Smoking has been around for thousands of years. It’s served us well. But it’s a thing of the past.
Smoking bans have made it more difficult for smokers to enjoy their habit in comfort. Forced to go out into the cold. Forced to wait until they leave a restaurant before they enjoy that after dinner cigarette. Looked down upon for smoking around children. The list goes on. It’s clear that pop culture and modern society doesn’t want it anymore. It’s messy, it stinks and it’s bad for your health.
But there is a silver lining. Technology. The future of smoking is vaping.
Various e-cigarette models, mods, adapters and cartomizers – photo credit
It’s not a gimmick. Those fake cigarettes you’ve seen are not some inferior thing. They are the future of smoking. So for those that enjoy the relaxation and sensation of smoking, fear not. The future is colorful and bright.
The electronic cigarettes (aka personal vaporizers) are hardcore alternatives. They come in all different colors and sizes, all different strengths, styles and nearly every flavor under the sun from banana to tobacco to chicken kung pow.
The vapor community is strong. Thousands upon thousands of people switching to e-cigs and figuring out just want combination they like. Some people like a super mini because it looks like a real cigarette, others go for a big battery mod because they want a lot of vapor and a big hit.
Vaping has become a cottage industry for many Americans who are now building battery mods and selling American made e-liquid. Communities and local meets and vapefests are springing up all over the United States.
Vaping is better for you than smoking. You feel better. You get back your sense of smell, you get back energy and you don’t smell like smoke. You can vape in bars and restaurants and movie theaters. You can vape in the office (I do it every day) and nonsmokers don’t have anything to complain about.
Smoking is the past. Vaping is the future.
I’m telling you this because I was a smoker for nearly 16 years. A pack a day (or more) of full flavor and roll your own tobacco. As a result over the last couple of years when I got a cold it would quickly turn into a horrible case of bronchitis. I had to start using an inhaler.
Seriously, cigarettes are fucking dangerous. I’m only 31 and I’ve had these problems. Switching to vaping has probably saved my life. I feel a lot better now. I can breath better. I have more energy. I’m beginning to be able to smell things again. There is nothing wrong with getting your nicotine fix. But chose wisely how you get it. If you can’t quit smoking or don’t want to quit smoking because of the sensation of it, vaping is your best bet.
oo good idea for a christmas present for smokers
I’ve tried these… not for nicotine… but completely comparable to regular smoking of… certain… ignitable elements. Of course, without the coughing I’ve experienced otherwise. I completely approve of this over alternatives.
Aren’t these illegal in the US though?
:)
@thenameistyler – Generally no. In some states they might be illegal to sell them. But it’s not illegal to own them.
It’s big government deciding to take big tobacco money and the fear of the unknown. They rather you smoke more dangerous real cigarettes over e-cigs because e-cigs are currently unregulated by the FDA and… here’s the big one… NOT TAXED. So of course the government doesn’t like anything they can’t tax over something they can. Although all this may very well change.
Is there any danger in vaping? Are you inhaling any toxic chemicals?
@musterion99 – Not toxic no. The e-liquid is made out of propylene glycol (PG) base or vegetable glycerin base or combination thereof. The flavors are from candy flavorings, typically Lorannes or other food flavoring companies. Then of course, nicotine if desired. Technically you can make your own liquid and several people do. I’m going to try my hand at it pretty soon myself.
Is it safe? Honestly no one really knows. The government has tested PG and found it to be safe for inhalation. It’s the same stuff used in smoke/fog machines. But as for extended periods of time and inhaling the flavors, we don’t know. But what we do know is that we feel better having switched to vaping. There have people people who have been vaping now for several years.
So is it safe, probably not. But how much safer is it than a tobacco cigarette is the real question. Because real cigarettes contain over 4600 chemicals during combustion. Most of which are toxic and harmful. With vaping you’re inhaling 5-15 chemicals on average. So compared to smoking… you can see the advantage.
@roxics – I’ve read that propylene glycol is carcenagenic. It’s what antifreeze is made of.
@musterion99 – You’re thinking of diethylene glycol. Believe me, compared to a cigarette which contains arsenic, carbon monoxide, tar, and 4000+ others things, you’re better off with vaping. But for some reason, some people get scared by it. They’re perfectly fine smoking a burning cigarette knowing full well how dangerous they are, but they’re afraid of PG and a few food flavorings. Go figure.
I have often wondered about the intelligence of a company that prices it’s product so high that people don’t buy it…Oh? Did I say company? I meant country. It was a LONG time ago but my mom would send me to the store to get her a pack of cigarettes with a quarter and a penny. Herbert-Tareytons were her choice. To produce cigarettes the cost has probably doubled, maybe tripled since then…Bread was then 25 cents a loaf and a newspaper was a dime, a quarter on Sunday. So going by that at most cigarettes should be $1.25 per pack, possibly even $3.00 per pack. But the country that has been “smart” enough to ban cigarette adds, make tobacco companies put warnings on their packs, and ban smoking in all public places…are dumb. What are they going to tax if we all DO quit smoking?
Indeed mom died of lung cancer but most of the rest of her body quit first as she had drank for years and was already dying when the cancer showed itself. I didn’t start smoking until I was 18. I am now 63 with emphysemia and COPD. Can I quit smoking…like the old joke…of course I can..I’ve done it a thousand times. But in honesty I have quit a couple of times for 6 months or more each time. Each time I would find myself enticed to start again, just a couple a day….Ha! That two-a-day would last almost a day.
So now they have come out with an alternative. I wonder. Plastic cigarettes that give you the nicotine without all the toxins. The article I read on them say they have their drawbacks but then so does asprin, tylenol, robotussin, and coffee/tea. So I don’t pay a lot of attention to the “warnings”
Sorry to write a blog comment to your blog. But know I support you in recommending an alternative. It is a much better alternative than what my health care provider nurse just offered. She told me that since my smoking seems more to be a nervous habit rather than nicotine addiction she suggested that I chew heads off of plastic toy soldiers. That is how her sister quit. But stay after yourself and stay after your friends about quitting, emphysemia once started cannot be stopped and it is like “breathing through a straw”.
So far, I enjoy vaping. I have myself thought of what the dangers are, but I’m positive it’s not as many as cigarettes.
Couldn’t help but think the picture was sex toys, though :)
My older sister Misty has been a chain smoker since she was a teenager. She’s tried some of the new smoking technology that’s out, but she’s not completely satisfied with it. She says it satisfies her nicotine addiction, but it tastes different so she’s still getting used to it. I don’t smoke cigarettes, so I’m really not all that excited about the new future for cigarettes.
Great post though!
which one do you like?
I was having a cigarette (outside) on my fireescape and the next door neighbor poked his head out and asked me to stop smoking! Of course I stopped and went inside (I’m polite that way).
But it ticks me off a bit, because I have to smell people’s bad cooking, and burnt bbq’s …. Anyway over 20% of the american population smokes. So it’s not going to be a dead industry anytime soon.