New Vaper Notes
Virtually all newcomers to electronic cigarettes are smokers [1], so it is natural for them to try to use an e-cigarette in the same way as a tobacco cigarette, especially as the first model chosen may be a replica of a cigarette.
Unfortunately this doesn't work well, as the two things may look similar but are functionally very different. One is a paper tube where the smoke from burning chopped-up vegetable matter is inhaled; the other is a steel tube producing a water-based vapor from a liquid that is vaporized by a battery and heater element - essentially, a low-temperature steam. One contains tobacco that is set on fire at high temperature; the other has no tobacco and generates mist using a battery. There aren't really any valid comparisons between the two.
The most accurate term for an 'e-cigarette' is probably an EV, electronic (or electric) vaporiser. The vast majority of EVs do not look anything like a cigarette, although the sales figures are opposite to this: minis that look like cigarettes do have huge sales volume as they are by far the most popular with smokers trying out the concept. In addition there is no functional similarity between an EV and a tobacco cigarette. It is probably best to think of the terms 'electronic cigarette' and 'e-cigarette' as marketing terms since most EVs don't look anything like a cigarette and none work anything like a cigarette. However, hardly any smokers would switch if the name EV or something similar like PV or vaporiser was used exclusively - so 'e-cigarette' works very well indeed to get smokers interested. This tends to obscure the fact that the two things are different and are used differently. Mini ecigs, especially, need a different technique in order to derive maximum benefit with minimum problems.
Usage
If an ecig is used like a cigarette, it doesn't work, and there might be other issues too, such as a sore throat or lungs. This is generally applicable to a new ecig user with a mini ecig although it may not apply in other circumstances (expert users, with better hardware, make their own rules - this info is mainly for newcomers using minis).
An ecig doesn't contain any tobacco, there is no combustion, there is no ignition, there is no smoke; the process involves generation of low-temperature 'steam' from within a saturated atmosphere in an electrical device - not the burning of dry plant material. Multiple clinical trials have demonstrated that if an ecig is used in the same way as a tobacco cigarette, by beginners using a mini ecig, either zero or very little nicotine can be measured in the user's bloodstream.
So now that we know it must be used differently, the question is: how? The short answer is that the only similarity is that both are placed in the mouth. After that, everything else is different, when talking specifically about optimal use for new users using low-power hardware.
