Sometimes the best way to light up sales has nothing to do with service, price or even the product.
That’s been the case for electronic cigarette distributors who have benefited from a federal judge’s ruling in January that barred the Food and Drug Administration from stopping shipment of the devices into the U.S. The agency seized shipments of the devices last year.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard L eon was the spark electronic cigarette distributor Liam Ben-David needed to add a Smoking Everywhere kiosk to the Mall of Victor Valley, manager Eddie Zemach said.
Leon’s ruling gave Ben-David the confidence to set up shop in the High Desert. He set up the kiosk at the mall two weeks ago. Along with his site in the Ontario Mills Mall, Zemach said the company has tapped into one of the best markets in California.
Statistics back their hunch.
San Bernardino County’s rate of adults who smoked daily was 15.6 percent in 2005 — more than 5 percent higher than the state average and almost double the rate in Los Angeles County.
“That’s why we came here,” Zemach said. “The smoking rates are higher here than they are in L.A.”
As I’ve blogged, I got my Blu Cig Starter Pack a few weeks ago and since then I’ve been finding all kinds of things I love about them. I’m sure the benefits of e-cigs will continue to occur to me as I go on this journey of giving up traditional cigarettes to blu cigs, but here are the top 10 things about I love about my Blu Cigs.
1. The first benefit of e-cigarettes that I truly realized was smoking at my desk in my office. The day my Blu Cigs arrived, I loaded up a blu cig cartridge, and began puffing away, without losing my train of thought. This has seriously increased my focus and productivity. Before blu cigs, I’d get up about once an hour, go outside, and light up. Generally, it wasn’t a straight trip to and from my smoking area. As long as I was up, I might as well get a snack, another cup of coffee, chat with people…I was losing about 15-20 minutes an hour by taking a “quick smoke break.” Now I puff on my e-cig, and continue working away.
2. At night, I tend to pop in a DVD and watch a movie with my family, or watch some TV dramas we’ve Tivo’d. Again, once an hour, everyone would have to stop for me to head outside and feed my nicotine addiction. Being the only smoker, this practice generally results in groans and moans from my family. Can’t you just wait until the movie is over to go smoke? Now I pull out my blu cig and never have to hit that pause button. We’re all happier for it.
3. Smoking in bed. Yes, I’m a nicotine addict. I hate to admit it, but there are times after I’ve gone to bed, even in the middle of the night, when the craving for a cigarette hits me. I’m so addicted that I’m willing to get up from my cozy bed, tramp outside and light up a cigarette. If I don’t, I know that I’ll lay awake obsessing about it. Better to just get it out of the way. Then I come back smelling like an ashtray. Aside from the fact that I don’t smoke traditional cigarettes in the house, smoking in bed is a dangerous habit. There were times back in college when I’ve actually fallen asleep with a cigarette and burned holes in the bed. I’m luck that’s all that happened. Now I can safely fire up my blu cig, and return to my slumber without ever leaving the comfort of my bed.
4. No ashtrays. I HATE ashtrays. They are gross. I keep them outside, but every time I walk into my beautiful, peaceful backyard to smoke, I admire the landscape and then my gaze inevitably falls to the disgusting pile of cigarettes and ash in my ashtray. E-cigs produce no ash, and therefore there’s no need for an ashtray.
5. The smell. C’mon, even if you’re a smoker, you have to smell it. The smell of cigarettes didn’t bother me for years, but as I’ve gotten older, I seem to notice it more on myself…my hands, my clothes, my hair. I’d actually taken to keeping anti-bacterial gel by my ashtrays to immediately quash the smell. E-cigs don’t smell, so I don’t smell, I will save money on having my leather jackets dry cleaned, etc. Big benefit of e-cigs right there.
6. E-cigs are much cheaper! At about $6 a pack for traditional cigarettes these days, most people are desperate to quit or find another solution. Blu Cigs are about 75% cheaper than traditional cigarettes. At the rate I’m saving, I’ll have a monthly payment for a boat in no time, and still get to smoke!
7. Reduction in cigarettes. I won’t say that I’ve completely given up traditional cigarettes, but in just a few weeks I’ve reduced the amount of cigarettes I smoke by half, without any discomfort.
8. No pressure to smoke a full cigarette. As much as cigarettes cost these days, when I light up a traditional cigarette, I feel pressured to smoke the full cigarette, even if I just want a couple of puffs. With an e-cig, I can take my puffs and not waste anything else.
9. Long car drives. I have about a 75-minute commute to work, and I don’t smoke in my car (because of the smell.) I do, however, enjoy smoking in the car. I get restless, and smoking calms me down. Now I can have both, firing up my Blu Cig as I travel down the freeway. No muss, no fuss, no smell.
10. I just feel better. Logically, I know that smoking blu cigs reduces the amount of tar and carcinogens that I’m putting into my body. But I also feel better. I’m not as winded, I have more energy, and I just feel better. That’s the best benefit of blu cigs I’ve found so far.
