Just over a year ago, my partner decided to try (yet again) to stop smoking. He has tried everything in the past from patches, gum, hypnosis, quit smoking books…..you name it, but nothing has ever worked for him. Whilst surfing the internet he came across an inventors site in America that talked about a fantastic new Chinese invention that was taking the States by storm; the electronic cigarette. Invented by a Chinese gentleman whose father was dying of lung cancer, the site waxed lyrical about how, finally, the answer for smokers had arrived.
With a certain amount of scepticism and around $80, my partner set about purchasing this new-fangled invention in starter kit form. A week later, it arrived! This amazing gadget comprises a battery (which looks like the white part of a cigarette), an atomiser (a little silver component), and a refill cartridge (which looks like the brown filter part of a cigarette). When you draw on the electronic cigarette, the battery powers the atomiser to produce a vapour from the little refill cartridge. This vapour not only looks and tastes like real smoke, but also gives the required hit to the lungs that a smoker is used to. The end of the e cig even lights up when you draw on it! The refill cartridge contains a mixture of ingredients including propylene glycol (dry ice) and nicotine so not only does the e cig look like the real thing and produce smoke like the real thing, it also gives the smoker the required nicotine hit.
Most companies offer the refill cartridges in High, Medium, Low and Zero nicotine strengths so that you can choose what is right for you and more importantly, lower your nicotine levels over time. The refills last for the equivalent of about 8-10 normal cigarettes (about 100 puffs). They even come in a variety of flavours if you fancy a change.
The new product isn’t perfect; the batteries need to be charged every 500 puffs or so (which is why most companies give you 2 in the starter kit so that you can have one on charge while you are using the other), the refill cartridges need to be changed every 100 puffs or so and the battery and atomiser components do wear out over time and need to be replaced. However, on the positive side, this new gadget is a much healthier option as it doesn’t contain all of the nasty chemicals that real cigs do, (and no tar) and works out to be far cheaper than real smoking as the refills are sold at around 50p – £1 each.
The best thing of all is that the electronic cigarette can be smoked in places where the smoking ban has been enforced such as in pubs, restaurants, public transport, even on the plane! Because the e cig doesn’t give off any smell and because the vapour isn’t harmful and dissipates very quickly, there are no passive smoking issues.
Having an electronic cigarette gives the smoker a very similar sensation to smoking; you’ve finally got something to do with your hands and you are getting the nicotine buzz that you crave when trying to quit smoking real cigarettes. Needless to say, my other half hasn’t had a “real cig” for over a year now and looks and feels a lot better and happier as a result. Whilst e cigs aren’t a perfect replacement, they are the closest thing that you can get and as the long-suffering partner of a smoker, I would say they are definitely worth a try!
Tags: Cigarettes, Electronic, work