Thursday 31 January 2013

Kanger EVOD - new product review

I do enjoy trying out new products, so when I spotted the new Kanger EVOD had arrived at
iVapour-Elixir, I just had to try one out to see what they were like - so I quickly ordered some from here:

http://www.ivapour-elixir.co.uk/evod.html

The EVOD is the latest development from Kanger, the next step from the T3 range - it has a replaceable bottom coil and comes in 3 parts - base unit/coil/tank unit - and holds about 1.5ml of e-liquid.


The picture on the left show what they look like, and on the right you can see one attached to an eGo battery to give an idea of size.

I have been using one almost constantly for the last five days and I have to say that I am really pleasantly surprised. This seems to be a nice improvement on the T3 and I do prefer these to the Vision clearos (my usual atty of choice).

It has a 1.8 ohm coil, although I measured the resistance to be 2.0 ohms - so there might be a slight variability in the coils, although having said that, I am not sure how accurate my reading was - so lets say that it is somewhere between 1.8 and 2.0.

They certainly produce a large amount of vapour and provide a great flavour from the juice, so no problems on that front. Being a bottom coil unit, the vapour is slightly cooler than the vapour from a top-coil Vision, but it delivers a nice smooth and satisfying vape.

The EVOD appears to be tougher than a Vision, more harder wearing over time by the look and feel of it (although time will tell) - and being bottom coil, there is no need for regular tipping to keep the wicks wet, however it is slightly more fiddly to refill. The mouthpiece is attached to the tank - so to refill you need to take it off the battery and turn it upside-down and then remove the base, after that it is simply a matter of filling up with e-liquid and putting it all back together again.

In five days of near-constant use, I have not had a single leak, gurgle or dry hit - it has performed perfectly every single time. Some people might prefer a slightly larger liquid capacity, but perhaps Kanger thought that if they made it much longer then the draw would be too airy and it is designed for an eGo battery, so the diameter is set. Personally, I found the 1.5ml capacity to be fine, and I am happy to trade an extra refill every now and then for better performance.

Well, I like this - it does just exactly what it is meant to and has turned out to be a very reliable, sturdy piece of kit. Actually, I would go so far as to say that this is one of the best 'works straight out of the box' new products that I have tried.

Will I be ordering more ?   -   YES !




Gluggler on Vapourtrails TV

It was a great pleasure to be invited to be on Vapourtrails TV last night as a guest of Dave Dorn for the VT Talk show.

The topics included the recent newspaper stories about electronic cigarettes and the 3 recent television adverts for e-cigs, e-cig retail and several other topics.






Wednesday 30 January 2013

UK Smokes - e-liquid review

The shop that I work in sells a range of e-liquids for electronic cigarettes, and one the the questions that I am often asked, by people who are just starting out with an e-cig, is which flavour tastes 'like a cigarette' ?

There are some really nice tobacco flavours available, but I am always on the look-out for something new.

So I was intrigued enough when I saw this new product, from T-Juice, to order a sample bottle from their website and give it a go.




It is called "UK Smokes" and is described as :

"Just like a real cigarette, which is drier than, and not as sweet as, other tobacco flavours ... "
and
"This is a subtle and smooth tobacco taste makes UK Smokes a great all day vape."

mmm....  Just like a real cigarette eh ?   -  lets give it a go, I thought.

I have been using it in a Vision Clearomiser and the new Kanger EVOD (more on that later) for the last few days now, and I have to say that I am really quite impressed.

It is quite smooth and definitely a 'dry' tobacco taste, there is no sweetness at all, like you get in some of the tobacco flavour liquids. You do have to like tobacco flavours to like this and it is not a very strong flavour, quite mild, which would make for a good all day vape - If you are looking for a strong rich tobaccoey taste then this isn't it, but it does have a delicate, subtle quality to it similar to a plain cigarette.

This is an original flavour, they have come up with something new here, not just a variant on the other flavours that are available. Overall I really quite like it ( I do like tobacco flavours ) and UK Smokes would go perfectly with a pint or a cup of tea or coffee.

Is it "Just like a real cigarette" ?

No - but it does come close, closer than anything else I have tried.


Mail on Sunday reported to the Press Complaints Commission

Susannah Butters' first article (and now probably her last) in the Mail newspaper entitled "E-cigarettes 'can cause more harm than smoking' experts say" - has caused a furious reaction from health professionals, academics, researchers and experts in tobacco harm reduction.

One of these is Clive Bates, an expert in this field and former Director of ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) - who immediately reported the article to the Press Complaints Commission.




Clive Bates, a worldwide acknowledged expert in 'harm reduction' and former Director of ASH - has lodged a formal complaint with the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) over the Daily Mail reporting of electronic cigarettes, in particular the article entitled "E-cigarettes 'can cause more harm than smoking,' experts say".

He says that the Daily Mail article about electronic cigarettes has been "lazy, stupid and inaccurate" and goes on to say "is just total rubbish and completely irresponsible.  There is no kinder way to put it."

His complaint centres around Section 1 of the Editors Code of Practice, which states :

1.Accuracy:

 i) The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.

The first part of his complaint states :

"The headline and premise of the story is completely inaccurate – there are no circumstances in which e-cigarettes cause more harm than smoking. In reality they are are almost harmless"

His complaint goes on to detail how there are no facts or arguments in the article to support the headline, that there are no "Experts" quoted in the article that agree with the headline because there are no "Experts" who agree with this statement.

He finishes his complaint with these words "A grossly inaccurate story like this could have real impacts on human welfare if it discourages people from switching from smoking cigarettes to e-cigarettes."

Read a full copy of Clive Bates' formal complaint to the Press Complaints Commission here :

http://www.clivebates.com/?p=806




.

The most irresponsible e-cig reporting I have ever seen.

Well, it appears that the morons are back in town.

Smoking can be very bad for you, all the newspapers agree on that - but Susannah Butter, writing in the Mail on Sunday says that there is one thing that is "more harmful" than smoking, you guessed it - electronic cigarettes !

The article was titled "E-cigarettes 'can cause more harm than smoking' experts say"

WHAT ! - how can inhaling a vapour be "more harmful" than a smoke that contains tar and numerous toxic chemicals and that has been linked to a range of serious diseases (some of them fatal) ?

According to Susannah Butter, "experts" say it is "more harmful" than smoking.

NO THEY DON'T - Experts agree that an electronic cigarette is about 99% less dangerous than smoking.

So lets have a look at how Susannah Butter tries to justify this ludicrous claim.

She writes that :
"propylene glycol in e-cigarettes can be harmful" - this is a substance that has been extensively tested for at least the last 40 years and is regarded as "safe", it is even used in asthma inhalers, for example, so what makes her think that it could be harmful ?

She goes on to explain:
According to a doctor in Germany, it can cause "acute respiratory irritation" - the word 'acute' sounds serious, but in a medical context it is used as the opposite of 'chronic' - meaning short-term rather than long-term ongoing.

So you might get a "sore throat" - indeed it is already known that a small number of e-cig users (some people say about 3%) do get a dry throat when they use PG liquid - these people use liquid that does not contain PG, and opt for a VG liquid instead.

The approved and safe Nicorette Quickmist product also uses Propylene Glycol to deliver nicotine and this isn't "more harmful" than smoking - in fact nobody, apart from a complete moron or perhaps Susannah Butter, would consider a bit of a sore throat that doesn't last long to be "more harmful" than CANCER !

As we read down the article, we still haven't seen any evidence of an "expert" yet alone "experts" plural, who say that e-cigs are more harmful than smoking, so keep reading, there must be more to come ...

There isn't

She goes on to quote the (now widely discredited) FDA tests that were carried out in 2009 that found traces of nitrosamine in e-cigs but completely fails to mention that the levels found were so low that they could not even be quantified and were also the same tiny levels that are also found in Nicotine Gum and Patches - so low as to have NO EFFECT ON HUMAN HEALTH.

As an aside - any e-cig user will be able to confirm that the e-cigs on the market now are worlds apart from the earlier models that were around in 2009, 4 years ago.

This newspaper article was the most lazy, ill thought out, badly researched pile of bullcrap that I have ever read about electronic cigarettes.



The e-cig TV adverts

One of the more exciting things that has happened in the electronic cigarette business recently is the start of national television advertising.

In the same week, in the middle of January, both Skycig and E-Lites launched their adverts, both claiming to be the 'first'.

Okay, I personally don't use either of these brands, I have never tried them so I am not going to comment on whether they are any good or not - but I was still really, really, exited - Electronic Cigarettes, my favourite hobby, was being advertised on television for the first time in the UK !

And then I saw them.

Personally ( and obviously this is just my opinion ) but, personally, I think that one of them is much better than the other - here they are:

SKYCIG



E-Lites





One of them has had just over a thousand views on You-Tube, the other has had well over half a million.

It seems that You-Tube viewers agree with me about which one is the winner !

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Tuesday 1 January 2013

Intro

It was some time in the middle of 2011 that I tried my first electronic cigarette - something that would change my life for ever.

I had been a smoker since the age of 16 and had built up a 25 a day habit. After numerous failed attempts to "quit" I had almost got to the point of giving up on giving up.

Until the day a friend of mine came to see me at work and showed be his brand new 'electronic cigarette' - I took a couple of drags and a lightbulb went 'ping' in my head - I immediately knew that this was for me.

The first day I purchased an electronic cigarette was also the last day that I smoked tobacco. Without any effort at all, I no longer needed the fags - I had entered into the world of e-cigs. A world of flavour, no longer smelling like an ashtray, no more standing outside in the rain.

I loved it.

And then it got better.