ORDER YOUR e-Cig TODAY And start 2011 breathing easier and heading down the path to Successfully putting an end to the control that big tobacco companies have on your life!

I’ve added a few new links to the site today that are related to tobacco use and the benefits of quitting.  I hope that you’ll take the time to view these links, and that you’ll remain tuned in here and on my main blog for updates on the trip as it unfolds.  There will be a lot of interesting places, people and photos as well as my on-going experiences with e-cig use instead of analog tobacco products.

Stay healthy!

The action plan that I have at the moment is a short (5 day) juice fast to cleanse and purge the system and hopefully shift the scales back in my favour once again (pun intended).  For those of you that have made the switch, I’d be interested to know if you’ve also gained, and to what extent compared to your past experiences with other methods of tobacco reduction.

As always – there’s more coming soon so be sure to stay tuned.

Happy Vaping!

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I started out with the E8 model starter kit Type C which comes with 2 batteries and 43 cartridges (cartomizers) of your choice in both strength and flavour.  While the website could use some tweaking to make selections easier, they do offer a text comment field on the forms that you can fill in with your special combinations of flavours.  In my experience with the starter kit, they really did read the comments.  Of course, when you order more cartridges, you will just order the quantity of each flavour and color you want and order multiple times to ensure that you get the right product.

The first thing you have to know is that you WILL burn a few cartomizers as you learn how to vape properly.  You’ll puff away like a fool for a while, and you’ll over-puff on a few until you get that rank taste, and you’ll end up throwing away a few of your first shipment before getting the full benefit of the contents.  This is QUITE normal.  So I’m happy to see my first kit with 43 cartridges lasting a little over 3 weeks (24 days is the current trend) and even happier to see that my refill order of cartridges is going to arrive a few days before they are needed.  I fully expect that my second order will last a full 30 days, but of course I’ll be ordering more well before that time to make sure that I have a continuous supply.  I’ve also determined that the strong cartridges (16mg) are plenty for me – with no real need to go to the x-strong ones except for the slight chance that I will vape less and get even more time out of the stronger cartridges.  I don’t actually think that this would be the case, but the 16mg ones are plenty it seems to feed my cravings as they come.

The batteries appear to be holding out quite well.  I know that I reported that the batteries are terrible, and still the short version of the battery is prone to flashing LED syndrome a fair bit quicker than the longer version, but it still delivers more than enough actual use time to recharge the second battery before it runs out.  So… as long as I have home, car and laptop chargers on hand I’m good to go.  With my second order of cartridges, I also ordered a spare long battery and a second USB charger adapter so I have one at home and one in the car at all times.  I did – just once – run down both batteries before getting to a charger.   Good thing I was able to get enough charge on the small battery in just an hour to be able to get going again – then it was bedtime so I had the longer battery charging overnight.  One warning I’ve seen more than once – DON’T leave the batteries on the charger once they are fully charged for more than a few hours.  Now this is not normally an issue, but as you acquire more batteries, you might be prone to leaving one on the charger for extended periods.  This can kill the batteries.

Another item that I’ve learned from experience is that the cartridges really DO need to be stored cool.  I’m even thinking of putting them in the fridge and only carrying a few spares with me.  I had a few get warm in the car on a sunny day and they tasted terrible.  Keep them in a cool and dark place as best as you can until you need to use them.

Smoke production and effectiveness of the cartomizers seems to vary a bit from day to day, but this could be more in my usage patterns than in the device.  I find that some days I will vape far more frequently but in smaller doses, while other days I’ll actually take a ‘smoke’ break and have the equivalent of a full smoke.  The E8 seems to prefer shorter sessions to longer ones, and I’m still wondering if I should get an E9 or even a larger model for those heavier days.

The other item that I’m learning is that public use of the E-Cig is more likely to generate interest than tension.  I had a situation just today in a shop where I forgot that I was holding my E8 and walking around with it.  I actually popped it into my mouth, took a long double draw from it, and exhaled.  Moments later, I was stopped by a store clerk and when I explained what it was and why it was ok for me to be using this in his store, he promptly asked for information on where to get them for the other staff (several smokers) that need something like this to make their lives easier, more productive and of course healthier.

So after 19.5 days since my last analog – where am I on e-cigs?  I’m in full support of these amazing little devices that have already made me happier and healthier.  I enjoy tasting the full flavour of my food again, and I really like not getting in and out of a car that stinks of ashtray every day.  I enjoy carrying my camera gear down a trail to a beach and not having to stop for a breath every two minutes.  And I really enjoy the fact that I can take a puff or two while watching a movie in my own living room without getting the family all upset that I’m smoking in the house!  There are a lot of other things that I enjoy, but I don’t need to bore you with the fine details.

If you’re still sitting on the fence here…  the time is NOW to make the move and order your kit.  Each and every puff of an analog is giving you the same levels of certain toxins as – you ready for this? – a full WEEK of vaping (at normal rates for the pack a day smoker).  So a single regular strength tobacco cigarette is the effective equivalent of using the e-cig at full 16mg strength for TEN WEEKS!  A full pack of Marlboro’s will have the same negative impact as up to 4 YEARS of e-cig use!  Granted these numbers are still to be confirmed true, but there’s certainly already evidence that shows they are pretty close.  So just think about that…  for each DAY you delay, you’re doing more harm to your body than you’ll do in the next  3 to 4 years…  can you really afford to delay any longer?

Here’s to your future!

Assume that each ‘smoker’ in these numbers consumes 15 cigarettes per day.
Assume that each e-cig cartridge delivers on the specs and replaces 15 cigarettes per cartridge.

if 1 smoker is 15 butts per day; that is 5,475 butts per year per smoker.

if there are 47 million smokers in the US alone (2006 stats); they generate 257 BILLION butts per year. 

If one quarter of those smokers changed to e-cigs;

365 cartridges per year per smoker = 11.75 million cartridges disposed of, and since these are cold plastic the are easier and more readily disposed of in proper trash receptacles or included in normal garbage.

We would reduce the number of butts that are being discarded by 64.3 BILLION!

Try for just a moment to visualize a mountain of 64 Billion cigarette butts!  Imagine how much this would reduce chemical pollutants in ground soil, waterways and other common areas of disposal.  And imagine how much tar and other toxic materials are trapped in that pile!? 

Now…  consider this as a global issue.  There are estimated to be over 1.1 BILLION smokers in the world today.  That’s more than 16 Billion butts daily, and more than SIX TRILLION Butts per year!  The e-cig can and hopefully will lower the number of contaminated butts that we dispose of by a very large number.  And several of the the brands that I’ve read details on claim to use recycled materials for parts of their e-cigs. 

And one more consideration…  Fires.  Smokers that carelessly discard hot butts out the car windows cause a large number of fires annually (I’ve read reports that claim anywhere from 10% to 25% of forest fires are caused by smokers!).  And fires caused in homes account for several billion dollars worth of damage annually.  There’s more than just the lower risk associated with not burning tobacco here folks… there a LOT more damage that smoking causes that could be greatly reduced.

Just more food for thought on this, the last day of June!  Have a GREAT July!  Oh… and I’m hoping to see my order at Blu get flipped over to shipped in a few days.  So stay tuned!