E-Cigs 101:What are Electronic Cigarettes?How do they Work?Can they Help Me Quit Smoking?And, Why Do People LIKE These Things So Much??

Let’s start with one of the questions many non-smokers are puzzled about:

“Why on earth are these electronic cigarette things so popular?

I see them EVERYWHERE!”

This ad was in a coupon book delivered to the house…

Let’s look at the obvious first:What looks more appealing?

The OLD Way The NEW Way

YEAH! We think so too!

For people who smoke, the availability of an alternative to smelly, toxic and expensive tobacco cigarettes has been almost like a gift!

EVERYONE knows that smoking is unhealthy; however, many of us are quite addicted to nicotine, and E-Cigs give us a way to still get our nicotine while at least cutting back on a LOT of other dangerous toxins.

• We save money, because e-cigs and their refills are a MUCH cheaper than tobacco cigarettes.

• Many of us are enjoying electronic cigarettes more than actually smoking, because we have great flavors to choose from (and, frankly, a lot of us just FEEL better).

This is not a picture of cigarette smoke…

This is VAPOR – the vapor we exhale when we take a puff off one of our

Electronic Cigarettes (Ok, this is a really BIG cloud of vapor)

Vapor from e-cigs does NOT smell, and does not remain in the air

for more than a second or two…

But, for us “Vapers” (the name we have adopted, like people who smoke tobacco

cigarettes are “smokers”), it gives us the “feeling” of smoking.

What Are Electronic Cigarettes?

In the simplest of terms, an electronic cigarette (aka “E-Cig” or “Personal Vaporizer) is nothing more than an electronic (and non-combustible) way to deliver nicotine to the user.

Originally developed in the early 1960s by a guy named Herb Gilbert, they are actually considered to be “electronic nicotine delivery systems” (or, NDS).

So: In order to get the nicotine from a regular tobacco cigarette, the smoker needs to physically burn the tobacco before inhaling.

To get the nicotine from an e-cig, the “vaper” needs to simply push a button and inhale (for a manual e-cig) or just turn on the battery and inhale.

More on that next…

Want to see how much you spend on tobacco cigarettes?We mentioned that us Vapers save money using e-cigarettes versus buying “analogs” (that’s what we call regular tobacco cigarettes).

Want to see how much you have actually spent on tobacco cigs?

Check out this online calculator I found at Cancer.org:

http://www.cancer.org/healthy/toolsandcalculators/calculators/app/smoking-cost-calculator.aspx

How Do E-Cigs Work?Let’s look at this relatively simple example of a South Beach (brand name) e-cig.

You load your “Tank” or “Cartomizer” with the flavored liquid (that contains the nicotine).

Now, every electronic cigarette has a battery (by the way, if you decide to try vaping, make sure that any starter kit you buy has at least TWO batteries!).

The battery powers up the atomizer, which heats up the e-juice/e-liquid (the liquid base that contains the nicotine) and vaporizes it.

Then, when you inhale (from the mouthpiece), you are inhaling the vapor that contains the nicotine. Your exhalation makes the vapor cloud.

How Do I Choose an E-Cig?I know this can be daunting these days, given how many e-cigs are out there. But here are some tips!

Get a “starter kit” that has at least 2 batteries, as mentioned earlier, and charger (car and USB).

Read up on some reviews. Here’s one source we found that covers a lot of brands: http://www.sbicouncil.org/e-cig-brands-and-reviews-for-2014

If you are only used to the taste of regular tobacco, start with a simple “tobacco flavor.” V2 has one called “Red.” You can find it easily.

Start slowly! Don’t puff away your entire battery power in the first go around!

Sounds Good… But Can E-Cigarettes Help Me Quit Smoking?

It’s a little too soon to tell, because according to authorities, there has not been enough formal study on the topic.

Nonetheless, some agencies (such as the American Association of Public Health Physicians - AAPHP) are indicating that for people who just cannot quit smoking using other more accepted methods might find it helpful (Source: http://www.aaphp.org/tobacco)

For some of us who used to smoke regular cigarettes, switching to our “personal vaporizers” has helped us immensely.

So, Maybe They Can Help You Quit(Or Cut Down)… Or Not?

Again, we cannot say for sure, and we’re certainly not in a position to say that you might be able to quit.

Each of us can only speak from his or her own experiences.

But, for this writer (who was an almost 2-pack a day smoker), I can only tell you this – and from there, you need to make your own decision:

1) I no longer stink (breath and clothes and house).2) I have cut back on nicotine in general by more than half (after 8 months of

vaping, as of this writing).3) I have saved nearly $2,000 in the last 5 months (my vaping supplies are

cheap in comparison!)4) My stamina has increased a little (I’m still not running, but I feel better).

So, for me, it has been a switch I was happy to make.

Thank you for reading!

I hope my presentation has helped you understand electronic cigarettes a little more!

Take care!