Working on the second part of the SCaRE thing (still a bit sick, bear with me), but I wanted to take a second to talk to the smokers out there.
There’s something rather recent going around now called “e-cigarettes.” They’re these little electric dealies that can replace smoking. How it works is this: the gizmos have a battery, an atomizer, and a fluid cartridge. You fill the cartridge with fluid, connect it to the e-cig, and smoke it more or less like a regular cigarette. Only the fluid doesn’t have the tar, arsenic and all the rest of the crap in a regular cigarette. The ingredients of the fluid are nicotine, propylene glycol (a food additive, used to suspend the flavor and produce the vapor), and some kind of flavoring. None of those are registered as carcinogens.
Now, keep in mind, this shit still has nicotine in it, which means you’re still getting an addictive substance and still run all the risks from nicotine (heart disease, addiction, all that). And I don’t know about the long term effects, but I do know this: after using one for about thirty-six hours, most of my smoker’s cough is gone. I usually wake up in the morning feeling like my lungs took a crap in my mouth; this morning? Much, much better. Also, the fluid comes in steadily lowering doses, so if you were so inclined you could attempt to wean yourself off the nicotine up to and including fluid with no nicotine in it at all.
I’m gonna stress this right now: I do not recommend this for someone who doesn’t already smoke. Don’t get yourself hooked on nicotine if you aren’t already. It’s damn hard to break the habit (I’ve tried quitting at least five times), and always go back when I’m stressed. On top of that, nicotine stimulates crap in your brain, and definitely fucks around with your mental wiring. That’s personality stuff there. Don’t fuck with it, you hear me?
However, if you do smoke already, you know that the cost of smokes keeps going way the hell up. Cartons for me are already running about $40 USD. That’s up from about $27 about a year or so ago. On the other side, fluid for the e-cigs runs about $8 to $10 for a 10ml bottle. 10 ml works out to about 100 cigarettes worth of nicotine. The only barrier to entry is the cost of the e-cig kit itself (around $50 and up, depending where you go). Once you have that, all you need to worry about is the occasional atomizer replacement (about $10, and these things last up to a year if you take care of them) or a new battery (around $15, and they last around 300 to 400 charges, which is a long, long time).
First, let me show you a video demonstrating these things:
Look pretty neat, don’t they? They come in a lot of colors, with varying body colors and different colored LED tips. That’s a big thing: they look cool. That’s a big appeal over cigarettes right there.
There’s no second-hand smoke with these things. No more getting the smell in your hair, no more making other people around you sick. The vapor dispels in less than five seconds, I’ve timed it. If you still smoke indoors, you can get rid of that horrible smell once and for all . . . also, you don’t get the tar and gunk going into your computer’s intake fans and gunking them up. Not to mention for you musicians out there, it won’t gunk up your instruments or your amps. There’s also no more ashtrays to dump, or ashes on your clothes. These things are much, much cleaner. And to top it off, no more fire. You can fall asleep with one of these things and not worry about burning your house down.
Now, there is a slight amount of upkeep for these, but it’s only as much as you’d normally have with pulling out a smoke and lighting it, or opening a new pack, or dumping out ashtrays. Here’s another video showing you basic maintenance on a standard model:
The only two things I have to add to this is that I don’t recommend dripping directly onto the atomizer or draining the atomizer by putting a napkin inside of it and against the wick; both of these can clog the atomizer. If you atomizer does get clogged up, a good technique a lot of people recommend is soaking your atomizer for an hour in a solution of 50% white vinegar and 50% warm water for an hour, letting it dry, and repeating until the solution you soak it in runs clear. That’s about all there is to caring for one of these things.
There are a lot of models of these things, but the two most popular seem to be the DSE 901 (mini) and DSE 801 (pen style). The 801 is larger, holds a bit more fluid and has a slightly longer battery charge, but aside from that the two are identical. I like the 901, but either seems to be a good choice, mainly because they’re so popular and replacement parts (batteries, atomizers and chargers) are easy to come by from a lot of sites. As long as you take care of them, they’ll last you a good long time, and there’s a large number of color choices.
Also very neat is not only do they make USB chargers for the batteries (excellent for travel with your laptop), they also make a USB passthrough attachment . . . simply put, you can power your e-cigarette straight from the computer while your batteries recharge. Computer as hookah! How weird is that?
There are also a wide variety of flavors of fluid. If you like to keep the taste of your regular cigarette, there are flavors like menthol, Marlboro, Camel, clove, etc. If you want something different, there’s vanilla, chocolate, coffee, strawberry, cherry, mint, peach . . . tons and tons of different flavors. I would recommend being careful who you get your fluids from, though; some are not as pure and can clog your atomizer. Also be sure you get from a US source, because while the cigs themselves might come from China, given the news of late I sure as hell don’t trust any drugs or consumables from them, you feel me?
I would personally recommend buying a starter kit (which typically includes one atomizer, two batteries, a charger and five reusable starter cartridges) and at least one or two 10ml bottles of fluid. If you need more stuff later after you’ve decided if you like it or not, pick up another battery or two, a couple spare atomizers, and maybe a regular or USB charger as a backup. Keep in mind, if your atomizer goes out, the thing won’t work until you get a new one, so if you’re going to use this to replace your regular smoking habit it’s a good idea to have a couple spares.
Where can you get these? Lots of places. You can do a google search, or visit the E-Cigarette Forum (which has a lot of reviews and good information). You can also visit E-Vaporize, run by Brad, a friend of mine. He’s a bit low on stock right now and doesn’t have the DSE 901 available, but he does have the DSE 801, which is a good starter model and only $55 from his site. If you look around, $55 is a good price for a DSE 801. He also offers a 90 day warranty on batteries and atomizers, so if something breaks he’ll take care of you. The cigarettes are under his “Products” link and the liquid is under “Accessories.”
Update: Spoke with Brad . . . here’s what you do: look at his site, put together your order, e-mail it to info@e-vaporize.com and mention coupon code “RadioDeadAir” and get a 10% discount on your order (before shipping cost). Order over $100 and your shipping’s free.
I really like these things, I’ll tell you. They’re still nicotine, but without all the tar, burning paper and other undisclosed additives in a regular cigarette. It’s much easier on the lungs and it’s wonderful to feel my phlegm going away, especially considering I sing. It’s not a perfect solution (I’m still hooked on nicotine), but it’s a much better option. I hate the patch, the gum makes my mouth ache and the lozenges taste like hell. This is a much better alternative that still feels like smoking, but without all the nasty crap that goes with it and in the long run is a cheaper alternative. I’d recommend it to anyone who currently smokes.
