I know from personal (albeit long-ago) experience just how hard it is to kick the smoking habit.
It’s a disgusting habit, true; but smoking is not just a chemical habit, it is a physical one.
Nicotine patches just don’t cut it with the desperate wannabe ex-smoker; our fingers tremble, our lips purse, we crave that long, deep sucked-in mouthful of toxic gases, that slow, dirty, sighed-out exhalation of cancerous smoke, the smell of the 4000 carcinogenic chemicals burning into our lungs.
And don’t forget the social side of smoking; non-smokers see only the ostracism and don’t realise that there is a dark underbelly of smoker camaraderie, impervious to race, gender, class and job description.
Giving up smoking means giving up the long trip down in the elevator to the windy exile of the grotty smoker’s corner outside the marble foyer; the thrill of joining the ragged assortment of outcasts desperate for their fix; the secret membership of the stinky club that crosses the corporate boundaries, the excuse to ditch the office when the going gets tough.
Here is a gadget as dodgy as the willing market it is bound to find. Egar is a rechargeable electronic cigarette containing no tobacco. Instead, you buy cartridges containing water, propylene glycol, nicotine and a ‘scent that emulates a tobacco flavour.’
“There is no visible flame, no smell and you can beat the smoking ban and smoke indoors in public places. Egar gives you the same satisfaction and taste of a real cigarette – without the negative side-effects.”
It even releases a ‘vapour mist’ that looks – but doesn’t smell – like cigarette smoke.
Sounds deeply unsatisfying, but if you’re addicted to the coffin nails and the patches just don’t do it for you, this may be your only hope!
Bottom line: Quit smoking and still visit the outdoor ashtray with Cheryl from Accounts
Where: www.egar.com.au
How much : Starter kit is Au $ 75, then $5 per cartridge