After two recent attempts to quit smoking tobacco, I decided that the electronic cigarette, or "personal atomizer" might be an interesting way to break myself of the nasty habbit of smoking. Yes, yes, yes... "Just quit" says everyone. Well, you have either never really smoked, you quit many years ago, or you want one really bad. It's not that easy... or at least it hasn't been for me. Here is a little summary of what I've learned about the electronic cigarette so far: What is an electronic cigarette? The electronic cigarette is a three part device 1. the battery The battery screws onto the atomizer, which fits into a cartridge filled with a little tiny bit of liquid. When you drag on the tip, the suction activates the battery, and often a little light will go on at the end. It looks like the glowing end of a cigarette. 2. the atomizer This is a little heat coil with an element that heats up when air passes through it. This is what produces the vapor. 3. The cartridge This is a plastic tip with a little strip of wool inside. The wool is soaked in smoke juice. When the atomizer heats up, vapor is created. Advertisers say that one cartridge is equal to a pack of cigarettes. This is not true. Essentially three to six drops of juice fill a cartridge. This equals about two or three cigarettes, depending on how you smoke. Why would you use an electronic cigarette? There are a few reasons. The main thing is that the vapor from an electronic cigarette is water. There are no toxins, no smell, no residue, and it does not cause cancer. Thus, you can smoke anywhere. There is no second hand smoke. Nothing is burning. It's tasty, and curious, and if you are an obsessive freak like me, it's really fun to smoke. I was recently on two plane flights, and busted out my M401 and was french inhaling the vapor on the plane. The people beside me couldn't smell anything, and we talked and talked about the device, smoking, and all sorts of cool stuff. A guy across the isle from me begged me for a drag, and offered me $100 for an electronic cigarette. What fun! Personally, I want to quit. I have smoked for 32 years and it's filthy, bad for me, and it has limited my life in a way which is pretty sad. I have tried cold turkey, the patch, the gum, rehab, and exercise. It is a durable relationship and a powerful addiction. I have not been successful yet. That said, switching to the M401 appears to have changed this. I went out of town to perform. I was gone for 3 days. I did not smoke a single cigarette. Now, yes I did smoke the electronic cigarette. Yes I did. But I didn't even want a traditional cigarette. In fact, I began to cough up junk like I'd quit, and smelled lovely the entire trip. What a curious little device. Where can I get one? First of all, beware. Currently there is only one major brand of electronic cigarette available in the usa. It's called "Smoking Everywhere" and it's not only a very expensive device that looks a lot like a cigarette, but it really doesn't work very well. For me, personally, the main thing about smoking is the smoke. I want to see it, I want to feel it, I like it. The smoking everywhere device, the thing which started all this for me, simply doesn't produce much vapor at all. So I was sucking and sucking on the thing, tearing through cartridges, and still wanted a cigarette the whole time. Don't waste your money. A little research showed me forums, shops, devices, and a lot of very helpful youtube videos about a wide variety of electronic cigarettes which were really helpful. I chose the M401 because it was only $20 for the basic kit. It came with two batteries, a usb charger, a wall charger, one atomizer, and 5 starter cartridges. I bought my own smoke juice from johnson's creek for $20, and filled the cartridges myself. For four full days I only smoked the M401. Last night, as the 5th day began, the atomizer burned out. I believe I broke it because i was untwisting the batteries without removing the cartridge first. Ugh. So an important thing to note when buying these units is that you may need more than one atomizer -- at least a backup unit -- and two batteries may not quite be enough for a full day out and about. You can buy the kits, the parts, and accessories on line. There are a lot of shops, manufacturers, and suppliers. Mostly they are in China and shipping takes a few weeks. So you should consider that your first efforts are really a series of experiments. I did not do this, and was roaming about bragging about how I wasn't smoking tobacco anymore, and feeling great. Now that my atomizer is broken guess what? I've got a cigarette dangling from my lips again as I write this... double ugh. Here's what I've learned 1. The electronic cigarette is a replacement device. Maybe a first step in quitting, a desperate measure perhaps, but it is effective. You get to smoke -- anywhere -

Beautiful - and remarkable air cooled Franklin car, built in New York, USA. Taken on September 24, 2011, at the Gainsborough Festival of Transport (organised by The Louth & Lincolnshire Motor Club), at the Roses Sports Ground in North Warren Road. Camera: Nikon F5 Lens: Nikkor 35-70mm zoom Film: Kodak Ektar