Electric Zebra Electronic Cigarettes review

When the opportunity came up on Fuel My Blog to review Electric Zebra Electronic Cigarettes, I asked Madhouse Daddy Mike if he'd be interested in giving them a go. I don't smoke and have never smoked at all myself but he's been a smoker for about the past twenty years so it would be interesting to see how he got on with them.

As a non-smoker, I didn't really understand the concept of electronic cigarettes so I went to investigate on the Zebra website. It looks quite complicated if you try to understand the mechanics but seems very simple to use. They explain : "Your Electric Zebra electronic cigarette comes in two parts - a rechargeable battery and a cartridge. It also comes with a USB charger. The smaller part of the electronic cigarette is the cartridge. This contains the liquid with the nicotine and flavourings, as well as a tiny heating filament called an atomiser. Here's what happens: when the electronic cigarette battery and cartridge are screwed together and you take a puff, the battery powers the atomiser. This little device acts like a heater and warms up the liquid, turning it into a vapour which has cooled down by the time it reaches your mouth. The battery and atomiser are only activated when you take a puff. There is no risk of the e-cig starting up in your pocket, but your Electric Zebra is always ready to use, wherever you are. The water vapour gives you a nicotine 'hit', tastes great and looks and feels just like smoke - but it is harmless and has no smell. There is also no risk to others from second-hand smoke so you can take your Zebra anywhere you like! The cartridges come in packs of 14, and each one is equal to 15-20 cigarettes."

 

 Particularly as a non-smoker, I can instantly see a lot of advantages to using electronic cigarettes instead of normal cigarettes :

- no risk of passive smoking, especially for people with kids in the house

- no stinky smoky smells on clothes

- no yellow nicotine stains on the ceilings/walls

- no risk of kids playing with lighters/matches that may be left lying around

- no more being left alone at the table in restaurants and parties when all the smokers head off outside for a cigarette because they can smoke electronic cigarettes in public places, even with the smoking ban !

- no more cigarette butts littering town centres

- less harmful for your health because they contain no tar and carcinogenic chemicals

- no more grumpy moods to put up with on long journeys when travelling on public transport or in the car with the kids and your nicotine-starved other half is desperate for a cigarette !

- no stinky fag breath or yellow fingers

- no disgusting, stinky ashtrays lying around, little burn holes in clothes or ash dropped on the carpet

- no more getting people constantly asking you for a cigarette when you pull out your packet of cigarettes !

But the proof of the pudding was in the smoking - what did Madhouse Daddy Mike think ? Well, the jury is still out at the moment. He likes the idea - the fact that it works out cheaper, is not so bad for his health and is allowed inside even with the smoking ban. However, he says that it's not like smoking a normal cigarette so you still don't really feel like you've smoked a cigarette. He did once try nicotine patches and still couldn't resist the urge to smoke so it's not just a nicotine addiction, it's also the pleasure of smoking that attracts him. One big problem he found is that with an electronic cigarette, you don't know when you should stop because there's no way of knowing how much nicotine you've inhaled or what the equivalent in normal cigaretts would be. As a non-smoker, I can only appreciate this in terms of, say, a never ending chocolate cake on the table in front of you when you have a spoon in your hand. All the while it's there in an unlimited supply, you'll think "oh go on, just one more spoonful then" over and over again, even when you're not hungry any more.

If you want to give up smoking, this could be a great first step because - as well as offering the nicotine hit, as you'd get with a patch - you also get to go through the motions of smoking. For those who really can't manage to quit or who just don't want to, it's definitely a healthier option and one that is less likely to annoy any non-smokers around you. Those with a naughty streak will love "lighting up" their electronic cigarettes in places with public smoking bans and seeing the filthy looks or criticial comments thrown their way. The water vapour does look like smoke so from a distance, nobody will know it's an electronic cigarette until they get close.

Although, if it's an Electric Zebra one, they will, because the brand have decided to go for a striking zebra-print. The idea is that you can't be mistaken for smoking a real cigarette and breaking the law. Madhouse Daddy Mike wasn't keen though, thinking it didn't look very manly ! He would have preferred something more subtle, maybe plain black, so that it still couldn't be mistaken for a real cigarette.

He's keen to use it around the house in private but not in public, because of the zebra design. He's still not ready to totally give up on the usual cigarettes and swap to just electronic cigarettes because he still doesn't feel like he's smoked a cigarette for real, but I'm hoping that this will be the first stage to help wean him off the normal cigarettes. Time will tell ! Parents should definitely warn their children that - although it may look like a toy, and although they may hear people saying that it's less dangerous for your health - they certainly shouldn't try a puff just to look like daddy (or mummy) because it contains as much nicotine as regular cigarettes so would be very harmful to them.

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £25.95 for a complete starter pack

for more information : http://www.electriczebra.com/premier-pack/

Disclosure : We received an Electric Zebra Electronic Cigarette starter pack in order to write an honest review.

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