Geekery

Virtual smoking

Posted on 04. Jan, 2010 by Jake in Gadgets

Smoking used to be so much more fun. Back in the day smoking a Stuyvesant was an automatic passport to the good life, just one puff and the smoker was instantly transported to someone’s private yacht to drink expensive alcohol while cavorting with semi-naked models . Or, if adventure was your thing, a drag of a Camel used to be the only satisfying end to a nice swing through the jungle. These were the days before smoking was bad for you, and so absolutely everyone used to smoke freely, in restaurants, in movies, on aeroplanes, in hospitals and churches. But no more. Today’s smoker is a lonely creature, rejected and marginalised, forced outside to get their fix even in the dead of winter, scolded by doctors and ostracised by friends. Even the most committed smoker could be forgiven for attempting to quit. But like rock ‘n roll, smoking isn’t dead – it’s just gotten safer and more electronic – Twisp, the first electronic cigarette available in South Africa, offers smokers a nicotine fix without the actual smoke – instead emitting a kind of vapour that is apparently free of tar and carcinogenic compounds.

I don’t smoke, since I am unfortunately neither a wealthy playboy on a yacht or a rugged jungle adventurer. So to check out the Twisp had to rely on the testimony of my friend Wessel, once a committed smoker but now a despicable traitor who has sold out by buying the Twisp Dura C E-Cigarette. Wessel says that he has, so far, been able to stop smoking normal cigarettes due to switching to the Dura C. He says that it is more similar to smoking a hubby bubbly than a cigarette.
Wessel says that while he can get his nicotine fix using the Twisp he still finds it hard to get used to the feel of the cold, hard cigarette that appears to be made from porcelain, and to inhaling, which he says lacks the ‘burn’ that he craves most when smoking. On the other hand, though, he enjoys being able to finally smoke in restaurants and films again, and says that the device is also a good conversation piece.

Depending on which Twisp cartridge you choose you could pay from 800 to 1000 rand for a starter pack which will include everything you need to get smoking. On top of that one needs to replace the liquid that goes in the cartridges every now and then at R250 a pop. Expensive perhaps, but it works out as much cheaper than buying a pack a day over the course of a year. And yes, the Twisp is a lot healthier than normal smoking, but if you look in the mirror one day to find that, despite not owning a yacht or ever doing any jungle exploration you are still a smoker with rapidly decaying lungs, rather than rushing out to get gum or patches or even bizarre electronic cigarettes maybe the best option is to quit the old fashioned way – cold turkey.

Tags: electronic cigarettes, Gadgets, geekery, smoking