The e-cig experiment

If you would have told my former 15 year old self - who started smoking to impress a cool guy - that I would someday be able to say that I had been smoking for twenty-six years, you would have seen nothing less than a daft blank stare. It's hard to see ourselves existing that far in advance, and any consequences for the impressionable young tend to exist only in the moment. Needless to say, impressing the cool guy won out, and my lungs, skin, taste buds, and sense of smell have paid the price.

So here I am, twenty six years later, truly addicted and hating it. I don't want to someday say that I've been smoking for fifty years, or that if only I would have quit earlier [enter any what-if here]. It stinks, and makes getting a cold much worse than in a non-smoker. And, it's expensive. I could be traveling in style with the money I would save as a former smoker, or driving a better car.

After unsuccessfully trying to quit using the patch (can't handle non-stop nicotine), the lozenge (burns the hell out of the esophogus), and the gum (tastes like crap), I decided to give the electronic cigarette a try. I ordered from Blu - who has nothing to do with this article - and received my starter pack in the mail on Monday. I'm really excited to try what seems like a better option to quit smoking without using anti-depressants or anything else mentioned above. I'd love to hear from others who either are trying to quit using this tool or have actually quit using it.

I started using my e-cig Monday night, after starting the day with regular ones. I ordered the traditional tobacco flavor to emulate the smoking experience I've known all these years, although there are flavor options like Java, Cherry, and Menthol for those who like something different. I purchased a pack of full flavor cartridges and two packs of light cartridges to see which one would be most like my one pack a day Marlboro Light habit.

After a full twenty-four hours of use, here are my impressions so far:

Flavor: - The full flavor is good as far as taste - it has a coffee-ish flavor and is very smooth. I tried the light flavor cartridge today, and it has a slightly different taste, kind of citrusey. There isn't a huge, slap-in-the-face taste difference in the way there is with Marlboro reds vs. lights though, and both are more similar to lights than heavier tobacco blends.

Similarity to smoking - The amount of vapor I get from dragging off of the cigarette is very similar to the smoke inhaled from a normal cig, and although there is a difference, the flavor and "smoke" I am able to exhale makes it seem close to actually smoking a lit cigarette. The e-cig is heavier than a regular one, so handling it is a different experience, and I've had to forgo a more lady-like holding between the forefinger and middle finger and hold it like a dude - between the forefinger and thumb - instead. The strength of the hit lessens as the battery loses charge, so switching between charged batteries is something to deal with, although it hasn't been a problem.

Battery charge - The battery, once fully charged, lasts about six hours. There are two battery cigs, so one can always be charging while the other is in use. It comes with the cig pack looking charger and also with a USB adapter, so the cigs can be charged on a computer as well.

So far, it's much more enjoyable than the other stop smoking aids on the market, and it will be interesting to see if my love for this thing continues. Anyone else out there have luck with the e-cig?