I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the electronic cigarette lately. Most are found in various places on the site, but for ease of use, I will try to give a few quick answers and the most frequently asked questions and the electronic cigarette.

Q. What is the difference between an e-cigarette and an electronic cigarette and an e smoke?

A. Nothing….just various names for the same product.

Q. What is the difference between the electronic cigarette and the mini electronic cigarette?

A. Size is the biggest difference. The white electronic cigarette we sell and the mini electronic cigarette work in the same manner. The regular electronic cigarette (also referred to as the white e-cigarette) is about the size of a pen, while the mini electronic cigarette is just slightly larger than a traditional tobacco cigarette. The nicotine cartridges for the normal sized electronic cigarette tend to last slightly longer than those for the mini.

Q. How does the electronic cigarette work?

A. The electronic cigarette is essentially three parts; the battery, which screws into the atomizer, where the mouth piece/nicotine cartridge fits into. When you inhale, the atomizer vaporizes a small amount of the liquid nicotine in the cartridge which is then delivered through the mouth piece. We also have a video about how the electronic cigarette works.

Q. Does the vapor smell?

A. The vapor is exhaled and appears like smoke, but does not smell. The liquid nicotine contained in the cartridge does have a slight odor of the flavor of the cartridge.

Q. What are the nicotine levels?

A. A nicotine cartridge (or ELiquid) can come in high, medium, low and no nicotine levels. This is the amount of nicotine in a cartridge. If you are a heavy smoker or smoke cigarettes with no filter, we recommend starting with high. Smokers of mild or light cigarettes should try the medium.

Q. What flavors are available?

A. We offer Tobacco and Mint (Menthol) flavored nicotine cartridges. We can get other more exotic flavors if you wish. We don’t stock these as they are very low demand. However, if you do want one of these flavors, feel free to contact us with your request and we will order it for you or at least consider carrying it in the future. There is no additional cost, only a longer waiting period to receive your order.

Q. How long does one refill cartridge last?

A. New testing has shown the average inhales of a tobacco cigarette is approximately 15 puffs. Based on this figure, cartridges for the regular size cartridges contain approximately 200 puffs while that for the mini contain approximately 100 puffs. This means, the regular refills are equivalent to 13 to 15 tobacco cigarettes. The mini electronic cigarette refills are equivalent to approximately to 6 to 8 tobacco cigarettes. We have had varying reports and it seems to depend greatly on how often the e-cigarette is used and how deeply the user inhales.

UPDATE: Our manufacturer has moved to a “dunking” process rather than manually filled cartridges, which has increased the lasting power of our Mini Electronic Cigarette cartridge refills to 10 cigarettes.

UPDATE 2: We have switched to ELiquid Smoke Juice that is used to fill empty e-cigarette cartridges. We find this makes for a more satisfying esmoking experience.

Q. How will I know when a nicotine cartridge needs to be replaced?

A. When inhaled, no vapor will be present. This will let you know you need to replace the cartridge.

Q. Do you need to turn on the electronic cigarette?

A. No, when inhaled the electronic cigarette will automatically activate. There is no on/off switch.

Q. How long does a battery last?

A. The battery life will vary greatly with use, but on average about 3 hours under heavy use. For some lighter smokers the battery will last all day. Both the electronic cigarette and mini electronic cigarette come with 2 batteries and a charger so you never need to go without your electronic cigarette.  When the battery needs to be recharged, the led light on the end will begin to blink.

Q. Will the electronic cigarette help me quit smoking?

A. The electronic cigarette has not been proven as a smoking cessation device and should not be considered a viable way to quit smoking.

Q. Is there a warranty?

A. Our components come with a 30 day replacement warranty.  We have found defective parts will generally be noticed within this period. We take care of our customers, so call or email us if you have problems, even after the warranty period and we will do what we can.

Q. Where do I buy and should I get a set?

A. We offer the INSTEAD Electronic Cigarette Set (2 batteries, 2 atomizer, 5 empty cartridges, 1 charger, carrying case and pouch) and we offer sets that comes with a bottle of Eliquid. Buy Electronic Cigarettes Here.

UPDATE: The electronic cigarette forum we started was taking a bunch of time and taking us away from our core business……providing great products and customer service to all of the INSTEAD ESmokers! So, if you are still looking for an electronic cigarette forum….here is our list of e-cigarette forums online:

E-Cigarette-Forum - one of the busiest and oldest e-cigarette forums on the internet
Vapor Talk - a well thought out electronic cigarette forum run by some funny guys
Right To Vape - a consumer based forum where esmokers discuss many of the issues facing the e-cigarette industry
Electronic Cigarette Forum - a general forum about electronic cigarettes
ESmoking.net - a news and forum website
Vape Zone - a newer forum about e-cigs and vaping
ECig Space - a forum site using community software to allow for more interaction between users
Vapers Forum - a new electronic cigarette forum started by a well known vaper…..Spikey

You can now get a regular electronic cigarette or a mini electronic cigarette combo set, which includes additional nicotine cartridges above the 5 refills that come with it, for a reduced price.  This includes flavored nicotine refills as well! This sale is one week only.

Visit Electronic Cigarette Combo Set Sale to save now.

UPDATE: Please visit our Electronic Cigarette Sets page for the latest packages we offer.

For those who have been looking for some flavor in your electronic cigarette, you can now buy your nicotine refills or ELiquid Smoke Juice with a hint of taste. Flavors available include: Regular (tobacco), and Mint (menthol). 

UPDATE: We may carry other flavors of ELiquid Smoke Juice in the future, but right now tobacco and menthol are by far the most popular so we have decided to stick with them.

I’ve had a lot of questions about how the electronic cigarette works, especially lately since the video we had on the first page has since been pushed down. So, I decided to create a new post and embed the video showing how the electronic cigarette works. This video is of a regular sized electronic cigarette (or e-cigarette as it is often referred to) but the mini e-cigarette works the exact same way…it is just smaller. Enjoy!

Update: We have a new mini electronic cigarette video!

An Electronic Cigarette is not a quit smoking product.  It is however, a replacement to smoking tobacco, which of course is known to be very harmful.  If you have tried products to quit smoking and are back to smoking tobacco cigarettes, you may want to try an electronic cigarette or e-cigarette as it is often known, as an alternative to your current habit. It looks and acts like a regular cigarette, but rather than burning tobacco, it vaporizes liquid nicotine. The vapor is similar to smoke, but doesn’t smell and doesn’t contain many of the toxins associated with tobacco smoke. The electronic cigarette may not be for everyone, but if you are looking for an alternative, it may just be for you.

Although the electronic cigarette is not a quit smoking product, it is an alternative to smoking. There is no one best way to stop smoking or to change habits. Some have had success with the cold turkey route, others with natural methods such as CigArrest ( CigArrest Official Site), and still others have quit smoking with medication, nicorette or the nicotine patch. There seems to be a new “best way to stop smoking” every week especially as technology changes. However, many of these methods do not address the physical habit of hand to mouth. The E Cig may not be the answer to stopping smoking, but it does allow the user to continue the smoking motion. The debate continues about if e-smoking is better for you, but we encourage users to compare the ingredients in tobacco smoke with those in eliquid and esmoke.