So what is an Electronic Cigarette / E-Cig?
As with any product containing nicotine Electronic Cigarettes are only for those eighteen and older. If you do not currently smoke cigarettes or vape then an Electronic Cigarette is not something you want.
That being said let us get back to the main question: “What is an E-Cig?”. Some of you readers may know some of what I will be going over here, but may not know the entire history of the industry which I will also go over to show how much the electronic cigarette industry has changed in a relatively short amount of time compared to other industries that produce a consumer product. I think this is needed to show you the reader how the industry was started and help further an understanding of the whole electronic cigarette market.
An E-Cig is a relatively simple device. It is basically a cigarette shaped device powered by a battery that simulates cigarette smoking via vaporizing a liquid commonly called Eliquid. This liquid consists of either Propylene Glycol or Vegetable Glycerin, a flavoring agent and nicotine(Tho there are nicotine free mixes available.) This liquid is heated via a heating coil called an atomizer. When heated it forms a vapor that closely mimics smoke and basically is a close imitation to smoking a regular tobacco cigarette. This in turn reduces cravings for cigarette smokers as shown in several studies. Not just the craving for nicotine but the mental craving for the routine that smoking gives. The benefit of this is that
using an E-cig eliminates tar, harmful cancer causing chemicals, and combustible gasses one will find in tobacco derived cigarettes.
These devices were invented around 10 years ago by a Chinese inventor named Hon Lik. Once on the market it spread like a wildfire across the world and to this day continues to grow in popularity. Today almost all the hardware and most of the accessories such as E-Liquid are made by a few companies such as Sailebao who produce DSE 801 and DSE901, Joytech Shenzhen Lots Co who produce the Joye 510 as well as the eGo. These Electronic Cigarettes are then imported and distributed by companies like Awesome Vapor.
That being said let us get back to the main question: “What is an E-Cig?”. Some of you readers may know some of what I will be going over here, but may not know the entire history of the industry which I will also go over to show how much the electronic cigarette industry has changed in a relatively short amount of time compared to other industries that produce a consumer product. I think this is needed to show you the reader how the industry was started and help further an understanding of the whole electronic cigarette market.
An E-Cig is a relatively simple device. It is basically a cigarette shaped device powered by a battery that simulates cigarette smoking via vaporizing a liquid commonly called Eliquid. This liquid consists of either Propylene Glycol or Vegetable Glycerin, a flavoring agent and nicotine(Tho there are nicotine free mixes available.) This liquid is heated via a heating coil called an atomizer. When heated it forms a vapor that closely mimics smoke and basically is a close imitation to smoking a regular tobacco cigarette. This in turn reduces cravings for cigarette smokers as shown in several studies. Not just the craving for nicotine but the mental craving for the routine that smoking gives. The benefit of this is that
using an E-cig eliminates tar, harmful cancer causing chemicals, and combustible gasses one will find in tobacco derived cigarettes.
These devices were invented around 10 years ago by a Chinese inventor named Hon Lik. Once on the market it spread like a wildfire across the world and to this day continues to grow in popularity. Today almost all the hardware and most of the accessories such as E-Liquid are made by a few companies such as Sailebao who produce DSE 801 and DSE901, Joytech Shenzhen Lots Co who produce the Joye 510 as well as the eGo. These Electronic Cigarettes are then imported and distributed by companies like Awesome Vapor.
So what are the benefits to utilizing an E-cig instead of just Smoking Cigarettes?
The benefits to using an E-Cig are multiple. Electronic Cigarettes by their nature have no smell, no secondhand smoke, no tobacco, no tar and most importantly none of the four thousand plus cancer causing agents that are in tobacco cigarettes. They also do not cause wrinkles, stain your teeth or make your clothes have that cigarette smell. As if that is not enough reasons, they also save you money over traditional cigarettes and usually can be used where smoking would otherwise be prohibited.
Are E-Cigs safe to use?
The component that you inhale is named E-liquid as I mentioned earlier. This is made out of one of two things for it's base.
USP grade Propylene Glycerin (PG) – This is commonly used in many products you already used or have been exposed to such as asthma inhalers, food flavorings and artificial smoke such as from smoke machines. As with just about anything some people can be allergic to this showing symptoms such as: Sort throat or a rash but nothing overly serious. If you are allergic to PG you do have the other option of VG.
USP grade Vegetable Glycerin (VG) – This is almost like PG but is more syrupy and as the name implies is made from vegetables.
The American Association of Public Health Physicians has given their support to E-Cigs and has even recommended to the Federal Food and Drug Administration that they move E-Cigs from their current classification as a drug and device combination to a tobacco product like nicotine gum or patches. They also forecast that overall second hand smoke would be significantly reduced by people using a electronic cigarette over a tobacco one.
There has also been several recent studies showing that the vapor emitted from an E-cig shows no risk of harm either to the smoker or as second hand smoke. We can provide a copy of these studies upon request, just shoot us an email and we will be happy to provide you with them.
USP grade Propylene Glycerin (PG) – This is commonly used in many products you already used or have been exposed to such as asthma inhalers, food flavorings and artificial smoke such as from smoke machines. As with just about anything some people can be allergic to this showing symptoms such as: Sort throat or a rash but nothing overly serious. If you are allergic to PG you do have the other option of VG.
USP grade Vegetable Glycerin (VG) – This is almost like PG but is more syrupy and as the name implies is made from vegetables.
The American Association of Public Health Physicians has given their support to E-Cigs and has even recommended to the Federal Food and Drug Administration that they move E-Cigs from their current classification as a drug and device combination to a tobacco product like nicotine gum or patches. They also forecast that overall second hand smoke would be significantly reduced by people using a electronic cigarette over a tobacco one.
There has also been several recent studies showing that the vapor emitted from an E-cig shows no risk of harm either to the smoker or as second hand smoke. We can provide a copy of these studies upon request, just shoot us an email and we will be happy to provide you with them.
What are the costs of Electronic Cigarettes?
Once the first purchase is made of the actual device, your cost to vape will be way less then smoking. Almost half the cost of tobacco smoking unless you really get into vaping and want to try other vaping devices. Even then it may be significantly less then what you are paying now for smokes. We recommend reading our “How do I choose which E-cig is right for me” section later in this article for help in getting the right kit that will fit your vaping needs and help lower your initial investment even lower.
Here is what most shops do not want you to know
Basically every single electronic cigarette is made in China, like most electronics now a days. No matter what brand name or logo a supplier from the United States may apply to it, it will be one of the following standard models: KR808d-1, Joye 510, DSE801, Joye eGo or DSE901. There is an exception to this with regards to the more luxurious models from the manufactures like Super-T. (I personally love their drip tip line, although at around thirty bucks each, I may need to find a new line of work :P )
While there is no magical USA made product and let us be honest here, if they were made here the manufacturing standards will not become higher then the Chinese made counterparts. (Don't get mad at me here, while I may hail from Canada I love the United States. We all know the finical landscape of the manufacturing sector in the United States recently and even not so recently and it is no different here in Canada).
The standards set by the Chinese manufactures of electronic cigarettes and even E-liquid are just as high if not higher then anything manufactured here in the west these days.
Now that all that has been told to you, the point has to be driven and re-driven that not every ecig is off equal quality. Despite being made in the same general area of Schenzen China, basically where every electronic device in the west is made that you use on a daily basis. As you may know counterfeiting runs wildly rampart in China due to relaxed enforcement there.
Because of this there are many factors setup there that are producing inferior quality counterfeit electronic cigarettes. Do not think for a second tho there is not a good amount of highly skilled, above the top manufactures and designer brands. These have recently come into the limelight with brands like eGo, JoyeTech, 510, eRoll, eVOD and my most personal favorite eCAB.
Also up and new comers are other industry standards like Kanger the makers of the KR808d-1 the company that invented the transformative cartomizer. Others worthy of mention are Innokin, BOGE as well as SmokeTech who has a wide range of offerings in quailty of cartomizers and tanks. (and it seems they come up with something new daily) As well as groundbreaking ecig models and stunningly powerful Variable Voltage modifications.
Currently my gun metal colored Smok ZMAX2 is my most used mod and I own several others like E-vod, Darwin and a Provari as well as more others then I can get in to here. The quality of these are hands down the greatest out of anything I seen from the factories in China.
While there is no magical USA made product and let us be honest here, if they were made here the manufacturing standards will not become higher then the Chinese made counterparts. (Don't get mad at me here, while I may hail from Canada I love the United States. We all know the finical landscape of the manufacturing sector in the United States recently and even not so recently and it is no different here in Canada).
The standards set by the Chinese manufactures of electronic cigarettes and even E-liquid are just as high if not higher then anything manufactured here in the west these days.
Now that all that has been told to you, the point has to be driven and re-driven that not every ecig is off equal quality. Despite being made in the same general area of Schenzen China, basically where every electronic device in the west is made that you use on a daily basis. As you may know counterfeiting runs wildly rampart in China due to relaxed enforcement there.
Because of this there are many factors setup there that are producing inferior quality counterfeit electronic cigarettes. Do not think for a second tho there is not a good amount of highly skilled, above the top manufactures and designer brands. These have recently come into the limelight with brands like eGo, JoyeTech, 510, eRoll, eVOD and my most personal favorite eCAB.
Also up and new comers are other industry standards like Kanger the makers of the KR808d-1 the company that invented the transformative cartomizer. Others worthy of mention are Innokin, BOGE as well as SmokeTech who has a wide range of offerings in quailty of cartomizers and tanks. (and it seems they come up with something new daily) As well as groundbreaking ecig models and stunningly powerful Variable Voltage modifications.
Currently my gun metal colored Smok ZMAX2 is my most used mod and I own several others like E-vod, Darwin and a Provari as well as more others then I can get in to here. The quality of these are hands down the greatest out of anything I seen from the factories in China.
Electronic Cigarettes have the quality of being overlooked as a truly modern Chinese invention.
They were invented there as well as all the great innovations from the minds and hands of the Chinese workers themselves. Several brands help make this happen due to having the benefit and scale from these innovations to have grown rapidly because they are owned and operated solely by them as in the case of V2 Cigs, Apollo E Cigs and Smokestik. This allows them huge benefits over going the OEM route by just sticking their logo on a no name product. It allows them to have the involvement in the manufacturing process that allows them to have high quality control not only in the device itself but the supply chain process as well.
So How Does Vaping Work?
Since e-shops purchase their electronic cigarettes and related supplies from China they pay extra to have their names slapped onto the product 90% of the time. How ever this hardly means at all that every single OEM 510, Ego, KR808d-1 or generic are the same quality. The truth is far far from it and disappointing depending on how you look at it.
Many E-shops will tell you that their electronic cigarette battery will last anywhere from 300 to 600 draws before a recharge will be needed. This is generally an outright lie. If you like I used to be and was when I first started vaping are a heavy smoker you are going to get around 2 hours and if you are really lucky maybe four hours out of a battery.
The exception to this are the batteries from Leo and eGo which from my repeated uses of them can last as long as 7 hours. I personally suggest the KR808d-1 as I feel it is the only Mini E-Cig that makes it worthwhile. If you can like the length of a mini, I like the 110mm version as it can hold a 380 maH charge as opposed to the 100 maH you will get with other super-minis. This makes it especially attractive to new comers since you will likely use it more often since it will last making it much more viable to use day to day.
The same E-shops will also tell you that a cartridge will provide you the equivalent of a pack of tobacco cigarettes. In my personal experience and several people I have spoken to this is a laughable lie, they do not. There is a slight controversy surrounding this as some studies have shown that only about a third of the nicotine is absorbed when compared to smoking while vaping. Basically a brand such as V2 Cigs will let you change the refill cartridges easily with identical cheaper E-Liquid, while other inferior brands will make it impossible by sealing their refills in order to cut costs while forcing you to use them as a supplier. Which can make it expensive to vape nearing ten bucks a day and that is assuming you are not a heavy smoker! The upside to using a brand like V2 is that you can test out whatever E-Liquid you want from whatever seller you wish. This allows you to easily change the amount of nicotine or have fun with a wide variety of flavors that are available all on your terms.
For these reasons we feel V2 Cigs are a excellent choice for a person getting into vaping as well as just about any level of vaper. They are an well ran company that offers such things such as lifetime warranties, reward winning customer support and top rated quality control and consistently deliver an awesome product.
Many E-shops will tell you that their electronic cigarette battery will last anywhere from 300 to 600 draws before a recharge will be needed. This is generally an outright lie. If you like I used to be and was when I first started vaping are a heavy smoker you are going to get around 2 hours and if you are really lucky maybe four hours out of a battery.
The exception to this are the batteries from Leo and eGo which from my repeated uses of them can last as long as 7 hours. I personally suggest the KR808d-1 as I feel it is the only Mini E-Cig that makes it worthwhile. If you can like the length of a mini, I like the 110mm version as it can hold a 380 maH charge as opposed to the 100 maH you will get with other super-minis. This makes it especially attractive to new comers since you will likely use it more often since it will last making it much more viable to use day to day.
The same E-shops will also tell you that a cartridge will provide you the equivalent of a pack of tobacco cigarettes. In my personal experience and several people I have spoken to this is a laughable lie, they do not. There is a slight controversy surrounding this as some studies have shown that only about a third of the nicotine is absorbed when compared to smoking while vaping. Basically a brand such as V2 Cigs will let you change the refill cartridges easily with identical cheaper E-Liquid, while other inferior brands will make it impossible by sealing their refills in order to cut costs while forcing you to use them as a supplier. Which can make it expensive to vape nearing ten bucks a day and that is assuming you are not a heavy smoker! The upside to using a brand like V2 is that you can test out whatever E-Liquid you want from whatever seller you wish. This allows you to easily change the amount of nicotine or have fun with a wide variety of flavors that are available all on your terms.
For these reasons we feel V2 Cigs are a excellent choice for a person getting into vaping as well as just about any level of vaper. They are an well ran company that offers such things such as lifetime warranties, reward winning customer support and top rated quality control and consistently deliver an awesome product.
SO HOW DOES VAPING WORK?
Your typical e-cig / electronic cigarette will consist of 2 or 3 parts. When you have a two piece device you will find something called a cartomizer. This is a cartridge and an atomizer in one, and the device's battery. With regards to a 3 piece device you will have the atomizer, the battery and then the cartridge. All E-Cigs are constructed the same in this regard tho they come in different degrees of sizes and of course models. Awesome Vapors' starter kits are usually the three piece design with the disposable model being the exception. Regardless we have cartomizers to use separately for use with the unit you have if it is compatible.
Vaping is a little bit different compared to smoking a tobacco cigarette. You will need to draw from the electronic cigarette lightly and slowly. This is different from a tobacco cigarette where a hard long puff will give you more smoke. You will not get more vapor by doing so when vaping. Let the vapor fill your mouth slowly then inhale and exhale quickly. Remember it can sometimes take a few primer draws on the device to get the vapor production going at first. With some practice you will get those big clouds of safe non smelling clean vapor you want that will be gone in seconds unlike the smoke you are used to now leaving nothing behind. What are Drip Tips? Dripping is a way of juice/E-liquid delivery that instead of making use of a cartridge and a fiber filler, you drip juice directly onto the coil of your devices atomizer. The main benefit claimed by this method of vaping is you get more flavor out of your juice as well as a more consistent vaping experience. Keep in mind that when utilization of this method nothing is holding the E-liquid in place so you want to use only 2 or 3 drops. This will give you around a cigarette's worth of vapor before the need to drip again tho. It's all down to your personal taste what method you prefer. The good news is you have that option with us. We carry drip tips which will be compatible with your atomizer and replaces the cartridge. All one needs to do is drip their E-liquid thru the hole of our drip tip and it will fall down the side into the atomizer. One can also decide to use this on some of our cartomizers as their preferred mouth piece. Just simply look at our product descriptions to get the size that will fit your needs and device the best. What is an Atomizer? The Atomizer is a amazing bit of technology if I must say. It is a stainless steel cylinder containing a pot made out of ceramic in which has a heating coil. This is all protected by a steel band on the top of it connected to a material that is a very high temperature wick with the pot itself encased in two or three stainless steel cloth layers. The stainless steel cloth also acts as a wick of sorts that guarantees that that the pot and coil are always surrounded by some E-liquid. This all accumulates to boil the liquid without burning it which allows you to inhale the product. You want to always be sure this coil is fully encased in fluid to prevent it from burning out. Once you gain some experience you will be able to tell right away when more fluid os required simply by the taste and lack of vapor being made. Also take not that when the device gets hot to the touch you will need to put the device down for just a few minutes. The atomizer you are most likely to come into contact with is known as either eGo or 510. When talking about JoyTech 510 or JoyeTec Ego starter kits you will come across both cartridges and atomizers that are both sold separately. How ever we sell both low resistance and standard atomizers. Wait what are Standard and Low resistance atomizers? According to many users low resistance atomizers will give you more vapor while saying the vapor itself is warmer because the the atomizer itself burns hotter. If you decide to go with a bigger battery like the Ego the low resistance choice is a popular one among people like you. Keep in mind low resistance uses a greater drain on the battery power which might decrease it's life. On the flip side you want a bigger fiber cartridge / atomizer which will by it's nature will hold a good deal more E-Liquid when compared to a eGo or a 510 atomizer. We also carry in our store both Monster cartridges which hold up to 65 drops of juice/ELiquid and Monster atomizers. This means you get some of the best vapor you can while refilling the cartridge less. These Monster's are fully compatible with the Joyetech 510 Kits and their batteries. Wait what is an Tank cartridge or atomizer? When looking at the T-Tank Atomizer you will notice it does not utilize a fiber cartridge. Instead it has a prong inside of the device that will puncture a empty fiberglass cartridge that you then fill. Once you insert this cartridge your E-Liquid of choice will drip slowly onto the atomizer as you need it to. The major upside to thius system that unlike my girlfriend it's extremely low maintenance. You basically fill the Tank cartridge throw it in your device and will not have to worry about it again until it is just about empty. You will be able to tell when it is about empty because the tank is clear so you will be able to see inside. We currently offer T-Tank Atomizers that are fully compatible eGo and the 510 T-Tank units. We offer a comprehensive guide here on how to fill the cartridges and assemble the Tank atomizer in our Electronic cigarette maintenance section on this very site. Can you explain E-Cig batteries to me? Almost all electronic cigarette batteries will need to be charged before you can use the battery itself. They do contain an initial charge for the purposes of priming them for their first full charge. The 510, 801 and 901 batteries all will take you about eight hours to be fully charged before you can first use them. Once this first time is done the charging time will be reduced and all you will need to do is insert them into the charger and simply wait until the light on the charger turns from red to green telling you it is ready to go. On the other hand the Ego battery being the exception to this will be ready to use right out of the box when you get it. Once you drain it's power reserves you will be looking at a three hour recharging time on average. All these batteries are of course rechargeable lithium ion batteries which powers the atomizer of your device or devices. Inside the battery is a computer chip that activates and shuts down the battery if you decide to take a draw longer then five seconds or if the battery itself is almost dead and the voltage is too low thus requiring you to recharge it. That being said keep in mind that while the chargers have the red and green LED lights that are suppose to show you when the battery is fully charged but this feature may not always work. I find that keeping them in for around three hours once drained is enough after being charged eight hours the first time. The exception to this being the Ego Twist and the eGo itself. Since these come fully charged out of the box you will need to fully drain them at first before charging them since if you fail to do the memory of the battery will be set at whatever percentage of juice is left in the battery and you will never get a true full charge out of them. Once drained completely tho you are only looking at a three hour charge time. You will find that most electronic cigarette batteries' will be 3.7 volts to 3.2 volts with mods will be 5 or 6 volts of power. We here only offer the Mini VV and the Awesome Vapor Variable Voltage mods both of which go as high as six volts. You will also commonly see the abbreviation mAh which is short for Milliamp hours. This will tell you how many draws you will be able to take normally before the battery will need to be recharged. Your typical tobacco cigarette looking battery which is called a Slender battery will range from 90 to 280 mAh. Most electronic batteries will have an automatic battery which means you activate it to turn on by simply taking a draw on the e-cig. Examples of that are shown in the DSE901 and the DSE801 penstyle. You also have batteries that are activated by pressing a button and you can find these on devices like the eGo and the 510 battery. There are advantages and disadvantages to both the manual and automatic batteries. An automatic battery, one without a button such as the 801 penstyle or 901 mini has an open hole on the connecting end. Because of this hole you run the risk of E-liquid inside the battery. With this in mind you will want to be vigilant that your battery connections are always dry. If your battery does happen to start to malfunction and not operate properlyremove it from the atomizer and cartridge and blow into one end like you would a NES cartridge back in the day. Once you did this lightly tap on a hard surface a few times to try to shake loose any liquid that may be inside. Wipe the battery off and give your vaping section another kind. This will solve most battery issues 99% of the time, keep in mind that if there's any E-liquid inside the battery or any liquid has dried on the connection the battery will not charge. Where do I get a battery charger from? Each and every E-Cig starter kit of quality comes with a charger that will be used for that device. But to help you out we also stock extra chargers for each and every model of electronic cigarette we offer in our store. By simply looking in our product descriptions you will find a compatible battery charger for your device. We also have something I personally love and those are called PCC's or portable charging cases. These cases require a charge time of about 5 hours via an USB connection and will allow you to charge your battery around three or four times while you are away from a power source! This is great for long commutes or going camping and will help you stay away from traditional tobacco cigarettes. We also have cartomizers which combine the cartridge and atomizer into a single unit. The advantage to this is that it holds more E-liquid which lessens the need for you to refill as often. The downside is they are considered disposable units but they also are cheaper then a cartridge and atomizer itself. They are also considered more effective since they will use all your juice for vaping with none being wasted. |