Hey guys. I’ve been a vaper off and on since about 2013. I juggled between 1-3 packs a day since I was 15 years old (and they say vape flavors attract kids). I started smoking when I was 8 years old. I’d smoke anything I could steal from my older brother, my parents or the grocery store (raised in the ghetto) until my dad and I shared a cigarette together when he got out of prison. It was his way of bonding with me again because of all of the time lost. Then he supplied them to me. I’m 34 now. I recently (on January 24th, 2020 at 8:30 am) decided to have my last cigarette. It was probably the hardest thing for me to do, as most of you may know from your experiences. Having a cigarette with my dad was about as special as any other son having a beer with his dad. But cigarettes eventually took him away from me and my family.
The reason for my decision to be serious about it this time, is because my dad died last October 11th from chemotherapy and radiation, due to stage 4 small cell carcinoma lung cancer. The same as my grandpa back in 2009. They were both lifelong smokers as well. I saw him suffer and wither away to nothing after he went through 10 rounds of radiation in a row at The Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, IL. The cancer had spread to other parts of his body, including his brain. He was the strongest man I knew. Still is. The chemo started to kill off the cells, but then “stopped working”. The cancer was so aggressive, that his right lung was collapsing due to fluid buildup. They drained a liter of fluid from around his lung, then had to drain another liter the next day. We eventually had to start at-home hospice care because he was out of his mind, weak, not eating, and his oxygen level was rapidly decreasing. I don’t want my kids to see what I saw.
In 2014, I decided to start my own ejuice company, Inascent Vapors, LLC. I took the name from my dad. He owned a candle business on the side, Inascent Candles & Body Sprays. He came up with the name and was proud of it. So I decided to carry it on with a different product. We were put out of business in 2017 because of the regulations here in Indiana, but I’m still proud of mine and my wife’s accomplishments with the business. We were vendors at the first (and only) vape expo in St. Louis back in early 2016. We were right next to Vape Magazine, Beard Vape Co, and across from Adirondack Vapors. It was a blast.
Pray for me or wish me luck on my journey to stay smoke free. I’m only 9 days in and my cravings are horrible.
I pray we still have time to fight for our right to vape. I’m building my vape collection back up since I sold and gave away all of my good gear when I stopped vaping a couple of years ago.
Anyways, this post is long enough. Just wanted to introduce myself and say hey.
The reason for my decision to be serious about it this time, is because my dad died last October 11th from chemotherapy and radiation, due to stage 4 small cell carcinoma lung cancer. The same as my grandpa back in 2009. They were both lifelong smokers as well. I saw him suffer and wither away to nothing after he went through 10 rounds of radiation in a row at The Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, IL. The cancer had spread to other parts of his body, including his brain. He was the strongest man I knew. Still is. The chemo started to kill off the cells, but then “stopped working”. The cancer was so aggressive, that his right lung was collapsing due to fluid buildup. They drained a liter of fluid from around his lung, then had to drain another liter the next day. We eventually had to start at-home hospice care because he was out of his mind, weak, not eating, and his oxygen level was rapidly decreasing. I don’t want my kids to see what I saw.
In 2014, I decided to start my own ejuice company, Inascent Vapors, LLC. I took the name from my dad. He owned a candle business on the side, Inascent Candles & Body Sprays. He came up with the name and was proud of it. So I decided to carry it on with a different product. We were put out of business in 2017 because of the regulations here in Indiana, but I’m still proud of mine and my wife’s accomplishments with the business. We were vendors at the first (and only) vape expo in St. Louis back in early 2016. We were right next to Vape Magazine, Beard Vape Co, and across from Adirondack Vapors. It was a blast.
Pray for me or wish me luck on my journey to stay smoke free. I’m only 9 days in and my cravings are horrible.
I pray we still have time to fight for our right to vape. I’m building my vape collection back up since I sold and gave away all of my good gear when I stopped vaping a couple of years ago.
Anyways, this post is long enough. Just wanted to introduce myself and say hey.