# Tell me about E Cigarettes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 16, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/707365 "2014-12-16T04:42:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/707365/1 "2014-12-16T04:42:53Z")
Hello Everyone, 4 years ago I gave up smoking cigarettes! I did however keep my nicotine habit by using snus, like dip, but you could swallow it. After being convinced to give that up by my wife I have recently begun using e cigarettes. I have to say I life them, but don’t know much about them. Currently I’m using the ones sold in gas stations called Vue and Mark Four. While I guess these are okay for starters, I want to upgrade to one of the better units. One problem with the Vue toe is that the reels are expensive. I noticed that the upgraded units use a bottle refill. Does this last long and is it less expensive? What are the advantages and disadvantages of upgrading to a better unit. Thanks and excuse my ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/707365/2 "2014-12-16T05:45:06Z")
I go to a local vape store to get my juice. They have two sizes–a small bottle for about $8 that lasts about a week, and a bigger bottle for about $18 that lasts around 3 weeks. I bought a kit that contained two complete e-cigs–tanks to hold the juice, batteries, charger plus several extra coils. Batteries last about a day and a half per charge, tanks about a day per filling. Coils last about a month, and cost about $5 each. Bottom line…I can service my nicotine addiction for about $25/month, give or take, versus about $160+ when I was smoking. Also, there is a huge variety of juice flavors available. All flavors come in various “strengths”–ie, levels of nicotine. I started with an “18”, stepped down to a “12” after about a month, and now (2,5 months in) I’m mixing 12 & 6 to get an effective strength of 9. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/707365/3 "2014-12-16T05:49:04Z")
Sorry for the spelling errors in my op. My phone plus old eyes equals that train wreck. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/707365/4 "2014-12-16T11:41:48Z")
Quite a few [previous threads](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=11661467) on vaping you might find useful, **obbn**. Like **Oakminster** , I use the battery/mod/tank set up. I have a local vape store I like, plus an online vendor I buy juice from because I [love, love](http://www.backwoodsbrew.net/) their flavors. A kit (brand names include KGO, innokin, eGo) with two batteries, charger and tank will run you around $40 - there’s a dizzying array of various mods and lots of online vendors and you can spend way more than that, but a kit is the most economical way to get started. Bottom line in answer to your question: It’s much cheaper going this route and much better taste. Plus you can customize your nicotine levels, all the way down to zero nic. The disposable cigarette look-alikes, or kits where you have to buy their refills, are expensive IMO. About every two months I spend about $60.00 on juice, and replacement batteries/mods/tanks probably average out to $100 a year. Maybe a little more because I sometimes splurge on fancy ones. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/707365/5 "2014-12-16T13:50:19Z")
E-cigs are good [if you’re suffering from nickel and chromium deficiencies](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/business/international/chinas-e-cigarette-boom-lacks-oversight-for-safety-.html?_r=0). ---
**Author:** ![thatguyjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6de8d8/32.png) [@thatguyjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thatguyjeff)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-e-cigarettes/707365/6 "2014-12-16T17:35:40Z")
Picking out a vape set up now is like car shopping, except you can’t test drive. There are soooo many models, systems, configurations, etc. etc. all with a wide price range. You’re basically asking what car you should buy, without any additional information. There are hundreds of different cars out there. While I haven’t personally done the math for my own use, it is generally accepted that - aside from the initial expense - a refillable system where you purchase the liquid in bottles is less expensive and offers much greater variety/longevity over the disposable units found at convenience stores. I would head over to a dedicated ecig board (many to be found by simple searching). You’re likely to be overwhelmed by the amount of information at first, but take your time to sort through a few things - sticky posts for beginners etc.