What Are Electronic Cigarettes?

Posted by: Derek on October 11, 2011 Under: Electronic Cigarette FAQ |

What are electronic cigarettes? 

What are electronic cigarettes?  In a nation that’s gone to the moon, created four-wheel drive and given us the itsy-bitsy bikini, these little electronic devices may be the best thing we’ve ever come up with.

An electronic cigarette is just what the name implies: it’s a device for “pretend” smoking, a cigarette-look-alike that has the same white paper coloring, brown filter tip, reddish fire at the tip.  And it gives out smoke that is the same consistency, flavor, texture and look of real cigarette smoke.  Electronic cigarettes are battery operated (sometimes with a tiny cell implant, sometimes with even smaller microchip lighters embedded inside) and completely safe to light, even around children (not at all true of matches!)

Super Smooth and Very Realistic

They have a sleek and flawless plastic/ceramic covering protecting the electronics; in addition, one electronic cigarette can be used with a “cigarette holder” which resembles a black ball point pen, and which recharges the cigarette’s battery as you use it.   Some electronic cigarettes smell exactly like the real thing, while some have a reduced odor, but all models are designed for one thing—to replicate the actual smoking experience as closely as possible.

You keep your electronic cigarettes (you actually only need one at a time, because it’s reusable),  safe in its own “cigarette case,” exactly the same way James Bond would keep his Russian silver filter tip smokes, and bring it out when you feel like lighting up.  Psychologically, this is a big deal; there’s nothing like opening a cigarette case and actually tapping the cigarette on it, and the e cig’s ceramic cover is resistant to scratches.

Push Button Easy

Then you push a button or flick a tiny switch, and you light up; no fumbling with matches, no actual fire and no match smoldering on your host’s new carpet.   You put the electronic cigarette to your mouth, the tip glows, you inhale, and you experience real cigarette smoke coming into your mouth and lungs.  The difference is, it isn’t really real—it’s a compound of chemicals, some of them with a glycerin base, which simulates cigarette smoke, much as a humidifier simulates real mist or fog.  In effect, you’re sucking mist into your lungs.  It does contain nicotine (and yes, that sure feels good going down), but there are virtually no other harmful smoke residues or chemicals present, certainly no tar or black gummy substances.

But what are electronic cigarettes?

Electronic cigarettes are usually portable, designed to look exactly like the real thing.  Their inside mechanism includes an atomizer to heat the liquid into vapor, a battery for power and cartridge mouthpiece that holds the nicotine-flavored liquid.  Most consumers, using an electronic cigarette, are completely unable to tell the difference between it and a regular Marlboro or Camel (both of which appear as individual flavorings on e cigarette cartridges).

One last thing…

The electronic cigarette has no unfortunate side effects yet discovered, and most studies agree that it is a safe substitute for carcinogenic smokes.   So if someone wants to know what are electronic cigarettes, now you can tell them—it’s a smoking miracle!

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