I was on some type of quit smoking website today and I saw the picture above.  It’s a pretty nasty picture actually and I’m sure there are a lot more out there.  How much of it is based off reality I’m not sure.  I do believe a big part of it is though.The first couple of images are just disgusting images of what the nasty components in cigarettes can do to you. I think it’s the tar.  The fist picture looks more like chocolate chip cookie than a lung.  Again, pretty gross.

When you think about what you are actually doing to your body when you inhale cigarette smoke and see pictures like this, it really makes you reconsider smoking, at least temporarily.  For myself, I’ve been inside most of the day, besides going to the gym earlier so I haven’t had an opportunity to smoke a cigarette yet.  I was thinking about going out and having a cigarette but after seeing this picture I think I’ll just stay in.  I’m sure I’ll feel like having a cigarette tomorrow but for the time being I am OK.

It will be great once I do get my Luci electronic cigarette because then I will be able to use them indoors as well.  After smoking the SmokeStik temporarily months ago in the U.S., I realize the benefits of using electronic cigarettes.  I stopped using it only because I relocated here to Hong Kong where it is illegal but I think they only try to get you if you sell or distribute it.  We will see.  In either  case I’m excited to try out the Luci cigarettes and to document my progress.

It has been hard to quit smoking cigarettes ever since I relocated because I do go out and I do have some drinks here and there and those are the times that you really want to have cigarettes (and electronic cigarettes once you get used to them).

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Have you tried and yet failed?

Are you thinking of quitting?

Are you having a hard time?

These are just some of the questions that smokers have to face when trying to kick off their bad habit. Millions of people have tried, a lot are still trying yet despite their commitment, passion and dedication to quit – it’s never enough. Somehow they always falter and slip, one puff here and there, one stick in a month or so and then they are back to smoking again.

Multiple products have already been created just to help smokers quit – conventional approaches such as rehabilitation, nicotine patches, gum, nicotine inhalers, even therapy on behavior modification and whatnot, but nothing seems to work.  People still find it hard to quit smoking.

With the prevalence of the adverse effects of smoking to the individual and the public; science has been looking into unconventional approaches to help people quit their dangerous habit. A new method that has came out and people are raving about it is the use of electronic cigar or cigarette.

Electronic cigar or cigarette or e-cigar is also known as personal vaporizer. It is a battery-powered device that provides inhaled doses of nicotine by way of a flavored vaporized solution. It provides vapor rather than smoke.

It is an alternative to regular smoked tobacco products like cigarettes. It gives the individual the same feeling he or she gets when smoking regular cigarettes without the dangerous substances like tar and carbon monoxide. Numerous electronic cigarettes have emerged in the market such as Smokestik, Luci and Cigana to name a few. Each product performs and aims to provide the sensation that people get when smoking.

Luci Electronic Cigarette

Luci, comes in a kit with 2 batteries, a home charging kit which makes it convenient for most users, an atomizer and 5 flavored replacement cartridges that can last for about a week to two weeks. Compared to other electronic cigarettes Luci is less harsh, the cost is in the lower range and it contains a smart chip within the e-cig which turns it off if it’s delivering too much nicotine in such a short time. It benefits the consumer because it helps them regulate the level of vapor it emits.

Cigana Electronic Cigarette

Another known product is Cigana, you can purchase this together with 2 batteries, 1 USB charger, a wall adapter and 5 cartridges. An impressive feature of Cigana is that it offers flavors not common to other electronic cigarettes like almond, apple, vanilla and cherry. It even offers a variety package so consumers can try all the flavors in one pack for a relatively affordable price.

Cigana is also one of the few that’s called as 2-piece e-cig because it comes in 2 pieces only instead of the most common e-cig make up which is 3-4 pieces. As a 2 piece electronic cigarette the atomizer and nicotine cartridge are integrated. So each cartridge comes with a fresh and clean atomizer built-in, when you replace a cartridge you are fitting a new atomizer.

For most electronic cigarettes the atomizer and nicotine cartridge are separate so when you replace your cartridge either you use your old atomizer, or you purchase a new atomizer for additional cost. With Cigana, you don’t have to worry about cleanliness or a decrease of performance of your atomizer nor do you have to worry about buying a new atomizer because it is always new as you replace your nicotine cartridge.

SmokeStik Electronic Cigarette

Smokestik on the other hand caters to different types of personality, different styles of e-smoking and offers a wide variety of packages. It has three different types of electronic cigarettes depending on the consumers’ need and personality.

They have the Smokestik Premium, Smokestik Jet and Executive Premium. Smokestik offers e-cig cartridges without the atomizers and e-cigs cartomizers, which is a combined cartridge and atomizer. For its cartridge products it offers different levels of nicotine from low to high and zero level which is only menthol.

These products are just some of the multiple electronic cigarettes available in the market now. Each aims to help smokers quit this dangerous habit.

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I once used the SmokeStiks and thought they were completely useless because I didn’t feel a thing no matter how much I puffed.  I was pissed off that I got scammed.. “this stuff is bull shit, I paid over a hundred bucks for it!”.  I was quite upset that I was scammed by this new electronic cigarette craze.  Then I realized the cartridges that came with the SmokeStik package clearly labeled them as non nicotine cartridges.  I quickly went online to order the strongest 16 mg nicotine cartridges.  When I started using them, you felt them.  You felt the nicotine rush.  It wasn’t as quick as inhaling a tobacco smoke, but you definitely felt it and the cravings went away.  16mg?? Maybe not.  I doubt your body absorbs this much from “vaping”, but you definitely do feel it.

But not according to this bullshit study.  A study that claims that smoking electronic cigarettes deliver no nicotine.  Then you realize the study was being done by Virginia Commonwealth University, who’s former president sits on the board for big tobacco and who’s state they reside in is the home of the largest tobacco companies.

Thomas Eissenberg speaks about the study in that link above and it was even picked up by CNN here.  It’s kind of scary how “official studies” can still be spun like this.  I wonder what happened there?  The study also says that even though you get NO nicotine at all, its DANGEROUS and they cite previous studies of cancer causing chemicals in the electronic cigarettes.  Thats crazy.. you get no nicotine AND you WILL get cancer…. I guess I better stick with regular cigarettes..

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After over a month smoking only SmokeStik electronic cigarettes, I failed and started smoking regular cigarettes.  I haven’t started smoking regularly everyday but it is still disappointing nonetheless.  The main reason why I started was that I went out with a buddy of mine and started having some beers.  I didn’t bring my electronic cigarette so when he went out for a smoke, I cheated and had one too.  After have that one cigarette i had another and another.  The day after I was back smoking my smokeless cigarettes but after a failure like that, it’s easy to go back and have regular analog cigs.  So yesterday when I was out and about I decided to have another cigarette.  This time I DID have the SmoktStik smokeless cigarette with me.  I just wanted to smoke a regular cigarette and feel the cigarette buzz.

The bottom line is that using the smokeless cigarette can definitely help you reduce smoking regular cigarettes because sometimes all you need is the nicotine fix as well as the oral fixation and smoking ritual that you’re so used to, but do not expect the electronic cigarette to help you completely quit smoking.  You are still very much going through the nicotine fix, addiction and withdrawal cycle when using electronic cigarettes.  Is it healthier than smoking regular cigarettes all the time? Probably, but don’t be fooled into thinking that you are a “non-smoker” even when you smoke SmokeStiks.

My plan is to eventually quit regular cigarettes completely and smoke electronic cigarettes.  I may try to Luci or Cigana brand but for now im still enjoying the SmokeStik brand.  Admittedly, it is tough to always carry around the electronic cigarette with you, especially when you travel to places that may ban the e-cig, but for now I’m going to do the best that I can.

If you want to share your experiences with the electronic cigarette and the process of quitting regular cigarettes, leave a comment or shoot us an email and we can write up a post about your experiences as well.  We enjoy hearing about the positive experiences that people have when smoking electronic cigarettes as well as the negative experiences.  The more information that’s out there about these relatively new devices the better it is for everybody.

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• There are stern warnings from the FDA about the carcinogens in electronic cigarettes
• Tests of a few cartridges show toxic chemicals and dangerous levels of nicotine contained in them
• Shawn talks about how he smoked for 20 years and then started smoking e-cigarettes and have since stopped smoking regular tobacco cigarettes completely
• He talks about the FDA report and cancer toxins in the e-cigs and how the studies done were not thorough enough
• He believes the FDA should regulate these electronic cigarettes instead of trying to ban them
• Shawn discusses the e-cig juice (what supplies the electronic cigarettes with nicotine and flavor)
• He sees how certain containers could be dangerous if found by children because of the dangerous levels of nicotine in them
• He believes that a big concern to the FDA and pharmaceutical companies is the fact that they will lose out on a lot of money from regulated smoking cessation devices if the e-cig is not banned
• A big problem that was raised was how the electronic cigarette was never compared to regular cigarette and the dangers of them in their studies, but instead compared to the nicotine inhaler.
• DEG, the product that contains cancer was found in 1 cartridge out of 18 tested and contained less than 1%
• The FDA also did not include “responsible” manufacturers in the study, some who are official registered with the FDA

** After all these studies, there has not been and conclusive facts against electronic cigarettes such as health hazards, injuries or deaths from individuals.  This is partially due to the fact that the product has not been studied enough which hopefully will change.

One bottom line fact remains.  If Shawn, the creator of the second video did not discover electronic cigarettes, he would have smoked tobacco cigarettes till he died.

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Because electronic cigarettes are still new to the market and not many extensive studies have been done for this product, the statistics of the risks and dangers of long term use of this device is still yet to be established.  Compared to not using an electronic cigarette and not smoking regular cigarettes, smoking electronic cigarettes may add health risks.  It’s not natural to inhale vapors all day, whether or not they are filled with cancer causing carcinogens or not.  This list below covers more of the health benefits that electronic cigarettes can provide when compared to smoking regular cigarettes.

The Smell Electronic Cigarette Versus Tobacco

Electronic cigarettes do not emit any odor that induces coughing like regular cigarettes.  The vapor released is a water based vapor and contains propylene glycol, a common food additive  which is odorless but adds flavor to the vapor when inhaled.  It doesn’t stink up your clothes like smoking regular tobacco cigarettes which is awesome.

The Carcinogen Factor

Like I mentioned above, there hasn’t been enough long term or short term effects of the vapor and nicotine juice on our health that is used in the electronic cigarettes.  In a recent report the FDA reported carcinogens in some of the electronic cigarettes tested (note: not all brands of electronic cigarettes were found with these particular carcinogens).  Some say that there are only trace amounts that are barely above detection.  In any case, this shows that further studies need to be done before declaring these e-cigs safe.  But despite the findings, electronic cigarettes are hardly comparable with regular cigarettes that contain thousands of carcinogens and toxins.  There is also no tar and tobacco in the electronic cigarettes.  In an interview with a doctor in this field, it was stated that electronic cigarettes are 2-3 orders of magnitudes (100-1000 times) less dangerous than regular cigarettes.

Save Money While Saving Your Life

While purchasing a starter kit may cost you a chunk of change initially, buying nicotine flavor cartridges run a lot cheaper than buying cartons of regular cigarettes.  If you decide to quit smoking and replace it with vaping electronic cigarettes, you will end up saving a good amount of money on a monthly basis.

Replication of Smoking Tobacco

I have personally tried many smoking cessation devices and while these devices do curb the craving of smoking cigarettes, the habit of smoking is not eliminated.  Ideally you can quit cold turkey and magically forget about all the years you’ve taken those smoke breaks, but that’s obviously difficult.  Electronic cigarettes replicate smoking to a tee.  The only major difference that I’ve noticed is the fact that they are so heavy when compared to regular cigarettes.  This is due to the battery and metal involved.  They light up, you inhale, you blow out, you get your nicotine fix, its great!

No Tobacco Smoke Stains

I had a friend who was an avid smoker and when he showed me the area on his fingers that he used to smoke, I was pretty shocked when there was a noticeably different color in that area, a bit yellowish.  Cigarette smoking had stained his skin.  It also stains clothes, curtains and anything that it is exposed to for a long time.  Electronic cigarettes will not.

Freedom to Smoke Anywhere You Want

With more restrictive laws every year for smoking cigarettes, it gets a bit annoying if have a smoke these days.  Although I do enjoy taking smoke breaks and bonding with other smokers at bars, parties or office buildings, sometimes it is just a hassle to walk to the lobby and take the elevator down 20 flights to have 1 cigarette.  Electronic cigarettes are allowed anywhere and anytime you want.

Polluting the Air is Not A Problem

Not only will you not pollute the air, you don’t risk causing a forest fire or burning the back of your car seat by throwing a partially lit cigarette bud away.  Electronic cigarettes are GREEN.

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I have recently started smoking electronic cigarettes and stopped regular analog cigarettes.  I’ve read a lot about the obvious benefits of switching to electronic cigarettes and I feel that compared to regular cigarettes they are “healthier”.  But with all the positive information out there, I want to also post about the unhealthy effects of electronic cigarettes.  Many times when scouring the internet for information about a product, you get lost in all the marketing gibberish especially for such a hot new product like the electronic cigarette where a ton of sites have sprung up to try and sell you their version of the e-cig.  I wrote a post earlier about the benefits of electronic cigarettes, this post is to play devils advocate and show you what other people are saying are the bad effects of electronic cigarettes.

Carcinogens Found in Electronic Cigarettes

Although not all brands of cartridges were found with carcinogens, the FDA reported trace amounts in various brands of electronic cigarette.

In one sample, the FDA’s analyses detected diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze that is toxic to humans, and in several other samples, the FDA analyses detected carcinogens, including nitrosamines

Nicotine is Highly Addictive

Nicotine, a highly addictive substance is the prime ingredient in most of the flavor cartridges.  Although it is being absorbed differently than smoking regular cigarettes, your nicotine blood level increases after using electronic cigarettes.  This can cause addiction to nicotine and in turn tobacco cigarettes.

Children Friendly Flavors

The special flavors such as apple, cinnamon, bubble gum and so forth are appealing to children who discover the electronic cigarettes.  This may lead cause the electronic cigarette to be a “gateway drug” to regular cigarettes.

Electronic Cigarettes are Inconvenient

Electronic cigarettes can be annoying if you have to carry extra cartridges or batteries around.  If you don’t you risk running out of either the e-cig battery or cartridge and going back to smoking regular cigarettes.  The weight of the electronic cigarette is also a negative factor.  It is far heavier than regular cigarettes and makes it annoying for times you want to just have the cigarette in your mouth without holding it in your hands.

Nicotine Poisoning

Nicotine is a poison and although it takes a lot to kill somebody, there is a risk of nicotine poisoning that should be considered when using electronic cigarettes, especially because the effects can creep up on you since the nicotine is absorbed at a slower rate than regular cigarettes.

Electronic Cigarettes and Socializing

It’s difficult to bond with the other smokers while smoking your electronic cigarettes.  When people ask you to take cigarette breaks, its not the same when you bust out your e-cig.  Although you can smoke indoors, it’s still a bit odd and not socially accepted to bust out your SmokeStik or Cigana cigarette yet!

E-Cigs are Illegal

At the time of this writing, in many regions of the world such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zeland and others countries, electronic cigarettes have legal limitations.  For more information on this check out the wiki page on electronic cigarettes.

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Audio Podcast of Electronic Cigarettes

These are some of the topics that the podcast covers:

• Introduction to electronic cigarettes and “how does it works”, technical discussion and basic functionality of the device
• What you inhale (Propolene Glycol) when you take a hit of this device
• The origins of the electric cigarette
• Short discussion about China and smoking
• Estimation on how many puffs per battery life and cartridge
• Discussion about the taste of the e-cig compared to the nicotine inhaler and Nicorette gum
• The doctor’s experience in puffing the e-cig

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Dr. Murray Laugesen has many years experiment as a registered medical practitioner and has won numerous awards such as the QSO (Queen’s Service Order) as well as accomplishing many successful studies related to cigarettes and their policy.  Here is a more comprehensive list of Dr. Murray Laugesen’s accomplishments.

Here is a link to an interview with Dr. Laugesen
that addresses the following:

• The health risks of electronic cigarettes compared to regular tobacco cigarettes
• New research regarding studies of e-cigarettes in New Zealand
• Why the electronic cigarettes is banned in various countries and faces that threat in other countries like the U.S.
  
• The effects on e-cigarettes and the brain and bloodstream in comparison to regular analog cigarettes
• Benefits of smoking electronic cigarettes and the health conditions that will NOT improve by smoking e-cigs

The continues study of the electronic cigarettes is very important and interesting to me.  If any readers reach new information regarding e-cigs, please feel free to post your comments here or shoot me an email.  Thanks!

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