Green Smoke 1 Week Review

I am posting this on my normal blog because it gets the most search engine hits, but you can find all my Green Smoke posts here.

I have now been using my Green Smoke electronic cigarette for a full 8 days. Last week I received my Green Smoke starter kit in the mail and posted my first impressions of it. There are many separate parts I'd like to review, so I'm going to break it up into sections to make it a bit easier to follow.

(1) Can Green Smoke Help Me Quit Smoking?
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When I ordered the kit and cartridges from Green Smoke, my ultimate motivating factor was the desire to quit smoking (please note that e-cig companies are not yet FDA approved for quitting smoking). I reported last week that I only had 7 or 8 cigarettes remaining. That's what I thought until my husband found a pack with about 12 more in it. So that left my total real cigarette count at close to a full pack. Two hours ago I finished my last real cigarette that I had remaining. Let me say this louder: I ONLY SMOKED ONE PACK OF CIGARETTES IN 8 DAYS!

That statement is thrilling to me. I had no clue how well I would endure using Green Smoke as my main way of getting my nicotine fix. Also, I was determined that the shift over not be painful, so I refused to withhold real cigarettes from myself if I really desired one. The fact that I went from 1/2 a pack a day to one pack for the entire week speaks volumes for how well Green Cig replicates the nicotine delivery of a real cigarette.

(2) Does Green Smoke Feel Like a Real Cigarette?
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Yes and No. The first thing I noticed about my Green Smoke was that it was heavier than a cigarette. It was too heavy to be supported by my first two fingers, where I always hold my real cigarettes. I do miss holding a cigarette in the "right" spot. With Green Smoke, I take a drag like one would to hit a joint -- between the first finger and the thumb. That always feels a bit awkward to me.  I also haven't found the perfect spot for my e-cig in between drags. Do I continue to hold it like a joint? Tap it up and down on my leg? Roll it between my fingers? Set it on my lap? Hold it in my closed palm? I suppose I will find a comfortable position soon enough, but until then, it's not quite the same when you can't hold it like a cigarette should be held.

Does it hit like a real cigarette? It's lacking a tad bit in the throat hit, but the throat hit is still there, and very noticeable. The main thing that is missing is the nasty taste of smoke. It's like getting a refreshing hit of nicotine without all the nasty taste. Remember when you first started smoking, and cigarettes tasted so nasty? I always wonder how I even managed to smoke enough to get addicted in the first place. But after you're addicted, you don't notice how nasty they taste anymore (or smell!). Smoking this e-cig is like taking all those elements out of it, and giving me back just the good parts.

(3) Do Green Smoke Cartridges Taste Like a Real Cigarette?
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My Green Smoke order arrived with 3 types of cartridges of my choosing:

(1) Red Label Full (18 mg) Strength
(2) Red Label Light (12 mg) Strength
(3) Menthol Ice Full (18 mg) Strength

My preferred cigarette strength is a light. Green Smoke recommends that you start one level above what you usually smoke, so you feel less like something is missing. That is why I chose both full and light cartridges. Red Label is the label that is closest to a cigarette. They have a label called Absolute Tobacco that is supposed to be closer to pipe tobacco. I never was a menthol smoker, but I never minded smoking one now and then, so I ordered a set of those cartridges just to see what it was like.

I have not yet tried the Red Label Light, so I can't review that yet. The Red Label Full Strength cartridges are what I've mainly been smoking. The flavor isn't bad, it sort of tastes like a cigarette. It certainly has some harshness that you wouldn't expect since it isn't real smoke. I don't mind smoking it at all, but I don't think I'm in love with it. It gets the job done and tastes like a fresher version of a real cigarette.

I really love the menthol. It tastes like menthol without the smoke -- all the wintery goodness without the nasty taste mixed in. I have now realized that I think I will prefer to smoke flavored cartridges. That's funny because when I searched for an e-cig, I wanted the one that tasted most like a real cigarette.  I honestly never thought that I would prefer a flavored cigarette. Flavors always sounded nice in theory, but who wants to smoke a chocolate or vanilla cigarette? But the thing is, it's not a flavored cigarette -- it's flavored nicotine. There's no smoke in there to change or mingle into the taste. This is just pure flavor laced with nicotine. E-cigs are already changing how I smoke, the affect of my habit on my body, other people's perceptions of me, where I smoke, and many more things.  In addition to that, I believe it's going to change my smoking experience from one of a nasty habit, to an enjoyable pursuit of flavors.  Like a nicotine vapor connoisseur! Today I placed an order to try all the other flavors Green Smoke offers. I can't wait for them to arrive. 

(4) How Long Do Green Smoke Cartridges Last?
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I am used to smoking a half pack per day. My first cartridge lasted about a day and a half, which equates to about 3/4 a pack. I was not happy when I had to change the cartridge before the two day mark. The next cartridge, however, was a completely different story. I threw that one out after 3 days (1 1/2 packs). I am now on my third cartridge, this one has lasted 2 full days and is still going. I have also been smoking on a menthol cartridge this entire week, and I have smoked a pack of cigarettes. So this is all a bit complicated, let's see if we can straighten it out a bit:

8 -- Number of full days using Green Smoke
4 -- Number of packs I normally smoke in 8 days
1 -- Number of packs of real cigarettes I smoked

2 -- Number of spent cartridges
2 -- Number of cartridges in progress

I have no clue when the 2 cartridges in progress will sputter out, but I assume I have at least another day and a half use out of them. If that's the case, then it will be pretty spot on for a cartridge equaling a pack. I won't be surprised if I find that a cartridge lasts even more than a pack. I can't really analyze average cartridge length from only using this for 8 days. I am keeping my cartridges for recycling later, so when more time has passed I will count out my spent cartridges and get a better average to share.

(5) How Long Do Green Smoke Batteries Last?
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The Green Smoke website suggests a few things when it comes to battery life:

(1) Fully charge new battery before using it
(2) Do not wait until battery is low to charge it
(3) Remove the e-cig from the charger as soon as possible after it is charged

Since the batteries are the most expensive component of the Green Smoke, I am taking care of them in hopes that I won't have problems with them like many people have reported.

The only problem with this is I have yet to discover just how long either of the batteries will last me because I am charging them before they are even low.  What I can say is that I can use them for 2 full days without the battery light blinking.  Keep in mind that is me using them both, as opposed to me just using the short or the long battery for two days, I alternate which one I use each time I Green Smoke.  Still, being able to go two full days and still have time left is pretty good to me.  I hope the batteries continue to work so well.  The batteries haven't taken long to charge; a maximum of two and a half hours for each one.

(6) What Do I Like Most About Green Smoke Right Now?
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The thing I love the most about Green Smoke so far is being able to smoke in my house and in my car.  It has been a decade since I've lit up a cigarette in the house I live in or the car I drive.  No longer am I trying to smoke a cigarette on the way into work, as I worry about my second hand smoke making its way to innocent business working bystanders.  I can take a few puffs as I pull into the parking garage!  Is it raining outside?  I can sneak off into my bedroom for a little nicotine fix.  The most fun of all, I think, is sitting in my cubicle at work and having my smoke right there.  I work on the 39th floor, and by the time the elevators arrive to take me down and back, it can take me 20-25 minutes to get a cigarette in.  Not anymore, though.  I can do my work while getting my nicotine fix, which is perfect (and helps me to think more clearly)!

Overall, I'm pretty happy with Green Smoke. I certainly need much longer than 8 days to see just how well this works for me. I mentioned earlier that I am out of cigarettes. I haven't decided whether or not to buy another pack. I will have to see how I feel tomorrow.  I refuse to be disappointed with myself if I do decide to buy another pack.  After all, I'm making such lovely progress this far.

I'll check back into this topic in another week or two to let everyone know how Green Smoke is doing for me.

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Here are some links for you if you're interested in Green Smoke:

Green Smoke Website
Green Smoke Website w/10% Off Orders of 10% or More Plus Free Shipping
Green Smoke Website w/5% Off Orders of Less Than $100

UK has seperate links for the coupon codes:

Green Smoke UK Website w/10% Off Orders of 10% or More Plus Free Shipping
Green Smoke UK Website w/5% Off Orders of Less Than $100
And here are the promo codes, if you just want to use them instead (just enter them into your shopping cart).  I think they work for both US and UK:

10% Off Orders of $100 or More, Plus Free Shipping: disc10-24656
5% Off Orders of Less Than $100: disc5-24656
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My First Impressions of Green Smoke

I am posting this on my normal blog because it gets the most search engine hits, but you can find all my Green Smoke posts here.

My highly anticipated Green Smoke package arrived today, exactly one week after ordering it.  That is better than the 10-12 day complaints I keep seeing on reviews (perhaps they're old reviews?) but for me the delivery was still a little slower than I'd prefer. Perhaps I'm a bit spoiled and expect too much out of free shipping.  I think it's Amazon and Apple's fault, for their commendable very quick free shipping.  Recently, a package of mine from Apple went from China, to Hong Kong, to Alaska, to my house -- in only 48 hours, and for free.  So yeah, a week felt like a really long time, especially as I watched my remaining cigarette stash dwindle.  I was hoping to have at least 2 packs left by the time Green Smoke got here, so that I could ideally wean myself off the real cigarettes completely.  Instead, I now have 7 cigarettes remaining.  I am not going to jump off too quickly and limit myself to only have those 7, it's too soon for me to tell how well this is going to work.  The point of this, after all, is to painlessly wean myself off cigarettes.  I think that up to 3 more packs of real cigarettes is a good number for me, but we'll see how it goes after I use my Green Smoke more and more. 

 Here are pictures of what I ordered.  This first pic shows everything that came from my order.  I have here one starter kit, one case to hold my Green Smoke cigarettes and cartridges, a bag of rubber tips to protect my cartridge when someone wants to try it, and 4 - 5 packs of cartridges.  Each cartridge is equivalent to a pack of smokes, so that means there are 20 packs of smokes in those four little boxes.  I am not very impressed with the carrying case.  It will perform its function perfectly, I'm sure, but it cost $10, and it feels very cheap.  I would have been comfortable paying about $4 for it.  It was the cheapest case they had though, and I wanted to have a customized solution for carrying this item, since the item itself is fairly unique and I didn't want it getting lost in my purse.

This next picture shows what comes inside the starter kit.  We have two batteries (the white part of the cig) -- long and short.  The long battery gives you more battery life and you shouldn't have a problem going all day and all night without a recharge.  That, of course, is simply a claim right now that I have yet to test.  You also see 5 cartridges (5 "packs" of cigs) which brings my total starting count to 25 packs of cigs.  There is a wall charger and a usb charger.  In this case, the battery only charges off the usb charger.  If you want to use the wall charger you hook your cig into the usb charger, and the usb charger into the wall adapter.  So if you lose your usb charger, you're screwed!  There is also a user manual, which I did not find that useful.  It did not give any tips on how to ensure the best battery life, how to get the most out of your cartridges, how to store your cartridges in depth, or much of anything else that I already knew from reading their website. The manual basically tells you what the Green Smoke cig is, and nothing else.  Good thing I read all the information available on their website before the package came.  Finally, there is a Green Smoke membership card.  This card states that the Green Cig probably does not apply to the non-smoking laws, please allow this patron to continue smoking in your establishment and call us if you have any questions.  Well, that seems about useless too.  I think it should state clearly that there's no tobacco in these, because it's tobacco that is most often banned.  So those were my initial observations of the Green Smoke system.

The Green Smoke cigarettes come partially charged, but you shouldn't use them straight out of the box.  They need to be fully charged before you start using them to help ensure good battery life (something that should have been noted in the manual).  I was very anxious to try my cigarette, but instead I plugged the shorter one into the charger like a good little girl who wants her investment to last.  That was approximately 6:30 pm.  The cigarette was fully charged at 7:50 pm.  Not bad at all, but it was partially charged in the first place, so we'll see how long it really takes.  Another important thing to note that is not listed in the manual is that you should not overcharge your battery.  Remove it as soon as you notice that it is fully charged.  This will also help increase battery life.  Okay, so this next pic shows my fully charged Green Smoke ready to go.  In the background you'll notice the long battery charging.  It is interesting looking for sure!

My next stop was to head outside to try it out!  I feel funny that I still went outside to smoke on it, but I wasn't sure how I felt about smoking it inside the house until I tried it out.  So I went outside and took that all important first hit.  It was potent!  I felt it in my throat, felt it in my lungs, felt the nicotine.  It really felt just like a cigarette, except it did not taste like nasty smoke.  My subsequent puffs weren't as potent as that first, but they weren't that lacking either.  I knew right then that I would love this device, and would be able to quit smoking real cigarettes.  That quickly I knew.  That was approximately three hours ago.  An hour and a half ago, I smoked on it more, and it was an exact repeat of the first time around.  I could really learn to love this.

You now have my initial review, but take it for what it is.  I have hardly used this product, I'm just giving you my first impressions.  I might find out, three days from now, that the device is buggy or that something in it irritates me, or that I find myself feigning more for a cigarette.  I sure hope that isn't the case, but you never know.  What you do know is that I promise to be back in a week or less to keep you updated about how the process is going.  One thing is for sure -- after finally getting to try Green Smoke, I am psyched!

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Here are some links for you if you're interested in Green Smoke:

Green Smoke Website
Green Smoke Website w/10% Off Orders of 10% or More Plus Free Shipping
Green Smoke Website w/5% Off Orders of Less Than $100

UK has seperate links for the coupon codes:

Green Smoke UK Website w/10% Off Orders of 10% or More Plus Free Shipping
Green Smoke UK Website w/5% Off Orders of Less Than $100
And here are the promo codes, if you just want to use them instead (just enter them into your shopping cart).  I think they work for both US and UK:

10% Off Orders of $100 or More, Plus Free Shipping: disc10-24656
5% Off Orders of Less Than $100: disc5-24656
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I Have a Confession

I am ready to go public and admit to the world what only a choice few now know.  About a year and a half ago, which is roughly a year and a half after kicking the smoking habit with Chantix, I started smoking again.  Does that make Chantix unsuccessful? Absolutely not!  After all I quit for 1 1/2 years.  But it does make my resolve to stay quit unsuccessful.  I won't go into the reasons I started smoking again, all I can say is I am smoking again.  For a full year I only smoked 5-6 cigs a day.  This past year that number has ballooned into a full half pack a day, the number I was smoking before I quit in the first place. 

So why am I confessing this now?  The answer is because I am trying something different.  I decided that it is time to try electronic cigarettes.  Will this help me to quit smoking?  I don't know, but I have hopes that it will help me to cut back at the very least.  Will this be healthier than smoking?  I can't honestly say.  These devices have not been FDA approved, and the battle is on, and these companies aren't allowed to make any claim as to whether or not they are healthier.  All I can say is that, instead of nicotine and smoke and a thousand unknown chemicals, these electronic cigarettes seem to be a lesser of two evils.  They contain only a few ingredients and the nicotine is inhaled into your body through water vapor instead of smoke.  So, let the debate be on, and when they finally release the government health studies, I shall review them with an open mind.  But for now I am choosing to believe that these will be better for me than regular cigarettes.  This is only one person's opinion, so take it lightly, and make up your own mind about these things based on the research you do.

I spent hours today researching electronic cigarettes in an attempt to find the one that I think will work best for me.  My ultimate goal is to replace all my regular cigarette smoking with an electronic device, so I don't mind a higher start up cost.  It is important to me that the cost to continue smoking be reasonable, so that also influenced my decision.  I ultimately decided to go with:



I found that Green Smoke was the most highly rated electronic cigarette on the market.  As far as I can tell from reviews, this would give me the closest thing to what felt like smoking a real cigarette.  It has the most vapor of all brands, and it is a two piece design instead of a three piece design.  With Green Smoke, there is a fresh atomizer inside every cartridge, instead of an extra (third) piece.  Many complaints of other electronic cigarettes was that the atomizers went out frequently and were hard and small to clean.  I like that the Green Smoke looks and acts like a real cigarette.  Some people might prefer to use a device that looks vastly different (they don't want the stigma of being seen smoking, they don't want to compare it to actual smoking, or various other reasons) but I do not.  I want a device that reminds me of a real cigarette.  Even though the start up cost is high, the batteries are highly rated.  The batteries are the expensive part of the electronic cigarette, so ideally I paid more upfront but will save money later on replacements.  Finally, the cigarettes themselves are very reasonably priced.  One cartridge equals one pack of cigarettes, and the full price of a cartridge is $2.95.  Green Smoke always has a sale going on so if you are willing to buy multiple packs of cartridges at a time you will pay even less than $2.95 per "pack". 

Here is what I ordered:

Basic Starter Kit ($139)

• 2 batteries (the part that looks like the cig)
• 5 cartridges (the part that looks like the filter, each one is the equivalent of a pack of smokes)
• Charger
• Instruction manual

Carrying Case ($9.99)

• Holds both batteries, and two cartridges (two packs of cigs)

100 Rubber Tips ($5)

• These protect your cartridge when another person smokes off your electronic cig.  I figured that I'd have many people asking me to try my Green Smoke, so I got these

4 - 5 pack of Cartridges ($13.75 each -- $2.75 per "pack")

• 2 Red Tobacco "Full" Flavor
• 2 Red Tobacco "Light" Flavor
• 1 Menthol "Full" Flavor

Total Order:  $208.95.  After using my 10% + free shipping coupon code (I'll give that at the end of this post), the order came to: $188.05.  So, $188.05 paid for two electronic cigarettes (the battery), a carrying case, rubber tips and 25 packs of cigarettes.  For the cartridges, Green Smoke recommends starting one level up from what you're currently smoking.  So because I regularly smoke lights, I chose 3 5-packs of cartridges that are full flavored to start with, then I will switch down to the lights.

That's quite an investment but I intend to make a serious go of this.  Ideally I'd like to quit smoking real cigarettes.  Right now I have 4 1/2 packs of cigarettes.  I hope that my Green Smoke package comes while I still have a couple packs left because I really hope I don't have to buy anymore real cigarettes.

I'm super excited about this!  I will keep this blog updated with my progress on my switch to electronic cigarettes.

Here are some links for you if you're interested in Green Smoke:

Green Smoke Website
Green Smoke Website w/10% Off Orders of 10% or More Plus Free Shipping
Green Smoke Website w/5% Off Orders of Less Than $100

UK has seperate links for the coupon codes:

Green Smoke UK Website w/10% Off Orders of 10% or More Plus Free Shipping
Green Smoke UK Website w/5% Off Orders of Less Than $100
And here are the promo codes, if you just want to use them instead (just enter them into your shopping cart).  I think they work for both US and UK:

10% Off Orders of $100 or More, Plus Free Shipping: disc10-24656
5% Off Orders of Less Than $100: disc5-24656

That's all for today.  Please let me know if there are questions you have about any of this, and I'll try to address them in a future post.  Today is Saturday, March 26th, 2011.  Let's see how long it takes for my coveted Green Smoke package to arrive ...