Day 0 - The Beginning

 I have smoked cigarettes for the majority of my life. As with most people that get hooked, I started in high school. Now I sit 25 years later, and staring "40" in the face, and still I can't find a way to quit. I have tried many different things over the years-patches, gum and even hypnotherapy. Nothing has had a lasting effect. I know that for health reasons I have to do something, but part of me believes that it is not even possible.
 For all intents and purposes, I grew up in a bowling alley. This was where I learned the majority of my bad habits. Not that the bowling alley lifestyle was all bad. I met most of my lifelong friends there, and I learned the basics of what ultimately became my career. At 18 years old, I became a bartender. I did this at different casinos until around the age of 30. At that point, I went into management and became a casino executive by the time I was 35. Not bad for a college drop-out, bartender from Louisiana. I now work for the liquor companies, traveling the world as a public speaker and professional drinker. But, as any of you that have ever smoked will know, having a cocktail in your hands during most of your work day makes it very difficult to put down the cigarettes.
 These electronic cigarettes that I have seen lately have really intrigued me. On the surface they appear to be a safe nicotine delivery system with most of the same rituals as a cigarette. The FDA does not seem to like them, nor do the anti-smoking advocates. So, I have spent a lot of time researching the positive and negative aspects. To be perfectly honest, most doctors condone the use of the high quality versions. The FDA and anti-smokers seem to base their disapproval on two points and both of them are hypotheticals. A cardiologist friend put it in these terms-" If you rated the dangers on a scale of 1 to 100, cigarettes would be 100, quitting completely would be a zero, nicotine gum and patches would be a 1 and electronic cigarettes would be a 2."
 The 98 point danger reduction sounded pretty good to me. So I ordered the highest rated electronic smoking system that I could find. (This is not a commercial, so I will refrain from using a brand name.)
I had it sent overnight mail, so it should be here tomorrow morning.