I’d say! Put it this way, if you bought a Robin Reliant would you expect the same performance and luxury that comes with a Bentley? Of course not! No matter what you buy, there’s always going to be quality products as well as budget ones. It’s no different with electronic cigarettes. If you are serious about making the switch, invest some time into researching products thoroughly to ensure you get something that lasts and you enjoy! There would be nothing worse than purchasing an electronic cigarette and because it’s of poor quality, you don’t use it, revert back to smoking and never try an ecig again.

In UK, the best brand is : Smok
In France, the best brand is : A&L

Smoking Relapse

Do you find you have certain smoking triggers that always set you back after weeks, months or even years after you’ve quit?

Ex-smokers don’t revert back to smoking because they miss the taste of tobacco. They revert back because something triggers them to do so, like an event, situation, something in their life that has them reaching for their crutch.

I relapsed hundreds of times, usually because of a special event, like a holiday or a night out with friends. I always justified it to myself saying “I’ll just have one” or “I’ll just smoke tonight” but it never happened that way! One slip, one vulnerable moment and it’s all over. You’re back to square one. The craziest thing is I didn’t even enjoy the taste after abstaining from smoking for some time, it tasted disgusting, but none the less I made myself like it once again.

Why?

That’s all it takes, one cigarette leads you back to full-blown addiction. You don’t even revert back gradually an ex-smoker can be back to smoking their usual amount in a matter of days.

The sad thing is, these relapses knock your confidence and send you straight back to where you were before your quit. Why? Fear! Fear of quitting, fear of failure! The cycle then begins all over again and as smokers we convince ourselves that we like our habit, we enjoy it! We lie to ourselves all the time to justify why we can’t stop smoking. The sad thing is we actually believe our own lies. Ask yourself, do you really love being dictated to by cigarettes and planning your whole day/life around them. Having to stand outside in the rain for a smoke, smelling like an old ashtray, while paying through the nose for your habit and damaging your health? Of course not, we’re just scared of being without our cigarettes!

Alternative

If you’ve had a relapse, the thought of quitting again can stir up so much fear in a smoker, they continually put off the decision to quit again. But what about a smoking alternative, it can be seen as changing brand?

After so many failed attempts I loved the idea of being able to maintain my habit that I convinced myself I liked so much. An ‘electronic cigarette’; a smoking alternative that tasted the same, produced the same throat hit, looked like a cigarette, but didn’t contain all the harsh chemicals that would shorten my life and cost me a fortune for the privilege! It sounded too good to be true, but nonetheless and following so many failed attempts at quitting, I was sold and gave it a go. I cut down using my regular cigarettes by half at first because I didn’t want to feel that I was quitting and depriving myself of something. Within a couple of weeks I was converted and the funny thing is I preferred the electronic ones to normal cigarettes in no time at all. I don’t use my ecig as often now because I don’t need to, but I still have my crutch whenever I want it! I’ve saved a fortune, my breathing is so much better, I don’t smell like an old ashtray and my tastes and smells are back to normal.

Absolutely not! Never give in to that way of thinking, you’re just fooling yourself.

Speaking from real life experience, my dad smoked between 30-40 fags a day since his early teens and had failed repeatedly at giving up smoking over the years. In his 60’s he resigned himself to the fact that he would be a lifelong smoker and claimed he didn’t even want to give up smoking anymore, because he enjoyed it (like most smokers claim, for fear of being without their lifelong friend – how ironic). In 2010, prompted by health issues, he bought an electronic cigarette, seeing it as an ‘alternative’ to smoking. He started off by cutting down his tobacco use and using his electronic cigarette the rest of the time. Over a matter of weeks he stopped the tobacco altogether in favour of electronic cigarettes because he preferred them. He hasn’t smoked since!

Did you know that within 12 hours of quitting smoking the Carbon Moxoxide level in your blood drops to normal; within 2-12 weeks your lung function increases and your circulation improves; within 1 year your risk of coronary heart disease is about half that of a smoker; within 5 years your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker and within 10 years your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker. Article published by World Health Organisation.

The company that is behind the Intellicig brand of electronic cigarettes has managed to secure a £2 million equity investment that should allow the group to bring their product to an even larger market.

CN Creative, based at Manchester University’s Bioscience Incubator, has received the money from Advent Life Sciences, which is an investment fund operated by Advent Venture Partners.

Advent partner Dale Pfost has become chairman of CN Creative, with Kaasim Mahmood also joining the board of the electronic cigarette company. The group are looking to finalise production of Nicadex, an electronic inhaler nicotine-replacement device to help people quit or reduce smoking.

They will look to attain UK medical regulatory approval later in the year, with additional trials being carried out before the product is released to the US and other countries.

Advent has invested £1m upfront with the rest due when the UK licence application is submitted. The company is hoping to bring the Nicadex to market in 2013.