# Tell me about e-cigarettes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 23, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776 "2010-07-23T22:12:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/1 "2010-07-23T22:12:31Z")
My husband smokes. He’s done so for all his adult life. Now he has to quit. Absolutely has to quit. He’s having a lot of trouble losing the ritual. I told him I’d research the e-cigarette for him. Does it help? Is it safe? How long do they last? Which one is the best value? Is $25 a reasonable amout to pay? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/2 "2010-07-23T22:36:33Z")
I use them occasionally. Check out [http://www.libertystix.com/](http://www.libertystix.com/) for an American-made brand. It has been alleged that some of the Chinese brands have some additives that may be more harmful. Keep in mind that if the reason for quitting is to avoid nicotine, the e-cigs deliver nicotine. But one avoids the other harmful substances that would be inhaled. One advantage is that you can take, say, one draw and then put it away. Not like an actual cig when you feel like you might as well smoke the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/3 "2010-07-24T00:23:37Z")
All the best to Mr picunurse - it’s a challenging challenge of challenges, giving up a habit of an adult lifetime (which is about 250 dog years). God knows, I’ve given it up. A few times…! I too have tried the e-cig and personally, found it the least useful of any method. Cold turkey worked the best (and longest) for me (until I decided that as a non-smoker, \*just one \*cigarette would be a special treat; and yes, I _do_ mean special in a padded head gear wearing way…) I think that the issue with the e-cigarette is that it simply compounds the ritual, rather than removing it. With the complexities of addiction, it occured to me that all I was doing was giving myself a tactile prompt to remind me, nay completely replicate (sans lighting) the precise thing I was trying to NOT want to do anymore. So each time I used it, I was very strongly and consciously aware of what I was missing, while at the same time, feeling like an idiotic failure with an unfantastic plastic substitute. Not a useful emotion to constantly conjure up when your necessary emotional weapon is to feel worthwhile enough, committed enough, and confident enough to break the bond with your evil, longterm lover. For what it’s worth, substitutes are simply substitutes - in the attempt to soften the blow, the required impact of the blow is so velvet-gloved, it ends up more like a prolonged kiss - so why give \*that \*up? Cigarette habits involve a lot of emotional and ritualistic triggers, and your husband may find that the best method for him is to deconstruct them, and create new ones that have little relation to the ones of old. When you just take something away, you miss it - when you replace that space with something new, there’s diminished opportunity to miss what was once there. Something along the lines of “always add, never take away.” Powdered ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on the tip of his tongue for any mind-bending cravings that jump out of the dark screaming, REALLY works. Immediately. Go forth and prosper, Mr picunurse and may the force be with you! ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/4 "2010-07-24T00:47:16Z")
I was given one last year by my boss…I forget what brand but it wasn’t cheap. My problem with it is that it’s no substitute for the real thing; your husband has to WANT to quit in order to put up with it. For one, it’s just vapor…and half of the joy of smoking is the ritual/the smoke/the drag/whatever. You can drag really hard and get some vapor that simulates smoke, but you have to take such a deep drag you get a crazy head rush. Or at least I did. And the other thing…when do you know you’re finished? You can basically smoke it til the battery runs out…there’s something about “finishing” a cig that is totally missing. OTOH I know people who really wanted to quit who have been successful with it. I think it’s just a matter of actually WANTING to quit anyway, and using this is a method to step down from the real thing. Warning: if your husband drinks at all, once he has a drink in his hand this will be in no way/shape/form what he craves. And as far as safety…it’s basically just a nicotine inhaler that looks like a cigarette. It’s pure nicotine vapor. No other chemicals AFAIK. So far more safe than an actual cigarette. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/5 "2010-07-24T01:39:29Z")
My son tried it for a while but said it didn’t have that “first hit” strength he liked. Here’s some other, perhaps helpful, threads: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-506203.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-506203.html) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11851390](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11851390) ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/6 "2010-07-24T02:17:51Z")
Just as a follow-up to that earlier thread I started: I tried the e-cig. It sucked. I’ve since managed to cut down on my own. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/7 "2010-07-24T18:07:36Z")
Thank you all. You’ve convinced us this isn’t the right direction. He slipped yesterday, but has new resolve today. He’s using a nicotine substitute, sometimes gum, sometimes a patch, sometimes nothing. He’s decided getting past the ritual is his first goal. So, redirection is today’s goal. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/8 "2010-07-24T18:15:12Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > He’s using a nicotine substitute, sometimes gum, sometimes a patch, sometimes nothing. Consider [Chantix](http://www.chantix.com/about-chantix.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/9 "2010-07-24T22:58:41Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > > [@picunurse](#): > > > > He’s using a nicotine substitute, sometimes gum, sometimes a patch, sometimes nothing. > > Consider [Chantix](http://www.chantix.com/about-chantix.aspx). Chantrix is scary. Too many people we know have become suicidal or homicidal\* taking it. Hubby has a tendancy to get the worst side effects from anything he takes. \*Not actually committing it, but planning. One of the firemen he works with planned the deaths of people who cut him off in traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Cort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/77aa72/32.png) [@Cort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cort)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/10 "2010-07-25T00:13:06Z")
Personally, I think the gum is the best nicotine supplement around. Not only does it kill cravings almost instantly, it tastes nice, it’s one of the more affordable supplements, and the chewing action reduces tension. It’s helped me enormously. I think I’ve had about ten cigarettes in the last 6 weeks or so and 8 of those were during a period of extreme stress (World cup final. I’m Dutch). Give it a go. I’m confident it’ll be a big help to him. ---
**Author:** ![Cort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/77aa72/32.png) [@Cort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cort)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/11 "2010-07-25T00:14:06Z")
Oh, one word of warning though. Some people find that the gum can irritate their mouth and throat a little. Most people don’t have that problem though, and for some who are sensitive the irritation goes away after a couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/12 "2010-07-25T05:52:24Z")
I have a friend who has used th= DSE 801 for the last few years (apparently the exact brand depends on the company, but that’s the style number). He went into it not expecting to actually quit smoking, but to cut out the extra toxins in the smoke. He likes it quite a lot. Like others have said, you can pick it up and put it down at a moment’s notice. You can also “smoke” in areas where you normally can’t since all you emit is a small amount of scented vapor and since most people don’t recognize it as a cigarette. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2010, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/13 "2010-07-25T05:56:40Z")
The friend recommends checking out [this forum for more](http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/) discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/547776/14 "2010-07-26T16:32:10Z")
You’ve probably seen it before, but a lot of people on the boards have recommended Allen Carr’s book on stopping smoking - apparently it helps with the reprogramming. IANASmoker, myself, I’ve just seen it recommended a ton. Google will bring up more details.