Category: Americana

Those of you who know me know I have smoked for most of my life- I started at 13 in the ‘olden daze’ when it was frowned upon but not all that hard, at least nothing like it is today. At one point I was quit for a dozen years. I slipped, started back, and was back to two packs a day within a month, where I have remained for the past 15 years an addict of a decidedly nasty habit. Ms. JW is close to a 3-packer, plus she likes menthol, which I understand makes the habit even harder to lose.

About a month ago we began an experiment- we both switched over to the new E-cigs. She got the full rig- 3 rechargeable batteries, a little USB dongle to recharge them, and the cartridges to go with them. I went with the disposable, being the suspicious sort. Basically these things work by heating a gelatine compound which contains nicotine and you inhale the vapor, thus duplicating the act of traditional cigarette smoking.

The things are fantastic. No smoke. No smell. No ashes or ashtrays. No cracking the car window. No offending those around you, or toddling off to some ‘smoke hole’ to enjoy your little habit. Plus at least for now they’re not taxed to hell and back so the equivalent of a carton of cigs costs between 5-15 dollars. You also have a selection of strengths of nicotine content which allows you to begin tapering that off, all without losing the little routine of having a smoke, which is a big part of the habit and where many who wish to quit get tripped up.

Like I said, both my lady and myself have been using these for around a month now, and the big test came with the ice storm this week- our shipment was delayed… we were gonna be ‘outta smokes’! Only those who have the habit know how non-trivial that little scenario is… so we both bought a pack of our old cigarettes to hold us over.

THEY WERE HORRIBLE. Nasty taste, smelly smoke, frigging ashes everywhere, smoke leaving a deposit on anything close by… In other words, in almost no time at all, with no freaking withdrawal or suffering, we have both lost the desire for traditional burning tobacco. Yes, there’s a habit still there, but one I can see tapering off to nothing after a time.

Sense of smell and taste has come back. No more coughing or trashy mouth in the morning… no more mess. We’re both completely sold, and I have an utterly clear conscience uttering the praises of a pretty nifty scientific advance. We get ours here, but a little time with Bing will find any number of people selling these things.

I would suggest that any of you who smoke out there jump on this before the government notices and comes along with taxes and restrictions to screw it all up- it really does allow you to have the pleasure of smoking (and to you non-smokers, yes, it IS a pleasure) with almost none of the downside.