quality of the products being sold, reducing the dangers posed by unregulated products. The sale of vapes – with or without nicotine – should have the same controls as those placed on the sale of tobacco products to make it harder for anyone under 18 years of age to purchase.

Not only did our health improve but the financial situation improved as well. We were able to take our kids out to places we couldn’t before due not having the money to do so. I hope Australia supports a regulated model that will help thousands of Australians, that have already switched to vaping, to stay off the cigarettes and the thousands that will switch to vaping to get off the cigarettes in the future.

I think it is time to stop thinking backwards and realise that banning something has never worked. We need to give credit where credit is due and as much as we don’t want to admit it, we got it wrong. There has been a lot of misinformation and lack of understanding with vaping in general. Hopefully, the truth will eventually come out. I’m hoping that will happen, so I can spend less time on trying to maintain and fight for a freedom and right of choice we deserve in a  democr