E-Cigarettes: The Last Bastion Of My Analog Life Goes Digital-PriceAngels

It may be time to change this, though. My cigarettes, the last bastion of my analog life, are about to be replaced by gadgets. After being a slave to cigarettes for nearly two decades, it is time to stop.In the stead of pure Virginia tobacco, my need for nicotine will henceforth be delivered in atomized vapor through e-cigarettes.For my birthday this year, I vaguely asked my mother for e-cigarettes via text message. About an hour later I had an email that a starter kit from CE4 maker Green Smoke was in the mail. I have friends who have jumped on the e-cigarette bandwagon. So, might as well give it a shot.

Green Smoke makes e-cigarettes that use rechargeable batteries and replaceable nicotine-filled atomizers (more on this below). I had never heard of the brand, but it seems as good as any other, I suppose. These days, there are a lot of choices. Typically, e-cigarettes consist of two components: a battery and an atomizer. The battery is usually the long stem of the e-cig that mimics where the tobacco would be in a normal cigarette. The “filter” of the e-cig holds the actual nicotine and turns it into nicotine-filled water vapor when you suck on it.

Plenty of variations exist. Some types of e-cigarettes use liquid containers that are fed into the atomizer. Some people use these liquid chambers to hold THC, the primary chemical in marijuana, instead of nicotine. Disposable e-cigarettes consist of a battery unit and cartomizer that are designed to be thrown out after use. Similarly, some e-cigarette batteries use electronic airflow sensors to activate the atomizer during inhalation. Others require the user to press a button, giving the, uh, "smoker" manual control over the production of vapor.

Depending on the brand, a nicotine cartridge can hold the equivalent of 20 to 30 cigarettes. When “smoking” them, you get a tickle in the back of your throat and the taste of unfiltered nicotine (if you have ever used a nicotine patch, lozenge or gum, you know what this tastes like) and often some type of flavor. Green Smoke has several different kinds of flavored cartomizers meant to mimic the taste of tobacco. gdfsQ2FDQ

Starter kits likewise vary. Usually they include one or two batteries and cartomizers equivalent to five or 10 packs—between a half and a full carton—of cigarettes. Typically, starter kits range between $70 to $100. Individual disposable e-cigarettes, like the kind that blu sells in convenience stores, range between $7 and $10.

The U.S. Food And Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved rechargeable electronic cigarette as safe alternatives to regular cigarettes, citing lack of research. The FDA doesn't know if they're safe for their intended use, how much nicotine or harmful chemicals are inhaled during use or if there are any benefits associated with the use of e-cigarettes.

What we do know about e-cigarettes is that they sidestep some of the risks associated with burning and smoking actual tobacco. They don't produce tar or other harmful combustion products, they're free from pesticides that can contaminate tobacco leaves used in cigarettes and they don't contain the fiberglass and ammonia found in normal cigarette filters. The makers of e-cigarettes claim there's no danger of “second hand vapor” analogous to second hand smoke because their products emit only harmless water vapor.