TESTING THE E-CIGARETTE. DAY FOUR Stephen Rowley of the Electric Cigarette Store, bravely agreed to give me the ECS 4081 for free, in return for accounting my experience with the product on this site. I had set myself a date - Monday 5 October – to start testing the product. This is a day-to-day account of that experience. In future, I will update it regularly and put a small link somewhere on the homepage, for those of you who are interested in knowing the truth about this product.

Monday 5 October (Day One)
I woke up, feeling rather fragile, at about 07h00.
The abscess in my mouth, which has been there since last Thursday, was throbbing, in spite of the fact that I had been on antibiotics for three days.
I put this – fragility and throbbing - down to my simultaneous intake bravado at the birthday celebrations for the artist now known as the little man’s father on Sunday.

It was a disastrous start.
I had planned to not have any cigarettes on this morning, but for some devilish reason there were still 14 cigarettes left in the packet next to my bed.
By the time I remembered what day it was, I had already smoked 3.
I eventually finished the last one at 13h30.

Only then did I turn to the ECS.

The ECS looks exactly like a cigarette.
A big cigarette.
It is at least 2cm longer than a normal cigarette, and quite a bit thicker.
It does not feel like a cigarette, in your hand or in your mouth.

Puffing on the ECS, felt a bit like sipping a double thick milkshake through a straw.
The manual recommends that you draw on the cigarette for 4-seconds. That’s a long time.
Probably twice as long as I would draw on a normal cigarette.
It is quite hard to keep that indicator light on for four seconds.

I was relieved to find that, when I did manage to use the device correctly, I felt the sensation of smoking as the nicotine vapour went down my windpipe.
There was also a little bit of vapour, very similar to smoke, swirling around my face.

It takes a while to get accustomed to using the device.
I also found that the results were not consistent.
One drag would feel very satisfying, while the next would feel like I was drawing in air.
Is it the battery? The atomiser? Is the cartridge empty?

FEEDING THE ADDICTION
All addictions have a physical and psychological side to it.

In terms of the physical addiction, the ECS delivers outstandingly.
Usually, a heavy smoker is unaware of the sensation of a nicotine rush, and would only experience the feeling if the smoker had abstained from smoking for several hours.
With the ECS, I feel it every time I start a session.

I did not, do not, experience any physical symptoms of withdrawal or cravings for a real cigarette. Not at all.

The psychological side of the addiction is, however, something else.

 

Tuesday 6 October (Day Two)
Smoking is a procedure.
It is far more than simply an intake of nicotine.

The entire routine, from picking up the packet, removing the cellophane, taking out the cigarette, getting the ashtray and lighting up becomes a subconscious routine.
The initial smell of burning tobacco, the swirling smoke, the taste, inhaling, exhaling etc.

This routine is firmly entrenched in the psychological addiction.

The ECS does not effectively address this side of the addiction.
There is no lighting up, no smell, a very different taste, no ashtray, no smoke, no tipping off the ash.

I haven’t had a tobacco cigarette for 20-hours, a monumental feat in its own for me, but I am seriously struggling with the psychological craving.
I am fighting the urge to rush off to the shop to buy cigarettes.

Three hours later, I did go and buy a packet.
I smoked four in succession.

It tasted foul.
The sensation I felt going down my throat felt unhealthy. It was harsh.
It left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.
And, surprise surprise………afterwards, I found the smell of stale smoke to be quite unpleasant.

When I turned to the ECS again, it felt comforting.
I realise that smoking in general is not a healthy habit, but smoking the ECS felt far healthier than smoking tobacco. Still, I smoked another two cigarettes afterwards.

Wednesday 7 October (Day Three)
It is 02h30 on Thursday morning. I have smoked ten (tobacco) cigarettes in the last 60-hours. Four of them today. Well 3 yesterday. Wednesday, and one today at 01h00.
That’s a miracle.
Usually I would have smoked 90 in that time. Really.

I still have ten tobacco cigarettes left in Tuesday’s packet.
I am sure that I will smoke them sometime, but for now, I am getting quite used to the ECS.

I still crave the routine, but I suspect that can be replaced.
Substituted if you prefer.

Thursday 8 October (Day Four)
Well, its 08h30.
Day four has only just begun. I have eight cigarettes left. I realise now that I have to prepare the whole ECS procedure in advance. Charge the batteries, refill the cartridges. I am getting the hang of it. If the battery is fully-charged and the cartridge has been filled, the smoke is quite satisfying.

Although, Stephen sent me the Marlboro flavor nicotine fluid with a medium nicotine content. I need to buy the Virginia with a strong nicotine content. Hey, its a R100 a bottle. I have saved more than that already, and the way things are going the 10ml bottle will probably last more than a month.

Kader Khan
Editor
info@yummie.co.za