Hey Brother! I'm glad to read that Jo is doing better.
You've got a lot of people who care about you here, so you don't need me telling you to stop smoking (although, I remember mentioning it in one of the first emails we exchanged!). But, you also know I have trouble not putting in my $0.02 worth when it comes to putting out info, so here's a couple of things to consider:
1) While the ecigs keep dishing out nicotine, at least you're not filling your lungs with smoke, so as far as the "gasping for breath" it will help and it's definately healthier than smoking a regular cig. Also, the ecigs CF mentioned may be a good thing to try since he mentioned that you can dial up/down the vapor, so I imagine you can gradually lower the amount of nicotine being dispensed and that may help "wean you off" the nicotine. (And, if the ecigs don't help you quit, you might be able to rig them to give you an electric shock every time you try to smoke!
)
2) With all the primo meds you have, just vape that instead of the cigs. I recently read a study where they were testing the theory that MMJ is just as bad as cigs, since they know smoking ANYTHING can cause cancer. So, they tested three groups. One was a group of cig smokers, another a group of MJ smokers, and a third group of non-smokers. They expected the MMJ smokers to have similar rates of cancer as the cig smoking group, but in fact, the MMJ smokers had LOWER rates of cancer that the non-smokers!
The scientists were trying to figure out how that was possible and their conclusion was that, since they know smoking MMJ should cause cancer, that there must be something in the MMJ that also either cures the cancer or prevents it from metastatizing. If you're vaping the MMJ, it's even better!
So, do what ya' gotta do and we're all pulling for you!