That’s simply not true, and I made a photo essay a while back showing that. But I decided to do a video this time, and give you all a look inside our liquid manufacturer’s facilities.

Ever since their entry into the market, personal vaporizers have been under constant attack from seemingly all levels of government. FDA has sought to classify them as medical devices. Customs has tried to block their entry. New Jersey has made them subject to indoor smoking bans. The California state attorney general has sued Smoking Everywhere. And both California and Utah legislatures have tried, abut thankfully failed, to ban their sale. And I am sure there are more examples I am overlooking as I write this.

Now the state government of Vapor4Life’s home state of Illinois is joining the dog pile.

Illinois bill SB3174 would ban the sale within Illinois, or to consumers in Illinois, of any non-tobacco product that contains nicotine, unless it is approved by the FDA as a smoking-cessation product or a harm reduction or modified risk product. Similar measure are also before the New York and Maryland legislatures.

Since starting this blog I have intended to use it as a vehicle to oppose legislation like this, but I have not lived up to that intention. Now, it’s landed on my doorstep, and I can’t let it slide. Vapor4Life is based in Northbrook, Illinois. While how this legislation would be interpreted and enforced, and therefore how greatly it would affect Vapor4Life, is still uncertain, there is no doubt that this would be a terrible blow to all Illinois e-cig users. And worse, it could set a precedent that still more states might choose to follow.

As Vapor4Life’s press release on the subject says, “The question is not whether it will affect Vapor4Life and other e-cigarette businesses within the state, but to what extent it will affect them and their consumers both within the State of Illinois and elsewhere. If SB3174 is passed by the Illinois State House of Representatives and is not vetoed by Illinois State Governor Quinn, the sale of nicotine containing liquid and e-cigarette cartridges to Illinois residents will be prohibited. Whether the sale of e-cigarette equipment which may be used without nicotine will be unchallenged will likely be determined in the courts. There is some question, also, regarding the potential effects this bill may have on sales by Illinois based companies to non-residents of the state. Many e-cigarette users shop exclusively online and www.Vapor4Life.com boasts a large following in all 50 States, and in countries around the world.”

While one can easily throw a lot of blame for this and other measures opposing e-cigs at Big Tobacco and Big Pharmaceutical companies, heavily invested interests with powerful lobbying influence at all levels of government, personally I lay just as much blame on the nanny-state mentality that has driven all other anti-smoking legislation in this country for decades. And on the ideology driven anti-smoking movement, which has used demonization of nicotine, slanted studies, and outright lies as their main weapons. Illinois legislators have been caught up in this anti-smoking zealotry to the point that they are moving against potentially the greatest anti-smoking tool ever devised.

Electronic cigarettes are not a smoking cessation product. Unlike pharmaceutical NRTs they are not designed to be used to reduce or eliminate nicotine use or addiction. But what they do is provide an alternative to tobacco smoking, giving the user the nicotine they crave without the the thousands of additional chemicals and proven carcinogens in tobacco products. And they do it in a smoking like experience, fulfilling the psychological component of the smoking addiction, making them a real alternative for smokers who cannot otherwise quit cigarettes.

And while it is true that the studies have not been done to scientifically prove that they are less harmful than cigarettes, even the FDA’s own, heavily biased, study demonstrated that out of over 250 harmful chemicals and 50 known carcinogens in cigarette smoke, only barely detectable traces of 4 tobacco specific nitrosamines were present in e-cigarette liquid.

So legislation aimed at banning e-cigarettes, while leaving the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products legal, is about as wrong-headed and backwards as I can imagine.

Vapor4Life began out of our president Steve Milin’s own efforts to switch from cigarettes to the first real alternative he had ever found, after having a 5 pack a day smoking habit for decades. It was my own videos that taught him about e-cigarettes, and long before I joined his company I was proud of the success he had, and of my own contribution to it. As I am proud of the thousands of others I have helped find this alternative. This is why Steve founded Vapor4Life, this is why I joined Vapor4Life, and this is why Vapor4Life will not give up, no matter how this bill turns out. Because we believe in our product, our industry, and are committed to keeping e-cigarettes available for the unknown thousands who have likewise found their first real alternative to cigarette smoking.

Currently, SB3174 is in the Illinois House of Representative’s Rules Committee.

Vapor4Life is joining lobbying efforts against it, and Steve is reaching out to his contacts in the Chicago and Illinois business community, who are in turn reaching out to their political contacts. But we ask and encourage all of you to reach out to the Illinois legislators, Governor, and politicians as well.

A list of Illinois Representatives, with their addresses, is atwww.ilga.gov/house/. We encourage you all to write to them, as the bill’s fate may be in their hands soon. But the most important ones to contact now are the members of the Rules Committee. And of course, the Governor, Pat Quinn has the final Veto power, and can be contacted atwww.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm.

The full text of the bill is available here, and the applicable section of the bill reads:
(a-6) Nicotine delivery products. No product containing or
19 delivering nicotine intended or expected for human
20 consumption, or any part of such a product, that is not a
21 tobacco product as defined by 21 U.S.C. 321(rr) shall be
22 distributed or sold in this State or to consumers in this State
23 unless it has been approved or otherwise certified for legal

SB3174 Engrossed - 2 - LRB096 20248 RLC 35831 b

1 sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration for
2 tobacco use cessation, harm reduction, or for other medical
3 purposes, and is being marketed and sold solely for that
4 approved purpose.

Again, the list of Illinois Representatives, with their addresses, is atwww.ilga.gov/house.

And CASAA, the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association, is also organizing efforts against the bill. Information can be found on ECF, here.

And while I’ve mostly been discussing the efforts to ban e-cig sales in Illinois, I do not mean to leave out Maryland and New York. Vapor4Life opposes their misguided legislation as well, of course. Addresses for Maryland’s General Assembly can be found here, and New York’s State Assembly here.

Being mostly Irish myself, and loving both beer and Irish whiskey, Saint Patrick’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. ;-)

So I’m glad to announce Vapor4Life’s Saint Patrick’s Day Sale, AKA Smilin’s 4X4 leaf clover lucky 16 blowout sale! 16 percent off all cartomizers and liquids! And a free manual passthrough to all orders ending in 44! (4 for four-leaf clovers, dontcha know!) Just use promo code Lucky16! And the luck of the Irish to all!

Éirinn go brách!!

The Taryn Spin was invented to Maximize the amount of liquid a cartomizer can hold, but by reversing it, you can also use it to empty a cartomizer.

Simply place the cartomizer in the condom halfway or so, leaving space for the liquid, put it in your bag, battery pouch, or Leaford Lanyard, and spin it a bit harder than you would to fill a cartomizer. The centrifugal force will force the liquid out of the cartomizer and into the condom.

In honor of the last 2 days of the Olympics we are having our own…
Vapor4life Order Olympics!!!

Orders placed between 8pm CST on 2/26 going until 11:50pm CST on 2/28 will be eligible for this contest!!!

3 Gold Medalists will receive 1 XL CASE, 2 XL BATTERIES & 4 PACKS OF CARTOMIZERS!!!

3 Silver Medalists will receive 1 XL BATTERY, 1 SHORTY BATTERY & 3 PACKS OF CARTOMIZERS!!!

6 Bronze Medalists will receive 1 SHORTY BATTERY & 2 PACKS OF CARTOMIZERS!!!

Winners will chosen by lottery and posted to the forums shortly after the contest ends.

Winners will be contacted to select flavors/strengths & product colors.

I’ve got a Double Demo for you today! Two tips for refilling your cartomizers!

The first is the Cartomizer Condom Filling Method, the simplest, easiest filling method there is. Simply fill one of the cartomizer condoms (the rubber caps that come with the cartomizers) about half way with your liquid, then just push the cartomizer down into the condom. This forces the liquid up into the cartomizer, and that’s all there is to it.

The second is the Taryn spin, which maximizes the amount of liquid you can fill your cartomizers with, no matter what filling method you are using. After filling your cartomizer, just place it battery end down in any kind of bag, a ziplock, a battery pouch, or even a Leaford Lanyard, and spin it. THe centrifigul force forces the liquid to the battery end, leaving room for more liquid!

Between the two, you can fill or refill your cartomizers quickly and easily!

Happy vaping, and keep SMILIN!

Here’s todays breakfast:

It is a rice cake stuffed with chicken, veggies, and sausage. It come frozen, wrapped in a banana leaf, and only takes 1 minute in the microwave to heat. (You don’t eat the banana leaf.) And with it, a slab of smoked pork. I love this stuff, and have been eating a ton.

It’s not exciting food, but it’s really good, and very quick and convenient.

As I wrote earlier, I have been browsing other e-cig blogs, and the best one I’ve seen recently, and the one that has most inspired me to blog more actively, is my first pick, VapewithPuff.

VapewithPuff is written by ECF member and frequent poster in the V4L subforum, Belletrist. She is smart, enthusiastic, funny, creative, and has a wonderful rapport with her audience. And the sheer volume and variety of her topics leaves me truly awed! It’s hard to believe she’s only been vaping a couple of months!

But she brings that beginner’s enthusiasm with her as she shares her knowledge with the reader. She shares the tips she’s learned, her views on the advantages of vaping over smoking, and generally what a new e-smoker can expect as they follow in her dainty footsteps on the journey of vaping.

She also involves her audience, inviting them to share their pics and stories.

I am humbled by how much I can learn from her, and hope you all check out her site and learn with me.

Here’s an excerpt from a recent post:

Ceasing & Starting, Symptoms & Side Effects
Side Effects of Quitting Smoking While Vaping:
Whether you set aside the smokes completely or dramatically reduce the amount and frequency that you smoke when you start vaping, the first thing you’ll notice is… nothing. I think there are two big reasons for this. One, you’re experiencing the effectiveness of vaping as a method of satiating your nicotine craving, and two–you’re having so much freaking fun vaping! That enthusiasm and wonder and energy itself is a wonderful salve against the little aches and pains in the rear that come with quitting smoking.

Quitting is a double edged sword. See, not only were those chemicals bad for you, but they conveniently distracted you from how bad they were. Take tar, for example. It built up in your lungs. It also prevented you from hacking and coughing it up… at least, you know, for 20 or 40 years, give or take.

To read the rest of the post, go to her blog, VapewithPuff, and I highly recommend subscribing to new posts, you really don’t want to miss anything! :-D

I used to write for my high school newspaper and could never write headlines worth a damn. ;-)

Anyway, back when I first started doing video reviews, I was one of only two english language video reviewers on the net. Now there are tons! I’m going to start pointing you guys to some of my favorites. And I might even start to rate them. Reviewing the reviewers as it were. Or maybe not. ;-) We’ll start with recommending my favs and see how it goes from there. ;-)

Today’s pick is Doctor Vapor:

I really like this guy’s style. He’s enthusiastic, informative, and entertaining! He has great tips, with clear instructions, and is conscientious about referencing his sources. Very professional, and fun to watch.

He’s fairly new to the game. He has only been making videos for 3 months, and only has 8 so far. And to be honest, the ones I like best aren’t his reviews so much as his how to videos. His first video was on an easy to do mod, using a generic dremel tool as a body. Later, he did an excellent two part video on refilling cartomizers.

But my favorite video of his is my featured video today. I discovered Doctor Vapor from a discussion on the Vapor4Life subforum at ECF on the Cartomizer Condom Filling Method which was first demonstrated by Dogsbody, and which has become my favorite refill method. Dogsbody invented it, but Doctor Vapor’s video is the better instruction video on how to do it. I was thinking of doing a video of my own demonstrating this method, but with Doctor Vapor’s video already out there, there’s just no need!

And here it is:

So that’s Doctor Vapor! Check out Doctor Vapor’s Youtube Channel, and be sure to subscribe. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more quality videos from him!

And send me your suggestions for future recommendations!

And I’m starting by highlighting some of the many fine e-cig blogs and video channels out there now.

Back when I started my videos, Ratindahat and I were the only two doing videos, and when I started my blog, there were still only a bare handful of unaffiliated e-cig blogs out there. How things have changed! :D There are now a lot of fine blogs and video channels, and I’m going to try to point out the best of them for you.

When I joined V4L I was a bit unsure about what direction I should take the blog in. I started to do some “Life in China” stuff, but that fell off as “Life in China” became just life for me. But even though it’s become everyday for me, it’s not everyday for you, so I’ll be doing a lot more of that from now on.

I also started out doing some behind the scenes stuff, but I found out I had to be very VERY careful of what I posted for trade secret reasons, so that fell off, too. But I tend to always go to the extremes, and that was an example of that. I may not be able to post everything I see or learn, but I can post a lot that will be of interest to the community without letting any of our, or other people’s, secrets slip.

And lastly, I want to hear feedback and suggestions from you guys and gals! Give me your topic suggestions, point me to your favorite blogs and review sites, send me your pics of you vaping! And I will also welcome guest articles or vids!

I want to revitalize this blog, and make it much more of a community resource for us all to enjoy!