A few months ago, my brother who was working far away came back to Vietnam. He had just gone through a major event and wanted to have family around. Part of me was worried about his presence because he used to smoke. I know being around a chain smoker makes you feel awkward. The last time we saw each other, both my brother and I were heavy smokers. So we made some small plans and he had just returned three months ago.
2 bags a day
As I expected, he was smoking two packs a day when he came. That number dropped off pretty quickly because no one in my house smoked. But I could still smell it on him! I was getting annoyed that he kept smoking one cigarette after another.
Adapt to change
When he first arrived, I was eager to show him my RX Machina kit. I even prepared a simple starter kit and some e-juice for him. He followed it for a few days, but still coughed every time he inhaled. I asked my friends in the Vietnam Vape group if this was normal, and learned that this is a normal symptom for some people. Sometimes users need to go through a period of adaptation to e-juice with different nicotine concentrations. My brother was discouraged and gave up very quickly.
I was disappointed, but I tried not to let him know. I reminded myself that I had been there when I first started. I didn’t nag or get upset with him, because I knew that would only make him lose interest in vaping.
The right time
It was around January, three weeks ago, when he returned from the local gas station with a pack of cigarettes, he said “This is the last pack! I’m tired of spending money on it and being affected!” He asked me to prepare another starter kit.
Real electronic cigarette kit
I suppressed my joy and prepared a FITT X3 for him. He looked at my box, pointed at the BO Kit and asked what this was. I realized that he was probably like me when I first started, wanting to choose the most compact kit possible. So I said they were similar, would you like to try this one? He nodded comfortably. I gave him the BO Kit which already had tobacco flavored e-liquid in it.
Adaptation
I nervously handed him the kit, explaining a little about the differences between it and the one I was using. Not wanting to confuse him, I just explained the basics and advised him to slow down a bit.
About an hour later, I walked into the living room and he was reclining on the sofa with his Bo kit, calmly inhaling and watching the smoke come out. I couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. He said, you know, I think I can get used to this. I didn’t cough and have to go to the garage anymore.
Did you notice?
No words can describe how happy I was to see my brother change. One day, he said “Did you notice? I haven’t smoked for two days!”, I almost hugged him. It was so nice of him to stand up for vaping with me, he seemed very proud of himself.
So if you have a friend, family member or co-worker who seems interested in vaping, try to be as supportive as possible. Take the time to answer their questions, as well as give them advice and samples.
