Like most smokers I didn’t wake up one day and decided I was going to start. It was a few days after I quit preaching and left the church, I was still in Cancun, and no longer had a good reason to turn down the merchant’s offer of a “Cuban” cigar, especially since I wanted to see what I’d been missing out on. Add in some basic mild anxiety, a job in management, having many co-workers who smoked, and being a naive former Advent-boy trying to adjust to life in the real world, and before long I was a daily smoker. Fast forward a few years and I was up to about 3/4 to a full pack a day of Camel 99’s.

I’d thought about quitting, but I like smoking. I like the way it feels, the sensation of it, and I find it to be a very satisfying and enjoyable habit (weather permitting). A few months ago several friends switched from smoking to “vaping.” To explain, vaping is the term for the use of electronic cigarettes. While “analog” cigarettes involve smoke and tar, the electronic variety deliver nicotine via water vapor. Smoking has been banned in many places (restaurants, bars, even parks) due to the health risks of second hand smoke, the staining it can cause, and the foul odor, but water vapor is harmless and odorless so vaping is legal and acceptable just about anywhere, even if it does get you interesting questions.

I tried my friends’ e-cigarettes a few times, but didn’t find them satisfying, but I was getting more and more curious about them and saw a news article (which I can’t find) which prompted a little more research. I’ll cover the data (myths, facts, limited research) a bit more in the future, but it’s pretty limited. However, electronic cigarettes tend to cost about half as much as regular cigarettes, even with the low taxes in Idaho, once you’ve recouped the initial hardware investment (takes at most a month) and without the dozens of carcinogens that are byproducts of cigarettes they have to be healthier. So I decided to do an experiment.

Two weeks ago today, I decided to give it a one week try. To make it easier, I bought a pack of Camel 99’s and a Lotus e-cigarette, but the Camels would have to last me the whole week. The Lotus didn’t last long, but even the first full day I only smoked 5 cigarettes. I also started to like it, even compared to cigarettes. It helped that I came down with a cold at the same time and the feel of the vapor was kind of soothing on my throat and provided a very clear contrast to smoke. The Lotus is disposable and I really don’t like the idea of the amount of waste involved so I then got the Cig2o starter kit. Rechargeable batteries are a big improvement and at first I enjoyed the flavor, much closer to a cigarette than the Lotus. Unfortunately the batteries would only last through at most half of the day and it was hard to tell when the disposable cartomizers (cartridges) were running out. The flavor and quantity of vapor also isn’t very consistent, with both starting good, but ending pretty weak, but over all I thoroughly enjoyed the Cig2o for most of the last two weeks.

It took 5 days to finish the pack of cigarettes and I had to force myself to choke down the last few, but to be honest I did bum two smokes last week. Its amazing how fast I stopped liking regular cigarettes. I also now find the smell of cigarette smoke to be unpleasant and the taste of the e-cigarettes are definitely getting stronger. I think it’s safe to say that my sense of smell (and associated sense of taste) is already starting to recover.

Yesterday I went to Vapoligy, a local store and online retailer that’s been in the electronic cigarette business since 1997, and I bought the Riva kit, tried six or so flavors, and left with two different Niqids (their preferred term for nicotine liquid, aka juice). Their staff is very helpful, they carry and service high quality equipment, and they mix their own high quality Niquid. Just a week ago I wouldn’t have enjoyed the “Smooth Raspberry” but found it to be quite pleasant. The person there who was helping me (I wish I remembered her name) has found that it’s quite common for people’s tastes to change drastically after a few days or weeks with a strong move away from the tobacco flavors. The other Niquid I purchased was the “Executive Cigar”, which is a surprisingly nice simulation of the flavor of a pretty standard class A cigar and I’ve found that it pairs well with beer and coffee.

I have more research to do, but considering that there is no smoke and tar, that it doesn’t make an ashy mess, and that it’s significantly cheaper, it’s a wonderful alternative to smoking.  I have to say, it’s about time that science and technology have finally spilled over to tobacco.

This will be continued with some of the myth, fact, and research I’ve already come across on the topic of e-cigarettes.