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Electronic cigarettes use a fairly simple technology. An e-cigarette contains a lithium ion battery, a small heating element (an atomizer in a vaporizing chamber) to heat and "vaporize" the e-liquid contained in a cartridge, a microchip to control the process and an LED tip that lights up when drawing. You can pull the cartridge off and drip a few drops of e-liquid directly onto the atomizer. Then simply replace the cartridge and puff (“dripping”). Or you can refill the cartridge periodically by dripping e-liquid back into the cartridge, replace the cartridge and puff.
How does an electronic cigarette compare to a real cigarette?
Inhaling vapor produced by an electronic cigarette (“vaping”) is a lot like smoking a regular cigarette, but without burning tobacco. The difference is that an e-cigarette uses vaporization of just a few ingredients, while cigarette smoking involves combustion of tobacco that results in generation of numerous toxic chemicals.
An e-cigarette might look like a cigarette, but it doesn’t burn tobacco like a cigarette, and in fact it doesn’t produce the familiar (and irritating) smell of cigarette smoke. Cigarettes are widely known to contain numerous toxic chemicals, while e-cigarettes contain just a few ingredients – mainly, propylene or vegetable glycol, flavorings and nicotine. Overall, the sensation of vaping is quite similar to smoking a cigarette, and the similarities of the hand-to-mouth and inhalation actions make vaping a viable and enjoyable alternative to smoking cigarettes.
What are the ingredients in the e-liquid?
The main ingredient in electronic cigarette liquid is propylene glycol (PG) which is the same liquid used to create the fog used at KISS concerts.
In addition to PG, electronic cigarette liquid contains water, grain alcohol (the same alcohol in liquor, beer and wine), and USP artificial and natural flavorings.
The nicotine in e-liquid comes from tobacco absolute, a distilled extract from natural tobacco. Other liquids may be made using synthetic chemical nicotine. All nicotine-containing liquids sold on this website are made with tobacco absolute.
While some research on PG inhalation has been conducted, there are no known long-term clinical studies on the effects of PG inhalation through the use of electronic cigarettes. We do know of a study that was conducted by HealthNZ, an organization committed to reducing cigarette smoking in New Zealand. We recommend you take the time to read it as well as the propylene glycol wikipedia entry.
A good source of additional research and some expert opinions haves been complied and published by Njoy, an e-cigarette manufactror.
What are the benefits of electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes?
- No tar or second-hand smoke. The smoke from an electronic cigarette dissipates in mere seconds and leaves no residual odor.
- Much cheaper than regular cigarettes. Most e-cigarette users spend less than half what they would have spent on cigarettes.
- No dirty, smelly smoke, ashtrays or cigarette butts. Be done with that mess! The smoke produced by an e-cigarette has very little if any odor and dissipates much more rapidly than regular cigarette smoke.
- You may be able to smoke them at your desk, in bars malls or restaurants, depending on where you live in the US. In some places, iI may be against the law - so do your own research, check with your boss, remain respectful of others and see if there is a benefit here for you.
- Choice of many different tasty e-liquid flavors.
- Ability to regulate the amount of nicotine you consume. Many users start out with a high amount of nicotine (18-24 mgs) and transition to a low or no nicotine alternative over time.
Can I use an e-cigarette to quit smoking?
Simply, electronic cigarettes present smokers a new alternative to smoking cigarettes. You may decide to switch to e-cigarettes or you may decide to keep smoking “analog” regular cigarettes. It is totally up to you.
Many smokers have tried to quit smoking for years and are willing to try almost any alternative that satisfies their craving and that they perceive will prove less harmful or otherwise facilitate the quitting process.
The most obvious benefits of electronic cigarettes are that they emit no noxious second hand smoke produced by a combustion process, they cost significantly less than regular cigarettes, and the act of vaping a e-cigarette is very familiar and comfortable to a cigarette smoker.
Does this mean the e-cigarettes are safe or effective? The answer is no. This is mainly because the cartridges or e-liquid products used to refill the cartridges usually contain nicotine which is known as a highly addictive drug.
What about taste?
As important is taste is to most smokers, there is somewhat of a learning curve for e-cigarettes. Electronic cigarette starter kits or disposables normally come stocked with several pre-filled cartridges. The cartridges come with “tobacco-like” flavoring. It’s a bit sweet at first and brands have names like MBoro, Kamel or MenCool.
After a while, most e-cig smokers experiment with other flavors like banana, chocolate, cherry, pretty much whatever you like. It is definitely worth a bit of experimentation to see what flavors you like best. One great way to find out what you like is to order smaller sizes of e-liquids with your first orders until you become familiar with which flavors and nicotine strength are best for you.
FDA
No FDA-approved clinical trials have been run as yet to determine the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes, test their use as a nicotine replacement therapy, or to determine their safety.
Although there is no FDA approval of e-cigarettes, users of e-cigarettes are consuming a product that has far fewer chemicals in it and costs quite a bit less. And we at GlobalSmoke think that alone makes it worthwhile.
What is dripping, and how do I do it ?
Check out this post on the elctronic-cigarette-forum:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ecf-library/66848-guide-direct-dripping.html
Where can I learn more about e-cigarettes?
There is a very active community of people concerned about all things e-cigarettes, including reviews of e-cigarette products/suppliers, e-liquid use and reviews, how-to videos, safety and regulatory issues, pretty much anything you might be curious about.
Check out these links: vapersforum.com, e-cigarette-forum.com, vapeatron.com, or vaportalk.com
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