I’m in the second week of “vaping” (the term that electronic cigarette users use for smoking electronic cigarettes). Honestly, I never expected this to be such a positive experience.

I bought a carton of analogs (real cigarettes) when I received my electronic cigarette in the mail. I’m such an addict that the thought of not having the option of smoking a real cigarette when I want one, panicked me. The first week of vaping was one of getting used to it and experimenting. This second week has been one of really enjoying it. I’ve experimented with several different liquid nicotine flavors and have got the whole process down pat and the experience is just like smoking … without all the stink and chemicals. My nicotine cravings are completely satisfied and I really enjoy the flavor of the vapor. I love the tobacco flavor called Marlboro and the one called USA Mix. I’ve heard others like the Winston flavor a lot. But I also got a vial of cola flavored and cherry flavored eliquid and mix them to make cherry coke flavor. It is a really refreshing vapor. Not overly sweet … still has the tobacco flavor but a nice cherry coke after taste.

I still have the analogs and have been smoking about 3 a day. I’m pretty sure they too will be phased out completely eventually. What is very noticeable is the awful smell and taste of a real cigarette after a week of vaping. The cigarette smoke burns my throat now and my sense of smell has returned. The real cigarette smoke also feels much harsher in my lungs now. I am breathing easier and coughing less.

I didn’t anticipate feeling any physical effects such as the sense of smell returning this early in the game, but it is a real bonus. It appears that it doesn’t take very long to actually feel the effects of the “almost” quitting the real cigarettes with all those chemicals. I still reach for one first thing in the morning. This morning, I did and started smoking it. When I stood up, I felt slightly dizzy, just like I did when I was a 16-year old teenager, just starting to smoke.

My brother is a smoker also and he rolls his own. His tobacco is very strong and harsh. I gave him a Super Cigarette Starter Kit and he instantly took to it. He liked it. He was out of tobacco and vaped all day yesterday.

Then he went to the store and bought a can of tobacco. I was hoping that it would be like me … just security having it there. But today, his electronic cigarette is nowhere in sight and he is back to the tobacco. He was so positive about it yesterday that I thought he might eventually be a convert also, but now I’m not sure. I really hope so because his cough is worse than mine was, since he is smoking such a harsh tobacco product. I can now smell his tobacco in the living room when I pass through and it’s pretty rank.

One of my daughters is a smoker also. She’ll be here for the Thanksgiving holidays. I’m going to give her one of the Super Cigarette Starter Kits also and hope that she will enjoy it and be able to quit smoking using it. She has a brand new baby and neither her or her baby needs that smoke.

One thing I really don’t miss is getting literally robbed by the government with their enormous tax on tobacco products. This is really much cheaper than smoking analogs (about 80% cheaper).

List of Identified, Known Carcinogens in Electronic Cigarettes vs. Conventional Cigarettes, and Which Anti-Smoking Groups are Telling Smokers to Smoke

Based on the best available scientific evidence, I have compiled a list of the identified, known carcinogens present at greater than trace quantities in electronic cigarettes compared to conventional cigarettes.

Below that list is a table listing a number of anti-smoking organizations and which of the two products they have stated or implied they would prefer that smokers smoke.

Table 1. List of Identified, Known Carcinogens in Electronic Cigarettes, Present at More than Trace Levels (defined as 1 nanogram per cigarette)

None

Table 2. List of Identified, Known Carcinogens in Tobacco Cigarettes, Present at More than Trace Levels (defined as 1 nanogram per cigarette)

Benz(a)anthracene
Benzo(b)fluoranthene
Benzo(j)fluoranthene
Benzo(k)fluoranthene
Benzo(a)pyrene
Dibenz(a,h)anthracene
Dibenzo(a,l)pyrene
Dibenzo(a,e)pyrene
Indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene
Quinolineb
Dibenz(a,j)acridine
Benzo(b)furan
Furan
N-Nitrosodimethylamine
N -Nitrosoethylmethylamine
N -Nitrosodiethylamine
N -Nitroso-di-n-butylamine
N -Nitrosopyrrolidine
N -Nitrosopiperidine
N -Nitrosodiethanolamine
N -Nitrosonornicotine
4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone
2-Toluidine
2,6-Dimethylaniline
2-Naphthylamine
4-Aminobiphenyl
AaC
PhIP
Formaldehyde
Acetaldehyde
1,3-Butadiene
Isoprene
Benzene
Styrene
Acetamide
Acrylamide
Acrylonitrile
Vinyl chloride
DDT
DDE
Catechol
Caffeic acid
1,1-Dimethylhydrazine
2-Nitropropane
Nitrobenzene
Ethyl carbamate
Ethylene oxide
Propylene oxide
Methyleugenol
Hydrazine
Arsenic
Nickel
Chromium
Cadmium
Lead
Polonium-210

Source: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/07/list-of-identified-known-carcinogens-in.html

October 14, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ — According to a release on the State of California web site today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declined to sign Senate Bill 400. On September 11, 2009, the California Senate passed Bill 400. The bill was originally written as “The Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program”, and then was amended to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, which was very supportable. Additional wording in the bill would have also banned the sale of electronic cigarettes in the state of California to adults.

In a statement on the California Government web site, Governor Schwarzenegger made it clear that there is a difference between the freedoms of adults and children. In the letter, the governor made the following comments.

“I am returning Senate Bill 400 without my signature. While I support restricting access of electronic cigarettes to children under the age of 18, I cannot sign a measure that also declares them a federally regulated drug when the matter is currently being decided through pending litigation. Items defined as “tobacco products” are legal for anyone over the age of 18. If adults want to purchase and consume these products with an understanding of the associated health risks, they should be able to do so unless and until federal law changes the legal status of these tobacco products.

Being a 2-pack a day smoker, I’ve tried several products that were touted as a smoking alternative, including nicotine patches and nicotine gum. Neither of them worked for me. Using the highest strength nicotine patch, I still continued to smoke a pack of cigarettes per day, thereby increasing my nicotine intake. The gum did nothing for me at all … and tasted bad to boot.

Now there is another alternative to smoking cigarettes that is being sold in the US. It’s called an electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, and works by providing a dose of nicotine by inhaling a liquid nicotine vapor solution in varying strengths.

The e-cigarettes have a flavor that is very much like tobacco and also provides the satisfaction of “smoking” similar to smoking real cigarettes, but without tobacco, tar, smoke or combustion in its operation. Available tobacco flavors include flavors that are similar to Marlboro, Winston, Kent, Camel, flu-cured tobacco and even Menthol.

How do electronic cigarettes work?

There are several different types of electronic cigarettes on the market, including a “pen-style” in different colors to those that actually look like a real cigarette. Although there are several different styles, they all work in the same manner. They employ a rechargeable battery, an atomizer, a cartridge that contains the nicotine solution and a mouthpiece. When you inhale from an e-cigarette, the air activates the atomizer. The atomizer then vaporizes a small amount of the nicotine liquid in the cartridge, which is also the plastic mouthpiece.

There are basically two types of e-cigarettes2- piece and 3-piece. The 2-piece models generally provide you with the rechargeable battery component and the cartridge in varying nicotine strengths. The cartridge also contains the vaporizer. You attach a cartridge to the battery and it’s ready to use. When the cartridge is empty, you replace it, or on some of the models, you can also top it off with e-liquid (the nicotine solution). The 3-piece consists of the rechargeable battery, the atomizer and a cartridge. These models are generally used with the e-liquid to refill the cartridges as needed, but you can also order the cartridges and replace when needed if you prefer, although it is more economical to order the e-liquid and refill the cartridges as needed. The nicotine cartridges come in strengths from high to zero nicotine, as well as tobacco or menthol flavoring.

However, there are marked differences between e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes. E-cigarettes contain nicotine, but do not contain cancer carcinogens such as tar. There is no flame or hot ash, so there is less likelihood of starting a fire with electronic cigarettes. The vapor looks like smoke, but doesn’t have a bad odor and does not linger in the air, or in your hair and clothing. There is considerably less waste from electronic cigarettes. Instead of twenty cigarette butts and an empty package, there is one small plastic mouthpiece and one cartridge, which is refillable. The positive impact on the environment from that alone is staggering.

E-cigarettes have not been tested or proven to aid in smoking cessation, but many electronic cigarette reviews found online and in forums have stated an ease in transition from regular cigarettes to electronic cigarettes. The growing benefits of electronic cigarettes are quickly making this device one of the greatest little discoveries of our time.

Major Benefits of E-Cigarettes

Smoke from a cigarette, pipe, or cigar is made up of many additional toxic chemicals, including tar and carbon monoxide. Tar is a sticky substance that forms into deposits in the lungs, causing lung cancer and respiratory distress. Carbon monoxide limits the amount of oxygen that the red blood cells can convey throughout your body. Also, it may damage the inner walls of the arteries, which allows fat to build up in them.

Besides tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide, tobacco smoke contains 4,000 different chemicals. More than 200 of these chemicals are known be toxic. Nonsmokers who are exposed to tobacco smoke also take in these toxic chemicals. They inhale the smoke exhaled by the smoker as well as the more toxic sidestream smoke—the smoke from the end of the burning cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Source

Electronic cigarettes contain about 20 ingredients which are commonly found in our food, health and beauty products. E-cigarettes have about the same amount of TSNAs (tobacco specific nitrosamines) as in FDA approved Nicotine Replacement Therapy products.

You can also save a considerable amount of money using e-cigarettes. With the high taxes on tobacco products, the cost of tobacco cigarettes has sky-rocketed, costing over $5.00 per pack and for the average smoker, over $1000 per year. In comparison, the cost of e-cigarettes is up to 80% less than the cost of tobacco cigarettes (approximately $2.50 per pack). A cartridge for electronic cigarettes can last the equivalent of two regular packs of tobacco cigarettes and even more can be saved if you refill or top off the cartridges with e-liquid. While there are numerous electronic cigarette companies selling e-cigarettes for $150 to $200 for a starter kit, reasonably priced electronic cigarettes are available online, along with replacement batteries, cartridges, vaporizers and e-liquid.

More Benefits of E-cigarettes

* No more standing outside to smoke cigarettes
* No lost productivity at work for cigarette breaks
* No unsightly cigarette butts and dirty ashtrays
* No tar or Carbon Monoxide
* No Fire Hazard or Hot Ashes to Burn Clothing or Furniture
* No Offensive smelling smoke or second-hand smoke
* No bad cigarette smoke odor on breath, hair, clothing or furniture

Even second hand smoke has been proven to have adverse medical affects. Because of this, many states and counties within the United States have banned smoking in public places, leaving many smokers out in the cold, sometimes literally.