A high-tech approach to getting a nicotine fix

[steven johnson]

The latest electronic cigarette glows red at the tip with a drag and gives fake smoke. It has flavors of regular, menthols, chocolate and strawberry. A company in Japan is selling one that is charged by the USB port of a computer.

One of the strangest gizmos to come out of China in recent years, Hon's invention, the electronic cigarette, turns the adage "where there's smoke there's fire" on its head.

It doesn't burn at all. Instead, it uses a small lithium battery that atomizes a liquid solution of nicotine. What you inhale looks like smoke, but it's a vapor similar to stage fog. (Take that, smoke-free bars!) It even has a red light at the tip that lights up with each drag.

Hon got his first patent on the e-cigarette in 2003 and introduced it to the Chinese market the next year. The company he worked for, Golden Dragon Holdings, was so inspired that it changed its name to Ruyan (meaning "like smoke") and started selling abroad.

This year, it's planning a big push in the United States. A disposable e-cigarette called the Jazz ($24.95 for the equivalent of five packs) is due to hit 7-Elevens in the Dallas-Fort Worth area shortly. Many rival versions, all made in China, are making their way to the U.S., sold mostly over the Internet by small marketing firms.


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[LuvNewcastle]

1. I wonder if they would allow those on planes.

[Jeep789]

2. Some airlines have already banned them claiming they are

electronic devices that can interfere with radar. A bs excuse that was really put in place because they do look like smoke and it is hard for people to believe that they are not. It won't set off a smoke detector or emit a lingering odor so the bathroom would be safe.

I actually used mine in a (particularly long) meeting at work but was careful not to let the vapor escape. It just looked like I was sucking on my pen.

[Warpy]

8. No, because it still exposes unwilling people to nicotine

and some people with vascular disease can't handle that, especially in an enclosed space as tight as a fuselage.

I can see it mostly as a way for smokers to try to taper off, taking a drag only when they're ready to chew the curtains down off the rods. It might also keep those curtains from stinking like they'd been hanging in a pre antismoking law bar.

I would suggest that if you have to fly and you're a smoker, you try the gum while you're in the air.

It'll work to take the edge off without exposing anyone else.

[Jeep789]

3. There have been quite a few threads on DU regarding

the e-cig. I personally love mine. Lots more information here: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/

[NYC_SKP]

4. Your link goes to a Swine Flu story.

So you like your e-cig?

Has it kept you from smoking?

I'm looking to quit.

Thanks.

[Jeep789]

5. Oops, thanks, I fixed it

The first one I got was a bit hard to draw the vapor from and came with tobacco flavors I didn't like so I kept smoking. I recently got a four hole pen style from puresmoker.com that I just love and have found tobacco flavors that come really close to my brand plus I actually found I enjoy some of the fun flavors too.

The effect is not quite the same as a real cig but comes close. It actually feels better on your throat too. I haven't completely quit yet but I have cut down a lot. I plan to buy a couple more to have on hand and hopefully get off the real things for good.

Beware that they are trying to outlaw them. Can't have a way around those taxes, can we?

[Amiga500]

6. Subject: Cut down a lot.

My "Green Smoke" E-Cig fits that description perfectly.

The only thing I have fault with is, the taste is very weak. Doesn't taste like a cig but it provides the tactile and nicotine hit.

Losing cigarette taxes will kill this I'm sure.

[RagAss]

7. When are they going to get the message that nicotine replacement therapy is..

just too damn expensive !

[Warpy]

9. This looks to be quite a bit cheaper than the patch or gum

and if the equivalent is 5 packs for $24.95, that's cheaper than five packs of cigarettes in a lot of places in the country.

I'm all for something that doesn't stink the joint up and set off my asthma. If the latter is true, I'd hand them out as party favors if I ever invited smokers over.

[Why Syzygy]

10. They've got to be a whole lot cleaner too.

No ash or smoke stains. I would be much more likely to try the cheaper version before the investment required for the whole kit and set up.