e-cigarettes – The way forward?

Over 4 years ago, I used to smoke. Mainly when I was out socialising and having a drink, but I would still have a couple during the day when at work as well. Luckily for me, quitting wasn’t as difficult for me as it is for some people. Back then, I wasn’t aware of any other way to quit other than patches, gum or those horrific inhalers. I tried all 3 and I felt worse using them than anything else. For me, I went cold turkey. It wasn’t nice, but rather than making myself feel physically sick, anything was better than the patches, gum or inhalers.

These days it’s different. Although e-cigarettes have been around for a while, it’s only in the past year or so that I’ve seen them become more mainstream. Now, you see them in your local newsagent and supermarket counters. Not forgetting the little stalls dotted around shopping centres. It’s certainly becoming more and more popular.

Most of my female friends are quite health conscious. The ones that smoke, don’t really want to smoke, but like me, aren’t a fan of the ‘alternatives’. It’s no fun to walk around with an ugly patch on your arm and the gum isn’t particularly that nice either. Having mentioned e-cigs to them, the ones that have tried them, haven’t looked back since.

I recently discovered the world of vaping and I haven’t looked back. Although I quit 4+ years ago, I have always found myself having the odd cigarette when out. It always seems like a great idea at the time, but I always pay for it the next morning. The disgusting taste, the wheezy chest. It’s just an all round yucky feeling. But replace that social cigarette with an e-cig and things are very different indeed. With vaping, you can reduce your nicotine intake gradually until you reach zero. Even then, you don’t have to stop vaping, as there are juices available with no nicotine. So, those smokers that find it difficult to quit because of the physical habit of holding a cigarette, don’t need to give that up.

Vaping, as it’s called, isn’t harmful to those around you. It doesn’t have the horrible smoke smell and you won’t wake up feeling rougher than you should after a few drinks. I recently discovered a fantastic vaping shop based in Kent called Charlie’s Vape Shop. The online shop is run by Charlie and his assistant Tina. I started speaking to them a while back when I was purchasing an e-cig as a present for my husband and both Charlie and Tina were absolutely fantastic. They answered all of my (probably stupid) questions and advised me on what I should buy. Their suggestions have always been spot on and their follow up customer service has also been great.

As a female, I wasn’t taken by the bulky appearances of most e-cigs and the cigalike e-cigs at the newsagent didn’t give the same experience as a normal cigarette. I found myself ‘pulling’ so hard on it to get any kind of effect, I almost pulled a muscle. However, whilst browsing, I came across a brand of e-cig called the Bloog. Bloog’s look just like a proper cigarette and come in different colours. Who’d have ever thought of a cigarette as a fashion accessory? Unlike the e-cigs you buy in the shop, drawing on the Bloog is effortless and feels just like a real cigarette. There are 3 sizes of battery and you can buy a whole range of flavoured juices for it, meaning that you don’t even have to have a tobacco flavour should you not want to.

In comparison to the price you’d pay at a newsagent, you can pay a little bit extra and own a luxury e-cig that will last you a lot longer than the ones in the shops. Bloogs can be purchased from Charlie’s Vape shop and battery prices start from just £7.49. However, to start off with, you’ll need a battery (from £7.49), Cartomisers (£6.79) and a charger (£4.29 for a USB or £12.99 for a passthrough battery). Once you’re up and running, not only is it better for your health and you won’t smell like an ashtray, but you’ll also be saving yourself a lot of money in the long run.

Why not pop along to Charlie’s Vape Shop Facebook page and fire any questions that you have to the guys there.