Archive for June, 2009

If your favorite nicotine liquid (e-liquid) flavor doesn’t taste the same and your electric cigarette gives you a weak throat hit, you might have developed some tolerance to the  flavor. That’s why using at least three nicotine flavors is a good practice.

My first nicotine liquid, very high on nicotine, felt as though I smoked a conventional cigarette—taste was strong and felt good, and the throat hit hit as hard as it should. I liked it so much that I wanted to smoke only that flavor.

But by the time I finished half the 30ml bottle, the taste and throat hit started to feel weak. After alternating  my favorite flavor with another for two weeks, my favorite flavor felt as good as when I first tasted it.

And remember that when your electric cigarette tastes too light,  tolerance to your favorite nicotine liquid flavor can be only one of the reasons. Always charge the batteries, clean the atomizer, and use fresh and properly-stored nicotine liquid.

Nicotine liquid, also known as e-liquid or e-juice, is a liquid mixture for the electric cigarette. Nicotine liquid comes in a variety of flavors and a few basic nicotine levels.

Flavors of Nicotine Liquid

From the many nicotine liquid flavors offered by different manufacturers, two seem to be more popular: tobacco and mint. These two flavors have different names and slightly different tastes depending on the brand—names like Original Tobacco, Cured Tobacco, or Arctic Mint may be names for the same flavor or variants of the flavor.

There are nicotine liquid flavors made to taste like those of traditional cigarettes, for example, Marlboro, Camel, Winston, or Kent. The most common of those is Marlboro.

Smokers using the electric cigarette have a better choice of flavors than those who smoke traditional cigarettes. While it is rare for traditional cigarettes to have flavors of coffee, vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate, most nicotine liquid and electric cigarette makers and sellers offer those flavors.

Nicotine Liquid: What Is It Made of?

All main ingredients in nicotine liquid are food products generally considered as safe. There are two common main ingredients in it—propylene glycol and nicotine. Nicotine liquid can be 80 to 90% propylene glycol and 0 to 6% nicotine. Other less common ingredients are menthol—for the mint flavor, glycerol, and even pure water that can be about 10% of the solution.

Few studies investigated the health benefits of the electronic cigarette (or e-cigarette). Let’s hope medical researchers get to it soon. For now, it’s up to users like me to say how quitting smoking and switching to the electronic cigarette affected their health.

Health Benefits of the Electronic Cigarette Same as When You Quit Smoking

To my surprise, I felt healthier one week after I started using my first electronic cigarette—I switched five months ago. My research showed that the health benefits of switching to the electronic cigarette, the ones I felt, are similar to those of people who quit smoking altogether.

No More Smoker’s Cough and Phlegm

The first thing I noticed is that my smoker’s cough disappeared. The cough didn’t bother me as much as the phlegm: before I quit smoking conventional cigarettes, every night, minutes after I went to bed, I started choking on phlegm. I’m really glad the phlegm went away.

Sense of Smell Comes Back

My sense of smell came back. A friend of mine who quit smoking told me it was completely different when you can smell the smells and taste the tastes, but it’s more impressive when you feel it yourself. Today the smell of freshly cut grass and the blooming trees on our street made me feel like I’m in one of those stores that sell scented candles.

Better Physical Stamina and Cardio

My physical stamina and lung capacity increased. On my elliptical machine, I do the same 30-40 minute exercise, one cardio zone up, and I don’t get short on breath as fast as before. I do the whole exercise with ease.

No More Wheezing and Tightness in Chest

I stopped wheezing and I no longer feel tight in the chest—the most important effects that the electronic cigarette had on my health. It’s a great feeling being able to breathe freely. In fact, the wheezing and the tightness in my chest were the main reasons why I wanted to try the electronic cigarette.