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After years of waiting, the smokefree electronic cigarette is now a reality. Smokers can now continue their habit without the worry of ingesting 4000 or so chemicals, including the 60 known carcinogens that they have been forced to consume by their addiction.

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The electronic cigarette - it's about time!

Ok, it's 2008 and all the technology we were promised when we were kids is starting to emerge for real - TVs screens as thin as paper, tiny computers we can carry around with us, even consumer products with artificial intelligence, and all are becoming more and more commonplace and affordable.

Now, if you are a smoker and anything like me, at some stage you'll have thought: "one day they'll invent a safer cigarette, and I shall smoke that instead of this crummy thing that's ruining my health and my finances and making me and my clothes stink."

And the tobacco companies have known that this is what you want. Over the years they've come up with many inventions to give you a smoke with fewer of the 4000 or so chemicals that constitute cigarette smoke. Most of these you'll never have heard of: Eclipse, Accord, Premier, anybody? Philip Morris's latest product is called the Heatbar - it's a handheld device that you insert a special cigarette into and puff away. It's probably the most ridiculous invention I've ever seen.

Hardly any of these products have made it to market, mainly due to prohibitive legislation that prevents new forms of tobacco consumption being introduced.

And the one thing that all of those products have in common? Why, tobacco of course! The stuff the cigarette companies make their money on. For one reason or another, none of them has chosen to develop a tobacco-free smoking device. Why? I suspect it's partly because to do so would be an admission of sorts that their main commodity is, uh hum, less than ideal, and also because the pharmaceutical giants have taken hold of the tobacco-free market in the form of Nicotine Replacement Therapy.

Ruyan: "Just Like Smoke"

Skip back a couple of years and a Chinese company releases its novel device, the Ruyan - literally "just like smoke" - and it becomes a massive hit at home. There are millions of Chinese people merrily puffing on their electronic cigarettes as you read this, and across the world more and more people are ditching their tobacco in favor of this smoke-free alternative.

It's been a bit of a slow-burner (pardon the pun), although in parts of Europe the e-cigarette has become big news. In Holland, January 2008, the Dutch ministry of health took note and considered banning it - but thought again and opted for an advertising ban instead.

I suspect they realized that the e-cigarette actually offers a huge potential harm-reduction benefit for the country's millions of smokers, and thought better of depriving them of it.

There is now a company in the U.S. offering the technology. NJOY offer a cigarette style and a cigar style device to their customers, as well as a convenient cartridge replacement service. But more about them later...

Can e-smoking really replace tobacco?

To answer this question, I will tell you a bit about my personal experience.

I bought my first e-cigarette in November last year (I have since bought three more!). It was a cheap Chinese copy, although I didn't realize that at the time, and I was immediately impressed.

I bought a variety of flavors and nicotine strengths and started puffing on the thing straight out of the box.

I have been a smoker for 15 years, and at times have smoked 30+ cigarettes per day. I have tried all the NRT products with varying degrees of success (Not complete success, obviously!), and I was expecting my e-cigarette to be a similar experience.

I couldn't really have been more wrong.

The main thing that I was after was that full-lung sensation that you get when you take a puff of tobacco smoke - the feeling that you are really getting a hit - and I got it!

I was pretty bowled over actually, thinking: "My goodness! This is it! This is the solution!"

Didn't last long though - after a couple of days the density of the vapor lessened and then entirely stopped. Ah well, "you buys it cheap, you buys it twice!"

I did some research and found others had had the same problems with the cheap knock-offs, but that the high quality versions performed excellently and the companies selling them were offering superb customer service, with money-back guarantees and free parts replacement.

So I bought a couple more, just to get a feel for the variety and so I could have a couple of back-ups. Actually, I wasn't too fussed about the expense because I did some number crunching and worked out that by e-smoking I would end up saving myself over $2000 per year!!!

NJOY have a savings calculator on their website so you can work out your savings (in US dollars only - we will have an international currently calculator on this site soon, I promise!).

Since then, I can honestly say I have had zero urge to smoke tobacco. I have felt fitter than I have in years and feel all the health benefits I felt when I was on NRT.

I do still plan to quit, but I am just in the wrong place in life to do so.

Who is it for?

The short answer - existing smokers!

The e-cigarette is not a piece of technology to be viewed lightly. It is not a gimmick and it does contain nicotine - one of the most addictive chemicals know to man.

The point is this: each year, millions of smokers try to quit. And each time they quit most of them fail and start smoking tobacco again. This goes for all methods; NRT, cold-turkey, Varenicline (Chantix, Champix) - all of them have an astonishing rate of failure one year after the initial quit-date.

Smokers are not weak people. They are normal, functioning humans like everybody else - the problem lies with nicotine and its extraordinary power. Almost everyone has a friend or relation who has been killed by tobacco, and despite knowing the awful consequences of tobacco use, many smokers still can't quit.

I believe the e-cigarette offers people a third way. At any given stage in life a smoker is either unconcerned about their habit, thinking about quitting or in the process of packing in the evil weed.

I would like to see those who want to carry on smoking to change to e-cigarettes, and those who have failed in their attempt to quit to change to e-cigarettes until they are next in the right stage of life to try again.

In other words, e-cigarette smoking is harm-reduction. You would be far better off without any nicotine in your life, but until you are in the right place to give it up, e-smoking offers you huge benefits to your health and wealth.

So is it for quitting?

Clearly, if you're using an e-smoking product and not smoking any tobacco at all, that is a form of quitting, but you'd still be consuming nicotine.

So far no data from clinical trials exists to examine the efficacy of e-cigarettes as a nicotine cessation method, although there is one underway in Auckland, New Zealand, with the results expected in late March 2008

There are many unscrupulous sellers offering e-cigarettes on the internet under the guise of smoking cessation products. I would avoid these like the plague since those kind of claims seem borderline scams to me.

However, there are reports that people have used the electronic cigarette to gradually cut down their nicotine consumption by stepping down through the various strengths of nicotine cartridges, but I suspect they are few and far between.

The problem is that using an e-cigarette is so similar to smoking tobacco in sensation and in the way the nicotine gets into your body, that you aren't actually breaking the habit.

With NRT, the nicotine is introduced very slowly into the body so there is not sensation of getting a "fix". This is true even of the inhalator style device; you may feel like you are inhaling the nicotine into your lungs, but actually you just absorb it through the mucous membranes in your mouth, nose and throat.

E-cigarettes atomize the nicotine into particles small enough to be absorbed in the lungs' air-pockets (alveoli), exactly mimicking the way nicotine is delivered by tobacco smoke.

What about safety?

The main ingredients of an e-cigarette are nicotine, propylene glycol and flavorings. They are all certified as safe by the U.S. Federal Drug Agency and have been used for years in food products. The liquid base that creates the vapor is mostly propylene glycol which is also responsible for the fake smoke produced by smoke machines at theme parks and concerts.

Propylene glycol is used in food as a moisture controller since it absorbs water, and some users report a slight feeling of dryness in the nose and throat when using the e-cigarette, but this soon passes. Clearly anyone who suffers any further irritation or side effects must stop using it and consult their doctor.

The main safety concern, therefore, is nicotine.

It may seem strange, but in all the research into the effects of tobacco smoke on health over the past several decades, the action of nicotine has been largely ignored. Most researchers considered nicotine to be a benign substance compared to the other ingredients of tobacco smoke, despite its obvious addictive properties.

It is only recently that nicotine has been studied in any great detail, and it is now becoming clear that it has very strong effects on the nervous system. I won't go any further right now, but here is an interesting article on the effect of nicotine on teenage brains.

However, if you use an e-cigarette as a harm-reduction strategy in replacement of tobacco, you remove almost 4000 chemicals, including 60 known carcinogens, from your system. This article sums up nicely the benefits of a harm-reduction strategy.

Comparatively, e-smoking versus tobacco-smoking is an absolute no-brainer.

Where do I start?

Well, as you can probably tell by now, my recommendation is NJOY. This is for three reasons.

1. First and foremost the product is excellent. They offer a cigarette or cigar style, both of the highest quality of manufacture and performance. Their products equal or outperform all other brands, and the price is seriously competitive.

2. They offer a 30 day money-back guarantee, and if any parts do fail they are more than happy to replace them.

3. NJOY offer an excellent cartridge replacement service - you select your requirements and they will ship to you once a month. It's a superb convenience that ensures you are never stuck without your e-cigarette and in danger of needing to buy tobacco.

Oh, four reasons, actually!...

4. I have managed to get you a discount coupon which saves you 10% on your first purchase. Just sign up to my newsletter at the top of this page, and I'll email it to you.

The future of electronic cigarettes

Unfortunately e-cigarette sellers (and users) are in an unenviable position. Since electronic cigarettes have the potential to take huge chunks of profit away from the tobacco companies and the pharmaceutical giants, the manufacturers are going to face massive opposition from both.

E-cigarettes are in a bit of a legal gray area. Since they contain nicotine, they will be designated either under tobacco legislation or medicines legislation in most countries around the world.

This uncertainty gives the executives at the tobacco and pharma multinationals great power to do some arm-twisting on governments to stop e-smoking products reaching the market.

As I have said, I believe electronic cigarettes offer amazing harm-reduction benefits to those smokers who haven't or can't quit, and it would be a massive shame if they were prevented from getting them.

Please sign up to my newsletter so I can keep you informed of developments in the law, and let's get ready to fight for the right to be e-smokers! I reckon it'll be an interesting ride!

Take care, and happy e-smoking!

Oliver Kershaw