Ever since the public became aware about the dangers of smoking a few decades ago, many people have found quitting the tobacco habit hard. Companies have been innovating and manufacturing smoking cessation products for many years now. From nicotine patches to gum, nicotine addicts have been using them to quit their habit.

Electronic cigarettes (also known as e-cigarettes and electric cigarettes)are the newest product on the market. They are designed to look and feel like real cigarettes, even down to emitting artificial smoke however they do not actually contain any tobacco. Users inhale nicotine vapour which looks like smoke without any of the carcinogens found in tobacco smoke which are harmful to the smoker and others around him.

The Electronic cigarette consists of a nicotine cartridge containing liquid nicotine. When a user inhales, a tiny battery powered atomizer turns a small amount of liquid nicotine into vapour. Inhaling nicotine vapour gives the user a nicotine hit in seconds rather than minutes with patches or gum. When the user inhales, a small LED light at the tip of the electronic cigarette glows orange to simulate a real cigarette.

The nicotine cartridges themselves come in various strengths. Most of the major brands, such as the Gamucci electronic cigarette have full strength, half strength and minimal strength. This is designed for people who want to quit smoking. As they get used to using the electronic cigarette, they can gradually reduce the strength they use until they quit.

The main advantages electronic cigarettes have over nicotine patches or gum is firstly, users have the nicotine hit much quicker and secondly, because a big reason why smokers fail to quit suing patches and gum is because they still miss the act of inhaling smoke from a cylindrical object. The electronic cigarette emulates that even down to the smoke.

The electronic cigarette is also beneficial from a financial perspective. A set of five nicotine cartridges costs around £8 and is equivalent to 500 cigarettes. Although the initial investment of an electronic cigarette kit of £50 may seem steep at first, users save money in the long run.

As with many popular products, there have been a great number of cheap Chinese imitations flooding the market. They are usually half the price of a branded electronic cigarette and look like the real thing as well. It is inadvisable to use these because they have not been subject to the same rigorous testing the official electronic cigarettes have and can potentially be highly damaging to the user's health.

As electronic cigarettes become more and more popular, they are increasingly used to smoke in pubs and clubs with a smoking ban. Electronic cigarettes seem to be the next thing and may soon replace real cigarettes in clubs.

David P Benson is the webmaster of the Electronic cigarette information site.

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