Hey all, freshly registered current smoker, very interested in e-cigs. I'm also going to apologize in advance for a lengthy post 
I've been smoking for about 12-13 years now, and I've tried quitting, but without much luck. I've gone weeks, sometimes months, without a cigarette, but end up going back to it every time. I tried the patch, and even with the low level patches, it just felt like it was too much at once, and felt weird and uncomfortable - so I went back to smoking. I tried the gum, and it was just disgusting, and didn't help with my desire to take a smoke break at work at all.
So, I feel like quitting remains my goal, but its a long term goal. In the meantime, I want to reduce the harm that can be done by taking the smoke itself out of my lungs, which is why e-cigs appeal to me. I have to say, this site is a WEALTH of information, and it may take a while for me to go through it all, but I'm going to try. I do have some questions though, and wouldn't mind confirmations of my thoughts.
Starting out with the basics, it seems to me that despite the ridiculousness of what the FDA has put out, e-cigs are absolutely better than smoking. Carcinogens are present, but very low - especially when compared to cigarattes - and there aren't the other loads of additives found in the Marlboro Lights I smoke now. That said, the FDA now being a pain may make my switch to e-cigs, now, complicated. Are there any issues in getting liquids now? I have read about people having shipments stuck in customs, seeming to be suppliers getting large quantities. Are there US manufacturers, just in case, which would provide the liquid itself?
Reading into methods (cartridges, empty cartridges and dripping), I feel like dripping would be the right solution for me. Part of that would be the ability to do blends easily, which it seems many do. I saw a few people have mentioned this, and a few threads about it, and I'd feel comfortable doing it. So, I guess I'd be focusing on an e-cig that had a sealed battery that I could drip with safely, if I'm understanding right.
So, that brings me to my next set of wonders. There seem to be a slew of options and various little bits about the differences in e-cigs, but I'm not sure I'm grasping them all. I may have missed it, is there a one-stop explanation of all the parts, how they work, the difference in manufacturers, etc? I'm liking the price of Blu, they look good, and seem to be known. However, the forums seem to have alot of specific model type information that I don't follow just yet (510, 8084, etc), and I'm not sure if this is the atomizer, the e-cig itself, if the manufacturers share common sourcing for most products making them the same, or I just don't know the model numbers yet. Is there a comparison table of sorts? If I were to go with, for example, Blu, am I paying for a common brand name?
What about maintenance? I'm sure the life of batteries is relatively short, and I would assume I would have to change the atomizers at some point. Have the batteries and atomizers remained consistent that I could wait until I had to replace them to buy the parts, or should I consider it like cell phone adapters, everyone does their own thing, changes connections for every model, and its a temporary piece - I'd replace the entire e-cig in a year or two?
I'm SURE I missed some things in the forums, and I'll probably have more questions. I'll definitely keep looking to learn more - I want to make the right choice for me, and not rush into it. Thanks in advance for any help, and thanks for posting such great information in the first place for me to find!
-Joe
I've been smoking for about 12-13 years now, and I've tried quitting, but without much luck. I've gone weeks, sometimes months, without a cigarette, but end up going back to it every time. I tried the patch, and even with the low level patches, it just felt like it was too much at once, and felt weird and uncomfortable - so I went back to smoking. I tried the gum, and it was just disgusting, and didn't help with my desire to take a smoke break at work at all.
So, I feel like quitting remains my goal, but its a long term goal. In the meantime, I want to reduce the harm that can be done by taking the smoke itself out of my lungs, which is why e-cigs appeal to me. I have to say, this site is a WEALTH of information, and it may take a while for me to go through it all, but I'm going to try
. I do have some questions though, and wouldn't mind confirmations of my thoughts.Starting out with the basics, it seems to me that despite the ridiculousness of what the FDA has put out, e-cigs are absolutely better than smoking. Carcinogens are present, but very low - especially when compared to cigarattes - and there aren't the other loads of additives found in the Marlboro Lights I smoke now. That said, the FDA now being a pain may make my switch to e-cigs, now, complicated. Are there any issues in getting liquids now? I have read about people having shipments stuck in customs, seeming to be suppliers getting large quantities. Are there US manufacturers, just in case, which would provide the liquid itself?
Reading into methods (cartridges, empty cartridges and dripping), I feel like dripping would be the right solution for me. Part of that would be the ability to do blends easily, which it seems many do. I saw a few people have mentioned this, and a few threads about it, and I'd feel comfortable doing it. So, I guess I'd be focusing on an e-cig that had a sealed battery that I could drip with safely, if I'm understanding right.
So, that brings me to my next set of wonders. There seem to be a slew of options and various little bits about the differences in e-cigs, but I'm not sure I'm grasping them all. I may have missed it, is there a one-stop explanation of all the parts, how they work, the difference in manufacturers, etc? I'm liking the price of Blu, they look good, and seem to be known. However, the forums seem to have alot of specific model type information that I don't follow just yet (510, 8084, etc), and I'm not sure if this is the atomizer, the e-cig itself, if the manufacturers share common sourcing for most products making them the same, or I just don't know the model numbers yet. Is there a comparison table of sorts? If I were to go with, for example, Blu, am I paying for a common brand name?
What about maintenance? I'm sure the life of batteries is relatively short, and I would assume I would have to change the atomizers at some point. Have the batteries and atomizers remained consistent that I could wait until I had to replace them to buy the parts, or should I consider it like cell phone adapters, everyone does their own thing, changes connections for every model, and its a temporary piece - I'd replace the entire e-cig in a year or two?
I'm SURE I missed some things in the forums, and I'll probably have more questions. I'll definitely keep looking to learn more - I want to make the right choice for me, and not rush into it. Thanks in advance for any help, and thanks for posting such great information in the first place for me to find!
-Joe
