Where there's smoke...

I’ve been knocking around with my e-cig for the better part of three weeks now and it’s probably time for an update on where it stands in my pantheon of gadgets. In the interest of putting the bottom line up front, I think it’s important to note that it’s still in use. At the three week mark, I’ll say that some of the newness has warn off and that it seems to be in the process of becoming more an appliance than an accessory. The learning curve is a nice gentle slope because the simplicity of the Vapor King model makes it mostly idiotproof. So far, it seems that it is exactly what is advertised… a substitute nicotine delivery system imitating the look and feel of actual cigarettes. What has really been a surprise is how much I would like the multitude of flavor options.

With that said, it’s not a 1:1 correspondence… While it imitates, it does not emulate. Even at the highest available nicotine level available the e-cig doesn’t pack the same punch as the real thing… and I very much still find myself looking for that punch at specific times of day; mainly following lunch and in the afternoon when I get home from work. Many of the e-cig bloggers talk about cutting out analogs completely on their first day. I’ll admit that analog consumption basically fell off a cliff with a 2/3 daily reduction, but after that it has held steady at between six and nine per day. Consumption is lowest on weekdays and climb slightly on weekends, which I didn’t expect. I initially assumed the desire for an analog would be driven by a stress response to work, but that hasn’t proved out in my own experiences to date.

I didn’t order an e-cig with quitting smoking in mind. I bought it because it seemed to be a better financial means of getting the fix that I needed and wanted… and if it had any health benefits from reducing exposure to the chemicals in cigarettes, I’d write that up as a bonus. Of course the thought has obviously crossed my mind that maybe it would be possible to kick the analogs completely, but I’m not there yet in my own head space. Maybe it’s a matter of finding just the right mix of flavor, nicotine, battery, and some x-factor – everything, ultimately, is a matter of having the proper motivation. For the moment, I’m going to continue to tinker with the mix and trying to find my own sweet spot. Even with buying a metric crapload of supplies to get started, I’m already closing in on the “break even” cost for this little experiment. Now that’s definitely a motivating factor.

Discovery...

I made an important discovery today in my quest for the perfect e-smoking experience... They apparently make the cartridges in five different strength... of which i've been using the lowest. That pretty much explains the intense desire to chew my own arm off and wanting to bludgeon everyone I've met for the last four days. That bit about cartridge strenght is apparently something they don't cover in the basic research and I only ran across it in one of the e-cig forums by accident while looking for new flavors to try. Needless to say, my order for high test carts went in this afternoon. I'm guessing that the added umph will be what it takes to get me over the hump and make the transition to all digital. As it stands now, I'm hitting an analog ever 4-5 hours to bump the level up and then using the digitals to maintain a slow glidepath. Until the new carts arrive, I'm holding at five or six analogs a day. Tinkering around with body chemistry is fun... I still believe this is a good product and a worthwhile transition, but I'll be happier when I get back to getting my full fix all at one time.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

V4L

I’ll confess that I wasn’t as happy with the GreenSmoke as I had hoped I would be. Once the first weekend’s newness wore off and I was living with it day-in-and-day-out, it didn’t pack the punch that I was looking to replace. Being a dedicated techie and really thinking there was something to the idea of getting my fix the new fangled way, I decided to do a bit more market research and settled in on the Vapor King model marketed by www.vapor4life.com. This little number, ladies and gentleman, seems to be the real deal in terms of giving a very “analog” experience within a digital footprint. The weight feels good in the hand, the delivery is smooth, and the flavors (oh boy, the flavors) are bloody fantastic.

The “starter kit” priced out at about $90 and included two batteries, five cartridges, a car charger, a USB charger, and carrying case, a charging case, and a USB dongle that turns your MacBook Pro (or PC) into an e-hookah. They tossed in a few freebies, like a sample pack of nicotine cartridges and some “drip” fluid as well. I ordered a few extra 5-packs of cartridges and all told my total cost to get in the game was $109 and change after getting a 10% discount. For you non-smokers out there, that’s about the price of two cartons, or a week-and-a-half’s worth of analog cigs.

I’m optimistic that this will be the device I’m going to settle on for the time being. I couldn’t ask for a better experience than I’ve had with this one so far. For anyone considering going digital, I have plenty of suggestions that I’ll probably get around to posting at some point. Until then, feel free to pick my brain… You know how much I love talking about new toys!

GreenSmoke...

I picked up my first cigarette the summer between my freshman and sophomore year in college. As I recall, I was working on campus at the Summer Planning Conference – basically shepherding incoming freshman around campus and making sure they didn’t burn the buildings down during their three-day stay. During the three days between sessions, there may have been some drinking. Actually, there was definitely drinking going on and that’s also where I learned to love Sam Adams Cherry Wheat and rum in its many varieties. Of course that’s beyond the scope of this tale. With the timeline set, that means I’ve been smoking more or less regularly for about 12 years (although it doesn’t seem like nearly that long).

About 48-hours ago, my newest toy arrived. The GreenSmoke electronic cigarette is going to take some getting use to over the next few days. What I’ve noticed so far is that it’s really not all that much different from the old “analog” smoking habit. It doesn’t pack quite the same punch as the real thing, but that may be a function of having ordered cartridges with too low a dose of nicotine. Aside from that, I’m not noticing any particularly bad physiological issues. No headaches or dry mouth; no problems sleeping; no cravings bad enough to make me want to chew my own arm off. The only down side I’ve found in the first 48 hours is the battery life of each e-cig leaves quite a bit to be desired. With a battery necessarily being so small, it’s easy enough to see why they can only hold a few hour of charge. Still, I could see getting caught with a dead or dying battery being just as terrifying as being caught with only one or two smokes left in a pack. The solution, I suppose, is to bring on extra batteries and chargers and stash them around strategically. They even market a USB pass-through device that basically lets you tether your cigarette to a laptop. I’ll be looking into that one as it seems like a good compromise solution until battery technology catches up with the concept.

The reason I know this thing might actually work is that on an average day I would usually smoke somewhere around 30 cigarettes. Yesterday I had six and probably had the same number today. Without my new favorite toy, I would have had that many before 8:00 on a weekday morning. I’m not saying this is the best solution available, but if I can get my fix almost anywhere, save money over the long run, cut out all or most of the additives, it seems like the beginnings of a no brainer. I’m not foolish enough to call this a change in lifestyle after only 48 hours, but I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s definitely a good thing to have so many of the perks, but so few of the drawbacks.

Going digital...

After a fair amount of consideration and research, I placed an order tonight for my first electronic cigarette. That's right, I'm making the switch from analog cigarettes to digital smoking. This "personal vaporizer" is battery powered, takes nicotine laced inserts, and the second hand effect is nearly pure water vapor... According to the reviews at least. Nothing burns, so there's no smoke in the traditional sense. It has the added value of evading most state indoor smoking bans and FAA regulations as well.

Start up costs are a little steep at $135 for two battery packs, three varieties of charger, and five nicotine caps, but operation and maintenance cost appears to be minimal when compared to the increasing cost per pack of the real thing. If it proves to be an effective substitute and if it stays legal, the cost savings over the course of the year could be significant.

There is always the more intangible and unproven benifit of not ingesting the laundry list of things besides nicotine that analog cigarettes give off when burned. Sure, it's not as good as actually quitting, but since that doesn't seem likely to happen this would appear to be the next best alternative. Besides, most of the truly amazing toys in my life all plug in... Why not bring my dirty habits into the 21st century too, right?

You can believe there will be a more detailed review when the unit arrives.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]