Tuesday, April 21, 2009

First Report on the E-Cigarette - And Seeking Contributors

Yes, I really am writing about it just six hours since I arrived home to find my e-cig had arrived - there's a very good reason. By this point in the evening, I am usually going on my - oh probably fourth by now - maybe my fifth (the time is going by quickly). I usually smoke about half a cigarette at a time.

I have smoked a few hits off my second cigarette since I got home. That would be, well, considerably less than usual and I just got the damned thing.

It is definitely different, kind of like a cross between smoking a light cigarette and hitting a slightly clogged pinch-hitter (cannabis smoking implement (yup, I won't define alexythemia, but a pinch hitter...)). This thing really rules, even if it is not all that much like actually smoking - which I suspect I will find to be a good thing in the future - similar enough to help me off the smokes, different enough that I think it will be easier to get off of.

The vaporizing liquid, is flavoring, propylene glycol, water and, of course, nicotine. The nicotine is actually synthesized from tobacco, but (they claim) that what is left is just nicotine. But even assuming that some of the other elements are left, it's vaporized, not smoked.

While I definitely think it is too soon to say for sure how it will work for me, I am now comfortable with the idea of advertising it on my personal blog. I have heard enough people talk this particular one up now, that I am very confident that I can provide you with an honest assessment of how it's working for me and tell you how it's worked out for the folks I've talked to about it. Any questions are totally welcome at any point.

I will get a small amount from sales, five percent for most, ten percent with less expensive, maintenance supplies (disposable parts, mostly cartridges). I just want to disclose that, before anyone accuses me of being a shill - because frankly I am really excited thus far. But keep in mind that it's not much in the general scheme and if I sell anything at all, it will likely only defray a fraction of what I am spending on it (which is a lot less than smokes).

I will not however, be advertising this on the Quitters Blog. I did not start that blog to sell stuff, rather it's a side-effect of deciding to quit smoking. I am interested in starting a community there, not make a profit.

So we are up and running over there, but I am needing your help - whether you smoke or not, work in that field or not. If you have a blog, please link to Quitters Blog and let your readers know that we are looking for people to contribute. And if you have the urge to throw it in, I am also interested in hearing from anyone with other substance abuse/addiction problems, who would be interested in joining a similar venture - on another collective project. I have been considering ways to do this for a while and am realizing that I am simply not likely to have time to start a full on forum, any time soon.

If anyone would be interested, it is not a problem to remain entirely anonymous and post. I will be happy to offer anonamail-in posting - whatever it takes to make folks comfortable writing about their experience. I would prefer, as much as possible to just make people team members - and folks can still hide their blogger profile, while front page posting as a team member. I just don't have a lot of time to put into it, though I will certainly post on all the blogs (mostly cross-posts from this blog)....

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