Hi everyone,
I don't know if anyone here is a smoker. I've been smoking for more than 10 years and I'm really interested in getting an e-cigarette. I've read a whole lot of articles for and against these products and I think there are some valid arguments on each side. I'm posting this because I'm interested in getting a general read on how people feel about them and why.
Do it. I've been on mine since January and cut the amount of real cigs I smoke down to about 4 a day, more if I drink in the evenings. Plus I love smoking it at my desk. ElGuapo gave me his old kit. It's just an ego, which is a pretty good starting place. I recommend not even getting the kit and getting a couple batteries and atomizers. I'm not the best with this shit but this is what I have now: The thing that does the stuff:
http://www.stevenswholesale.com/5-pack-CE4-eGo-1-6ml-1-8ohm-... The battery that makes the thing do its stuff:
http://www.stevenswholesale.com/eGo-C-Twist-Voltage-650mAh-B... The thing that charges the battery:
http://www.stevenswholesale.com/Joyetech-eGo-eGo-T-eGo-C-Fas... (standard usb, get a wall charger as well unless you have like 80 laying around like I do.) Juices:
http://www.stevenswholesale.com/24-mg-electronic-liquids-s/1... Note the mg. That's how strong, nicotine wise, they are. You probably want something high since you've been smoking for a while. I like watermelon and dr pepper. There are really awesome juice sellers out there. Just got some great recommendations for epic juices over here: http://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette/comments/1b1yaw.../ Or you can just get a starter kit: http://www.stevenswholesale.com/Electronic-Cigarette-Starter... Which has everything in it in multiples. Once you get the hang of it you can buy the bits and pieces as needed.
I have a couple Ego batteries, a short 650mAh and a bigger 1000mAh. They are passthroughs so they charge with a USB cable. Then I just use Kanger T2s as my "clearomizer" of choice (clearomizer is just a tank that holds the juice AND the atomizer in one). Its a tank and atomizer all in one. Just unscrew the top, put your juice in, and vape away. Just gotta make sure you buy the lower ohm ones. The higher ohm ones work with Variable Voltage (VV) devices, but I don't use those or get into that too much. That's when it becomes much more of a modder and hobbyist type gig. I just want to vape and not smoke. Batteries: I like the 650mAh ones because they are small but still last almost all day. Just make sure to get a passthrough and you can charge with a 5pin USB. http://www.vapingme.com/joyetech-ego-c-650mah-1000mah-usb-pa.../ These are the clearomizers I (and many people) use: I use the 2.4ohm ones, but some people use even lower or higher ones. But these work good on my non VV batteries. http://www.vapingme.com/kanger-t2-v2-sunfire-2-4-2-6ohm-clea.../ Kanger T2s cost like less than $5 each, and you can by replaceable atmomizer heads for $1, so I just have like 2-3 T2s I keep in rotation with different flavors, and then buy extra heads and replace the heads like once a week or every other week depending on how long they last. You can tell when they start to go bad, taste just gets a little burny and sometimes they might start a small leak on the inside that you can catch before it actually leaks. It doesn't run everywhere, more just a tiny little leak onto the battery and what not. Ego batteries and a few Kanger T2s is what most people start with, it's really easy, and not too expensive. Then you just gotta find a juice you like. I've had good luck with the flavors from JuicyVapor, Vermillion River eJuice, and Backwoods Brew. And I order all my hardware (batteries and cartos/clearos) from Vapingme.com. Use code REDDIT and you can get a small discount. ;) I'm smoking cigs currently at work, but I vape at home. Gonna quit smoking again and just vape in the evenings soon. I vaped with no cigs for like 6 months then fell back to cigs. The only problem with vaping is sometimes I'd get leaks and what not, and it just bugged me. So it can take a little more patience sometimes. EDIT: Also, the /r/electronic_cigarette subreddit on Reddit is fairly helpful. There's a ton of beginner guides on the end. But as with most of Reddit, they are very circlejerky about expensive mods and certain clearomizers that personally I'm not a big fan of. The default advice there is to get a variable voltage Ego Twist battery, and a bunch of Viva-Nova clearomizers, but they take upkeep and tweaking to vape right, and that's not my thing. But there is a lot of helpful vapers there if you're interested.
I second this. I just go for basics. I do love my 1.6ml clearomizer though because of the reduced leaking and the fact that I can chew on the mouthpice and not kill it as quickly as the plastic heads that come standard with the egos. I am a chewer though, so I dont expect this is a big problem for most. I go through pens and my finger nails like there is no tomorrow.The default advice there is to get a variable voltage Ego Twist battery, and a bunch of Viva-Nova clearomizers, but they take upkeep and tweaking to vape right, and that's not my thing. But there is a lot of helpful vapers there if you're interested.
I love them. I wasn't really looking to quit smoking, I just got into them when my favorite brand of cigaratte became illegal to sell in the States and it was getting expensive to import them, but they've replaced cigarettes for me because they're so much more convenient and the juice is tasty. Still smoke a cigar or pipe or two a day though. There isn't much research on the health risks yet, so there is a chance that there are some. It's seems implausible that there are any more than in smoking cigarettes, though. Buy your juice from vendors in AEMSA if you're concerned. If you go elsewhere (I am willing to live dangerously for Vape Dudes), avoid meat or cream flavored juices [because they are gross and] because they're often the juices that end up containing something known to be dangerous. I second all of insomniasexx's advice.
I vape much more frequently than I used to take cigarette breaks, but only a hit or two at a time. Vaping indoors is acceptable many places though, a lot of people do it at work, so it's not inconvenient. When I'm not working from home I do miss the excuse to go outside and walk around though. Taking smoke breaks with an ecig feels silly.
I've never touched a cigarette, electronic or not, but if you go with "e", I heard this is extremely amazing.
I've heard nothing but good things about it. Discreet, smooth both practically and in design, innovative (different color lights mean different things and all that jibble-jabble), etc. And if it means anything, people I've talked to who partake in the vaporizing of a more.. illicit herb, say it's basically a Volcano Vaporizer in your pocket, if that means anything.
Is your intent to supplement your smoking of real cigs or to eventually quit? There's a big difference in how I'd respond. I've tried the e-cig's as a curiosity when at a friends house. It was interesting, but I missed the sensation of real smoke. I should mention that I only occasionally have a cigarette these days. Maybe 2 or 3 a month at most. Some months none. But I do enjoy smoking, it's a damn shame its bad for you.
Honestly, I don't want to quit smoking. I do however want to cut down on the harm I do to my body as much as possible. I'm fairly active and there are times that I really feel the smokes. I don't know, but it feels like doing one or the other is less of a strain on my lungs than doing both.
I have been using an e-cig for a while now and I have to say, I really like it. Thanks for the help everyone. I've been rotating two eGo-C 1000 mAh and one eGo-Twist for home use with a couple of Kanger MT3's and T2's as I figure out what I like in a juice. One thing though, I feel like I can absorb more nicotine this way and when I drive anywhere I vape constantly. I do feel healthier though and running is a lot easier, now that I've stopped hacking up golf ball sized loogies.
They already have them with "mary joana" in them, but the juice is hard to find because obviously it's illegal to make and illegal to sell, but I'll just say I know someone who vapes a THC based liquid. It's not me as I'm not into that anymore, but I've seen others do it.