ecigcritic
The Senate panel moves bill HB245 forward, including Hookahs and Electronic Cigarettes in the Utah Clean Air Act on Monday.
The bill bans hookahs and electronic cigarettes from public places and excludes hookah bars and electronic cigarette shops for 5 years where the bill will re-evaluate the bills stance on hookah bars and electronic cigarette shops.
I find the of Michael Siler, government relations director for the Utah chapter of the American Cancer Society. He was against the bill. But not because he was for hookahs or electronic cigarettes. but because he was against the exemption.
“This is bad policy,” he said.
Read the article here.
Points that make a great electronic cigarette experience
It has been 15 weeks since I left regular cigarettes behind and began my journey down the long winding path of electronic cigarettes. With the help of other review websites, blogs and the electronic cigarette forum I have found my feet in my current awareness. I know what I know and I’m eager to plod into the darkness of my unawareness.
I’ve found several answers to my first questions, and found rivers of other questions that keep broadening out like a mighty river. I constantly keep an eye out for scientist and doctors to offer more information about electronic cigarettes, but they are either still testing or aren’t looking at all. So those questions I will leave in the hands of the experts.
So, I delve into one question:
What makes a great electronic cigarette experience for me?
The answer is broken into four parts: Pull, Throat hit, flavor and Vapor. A bit over simplified, I know, but at its heart these four little factors keep me vaping. The second tier of concerns is important as well, but not as much as the first tier for me. The second tier is: battery use time before needing to recharge, time between refilling/replacing cartridge/cartomizer, and portability/ease of recharge. Below this point are issues that are not as important if a product ace all the first tiers. The third tier of concern is: Price per puff ratio, style/look of the e-cig and bulk/size of e-cig.
Tier 1
Pull:
Pull is what I call the resistance the e-cig gives when you draw on it. Since moving away from reg cigs, my focus is on what I “remember” a regular pull is. To light of a pull, and it feels like your pulling on a straw that is cracked on the side. To tight and it feels like an ice-cube is stuck on in straw. Each battery/cartomizer combo offers different ways to vent air and the design is usually shared among the battery types/threads. The real pull is determined by the design of the batteries and cartomizers and the flow of air through them. At the same time, I have seen similarly manufactured thread sizes give different results. I began to rely on manufactures to deliver consistent results for my vaping needs. The battery mAhs also give an insight into the pull. I’m not an engineer, I’m more of a programmer, but from my readings and understandings, the volts of batteries play a reason in how quickly the battery builds up the atomizer on each draw to vaporize the e-liquid. If the mAh is delivered in a consistent fashion, then the atomizer should be able to offer a constant steady flow of atomized e-liquid. This helps decide if on every pull you get the same vaping experience, or if you have to wait till the cartomizer gets to a “certain level” of voltage before it begins to deliver a consistent pull-per-flavor ratio. Some cartomizer-to-battery ratios need a “build up puff time” before it begins to give the flavor and vapor I have come to expect from it.
Throat hit:
Throat hit is the agitation in the back of the throat smokers are used to from regular cigarettes. The “kick” a smoker gets when they pull in a mouth full of smoke, then inhales it all in is the throat hit. The throat hit that almost brings a smoker to point of coughing is what each smoker over comes in time and is a part of a smokers experience. The electronic cigarette can simulate this just like a cigarette and most e-cig users believe it’s associated with the amount of nicotine in each cartridge/cartomizer. In most cases this is true. But, there are some cases that this is just not the case. Propylene Glycol e-liquids tend to have a strong throat hit and fewer vapors, where as Vegetable glycerin e-liquids have less throat hit and more vapor. I tested this with Johnson’s Creeks smoke juice Tennessee Cured, which they have in a Propylene Glycol mix and a pure Vegetable Glycerin e-liquid in 18 mg (1.8%) nicotine. The Red Oak version, which uses Vegetable Glycerin, had more vapor but less throat hit and the original version had more throat hit but less vapor. Throat hit also plays a role in how the flavor is received. The e-liquids with no throat hit has a different “taste” as opposed to the version with more throat hit. I have purchased zero nicotine e-liquids of my favorite flavors and I can tell it’s the same flavor, but it still “tastes” different. The kick from the throat hit becomes a part of it’s flavor. This is why throat hit is a tier one concern for me.
Flavor:
Flavor is everything to me now. In my regular cigarette days, when I only had the different flavors of tobacco and the few selections of menthol to choose from, I did a bit of searching. When I was 21 and decided I was going to smoke, I started with Marlboro regulars, king size. I was curious, so I began buying different packs from other manufactures: Were they any different? Isn’t tobacco, tobacco? These are the questions I wanted to answer for myself. Was I smoke the best available? So, I went through every brand I found. From Lucky Strike and unfiltered Camel to Capri, Salem, Winston and Dunhill I kept trying them. All of the brands such as Newport and each variety of Camel gave way till I finally settled on Benson and Hedges Menthol Light as my brand for the last 15 years of my smoking journey. Now that I am not limited to tobacco or menthol flavors, I can really explore this wide open world of flavors. I stumbled upon Johnson Creeks Summer Peach and fell in love. I never thought I would leave its side as I tested and discarded other flavors. I was able to see the uniqueness and passion of the other flavors, but Summer Peach had my heart. Until that day I stumbled into V2 Cigs Coffee flavors arms and realized… I had not known love, true love, until that moment! Of V2Cig coffee flavor, how do I love thee. We danced and… wait, I digress. That one simple coffee flavor showed me there are still yet mountains to climb. Still many more flavors that are fascinating, complex and alluring. Halo G6 has a host of them, just waiting for me to further explore them. I am nurturing Midnight Apple now, and it’s just amazing. Dark husky scents play upon my palette with the hint of sweet apples lightly dancing in the background. You can really taste the passion each inventor put into these flavors. Oh, and Vapor 4 life has a host of flavors I look forward to devouring. I can go on and on with this topic, so I better move on.
Vapor:
Vapor plays a major role in my e-cig experience and it can be over-looked if I’m not careful. The mouth-full of vapor that is released signifies to me the end of a process. That the puff has been completed and a step finalized in my e-cig vaping. It is mentally satisfying and emotionally fulfilling. The closing of a chapter as it was, all bundled up in a cloud of vapor. This is what the part of vapor plays: the conclusion to the act and it soothes the completionist in me.
There you have it, my top-tier in what makes my electronic cigarette experience complete. I’ll put together another post on the next 2 tiers in another post.
The website has been updated.
- Resolved conflicts to enhance visitors experience.
- Updated starter kits information.
Coming soon:
- A full comparison of all starter kits in a modifiable table.
The TV show The Doctors reviewed electronic cigarettes a few years ago and I think it’s worth viewing again.
Keep in mind this was aired long before the FDA had its negative remarks aired. But, it’s still nice to see what doctors thought about the product after reviewing them the first time.
In Utah, the House has passed the bill, HB245, with a vote of 42-31 that will ban hookahs and electronic cigarettes in indoor public places on February 21, 2012.
Protesters outside of the Capitol were smoking hookahs in protest. Some, however, say this may not have helped their case:
“They smoked outside today,” said Rep. Brad Last, R-Hurricane, sponsor of HB245. “They could have done it inside and there would be nothing we could say” under current law.*
The bill now moves to the Senate for the next stage In legislation. But there is an amendment for current hookah bar and electronic cigarette shop owners:
The bill, however, exempts hookah bars and e-cigarette shops from the ban for five years, when the exemption will sunset, and the Legislature may revisit whether to extend it.*
*News from The Salt Lake Tribune
Upcoming Previews
Here is a sneak peek at the next starter kits up for preview:
South Beach Deluxe Starter Kit
I’ve read many reviews on this product. I’ve been curious if the real product holds up to all the hype surrounding it. Find out as soon!
EverSmoke Basic Starter Kit
What is EverSmoke and how will their electronic cigarettes hold up under review? Once I get my hands on them, I’ll thoroughly test them and post the results so you can find out too.
More information about the exploding electronic cigarette has surfaced.
CR123A
The exploding cigarette story that sent waves through the network has more information that have been publicized. Monday evening, a man who switched to electronic cigarettes 2 years ago because of health issues on his lungs, suffered injuries when his modified electronic cigarette explode while he was using it. The explosion removed his front teeth, took some of the flesh from his tongue and left lacerations on his face.
Initially no news was released as to what brand or model he was using. Fire fighters only said they found several rechargeable batteries, and charging dock and the remains of a “cigar sized” case from the exploding cigarette which they collected.
While the exact brand is unknown, several manufacturers have spoken out.
Thomas Kiklas, co-founder of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, said the industry knows of no problems with the cigarettes or batteries exploding.
Kiklas cited a federal report that found 2.5 million Americans used electronic cigarettes last year.
“There have been billions and billions of puffs on the cigarettes and we have not heard of this happening before,” he said.
And this account from the fire Chief Parker:
Chief Butch Parker of the North Bay Fire District responded to the call. “I have never heard of or seen anything like this before,” Parker told ABCNews.com. Although the battery was unrecognizable after the incident, Parker reported finding several 3.0 volt CR123A type batteries charging in the room along with a scorched battery case that appeared to be one for a cigar-sized device.
These rechargeable batteries are usually used in mod electronic cigarettes. Mods are becoming more popular, but originally they were “Mods” created by users of electronic cigarettes. Whether this was a home-made electronic cigarette or was purchased by a site that sells mods instead of regular, “Big company” electronic cigarettes remains to be seen.
Most mod electronic cigarettes are larger than typical electronic cigarettes and don’t use the CR123A batteries as shown above. Those are not the batteries found, just a picture representing the general style of a CR123A. Those mods are about the size of a small flash light and last usually for a day or so. A typical electronic cigarette is just a little longer than a regular cigarette and last just a couple of hours.
I’ll post more information as it becomes available.
Multiple Charging USB for Electronic Cigarettes
This is another in a series of posts I will make in my “What do I use in my everyday life as an e-cig smoker” post journals. Since this falls outside of the usual accessory items I will list in the Accessories Page of the website, I will post them here for now. If you the viewers show a liking for them, I will open a separate page for these items.
Here is another item I use for my Electronic Cigarettes, the Belkin Ultra-Slim Series 7-Port USB 2.0 Hub. The small design and long cable really come in handy.
But the all time best feature is the separate power supply. This lets me use the hub even when the computer is off. I still have the same 1.5 to 2 hour recharging time for all of my 510 and KR808D-1 batteries. Since I have a lot to keep me vaping all day on the go, this is really a cornerstone in my everyday-out-and-about time.
Some readers have asked me “What other products have you used that help you with your Electronic Cigarettes?“.
After thinking about it, a lot of accessories are easy to classify and will be listed under “Accessories” on the website. But some, like this storage box, will need to be posted separately because they aren’t found at a typical “Electronic Cigarette” site.
Here is the Plano 3630 storage box. It is typically used for fishing and hobbiest, but I really like the depth.
They are about 2.5 inches deep, come with 3 long compartments, but the best part is they have adjustable “inserts” that allow you to break 2 of those long compartments anyway you want, the front long compartment is not divisible. 2.5 inches is deep enough to hold most e-liquid bottles (that don’t have the dropper attached) standing up.
The come with 5 of these inserts which is plenty for me and my large collection of e-liquids, batteries and cartomizers. And, at the low price amazon has for them (they were at $8.41 at the time of this posting) plus I have Prime, gotta love 2 day free FedEx shipping, it helps me a ton.
Top 5 Starter Kits
 | South Beach Smoke |
 | Green Smoke |
 | Halo |
 | Vapor King |
 | Blu |