As you browse the internet you will find many electronic cigarette supplier websites and blogs stating how much electronic cigarettes are like smoking tobacco cigarettes. While it is true that the act of vaping is very similar to smoking an “analogue” cigarette, there are some differences.

1) Electronic cigarettes require more prep than just grabbing a lighter. When contemplating changing your smoking habit, remember, electronic cigarette batteries need to be charged and cartridges need to be filled and/or changed. There are not huge time requirements to start vaping, but it is more intensive then using a lighter.

2) Using an electronic cigarette requires a little more planning than smoking tobacco cigarettes. When you run out of cigarettes you simply go down to the local gas station or convenience store and buy another pack. When you run out of e-liquid or cartridges or your battery/charger/atomizer go bad, it can take time to ship the product to you. It is a good idea to keep extra batteries, atomizers, cartridges, and e-liquid on hand. It also doesn’t hurt to have a back up e-cigarette charger, even if it is just a USB charger.

3) The action of smoking continues, but the inhaling is likely to be different from your tobacco cigarette. Often with e-cigarettes you need to inhale harder or more deeply to get the full sensation of smoking. This will depend on how you smoked originally and your brand of e-cigarette. Most smokers who use an electronic cigarette get used to this difference after a week or two.

4) The taste will be different. Although our e-liquid comes in tobacco or menthol flavor, it will taste different than your tobacco cigarettes. There is no way to fully reproduce the taste of actual smoke produced from combustion. However it is much like switching brands of cigarettes. Smokers become accustomed to it and many eventually prefer the taste of electronic cigarettes over their old “analogues”.

Deciding to change a habit from tobacco cigarettes to electronic cigarettes does take some adjustments. However, if you are like so many others who have tried the INSTEAD Electronic Cigarette, you will find it is a great alternative to your tobacco and become a true e-smoker….or even an advocate for the technology.

Many companies who sell electronic cigarettes claim that using an e-cigarette allows you to smoke everywhere and anywhere, specifically where smoking is banned. So is this true?

In principle this is true as electronic cigarettes don’t produce smoke….they produce vapor. So unless your state or local government has created a law specifically banning the use of an electronic cigarette in non smoking areas, then legally you should be able to use it. However in practice this may not be the case.

Bar and restaurant owners have the right to ask it’s patrons to not use their electronic cigarette within their building. And the vast majority of these business owners don’t have any idea what an electronic cigarette is or what it is that you are blowing out. The knee jerk reaction is that it is smoking and thus must create the same issues that tobacco smoke creates such as the smell, the haze, and the negative health effects on those in the building.

To avoid conflict with the establishment owner, management and others within the non smoking area, I recommend being open with those in charge. This means before attempting to use your electronic cigarette in a no smoking bar or restaurant, talk to the owner or manager. Explain to them what an electronic cigarette is, how it works, and specifically what is in the vapor (propylene glycol, glycerin, water and trace amounts of nicotine….if you use the e-liquid with nicotine). Compare it to a fog machine, which also uses propylene glycol or glycerin to create visible vapor. Let them know how it is not combustion and doesn’t produce the same toxins found in tobacco smoke. Let them know how it is your preferred alternative over tobacco cigarettes.

This may or may not appease management and they may or may not allow you to e-smoke in their bar or restaurant. No matter the outcome, at least you have educated one more person about the technology.

The other option over blatantly using your e-cigarette in a no smoking area is to use it without others viewing you doing so. Hide your electronic cigarette in your hand. Blow the vapor down your shirt. Use it sparingly when you can do so without an audience. E-Smoking in this manner does run risk of someone seeing you, thinking it’s smoking, and getting kicked out of the establishment, but it is still less risky than blowing a plume of vapor into the air of a non smoking room.

If you have been in a bar or restaurant that openly allows the use of an electronic cigarette, we recommend you visit the Electronic Cigarette Directory and add their business listing. Doing so helps support businesses who embrace the e-cigarette and allows fellow e-smokers to find electronic cigarette friendly bars and restaurants!

Today’s post is regarding the Life Span of an Electronic Cigarette. How long should a battery last? How long should an atomizer last? How long should a 15ml bottle of E-Liquid last? How long should the cartridge last? What should one expect and how much should one plan on spending over the course of a year for an electronic cigarette?

First, we would like to note that all things must be taken into consideration and the most important factor, is the type of smoker and the style of smoking. Just as there are different types of tobacco smokers, there are different types of eSmokers, and just because you are a certain type of tobacco smoker, does not mean that your eSmoking style will be the same.

That said… Here we go!

How long should a battery last?

The INSTEAD Electronic Cigarette battery is a lithium ion battery. The barrel is white and has the INSTEAD logo printed in black, just below the gold threads where the atomizer connects. This battery, based on usage can last anywhere from 6 months to 18 months. Again, the more you use it and recharge it, the shorter the life will be.

If you smoke your e-cig consistently, also known to tobacco smokers as being a “chain smoker”, one should expect to receive approximately 2 hours out of every battery, per charge. For those who use the electronic cigarette like a tobacco cigarette, sitting down for a “smoke break”, i.e. the average user, you should be getting anywhere from 4-8 hours, depending on how many “smoke breaks” taken. Basically the two batteries that come with the Instead Electronic Cigarette Set will last almost every eSmoker for an entire day.

How long should an atomizer last?

Atomizers are the small metal piece that screws into the battery. Once you have the atomizer screwed into the battery and remove the mouthpiece, you will find a small metal coil. This coil is what heats up the eLiquid and this “event” is caused by the user taking a drag. Atomizers, based on usage and smoking style, can last anywhere from a couple months to a year. Either way, this is one of those costs with eSmoking and it is ALWAYS suggested that you have at least one extra on hand.

The INSTEAD kit comes with two so not only do you have a spare atomizer, but by switching them back and forth between uses, for example using a different atomizer every day, you can see if the vapor production is still up to par. By being ahead of the game and knowing when the life span is starting to come to an end, you can plan ahead.

How long should a 15ml bottle of eLiquid last? How long should the cartridge last?

These two questions really go hand in hand. A 15ml bottle, using 2-3 drops of eLiquid to yield 7-14 puffs, will last you the equivalent of 300 cigarettes. With every bottle of eLiquid purchased from INSTEAD, you are provided 5 empty cartridges (mouthpieces with the cartridge inside of them).

It is strongly suggested for sanitation purposes, that you go no longer than a week with a mouthpiece. The mouthpieces can last much longer, however after extended usage, the wick (poly-batting inside of the small cartridge in the mouthpiece where the liquid goes), will become compacted and doesn’t seem to hold the liquid as well as it should.

If a bottle of e-Liquid lasts you a week, and remember, a bottle of e-Liquid is approximately 300 cigarettes, then it is suggested that you change out your mouthpiece every other day. If you find yourself with a seasonal ailment like the flu, or you have shared a mouthpiece, again, you might want to consider changing out the mouthpiece. And remember, the mouthpiece can go into the recycling bin!

What should you expect and how much should one plan on spending over the course of a year for an electronic cigarette?

You should expect to enjoy the eSmoking experience. At first, it will be different. There is no doubt that off the start an electronic cigarette is not as easy as lighting a tobacco cigarette. However, once you become comfortable with the process, it becomes easy, if not easier, than smoking a tobacco cigarette. And remember, instead of emptying ashtrays and searching for a lighter or masking the smoke smell from your clothing, you simply pull it out of your pocket, maybe add a little e-liquid, puff away, and then put it away when finished.

Over the course of a year, based on smoking style, most users should expect to be spending on average 45% to 65% less for their nicotine habit. Of course some eSmokers are harder on their hardware and some eSmokers use more e-Liquid than others.

As an example of how much cheaper using an electronic cigarette can be vs smoking cigarettes and using conservative figures, a pack a day smoker at $5 per pack spends $1,825 per year. This same eSmoker would need 24.33 bottles of e-liquid for the year, so:
1 x Instead Electronic Cigarette Set w/ 1 bottle of eliquid = $110
24 x Bottle of E-Liquid at $25 = $600
2 x Replacement Battery at $30 = $60
6 x Replacement Atomizer at $20 = $120
Total: $890 (about a 50% savings over smoking tobacco cigarettes)

This is a “worst case scenario” and would be very unlikely. We also used our more expensive American made E-liquid in this example. You may need to buy a couple atomizers and maybe a battery within that year, but it does show what the minimal savings can be like. Also, we do offer a warranty for the first 30 days and we have found that within this time period, if nothing goes bad, the parts will generally last for months afterward. If you do have bad components after the warranty, contact us and we will work something out with discounts and freebies to keep our customers happy.

We’ve been getting some questions about how one should go about cleaning their atomizer or even if they should.  The first thing to note is that you should not use any kind of liquid or solvent to clean an atomizer.  They are not meant to be submered in any kind of liquid.  This includes e-liquid.  The e-liquid is suppose to be contained within the cartridge a few millimeters from the atomizer.  When the atomizer element heats up, the heat vaporizes the e-liquid.  Although you may read about some users dripping the e-liquid directly onto the atomizer, this is not recommended.  It may work for a time, but inevitably it will cause the element to burn out.

Over time some eliquid may get onto the atomizer and build up.  The best way to clean it is simply to take the mouthpiece/cartridge off of the atomizer, leaving the atomizer screwed into the e-cigarette battery.  Then gently blow into the LED end of the battery.  This will activate the battery, which in turn will heat up the atomizer and any residual e-liquid will be vaporized.

Cleaning your atomizer in this fashion is not generally necessary.  Making sure your cartridge is full, but not “pooling” with e-liquid is the best way to ensure a long atomizer life on your electronic cigarette.

This is going to be lengthy, but well worth it if you read it all!  Whether you are a current customer or a new customer, you will notice us slowly moving away from pre-filled cartridges on our website to empty cartridges and eLiquid and here is why:

Across the electronic cigarette industry, there are discrepancies as to how many cigarettes a cartridge is worth.  Some retailers suggest there are 20 cigarettes in one cartridge.  Off of the assembly line in the manufacturing plant, this may be true.  However, once they are shipped, some of the eliquid can be lost by leaking out of the nicotine cartridge and onto the sealed packaging.  There is nothing that can be done about this as gravity is the responsible factor.

By the time you receive your pre-filled cartridge, you will find that your cartridge will produce the equivalent of between 4-10 cigarettes.  Now, this number varies because each smoker is different.  It also varies based on if you have chosen the proper nicotine strength or not.  If you are on less of a nicotine strength than you should be, then you will find you are pulling harder and more frequently, thus reducing the amount of cigarettes produced by your ecig.

Another factor with pre-filled cartridges is that if you think about your cartridge in thirds, only the top two thirds of the cartridge are actually accessible to the atomizer.  Therefore, anything in the 1/3 of the cartridge that is furthest from the atomizer will never be used.

The final factor with pre-filled cartridges is that they do dry out.  The time varies on this, however, as with any liquid exposed to air, it will eventually evaporate.  Now, with all of these factors, it doesn’t mean that pre-filled cartridges aren’t good.  They are very convenient.  However, you will get the best smoking experience and the most bang for your buck if you go with eLiquid.  Using eLiquid is also known as “dripping”.  It is for all of these reasons that we have decided to move to eLiquid and empty cartridges.

So!  How do you use the eLiquid to “drip”?

You have just received your electronic cigarette.  You’ve charged your battery and you are ready to smoke.  Take your atomizer, which comes with a protective plastic guard that looks like your cartridges/mouthpiece, and screw the atomizer into the battery. Now pull the protective guard off.  Take one of your empty cartridges/mouthpiece that have been provided with your kit and remove it from the sealed packaging.  Remove the clear rubber stopper from the end.  If you received pre-filled cartridges, just unwrap one, start e-smoking, and when it is done (i.e. not more vapor is being produced), just refill it as an empty cartridge.

For your reference, pick up the protective plastic guard and the empty cartridge/mouthpiece and look down into both of them.  You will see inside the empty cartridge/mouthpiece a small fluffy pad.  That small fluffy pad is your nicotine cartridge or the wick.  It is this wick where you will drip 2-3 drops of eLiquid each time you want a cigarette!  You will notice the absence of this in your protective plastic guard.  To keep from getting confused, throw out your protective plastic guard.

To fill your wick, simply take your eLiquid dropper and drip 2-3 drops onto the wick.  Depending on the type of ELiquid bottle, you may need to puncture the tip of the bottle dropper with a pin or cut the very tip off with scissors.  Allow the ELiquid to settle for a few seconds, then place the cartridge/mouthpiece onto your atomizer.  Give it a few starter puffs by taking quick drags.  Once you develop vapor, you are ready to smoke.  When your wick is dry, you will know because your unit will no longer create vapor.

So what if you are going out and wish to take pre-filled cartridges with you so you don’t have to take your bottle of eLiquid?  Easy as pie.  Take the rubber stoppers you have removed from your cartridges/mouthpieces and set them to the side.  Take the small plastic ziplock your batteries and atomizers came in and set it to the side.  Take your cartridges/mouthpieces and set them so the small hole in the mouthpiece is facing down.  Fill your cartridge as you would for one smoke and let it settle.  Move on to the next cartridge.

You can fit up to 5 cartridges in your small ziplock.  Once you have filled all 5 with liquid go back and drip 2-3 more drops into each cartridge again.  The most drips you should put into a cartridge ever is 7-8 drops.  You will know when they are overfull because they will start to “pool” with eLiquid.  Try to avoid pooling.  Pooling can cause damage to your atomizer.

Once your cartridges are full, place the rubber stopper back into the bottom of the cartridge and place them, rubber stopper up, into your ziplock back.  Seal the ziplock and place into your velvet carrying pouch with your extra batteries and maybe an extra atomizer.  Then, you are ready to go out for the day or the night.  By filling 5 cartridges you are taking with you approximately 1 1/2 pack of cigarettes.

So how long should your empty cartridges and eLiquid last?  Each 15ml eLiquid bottle is equivalent to 300 cigarettes and this varying number is based solely on using the electronic cigarette like a tobacco cigarette.   The cartridges/mouthpieces can last until they fall apart.  What do we mean by fall apart?  They will losen and not fit as tightly on the atomizer.  The wick will become compacted and no longer hold liquid.  The wick will become loose and fall out of the cartridge compartment.  Any one or all of these things can happen.  HOWEVER… using your cartridge until they fall apart is unsanitary.  You wouldn’t smoke the same cigarette butt for weeks, even if you could.  That is why we provide you with 5 free empty cartridges with every bottle of eLiquid and with every kit and we also provide extra empty cartridges for a nominal fee.  Each cartridge should be used for no longer than one week.

If you follow the above directions, your eSmoking experience will go smoothly.  Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to “drip” just as easily as you lit a tobacco cigarette.  Happy eSmoking!

Reference Pictures:

An Instead Electronic Cigarette Mouthpiece w/ cartridge inside:

An unwrapped mouthpiece with plug pulled out (keep clear rubber plug to use later when refilling cartridges):

Here is the mouthpiece with the cartridge and plug all separated.  Please note: You can refill a cartridge with ELiquid while it is still in the mouthpiece.  You really don’t ever need to take the cartridge out of the mouthpiece.  Inside the cartridge is white fiber that acts as a wick to hold the ELiquid:

For those who are curious, you can take the cartridge out of the mouthpiece by sticking a toothpick through the small hole in the end of the mouthpiece.  Again, you can refill the cartridge while it is still in the mouthpiece:

If you have additional questions, please feel free to leave comments on this post.

It’s time for a tip!

Have you switched from tobacco to electronic and find that you are missing something?  Not quite sure what it is?

There has been some talk floating around the forums that once you leave tobacco cigarettes, it isn’t only the nicotine that smokers miss, but the action, the weight of smoke in the lungs, and some of the other additives found in cigarettes.  Today, we are going to give you a tip on how to use your electronic cigarette like a tobacco cigarette.

One of the issues with vapor is that it does not carry the same weight as smoke from tobacco.  As there is no tar, when it is inhaled, the lungs almost feel as if they are begging to work harder, leaving for some, an unsatisfied feeling.

INSTEAD of using your electronic cigarette as a puffer, use it as a cigarette.  Each time you have the desire for a tobacco cigarette, go to your favorite smoking spot.  Take three drops of e-liquid and add it to your cartridge.  Then, get your e-cig going by taking 3-4 quick hard puffs.  You should be able to get 7-10 hard core drags off of your electronic ciggy after that.  They will be heavy in vapor.  You will find that after a few days of doing this, your electronic cigarette becomes more like what your cigarettes were to you and less of a “puffer crutch” because lets face it, you didn’t puff on your cigs all day, you smoked them.  And for some of us, we smoked them hard.

Other things to remember:  Always make sure your battery is charged and that your atomizer is working.  If you notice that you are puffing and you are not getting any vapor, check your battery.  If it isn’t the battery and your cartridge is full, it is probably your atomizer. Happy esmoking!

Unlike nicotine gum or the nicotine patch, the e-cigarette actually functions much like a regular cigarette. However rather than burning and smoking, it vaporizes. Instead of smoking it is e-smoking. The nicotine is still delivered to the lungs, but in vapor form, rather than smoke which contains carcinogens and tar. E-Smoke is actually not smoking at all, but rather vaping. Below is a diagram showing the various parts of the e-cigarette.