ECig Lounge

Just a few days ago, I ran across an article with a headline that read, “Fusion Electronic Cigarettes Claims 40% Lower Cost with Free Shipping.” Of course I had to find out exactly what this deal really was. Their sub-headline stated the brand claims the “average smoker saves 30% when buying their brand compared to other major online retailers.”

This might lead the average person to believe that the Firelight Fusion brand offers the best value of any company out there, but the key here is “other major retailers.” Sometimes you have to read between the lines. Who do they consider major retailers? Which brands and values have they actually compared? Of course, the point is to twist the information in order to benefit their own brand, but it is a reminder that before taking anything you read too seriously, you’ve still got to do your due diligence by comparing the facts.

Firelight Fusion claims that those who are looking for e-cigs and want to save money without sacrificing quality will find the best deals on their website. Apparently they have not checked the prices of all other online retailers, as The Magic Mist still beats the prices of Fusion, and also offers free shipping.

Firelight offers fewer options for nicotine strength, and states that their cost of $9.95 for five cartridges per pack is the “best price the industry has to offer.”

The Magic Mist offers cartridges with a variety of nicotine strengths including 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 milligrams at a cost of $8.45 for five.

Just another reminder not to believe everything you read. The Magic Mist trumps another brand in value once again!

If you didn’t believe that electronic cigarettes were the wave of the future, perhaps after stealing the spotlight in last weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” episode you became a believer. “SNL” is the epitome of pop culture, and in a skit featuring cast member Fred Armisen and guest host actor Daniel Craig, an e-cig was featured- a true sign of its growing popularity.

In the skit, Armisen was vaping and clinked the e-cig loudly as he “put it out” on a plate of foie gras. Television viewers have already seen e-cigarettes on shows like “Two Broke Girls” and “Late Night with David Letterman,” but with “SNL” the ultimate showcase for popular trends there is little doubt that vaping is the wave of the future.

Popular “Twilight” actor Robert Pattinson, reportedly decided to give up traditional tobacco cigarettes for good when reuniting with his love, Kristen Stewart recently. He’s said to have made a complete switch to e-cigs and is now looking “much healthier.”

Another clear sign that e-cigs are a growing trend: they were featured in gift bags at an exclusive Red Carpet event celebrating the 64^th Primetime Emmys. Guests received e-cig starter kits from V2 Cigs and Vapor Couture.

Across the nation, and even across the world, it’s obvious that a transformation is taking place when it comes to the switch from traditional cigarettes to electronic cigarettes. While some changes can take years, and even generations, it wouldn’t be surprising if within the next generation tobacco cigarettes became a bad habit that was a thing of the past.

Traditional tobacco cigarettes pose a host of risks to the smoker’s health, most of which most people are very familiar with including lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and the list goes on. But did you realize that those who smoke regular cigarettes also increase the risk of being in a car accident by two-to-three times that of normal driving?

Due to the inattention that comes with lighting or extinguishing a cigarette and smoking while driving in addition to the potential of what can happen if a burning cigarette falls in the driver’s lap, this becomes yet another health risk of smoking regular cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes don’t burn. There is nothing to light and you don’t have to worry about anything catching on fire. The driver is left to focus on his driving.

While unrelated to auto accidents, if there are passengers riding in the car they don’t have to worry about being packed in an enclosed area with secondhand smoke or dealing with the stench. While some drivers that smoke regular cigarettes think that by cracking the window the smoke will sail out of the vehicle and down the road, passengers know otherwise. In the winter, they’ll also be getting a blast of cold air along with the noxious fumes.

Cigarette stubs thrown out the window while driving have been known to start grass fires- another huge hazard of smoking regular tobacco.

E-cigs cause none of this.

While switching to vaping could certainly lower the risks of a number of different smoking-related accidents, there could be some distraction to the driver should he or she reach for their e-cig and not keep their eye on the road.

Still, it’s clear to see that compared to the risks of traditional smoking, e-cigs are much safer in many ways.

There have been several blogs touting the possibility that employers might catch on in the near future about how electronic cigarettes can actually increase productivity of their workers, and now that’s already becoming a reality.

In the state of Arizona, voters passed the Smoke-Free Act in 2006 which outlawed smoking tobacco products in most public places across the state.

Krystal Colburn, a program specialist for Smoke-Free Arizona, said “Electronic cigarettes allow smokers to get their nicotine fix without actually burning tobacco. So, instead of tobacco smoke they produce puffs of water vapor. This allows smokers to use them in their work space legally.”

What this also means is, those employees who used to smoke traditional cigarettes had to leave the area to get their fix, but now they are able to “vape” in their office or other work space without having to take time off to do it.

Managers don’t have to deal with the fire hazard, the messy ash, the nasty smell or the harmful secondhand smoke. Co-workers don’t have to feel resentful of the frequent breaks that smokers often take either. It’s a win-win for everyone.

In addition, those who have switched to electronic cigarettes are likely not calling in sick as often as they are no longer exposed to the hundreds of toxic chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes.

Colburn noted that her “organization hasn’t received any complaints about the use of e-cigarettes in the workplace. Unless it creates a policy limiting their use, the products will continue to be allowed in Arizona public places.”

One can only hope this trend will continue throughout the nation and that more employers will open up their eyes to the benefits of allowing e-cigarettes in the workplace.

In the nation of New Zealand, the Ministry of Health has moved to ban Hydro electronic cigarettes that are sold through 900 retailers in the country as well as online. They believe that the sales are in breach of the Medicines Act, while End Smoking NZ believes such a ban is against public interest and is fighting the Ministry to urgently review their possibly.

Because nicotine is on their list as a medicine, this move results in tobacco cigarettes being legal, while e-cigs are not.

Considering that traditional cigarettes contain 499 dangerous chemicals, resulting in poor health and leading to heart disease and cancer, while e-cigs do not, this doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.

Medicinal nicotine-inhalers are sold in pharmacies and are not targeted for a ban. Most tobacco smokers trying to quit find it far easier by switching to “vaping.” It provides a similar smoking experience with a visible harmless vapor that is not harmful as the secondhand smoke produced by traditional cigarettes.

Current tobacco smokers can buy their cigarettes from approximately 10,000 retailers, but they’ll potentially not be able to buy electronic cigarettes in New Zealand. Many believe that those who are vaping will return to traditional cigarettes, resulting in early deaths. One in two smokers die early and “hundreds of avoidable potential deaths could be expected.”

Research reports reveal impressive quitting rates in those who switched to e-cigs. Why would New Zealand or any other nation want to ban a product that can improve the health of its citizens while continuing to allow traditional cigarettes?

When it comes down to the real reason, as it does with most governments, it is likely to be because of money. This spring the country announced a 40 percent hike in tobacco taxes over the next four years.

A price of a pack of cigarettes in New Zealand is one of the highest in the world, and in 2016 they’ll cost $15 a pack.

New Zealand already charges an over 70 percent tax on cigarettes. In China that average is 41 percent, and in the U.S. it is 45 percent.

Money or a concern about its citizens’ health?