Electronic Cigarette Info
I'm getting about 2 requests every week for information about the e-cigarettes, so I'm just going to write my own personal FAQ here. This is public, so feel free to share it. Please note: this is based on my own personal experience after asking lots of questions, reading the whole Vapor Pro website, and then my own experiences with my e-cig. It's not meant to be the be-all, end-all guide, just some answers to questions my friends ask me a lot. Don't hesitate to comment with a question about any of this, just understand that my experience is limited mainly to my Joye-510 and one website, and that I know very little about other brands or sites. This post is also up on my Facebook, if it's easier for you to share it with a friend there than here.
Q: Where do you get your e-cigs?
A: http://www.thevaporpro.com was recommended to me when I was first researching this, as were a few other sites. This one looked the most professional. They also have free two-day shipping for your first order, so you have less time to waver in your decision to switch. In general, standard shipping after the first order takes 3 days, but it has taken up to 5 days. I've had to contact customer service once, about a mistake I made on an order, and they were speedy and awesome about fixing it.
Q: What should I be buying to get fully set up?
A: My first order included a Starter Kit for the Joye-510, and I'm quite happy with it, compared to other e-cigs I've tried out (at bars and whatnot). You may like a different model, so look around the site and see what you dig. To my knowledge, all the starter kits include the setup for two "cigarettes," meaning you'll get two batteries, two atomizers, a charger, and 5 cartridges pre-filled with tobacco flavored nicotine juice in the strength you select. I also bought one 30ml bottle of Menthol flavored juice and a bottle of Apple Cinnamon flavored juice, after reading a warning that the tobacco flavors taste less like cigarettes and more like actual tobacco before it gets smoked. I *wish* that I had immediately bought a sheet of blue foam and at least one syringe on that first order; it would have saved me quite a bit of mess as I was figuring things out.
Q: Ok, I understood about half of what you just said there. Plz to be explaining components?
A: The battery screws into the atomizer. The atomizer is what vaporizes the juice into something smokable when you push the button on the battery (mine has a button; there are models that do not). The cartridge is full of the liquid juice, along with foam filler to keep it from sloshing around, leaking, and clogging the atomizer (more on clogging soon). The 5 pre-filled cartridges that come with the starter kit have white cottony foam that is fine for a week or so, but when the cartridge isn't full of juice, the atomizer burns that cotton a bit and it eventually starts to taste burned and gross. I recommend the blue foam, I almost never have to change it out; I think the cig I'm smoking from right now has 3-week-old blue foam inside, and everything is still hitting smoothly and tasting fine.
Q: Speak to me of "filling cartridges."
A: I'll be straight with you, this video explains it better than I do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSevFPguBCc
Now that I have the syringe and blue foam, and a little bit of practice, I can fill a cartridge in about 5-10 seconds, even in low light (like, say, in a bar). Without the syringe, if I'm just eyedropipng straight from the bottle (I don't usually carry the syringe with me, but I do carry a bottle of juice), it takes about 30 seconds because I have to wait for each drop to soak in towards the bottom.
Q: I've heard that some of the chemicals used in the juice are made in China and terrible for you. Is there a difference between these and American-made juices?
A: Yeah... smoking is really fucking terrible for you. Especially as much as I was doing it. I'm not really convinced that these mystery Chinese chemicals will be any worse on my body in the long term than actual cigarettes, and I can smoke my e-cig all I want and still be able to sing, and not feel like I've been punched in the lungs after a night out. For what it's worth, I made a minimal effort and found juices that all say "made in the USA" on the bottle. If you're more careful than I am about what you put into your body (not to say I'm not careful, but I was smoking in the first place), you should probably do your own research on this, because you wouldn't believe whatever I post about it anyway. :)
Q: What problems have you had with your e-cig? How can they be avoided?
A: The main issue I've had, which happens a lot less now, is that overfilling the cartridge causes it to leak all over my hands and sometimes even through the mouthpiece onto my lips. It's slippery and weird and it tingles on my lips in a not good way. It can also clog the atomizer. If the cig is gurgling when you take a hit, it's overfilled and clogging the atomizer. Disassemble everything, and take the atomizer to a sink. Put the hollow end to your mouth and blow through it over the sink to clear the clog. It's probably a good idea to do this every few days anyway, and also read the instructions on the Vapor Pro site about overnight storage and maintenance of the atomizer.
Other issues I've had are mainly logistical. I ended up getting a charger case that looks sort of like a cigarette pack, because it was handy for storing an extra battery (and recharging the first) when I go out, or to work. It was a pain in the ass to carry an extra battery before that. I plan on getting smaller bottles to fill and carry when I go out, so I'm not taking up quite so much space in my small purse carrying the 30ml bottle. I'm still trying to figure out an easy way to carry the e-cig itself when I don't want it in my hand. It does best when stored horizontally, and I tend to have a disorganized purse and no shirt pockets.
Q: What strength juice should I get? How much do I need to buy?
A: The strength you should get depends on how much you smoke. When I quit, I was smoking about a pack of Camel Lights each day. I've been known to smoke more than that if I'm not paying attention. I started out with two bottles of the 18mg juice (as recommended by the Vapor Pro FAQ), and that could have lasted me for a couple of months, had I used the e-cig exactly as much as I used regular cigarettes. However, I found that aside from liking the taste of the e-cig far more than the taste of a regular cigarette (especially by the end of the night), I was also just smoking this one more. If I puff on my e-cig once every 5 minutes throughout the day, I feel fine afterward, and certainly not crappy like if I was smoking a regular cigarette every hour. So aside from the necessary switch to a lower nicotine level to adjust to my increased intake (I mean, I can smoke this thing indoors and not stink up my house or upset my asthmatic boyfriend), I've bought a few more flavors. All told, I've spent about $200 on my new habit since mid October. Even with that, I've still saved over $500 compared to what I would have spent on Camel Lights here in Austin. (And cigarettes are cheaper here than in a lot of the country; the last pack of Camels I bought cost me $5.25.)
Important note on that: All but one of the bottles I have bought still have over 3/4 left in them. I'm spending more because I'm having fun with different flavors, not because I'm going through almost 30ml of juice a week. If I stopped buying new flavors and just used what I have now, I could be fine for months.
Q: Does it work?
A: In almost 3 months, I have thought it a good idea to try a regular cigarette twice. One of those times, I was extraordinarily drunk. Both times, I found myself unable to finish more than a third of the cigarette. It didn't taste good at all, and even the Ultra-Light hit too hard. This is huge for me, because other times I've quit smoking, it was far too easy for me to pick it right back up, because the cigarettes tasted good and didn't hurt to smoke. Even after the time I had quit for 3 years, it took just a few weeks for me to get back up to a pack a day. The benefit of the e-cig for me is that I haven't given up my habit, just changed it to something far less expensive and unhealthy. Eventually (and I'm going to take this very slowly), I'll transition to juices with less and less nicotine. There are even juices with no nicotine at all. Granted, 3 months is really too soon to tell for sure if it really works, but so far I'm doing great with it. Other people smoke around me and it smells bad (it never used to) and I don't want to smoke anything but my e-cig.
It's important to note that the e-cig does not really hit like a regular cigarette. The first few hits feel all sorts of wrong to most people. That's normal. It took me about two hours to get used to the different feel in my throat and learn to make the e-cig hit just how I wanted it to. It's nice and smooth now, with just a little bit of hit to my throat when I take a big puff. There are additives you can buy if you actually miss that harsh feeling, but I'm not interested.
Q: Where do you get your e-cigs?
A: http://www.thevaporpro.com was recommended to me when I was first researching this, as were a few other sites. This one looked the most professional. They also have free two-day shipping for your first order, so you have less time to waver in your decision to switch. In general, standard shipping after the first order takes 3 days, but it has taken up to 5 days. I've had to contact customer service once, about a mistake I made on an order, and they were speedy and awesome about fixing it.
Q: What should I be buying to get fully set up?
A: My first order included a Starter Kit for the Joye-510, and I'm quite happy with it, compared to other e-cigs I've tried out (at bars and whatnot). You may like a different model, so look around the site and see what you dig. To my knowledge, all the starter kits include the setup for two "cigarettes," meaning you'll get two batteries, two atomizers, a charger, and 5 cartridges pre-filled with tobacco flavored nicotine juice in the strength you select. I also bought one 30ml bottle of Menthol flavored juice and a bottle of Apple Cinnamon flavored juice, after reading a warning that the tobacco flavors taste less like cigarettes and more like actual tobacco before it gets smoked. I *wish* that I had immediately bought a sheet of blue foam and at least one syringe on that first order; it would have saved me quite a bit of mess as I was figuring things out.
Q: Ok, I understood about half of what you just said there. Plz to be explaining components?
A: The battery screws into the atomizer. The atomizer is what vaporizes the juice into something smokable when you push the button on the battery (mine has a button; there are models that do not). The cartridge is full of the liquid juice, along with foam filler to keep it from sloshing around, leaking, and clogging the atomizer (more on clogging soon). The 5 pre-filled cartridges that come with the starter kit have white cottony foam that is fine for a week or so, but when the cartridge isn't full of juice, the atomizer burns that cotton a bit and it eventually starts to taste burned and gross. I recommend the blue foam, I almost never have to change it out; I think the cig I'm smoking from right now has 3-week-old blue foam inside, and everything is still hitting smoothly and tasting fine.
Q: Speak to me of "filling cartridges."
A: I'll be straight with you, this video explains it better than I do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSevFPguBCc
Now that I have the syringe and blue foam, and a little bit of practice, I can fill a cartridge in about 5-10 seconds, even in low light (like, say, in a bar). Without the syringe, if I'm just eyedropipng straight from the bottle (I don't usually carry the syringe with me, but I do carry a bottle of juice), it takes about 30 seconds because I have to wait for each drop to soak in towards the bottom.
Q: I've heard that some of the chemicals used in the juice are made in China and terrible for you. Is there a difference between these and American-made juices?
A: Yeah... smoking is really fucking terrible for you. Especially as much as I was doing it. I'm not really convinced that these mystery Chinese chemicals will be any worse on my body in the long term than actual cigarettes, and I can smoke my e-cig all I want and still be able to sing, and not feel like I've been punched in the lungs after a night out. For what it's worth, I made a minimal effort and found juices that all say "made in the USA" on the bottle. If you're more careful than I am about what you put into your body (not to say I'm not careful, but I was smoking in the first place), you should probably do your own research on this, because you wouldn't believe whatever I post about it anyway. :)
Q: What problems have you had with your e-cig? How can they be avoided?
A: The main issue I've had, which happens a lot less now, is that overfilling the cartridge causes it to leak all over my hands and sometimes even through the mouthpiece onto my lips. It's slippery and weird and it tingles on my lips in a not good way. It can also clog the atomizer. If the cig is gurgling when you take a hit, it's overfilled and clogging the atomizer. Disassemble everything, and take the atomizer to a sink. Put the hollow end to your mouth and blow through it over the sink to clear the clog. It's probably a good idea to do this every few days anyway, and also read the instructions on the Vapor Pro site about overnight storage and maintenance of the atomizer.
Other issues I've had are mainly logistical. I ended up getting a charger case that looks sort of like a cigarette pack, because it was handy for storing an extra battery (and recharging the first) when I go out, or to work. It was a pain in the ass to carry an extra battery before that. I plan on getting smaller bottles to fill and carry when I go out, so I'm not taking up quite so much space in my small purse carrying the 30ml bottle. I'm still trying to figure out an easy way to carry the e-cig itself when I don't want it in my hand. It does best when stored horizontally, and I tend to have a disorganized purse and no shirt pockets.
Q: What strength juice should I get? How much do I need to buy?
A: The strength you should get depends on how much you smoke. When I quit, I was smoking about a pack of Camel Lights each day. I've been known to smoke more than that if I'm not paying attention. I started out with two bottles of the 18mg juice (as recommended by the Vapor Pro FAQ), and that could have lasted me for a couple of months, had I used the e-cig exactly as much as I used regular cigarettes. However, I found that aside from liking the taste of the e-cig far more than the taste of a regular cigarette (especially by the end of the night), I was also just smoking this one more. If I puff on my e-cig once every 5 minutes throughout the day, I feel fine afterward, and certainly not crappy like if I was smoking a regular cigarette every hour. So aside from the necessary switch to a lower nicotine level to adjust to my increased intake (I mean, I can smoke this thing indoors and not stink up my house or upset my asthmatic boyfriend), I've bought a few more flavors. All told, I've spent about $200 on my new habit since mid October. Even with that, I've still saved over $500 compared to what I would have spent on Camel Lights here in Austin. (And cigarettes are cheaper here than in a lot of the country; the last pack of Camels I bought cost me $5.25.)
Important note on that: All but one of the bottles I have bought still have over 3/4 left in them. I'm spending more because I'm having fun with different flavors, not because I'm going through almost 30ml of juice a week. If I stopped buying new flavors and just used what I have now, I could be fine for months.
Q: Does it work?
A: In almost 3 months, I have thought it a good idea to try a regular cigarette twice. One of those times, I was extraordinarily drunk. Both times, I found myself unable to finish more than a third of the cigarette. It didn't taste good at all, and even the Ultra-Light hit too hard. This is huge for me, because other times I've quit smoking, it was far too easy for me to pick it right back up, because the cigarettes tasted good and didn't hurt to smoke. Even after the time I had quit for 3 years, it took just a few weeks for me to get back up to a pack a day. The benefit of the e-cig for me is that I haven't given up my habit, just changed it to something far less expensive and unhealthy. Eventually (and I'm going to take this very slowly), I'll transition to juices with less and less nicotine. There are even juices with no nicotine at all. Granted, 3 months is really too soon to tell for sure if it really works, but so far I'm doing great with it. Other people smoke around me and it smells bad (it never used to) and I don't want to smoke anything but my e-cig.
It's important to note that the e-cig does not really hit like a regular cigarette. The first few hits feel all sorts of wrong to most people. That's normal. It took me about two hours to get used to the different feel in my throat and learn to make the e-cig hit just how I wanted it to. It's nice and smooth now, with just a little bit of hit to my throat when I take a big puff. There are additives you can buy if you actually miss that harsh feeling, but I'm not interested.