This one’s only tangentially related to electronic cigarettes, but it was so strange I thought it was worth linking to. The New Times down in Palm Beach profiles a swindler who started an electronic cigarette business:
In late March, at the Blue Martini Lounge on Glades Road in Boca Raton, Gladstone encountered a big-talking, cocktail-swilling business man, sporting a Star of David tattoo on his neck and taking drags off an electronic cigarette.
Gladstone had known Howard Needle before — socially, not in the business world, and he knew nothing of Needle’s …

Here’s a rather boneheaded local TV news story about the electronic cigarette. If you follow e-cig news at all, you know that it’s become one of those go-to stories (blacklight in a hotel room! pedophiles next door! urine in playground sand! etc) for local producers hard up for stuff to file.
The problem I have with this story is that they gave an electronic cigarette for a women to use to quit smoking, which is a claim manufacturers can’t make. And the woman reasoned that she might as well have a …

I’m willing to deal with some of the finer points of electronic cigarette maintenance. There’s the atomizer cleaning (weekly and monthly). There’s cart cleaning, drying, cart filler replacing, and refilling. And though I haven’t quite started mixing my own e-juice, I’ve been reading a lot about DIY flavors and extraction methods.
That’s me, though. And a lot of the e-cig community love doing their own maintenance, flavors, and e-cig mods. There’s a million different ways to clean your atomizer, and it seems like some electronic cigarette fans use their free time …

James Dunworth, director of E Cigarette Direct, published a press release / open letter to President Obama asking him to intervene on behalf of electronic cigarette users. The Kennedy Tobacco Bill, which would put e-cigs under the control of the FDA (and would probably lead to an immediate ban), is out of committee and will be up for a Senate vote soon. Right now, President Obama supports the bill. North Carolina senator Richard M. Burr (R) has threatened to filibuster it.
Full text of Dunworth’s letter below:
LONDON, ENGLAND — (OfficialWire) — …

These are some beginner videos I find enormously helpful. Reading instructions never seems as good as watching someone else do it, huh?

1. Comprehensive Intro To Vaping by Spike
An awesome, full guide to parts and maintenance, along with troubleshooting and discussion of some of the related symptoms that come with quitting tar and switching to e-cigarettes. My recommendation? Watch the second half, where she talks about models, symptoms, and what to buy, before you make that first purchase. Watch the first half after you get your kit in the …

Here’s a list of suppliers I’ve either used or heard good things about. I’ll be updating the “discount code” field as I get fresh codes from the companies. Suppliers, please contact me if you notice a mistake or if you’d like to be added to this list.
Note: “Warranty” means the company will replace defective kits and parts. “Refund” means they will give you your money back for kids and parts. Suppliers will not take back carts and juice, as that would be pretty gross. But, email suppliers, you’ll find that …

1. If you heard about electronic cigarettes through a mall kiosk or an advertisement, you probably think they’re more expensive than they really are.
Many of the best electronic cigarette sellers are small companies that take a little searching to find. They won’t find you. If you’re paying more than $40-$80 for a “starter kit” (usually 2 batteries, 1 atomizer, a charger, and five cartridges–pre-filled or with a small bottle of liquid), then you are paying too much.
2. You want one that looks like a cigarette now, but you might not …

“I believe everyone has a choice in this nation,” said Beth Dore, Duso’s new owner. “Being a nonsmoker, I didn’t feel I had a choice to go into a bar without smoke. Now there is a choice.”
Here’s a refreshing article on the electronic cigarette. It’s refreshing because it begins with a a real-world solution to a small business owner’s problem. Duso’s Bar of Bay City is helping its smoking customer base by selling electronic cigarettes.
I remember the first time I visited Chicago from New York–I was so surprised to see …

I bought my first electronic cigarette just a few weeks ago. I haven’t picked up a regular cigarette since.
I would have never learned about this amazing device if I hadn’t been curious enough to click on an advertisement for one (the Blu electronic cigarette, incidentally). And, if I hadn’t done a few days of research, I probably would have made an impulse purchase, or gotten discouraged by the high prices. Luckily I was able to piece together enough information to make an informed purchase. But there’s still a lot to …