With so many electric cigarette brands and models on the market, finding the best e-cigarette for your needs can be overwhelming. Focus on what you want to accomplish;
- What is your goal? Are you trying to quit smoking tobacco, seriously cut back or find an alternative for non smoking areas?
- Where do you want to use your new electric cigarette? Home, work, travel?
- What accessories will you need?
- How much money do you want to spend to get started?
- How much money do you want to save by quitting or cutting back on tobacco?
First Consideration – Look and Feel
Electric cigarettes come in many different sizes and colors. If you want to blend in, buy an e-cigarette with a white automatic battery and brown cartomizer/cartridge so it looks and acts like a regular cigarette. On the other hand, if you want to spice it up, you can buy an e-cigarette with a red metallic battery and cartridge, a Titan PV (personal vaporizer) or an e-cigar.
Regardless of which you choose, you’ll immediately notice that electric cigarettes are heavier than traditional tobacco cigarettes; a little too heavy to let hang from your lips like a regular cigarette, unless you’re looking to build facial muscle. At first it may be hard to get used to but don’t worry, you will.
Second Consideration – “Throat hit” or harshness
When you inhale tobacco you feel it; aka, a throat hit. If you intend on replacing tobacco, you’ll want a throat hit comparable to the tobacco you’re accustom to. Throat hit is more a function of the eLiquid rather than the e-cigarette. When you buy a 2-piece e-cigarette, the cartomizer provided by the supplier will determine your experience. If you buy a 3-piece you can tweak the eLiquid to your taste when you refill the cartridges. See my post on the Buying eLiquid for more details.
Third Consideration – Nicotine Level
Most e-cigarette and eLiquid manufacturers offer none, extra low, low, medium, high or extra high in strengths of 4mg, 8mg, 11mg, 18mg, 24mg and 36mg.
Keep in mind, when you get your first electric cigarette it will be a new “toy”. You’ll find yourself vaping more than you smoked. Don’t worry, you’ll settle into a routine, just like tobacco cigarettes. But at first you may have a tendency to overdo it like I did. I was a 1.5 pack a day, generic lights smoker. I started with a 3-piece starter kit and 10 11mg cartridges. I also bought bulk 24mg. to top off and refill. When I refilled, I started to experience symptoms of nicotine overdose. It took me a while to figure it out but I did and now I won’t use 24mg unless I dilute it with 0mg.
