E-Cigarettes

What would you say if I told you that you could smoke an electronic cigarette and avoid 95% of the negative effects of a tobacco-based cigarette? Too good to be true? Well, smokers… rejoice! It is possible.
The electronic cigarette, or e-cig, was first invented and marketed in China by the Golden Dragon Group. Electronic cigarettes were patented as Ruyan, meaning “almost like smoke”. This provided smokers with the ability to smoke in places where tobacco cigarettes were prohibited. The product quickly skyrocketed the company and the product toward success. Since the Ruyan has always been available on the internet, it is not surprising that the idea of the electronic cigarette has spread to other parts of the globe.

It was not long before Greg Carson, a UK businessman, discovered the product and adapted it for the Western world. Marketed as the “Electro Fag” the product gained popularity across Europe, enough to prompt the English parliament to rule that this device was legal to use in places like restaurants and buildings where tobacco cigarettes were banned.

Now, there are multiple electronic cigarette companies, almost all of which do the large majority of their business online. While the Chinese and European companies still dominate the market to a certain degree, as other companies from around the world get involved, changes are being made to the idea on a regular basis. Having your choice of electronic cigarette providers means that you can find the best product to fit your needs. After all, not all electronic cigarettes are created equal; some start-up kits may be too expensive for those on a budget, and many cheap electronic cigarette imitations do not work well enough to fully replicate the sensation of smoking a tobacco cigarette.

Electronic cigarettes, are made up of a few basic parts: a battery, an atomizer, and a nicotine cartridge. These three components snap together to physically resemble a cigarette in both width and length. When you inhale with the mouthpiece located at the end of the nicotine cartridge, an LED light at the other end of the cigarette simulates a flame. This orange light resembles the lit end of a tobacco cigarette and helps the atomizer to release vapor from the nicotine cartridge. Although it is odorless and virtually harmless, this vapor feels a lot like tobacco cigarette smoke when inhaled, and it delivers the nicotine directly to your bloodstream, just like a tobacco cigarette. Unlike tobacco smoke, however, the vapor that you inhale and exhale is hardly dangerous. Most tobacco cigarettes contain over 400 known chemicals, including several carcinogens. The electronic cigarette, on the other hand, contains only one (nicotine). The electronic smoking mixture largely contains propylene glycol and water vapor, with a varying amount of nicotine. Cartridges come in 8, 6, 4, and even 0mg capacities, so no matter how much you are used to smoking,it replicates that exact level of nicotine with none of the added chemicals found in tobacco. Most of the long-term health effects associated with nicotine are actually caused by other chemicals in tobacco cigarettes, which is what makes the e-cig a safer product. Even chewing tobacco leads to an increased risk of mouth and throat cancer, but since no tobacco is used in an electronic cigarette, none comes in contact with your gums or lungs.

Other than the effects of nicotine alone — which appear to be largely neural — there is nothing dangerous about electronic cigarettes. While they have been marketed primarily to smokers concerned about their health, one of the most popular features of the product is the fact that they allow you to smoke just about anywhere. No flame means no smoke, and that also means no second hand smoke. Most of the nicotine is absorbed by the lungs after inhalation, so the odorless substance that is exhaled consists of little more than water vapor and a food coloring additive that lends a more smoke-like appearance and texture. Electronic cigarettes pose no danger to even small children or those with breathing problems, so they are the safest tobacco alternative that currently exists.

The affordable start-up packs usually contain two batteries, so you can always have one charging and still be able to enjoy an electronic cigarette anytime you want. While some electronic cigarette users complain that the cheapest products never have a fully charged battery or do not properly replicate smoking a tobacco cigarette, I do recommend the Green Smoke electronic cigarette in particular. It offers a long battery life, a quick charge, and enough nicotine levels and flavors to offer an alternative to just about any type of smoker. Green Smoke offers a unique feature that others do not. There are only 2 parts instead of three. With Green Smoke, you get a fresh atomizer in each nicotine cartridge you replace. This does away with the complaints of dirty and clogged atomizers that reduce the smoke volume. Whether you smoke a pack each day of full-flavored cigarettes or you consider yourself to be a social smoker, there are many benefits to switching to electronic cigarettes.

By Rick Bridgers