The Top 10 myths surrounding Electronic Cigarettes
Due to a lack of regulation the industry has spawned a number of unscrupulous retailers selling electronic cigarettes and in turn they have created a myriad of myths to surround electronic cigarettes in an effort to make a sale at any cost. An electronic cigarette is not designed to help you quit smoking and a cartridge is not the equivalent of a whole packet of fags. We do not want to point any fingers, but hopefully the below will help anyone looking for an electronic cigarette to make a educated decision on who to buy from.
1.) All Electronic Cigarettes are the same.
This is huge untruth. In fact there are now 3 distinct generations of electronic cigarettes available.
a. Generation 1 -
The first generation of electronic cigarette was, and still is, produced by Ruyann who are the patent holders of the e-cigarette technology. This product is HUGE! I resembles a cigar more than a cigarette. It is a one piece unit which is just used and then disposed of.
b. Generation 2 -
This was where products like DSE901 and the Titan 510 were developed and discovered by the masses. You will find lots of sites selling these on the web but they are, by today’s standard, overpriced and oversized. Whilst they will give a user the hit they are looking for they have limited time left in the market and are only really used by the original electronic smoking users who are happy with their product and don’t want to move with the times.
c. Generation 3 -
The latest electronic cigarettes are coming down in size, are being styled to look exactly like a normal cigarette and battery life is being improved due to new manufacturing processes which previously made the size of the battery a restriction to the electronic cigarettes look. The leaders in this field are NUCIG who have several patents protecting their product and the way it now looks. This is the first step into bringing electronic cigarettes into the mainstream. The fact is they are so realistic you may well have been in the presence of someone using a NUCIG without even knowing it!
2.) All E-Liquid is the same
This is widely untrue. You will probably read in several places on the web that Totally Wicked is the best e-liquid but, unfortunately, this is largely misleading. I looked at stocking it but I believe that it is hugely overpriced for the quality which is very like some C grade samples we received from a Chinese supplier. Again we found the NUCIG range to be one of the best tobacco and menthol and they have worked hard to ensure that trading standards is complied with and child proof bottles are the norm. Cigstar also have a good 15ml e-liquid but only comes in high strength. Elsewhere you can find good e-liquid in a variety of flavours at Liberty Flights.
3.) Electronic Cigarettes have been around for ages.
Unfortunately not. Electronic cigarette technology is very new - the first e-cigarette, the one created by Ruyann only went on sale in 2006! Although the patent has been around since about 2003 the infancy of the electronic cigarette is particularly noticeable in reliability of some products component parts, in particular the length of atomiser and battery life in the DSE901’s
Technology has moved on however and the NUCIG Advanced Pro 2 range is proving very reliable and users are reporting batteries lasting in excess of 6 months and atomizers in excess of 4. However this is not the case with everyone but a certain amount of reliability should be expected, and as such, when purchasing an electronic cigarette expect at least a 28 day warranty with the product.
4.) Electronic Cigarettes can help me quit smoking
If you are looking for an electronic cigarette supplier and you come across one claiming that it is the ‘ultimate smoking cessation device’ then I suggest you very quickly click your back button. There is absolutely NO CONCLUSIVE MEDICAL EVIDENCE THAT ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES CAN BE USED TO QUIT SMOKING!
Saying that, it is not unheard of, in fact it is quite regular to hear that people have switched completely to electronic cigarettes and no longer rely on tobacco based products. There have been preliminary studies done around the world with encouraging results and ASH UK have shown a modicum of support for the technology but until testing has been done by someone who is not a suppler / retailer of electronic cigarettes then they cannot be recommended to help quit smoking.
However, In my opinion, it is widely accepted that smoking a tobacco cigarette releases in excess of 4000 chemicals so the nicotine solution would have to be manufactured extremely badly to be as dangerous as most of the tobacco chemicals are released during the burning process which electronic cigarettes do not do.
5.) Electronic cigarettes are cheaper than smoking regular cigarettes
This is possible, but I would restrict it to the later generations of electronic cigarettes which have proven reliability in their batteries and atomisers. It is true however that by buying cartridges in higher quantities you do save money but it does depend on how quickly you use them in comparison to normal cigarettes
6.) Electronic cigarettes are legal to use where smoking bans are in place.
This is true but still needs to be considered a myth as there is still significant misunderstanding of the products. I recently did an experiment around Horsham,
Following on from that I tried daytime trades and the majority of shops were ok with it but the shopping mall itself caused the wannabe police in there to exert their ‘abundance’ of authority!
7.) ‘Tobacco’ Cartridges will taste exactly like tobacco
False. Plain and simple. The manufacturers are trying to get them as close as possible but the majority of a tobacco taste comes from the burning process so in effect we are trying to simulate poisonous chemical tastes! Human mentality will never cease to amaze me! E-liquid tastes like clean tobacco and that is as close as I can describe.
8.) Cartridges will last for the equivalent of 10, 20, 40 cigarettes.
Seeing a supplier promoting this is another very good reason to head for that back button. It’s a complete untruth saying this. At best a cartridge will last between 5-7 normal cigarettes. It doesn’t matter on the ecig or the manufacturer, it is a lie to say any more. It purely comes down to how they are used.
Let me explain. When a tobacco smoker sparks up a cigarette they will finish that cigarette, no matter what. Freezing weather, in a rush, the cigarette will always take priority.
However, smoking an electronic cigarette causes a different way to smoke. A user will take a couple of drags, get the nicotine hit that the body has been craving and then, normally, put it down. As there is nothing to finish and nothing to stub out it is easy to get the nicotine fix and move on without having to wait. On this basis I would say that a cartridge can last quite long but you have to base it on comparing a full tobacco cigarette with a few puffs of your e-cigarette.
9.) Propylene Glycol is used in Antifreeze
Yes it is, but it is also used in a wide variety of daily products too and can even occur naturally in meat. This myth came about due to a misleading FDA report in
There are alternatives to PG and one of the more popular is Vegetable Glycerine which, as the name suggest is from vegetables. More and more e-liquid suppliers are looking at this route and more are sure to follow the NUCIG lead. Remember however that only USP (United States Pharmacopeias) and BP (British Pharmacopeia’s) approved propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin should be considered food safe.
10.) Batteries will last for a full day before needing to recharge.
This purely depends on how much they are used but it is unlikely for a heavy user to achieve this. Personally I have cut down so much that a battery will last me a couple of days but I am not the norm.
One of the best solutions to the problem is to get an electronic cigarette starter kit which includes a Personal Charging case (PCC) This neat little case allows you to not only protect your electronic cigarette but also keep a battery on charge as the PCC includes a battery to allow an electronic cigarette be re-charged up to 5 times.
However, remember that the product is still a battery and, over time, just like a mobile phone the battery will end up holding less charge and you will need to replace it.
Created: February 10, 2010
