It looks like troubled starlet is jumping on the e-cig bandwagon – at least for money. She was spotted on her rooftop, while serving her time on house arrest, vaping on a Blu Cig.

A brand new Charlotte company is doing very well for itself. Blu sells something known as electronic cigarettes. An e-cigarette looks like and can deliver nicotine like a traditional one without the harmful tobacco. But a growing public health debate over the safety of e-cigarettes means Blu’s hot start may not last. WFAE’s Scott Graf has more:

Adam Dellinger is a 27-year-old bartender at Boardwalk Billy’s in the University City area. Up until today, he’s never even heard of electronic cigarettes. But he’s up for trying one. He takes two drags and studies the taste.

“It’s got a nice flavor to it,” he says. “It does what I thought it was going to do I guess. Which was give me some kind of sensation in my lungs, which it does do. But it’s not as powerful as a regular cigarette.”

Dellinger is smoking a Blu brand cigarette. With help from 10 investors, Australian Jason Healy started Blu 3 months ago in Charlotte. Healy says within a matter of weeks, sales had quadrupled to 2,000 kits a day, at $60 a pop. Blu’s investors made their money back in the first month.

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The Top 10 Things I Love About My Blu Cigs

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.

Get your Blu Cigs Here!

E Cig Tips and Tricks

As I’ve been using my Blu Cigs, I’ve picked up a couple of tricks that might be useful for you.

First, at one point I noticed that after loading up a new blu cig cartridge, I wasn’t getting the proper vapor and nicotine hit from the drag. I knew my battery was charged and obviously the cartridge was new. After tinkering a bit, I took the cartridge off and realized the problem. When you load an e-cig cartridge, the atomizer pierces the nicotine receptical. (See the construction of an e-cig here.)  It is covered with a layer of aluminum foil. When I’d pierced the aluminum, the foil stuck to my atomizer, blocking much of the vapor and nicotine from getting through the end of my e-cig. I simply removed the foil, replaced the blu cig cartridge, and all was good in e-cig land.

Another tip I picked up from a friend, is how to get more vapor from the blu cig. Personally, I’ve always smoked light cigarettes, so I don’t have any problem with the amount of nicotine and vapor I get from a light e-cig cartridge. My friend, however, was a heavy full-strenght cigarette smoker and wasn’t completely satisfied with the hit he was getting from his Blu Cig. He told me that by putting a small piece of Scotch tape where the batter and atomizer connect, he was able to draw more vapor from his Blu Cig and get satisfaction.

Have any tips? Leave a comment!

Electric cigarettes, a new, tobacco-free device designed to provide smokers with a nicotine fix without the hassle of second-hand smoke or carcinogens, are drawing attention in this country as a way to skirt current smoking laws. With the help of Chuck Williams, proprietor of the Pipe Den in the Harrisburg Mall, we provide this quick intro on the device and what it does. Williams has had an electric cigarette kiosk in the mall since April and says business has been steadily growing.
Q: What are electric cigarettes?
A: Also known as e-smokes, e-cigarettes and e-cigs, electric cigarettes are a new, tobacco-free alternative to traditional cigarettes, pipes and cigars. There are many types and brands but they all operate more or less the same way.
Q: How do they work?
A: Electric cigarettes are shaped like traditional cigarettes, but inside hold a small, rechargeable battery, an atomization chamber and replaceable cartridges that contain a mixture of water, propylene glycol (a compound commonly found in cosmetics, food and medicines) and nicotine. As the battery powers up the chamber, moisture goes through and creates a steam effect, much like a smoke machine. When you “puff” on the device, a red LED light on the tip will light up, in simulation of a real cigarette, but all you exhale is water vapor.
Q: Do I have to recharge it?
A: Yes. The product uses a lithium ion battery, similar to that found in a cell phone. Williams said it takes about two hours to charge in a normal outlet and can last all day if completely charged.
Q: What’s the advantage over normal cigarettes?
A: Proponents say they give a smoker a nicotine fix, but without tar, carcinogins and tobacco. The smoker exhales water vapor, so there’s no second-hand smoke — and only a little smell. Among those proponents are William T. Godschall, executive director of SmokeFree Pennsylvania, who’s spent more than 20 years battling second-hand smoke.
Q: Are these things safe?
A: Few scientific studies have been carried out to determine the safety of electric cigarettes. A number of regulatory agencies have issued warnings regarding the health effects of these products. The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t done any studies yet but has discouraged their use and expressed concerns that they lack the appropriate health warnings.
The American Cancer Society has criticized the lack of clinical trials to determine the product’s safety and joined with the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to ask the FDA to remove them from the market.
“I think they’re a bad idea,” said Dr. Rebecca Bascom, a professor of medicine at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. “I think they’re appealing in that a lot of people would like to quit smoking. The problem is there are no studies that have shown its effectiveness as a cessation aid. There are no safety studies either.”
“You’re taking something into the lungs. It’s well known that things act differently when they go into the body through different routes,” she said. “It’s naive to think they can deliver nicotine alone. We shouldn’t be asked to trust that this thing is going to be good.”
Health New Zealand, a private public policy group, conducted a study in May and deemed the product a “safe alternative to smoking.”
Q: Will it help me quit smoking?
A: Its adherents say yes. The fact that you can buy cartridges with smaller amounts of nicotine make it “a good way to wean yourself off the drug or quit smoking,” Williams said.

Q: How much nicotine is in them?
A: Most cartridges, like the kind Williams sells, come in packs of 16 mg, 11 mg, 6 mg, and 0 mg. Companies claim on average e-cigs contain less nicotine than actual cigarettes. Some people, however, Willams said, have been making their own filters, regulating the nicotine amounts by dropper.
Q: What do they cost?
A: Prices range from about $40 for a low-end model to $130 or $200 for the more high-end versions. The cartridges themselves cost $10 for a pack of five. (Each cartridge contains about 100-200 puffs or the equivalent of 20 cigarettes.) You can also buy disposable models for about $30. These only last a day or two.
Q: Where can you “smoke” these?
A:  Ostensibly just about anywhere. In bars, restaurants, the office. Williams said he’s been able to use them on airplane trips. Some businesses and restaurants do not allow people to smoke them on principle. It’s probably a good idea if you’re in a bar or public place to ask before “lighting up.”
Q: How popular are they?
A: Williams said he has sold about 300 since January. He divides users into four groups: People on a fixed income who don’t want to constantly shell out for smokes; those who want to smoke anywhere without being hassled; people who are trying to quit smoking; and people who want to smoke but can’t stand the smell.

 

I found the above article at PennLive.com

Get Blu Cigs Here!

No more smoking for Scott Riddle.

Now he vapes.

“Vaping” means he inhales the vapor from an electronic cigarette, a battery-powered device that typically looks like a cigarette, but delivers nicotine without the tobacco and smoke.

Electronic cigarettes, Riddle say, lets him enjoy the pleasures of smoking without its downsides.

But the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations says not so fast. The FDA warns that e-cigs are not safe, has seized some shipments, and is fighting in court to keep the e-cigarettes away from the public.

Following a nationwide crackdown on smoking in public, the dispute over e-cigarettes raises new questions about personal freedom, public health, addictive drugs and government regulation. It also begs the question: could this be the future of smoking?

The fix?

An electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, is a small cylindrical device that looks like a cigarette or a pen. When users inhale from it, a heating element vaporizes the liquid in the mouthpiece cartridge, which contains nicotine and propylene glycol – a common chemical approved for use in foods, cosmetics, and smoke machines.

Users exhale a vapor that looks like smoke but without the cancer-causing tar and carbon monoxide.

E-cigarettes can have varying levels of nicotine, to match regular, light and ultralight cigarettes.

Riddle, a public safety dispatcher who lives in Schaumburg, was a pack-a-day smoker for 12 years before he tried an e-cigarette this June.

Riddle had tried a nicotine patch, and nicotine gum, which he called “disgusting,” but nothing simulated the habit of smoking like an e-cigarette.

The day he started using e-cigarettes was the last day he smoked an “analog” cigarette, as old-fashioned smokes are called.

“It replaces my need for a cigarette,” he said.

Now he can use it around friends, in their homes, and in bars or restaurants, because there’s not that smoky smell.

People in public, including bar and restaurant workers, ask him what it is, and when he explains it, he says they have no problem with it and often want to try it or see if it could help someone they know quit smoking.

Riddle says he feels much healthier.

“My lung capacity has increased tremendously,” he said. “I’m able to taste foods better now, and can smell better now.”

Some restaurant owners support the idea as well.

Hossein Jamali, owner of Meson Sabika tapas restaurant in Naperville, said he hasn’t seen the e-cigarettes, but would allow them as a way to help people quit smoking.

Since they don’t burn tobacco, don’t have the resulting smell and don’t need an ashtray, he said he didn’t anticipate a problem differentiating them from regular cigarettes.

Since last year, Illinois has banned smoking in public places, but it’s not obvious whether the language in the law applies to e-cigarettes:

“Smoking” is defined as “the carrying, smoking, burning, inhaling, or exhaling of any kind of lighted pipe, cigar, cigarette, hookah, weed, herbs, or any other lighted smoking equipment.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health regulates the ban, but spokeswoman Kelly Jakubek said the agency has not taken a position on whether it applies to e-cigarettes because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved them, so they are not a legal product to begin with.

FDA seizures

Nevertheless, numerous companies sell e-cigarettes on the Internet and at mall kiosks and truck stops.

A starter package runs about $50 for a charger with two electronic cigarettes and five cartridges. Each replaceable cartridge is comparable to three to five cigarettes.

Ray, whose day job is as an information technology analyst, has had two shipments from his manufacturer in China seized by the FDA. He says he’ll keep selling while awaiting a ruling in a court case challenging the FDA’s seizures.

A May 2009 evaluation of e-cigarettes by the FDA found that the two brands of e-cigarettes tested, Njoy and Smoking Everywhere , both released tobacco-generated cancer-causing chemicals and other impurities, including in one case very low levels of diethylene glycol, a toxic component of antifreeze.

E-cigs claiming to contain no nicotine were also found to contain very small amounts of nicotine.

E-cigarettes do not fall under the FDA’s new jurisdiction over smoking, because they don’t contain tobacco. But FDA spokeswoman Siobhan DeLAncey said the agency believes it should regulate e-cigarettes as a drug in a new product, just as it regulates other nicotine products like patches and nicotine inhalers, available only by prescription.

But approval of those other products required clinical studies showing they helped smokers quit, which e-cigarette makers say they are working on.

The agency also raised concerns that because the e-cigarettes are available in flavors like chocolate and mint – which it recently banned in regular cigarettes – they may increase nicotine addiction and tobacco use in young people.

Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. The National Cancer Institute says tobacco smoke contains more than 60 carcinogens, and quitting smoking has major health benefits. It also notes that nicotine causes addiction comparable to that of heroin or cocaine.

Because of the threat smoking poses, some medical professionals believe that eliminating tobacco would be a giant step forward.

Dr. Kevin Sherrin, president of the American Association of Public Health Physicians – who is not compensated by e-cigarette makers – says conventional cigarettes are “much more hazardous” than e-cigarettes.

To get more smokers to use them instead of cigarettes, he proposes that e-cigarettes be immediately regulated as tobacco products.

The use of e-cigarettes, he argues, could help save 400,000 Americans who die each year from tobacco-related illness, as well as 48,000 people who die from secondhand smoke, and 700 people who die in fires caused by smoking.

The FDA’s DeLAncey says while levels of carcinogens may be far lower than from regular cigarettes, the long-term effect of using e-cigarettes is not known.

“Until they’re safe and effective for their intended purpose,” she said, “we can’t say they’re better for you than a cigarette.”

Blu Cigs Not Taking Orders until July 21

I just heard from the makers of Blu Cigs, the brand of e-cigs that I smoke. Due to overwhelming interest in Blu Cigs, they company is not taking any new orders for two weeks (until July 21) so they can step up production on their electronic cigarettes and meet the growing demand. If you have placed an order and are worried about your Blu Cigs shipping, I’m assured that all orders will be shipping soon.

I will update everyone as soon as they open up the order process again. In the mean time, I’ll be reviewing some other brands of e-cigs in the next couple of days. For now, you can check out E Cigarettes Choice starter kits.

The include the brands:

• Gamucci
• Smoking Everywhere
• SS Choice
• NJoy

You can get starter kits, disposable e-cigs, refill cartridges, e-liquid, batteries and chargers, atomizers, e-cig cases and more. E Cigarettes Choice is having a killer sale right now plus free shipping so its a great time to check them out.

As there isn’t any kind of indicator on e-cigarettes to tell you when to change the cartridge, you have to develop your own system. Most people I’ve spoken with say you’ll generally need to change your cartridge from once per day to once every other day. It really depends on how much you smoke, but in general, expect to change every 24-48 hours.

Personally, I find that I notice less vapor coming from the e-cig and the hit of nicotine growing continually weaker. Before e-cigs, I smoked about a pack a day, and I’m needing to change my cartridge daily. Seeing that 25 cartridges cost me $25 (from BluCigs) I’m paying a buck a day to smoke rather than $6 or more for Marlboro Lights. Not a bad deal.

I’ve also read that you should ensure your battery is fully charged if you think it is too early to change your cartridge but the hit is weaker.

My Blu  Cigs arrived today, and I couldn’t be happier! I’m sitting here at my desk smoking, instead of huddled outside in the rain. No smell, tastes like a cigarette and the vapor smoke gives the feeling of really smoking! I’m pretty stoked, if you couldn’t tell. Ecigs are definitely the way to go.

I’ll update more about my usage of the blu cigs in the coming days. There are so many places I’ve wanted to smoke but couldn’t… and now i can!