A few months ago, my brother who was working far away came back to Vietnam. He had just gone through a big event and wanted to have his family around. Part of me was worried about his presence because he used to smoke. I know being around a chain smoker makes you very awkward. The last time we met, 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 as he kept smoking one cigarette after another.
Adapting to change
When he arrived, I was eager to show him my RX Machina kit. I even prepared a simple starter kit and some e-liquid for him. He followed it for a few days, but still coughed every time he inhaled. I asked my friends in the Vape Vietnam 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-liquids 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 it 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 flavor e-liquid in it.
Adaptation
I nervously handed him the kit and explained a little about the differences between it and the one I was using. I didn’t want to overwhelm him with information, so 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. He 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 great that he was able to stand up for vaping with me, he seemed very proud of himself.
So if you have friends, family members, or coworkers who seem interested in vaping, try to be as supportive as possible. Take the time to answer their questions, as well as offer them advice and samples.
