Harsh? HARSH? This ain't just harsh, it's gargling fiberglass dust harsh! It's deep-throating sandpaper phalluses harsh! It's ... OK, I ran out of steam on that. Anyone else have any more to suggest?
Point being, this thing is NASTY, with a capital N.
OK, first, a discription. The Aeros is a white plastic flattened cylinder, slightly pinched together in the middle, and sealed on both ends. You have to cut off both ends with scissors, and inside is a folded papery substance, I presume to be tobacco laced with some chemical delivery system. You just inhale through it, and the air somehow picks up the nicotine as it passes. You keep puffing on it as long and often as you want. If you deplete the nicotine, let it rest, and it'll recharge somehow, and you can puff away again for a while. It's supposed to last for up to 3 days, depending on use.
I used to smoke lights or ultra-lights, so my tolerance is lower than most, so YMMV, but I can feel the hit fairly well. It feels about like the medium strength e-liquid, or so. And the menthol flavour is also strong, almost overpowering. Without the visible smoke, the experience is somewhat lacking, but it would do fine for an airplane or restaurant, for example. If the rush and the taste were the whole sensation.
But the strongest sensation is not the rush, or the taste, but the horrible burning in the back of the mouth and the throat. If you just take one or two hits, it's OK. A bit of a stinging feeling like strong mouthwash. Or a bit too much e-smoke. But too many hits, and it gets worse, untill it feels like your throat's being scoured with steel wool. And it keeps on stinging each time you breathe.
Now, they send you a letter which says, paraphrased, that it takes some time to get used to smoking it, and you should give it at least THREE PACKS to get used to it!! B' F'ing ....!! I am not, say again, NOT, gonna PAY to be tortured like this two more times, and at $27 plus shipping and tax, each, no less.
I'll keep taking an occasional puff or two a few times a day, and if it gets better by the end of the pack, I'll consider buying another, because i really want it to work, so I'll have an option for times and places where even the e-cig isn't allowed. But that's it. If this burning doesn't stop, Aeros is out.