Is it just me, or is it the cough and cold season again? I thought I was alone, but it seems that my roomate also complained of having some sort of sore throat... and we haven't met each other since the last 3-5 days! Another lab mate also has throat related problems, where his voice now sounds like Rod Stewart.

Anywayz... I must say that this time around... I think the sore throat and cold symptoms that I'm getting are kinda toned down a bit. Used to be worse where I'd be phlegming and sneezing like there's no tomorrow. Maybe, it's due to my qutting, and not smoking real cigarettes (actively) for almost 1-month now. Hmmmm... mongkin jugak iye? Anywayz... insyaAllaah, all these penyakits will be gone within the next couple of days. And after that, I think it's the first time in years that I am actually NOT LOOKING FORWARD to smoke a stick of fag :D

But still... it's a tough battle to totally and really quit smoking. I know one guy who quit for 2-3 years.... but in the end restarted his 'engines' after being given some free rewang cigarettes at a wedding reception. I know of these situations far too well. But this time around, I have my e-cigarettes. Harap2 they can help me NOT SMOKE THE REAL DEAL when those crucial moments arrive.

Okes. What what lah. Assalaam aleykom WBT  

As promised, I am giving my first report on the e-cigarette that I bought, with the hope that it can wean me off real cigarettes... and as time passes by, wean me off these e-cigarettes as well. I will show what you basically get when you buy an e-cigarette set, and also comment on the 'taste' of this vaping device.

Ok. The brand that I bought is Smoker Haven (http://www.smokerhaven.com). Mainly, I only see their name when looking for e-cigarettes in Malaysia. I mean, they're like the only brand that's gone 'public' and are opening booths from Queensbay Mall, Penang to Alamanda Putrajaya, Selangor (there are a bunch of other branches on their website). The starter set (starter kit) I bought was the COMPACT one, where the main feature is that the e-cigarette comes in a two piece set:

The BATTERY:

The CARTOMIZER:

The battery of course, acts as the power supply. It's a rechargeable lithium-ion battery if I'm not mistaken. Those two silicone thinggies are not related to the battery. I just put them there so that it holds the battery in place for the logo to be visible :D

The cartomizer is a contraption where inside, there's a heating element, and a cloth-like material that holds the liquid falvor and some propylene glycol. Nicotine is an option, where these cartomizers come from ZERO to HIGH nicotine doses (since I wanna stop, I opted for the LOW dosage. Ada la sikit, but tak rasa sangat). Basically, the heating element heats up the liquid mixture, where an atomizer (within the cartomizer) turns the liquid into WATER VAPOR... Therefore, e-cig 'smokers' aren't called smokers, so to speak. They are referred to as VAPERS :) No burning occurs, so they say it's healthier and has no side effects (they say laaa.) So there's not tar and all those other 4,000++ dangerous chemicals that cause people's lungs to collapse.

Anywayz, to start puffing... connect the (charged) battery to the cartomizer... and voila! You're ready to vape. The way to vape this thing though, is a bit different from normal ciggies. For one thing, you don't have to light up :P The best way to enjoy an e-cig is to sedut slowly, in a controlled fashion. It's like... suck it in for 3-5 seconds... slow and steady. If you inhale too quickly, then U might risk getting the liquid mixture into your mouth! Uwek... Then of course, vape as you would smoke a normal cigarette. But I warn, this also needs practice since ure introducing a new kinda of 'chemical' to your throat. Chances are, if you go too fast, you will batuk terbahak-bahak!!!

Connection through screwing... hmmm... now that doesn't sound entirely 'right'

Front view of the ready to vape e-cigarette

Top view of the ready to vape e-cigarette

The illusion of BARA API!!! This light is actually useful, as it will blink 8-times indicating the battery is almost kaput :) Each time you suck it in, the light will come on. Owh, the ligth also comes on if you scream at the cigarette. It seems to be sensitive to sound as well... [kena blur 'perokok' ni, pasal takut kena saman ke apa ke later on :P]

Smoker Haven provides a variety of flavors with varying amounts of nicotine. I think, the fun flavors all have ZERO nicotine (not sure, but I think so). These fun flavored ones are such as Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate and others. Kinda makes me wonder sometimes... why would anyone want to smoke a chocolate bar? Other flavors are such as (inspired by) Marlboro Red, (inspired by) Dunhill, Mint/Menthol and Tobacco. And as I mentioned, the levels of nicotine are HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW. 

Tastewise... Hmmm... Really, if you're not serious about using this device to replace your smokes... you might not use it for long. At first, the taste is not as 'good' as real ciggies. I mean, it's weird! But with tekad dan usaha, I got used to the taste. The Marlboro and Dunhill flavors are kinda ok... but only at the LOW nicotine level. I accidentally got a HIGH-level when I first bought the starter kit, and whoaaaa... it tasted like... NOT MARLBORO!!! The overall taste for the LOW ones are kinda, sweet :) Sweet and weird... but vape-able :) Kinda nice taste. Can't quite describe it... but it's like... artificially nice :P Oh... but the taste gets bad when the cartomizer starts to run out of juice :( This is because the heating element has no more liquid to burn, and ends up burning the soft cloth that held the flavor liquid mixture thinggy. Cartomizer lifetime... 2-5 days... depend on how you vape it.

Okes... that's all I guess for this time. At the moment, I haven't experienced any bad side effects from smoking this personal vaporizer of mine. E-cigarette fanatics say there're no side effects at all. But I doubt it since this product is man made. Sah2 ada side effect :P Maybe more studies need to be done...

Anywayz... I think I'll stop here first. I leave you with the pictures of the other stuff I got in the starter kit. Asalaam aleykom WBT :)

The box... lawa jugak iye? I think this is a re-branded version of the US brand - Smoking Everywhere

Compartments to keep all the stuff

This is the PCC - Portable Charger Case. The upside-down battery you see there is screwed tight into the charging socket located at the base of the case. You need to charge the case in order to charge using the case...

PCC power - shows how much juice your PCC has left

Power socket with USB slot, USB cable, and a PC/Socket USB adapter

This is how you connect to charge the PCC

Another (and faster) way to charge the battery. Direct current input!!!

USB charging can also be done. Another 'healthy' use for you PC :)

Cartomizer box. Design is quite nice. As you can see, there's the label MBR L (Marlboro Low)

At the moment, yes... I am still smoking. But very2 little already. Sometimes I go days without even a single puff... But at certain times, I fall prey to my own desires when hanging out with friends... I'd normally end up smoking 2-3 sticks in one seating... Anywayz... I am not buying anymore, so whenever there's no hangout session, then ok la. I am tobacco free Alhamdulillah :D

Recently, I found out about the electronic cigarettes. It's been around for quite some time already... but I think only recently has it made its way into Malaysia (I myself have never seen the product before). The E-cig resembles a real cigarette... except that it's battery operated. When powered up, it delivers vapor instead of smoke... therefore making it a 'healthier' choice. The vapor of course, is filled with a certain amount of nicotine... since the mouthpiece connects to a nicotine 'reservoir' thingy. According to the Electronic Cigarette Association – ECA (yes, they do have one... Google it...), compared to normal cigarettes, the e-cigarette only has 20 ingredients... all of which, if consumed according to the product's labeling/instructions, is totally safe for human consumption (normal burn-up ciggies btw, has around 4000 toxic chemicals...).

Anywayz... even though a very intriguing concept… and even though seemingly less harmful than normal cigarettes, I still wonder whether the exorbitant claims of e-cigarette health benefits are for real. I mean, for starters, they never say that e-cigarettes are healthy. They always say… ‘healthier’. Ok... what does that mean? Healthier means that something else equivalent to it is less healthy. 'Healthier' would mean being a bit better in terms of 'unhealthy-ness'... I think... :) I’d appreciate it if the ECA can clearly say that… IT’S HEALTHY! Hehehe. But then again, how can smoking (or VAPING in the e-cig’s case) be healthy? Tapi takpe… that’s a small matter… The bigger matters are what other parties are saying about the e-cigarettes.

The American Food and Drug Administration (or is it Association?) said in an online article that e-cigarettes contain some harmful ingredients… carcinogens ke pa ntah…  I forget. But basically, according to their tests there are some harmful ingredients! Another worry for them is the fact that e-cigarettes might be made available to children! Therefore introducing them to the habit of smoking at an early age… WHO pulak said they wanted to do some testing. But after Googling (a bit only), I didn’t find the outcome of their tests. If anyone can Google for me, would really2 appreciate it :)

There’s also talk that… some countries (e.g. USA and Canada maybe?) are a bit scared of this e-cigarette. I mean, there goes the TAX money! Since e-cigs don’t provide tax income (I read somewhere lah…), governments and tobacco companies are getting worried that their incomes might drop. Ya la, I mean, if the e-cigs are indeed harmless, then they’d be out of business once the price of e-cigs goes down (now still a bit expensive these e-cigs)… So… sometimes I think… “Could the FDA be in it together with the US govt. to stop e-cigs because of the $$$?”… buleh jadik jugak! Konspirasi tahap gaban terbesar Asia dan donia! Or am I just paranoid? hehehehe....

Anywayz… just wanted to talk about the topic of e-cigarettes. TQ for reading iya :D Assalaam aleykom!!!

image rambatted from here

Assalaam aleykom WBT. As of today, I think it's been more than 1-week ++ since I have seriously slowed down on cigarette consumption. I used to smoke 6-8 sticks a day, therefore I am not considered a heavy smoker (by smokers that is)... Furthermore, at 6-8 sticks, my mind also tells me that, "Relax man, taking in 6-8 sticks a day ain't that bad?! It's not even considered smoking! Lay back and enjoy the ciggi... U're not a serious smoker, so there's no need to quit!". That's just the thing :) I never considered myself a heavy smoker, so the urge to stop is a whole lot lesser.

Anywayz, even though sucking in less smoke (than the people who take in 10-20 per day), I still feel unwell. I lose my breath faster (especially after scaling the stairs), get headaches and also feel short of breath (especially at night... ASTHMA? tidaaakkk....). So I thought, okes. You are not a light smoker! You are a heavy smoker. Now let's QUIT!!! :) Plus, U got a baby coming, ... so shape up fatso (ok, i've grown a bit fatty around some parts of me body also :P)

Now, I'm implementing a technique that I never believed in... I am slowly decreasing my intake, with the hope that one day, insyaAllaah, I will quit entirely! I mean, before this I tried COLD TURKEY many many times. And on all occasions, the cravings came back like a drug addict trapped in a steel cage! Up to this day, alhamdulillaah, I've managed to go down to 1-cigarette a day, hence this post's title :P For good days... none at all. So, for my case, yes... A CIGARETTE A DAY KEEPS THE DR AWAY :D But of course, hopefully one day, the ciggies will be out of my life. Slowly, by incrementally decreasing my intake, I feel more controlled of my mind. I have more control over the urges, which fundamentally translates to more control over my life!

Okes... I will try harder... I will oh, I will. And one day, insyaAllaah I will rid myself of this dang habit :) Orait... Assalaam aleykom / Peace be onto you :D

Quote of the day:

"It is hereby decreed... that the inventor of the Spinning Jenny, has nothing to do with Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves. Even though they share the same surname, Owen and James are of disjointed blood.

Nor shall you confuse the affiliation of James and Craig. For they are two separate entities living in two different ages of paradigm. The former before the revolution of machinery whilst the latter being a novel yet provocative portrayal of Flemming's best seller.

I shall be speaking nor writing more than necessary."

- by (prefers to be) Anonymous

A side entry:

Just finished viewing "The Other Boelyn Girl". I know now that Queen Elizabeth the 1st was conceived in a rather controversial fashion... :-?

(Tiada kaitan dengan Queen Elizabeth. Image taken from http://just-thinkin.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/ground-hog-day.jpg)

(Pic taken from http://sarwestu.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/rokok-small.jpg)

Today, Alhamdulillaah, I have yet to smoke a single bat. And since my roomie dah baca blog ni, and knows of my intentions... most probably malam ni kalau nak pow rokok dia, musti dia remind... dan tak bagi. Hahahahaha! Ok ok. Bagus. Ada support... JANGAN KASIK AKU ISAP MAAT!

Anywayz...

It's a bit easier today. No strong cravings. But still, the intention to smoke is there. Maybe sebab dah jadik habit kot. A bad habit that is. But as long as there's no one offering me cigarette , I think I should be ok, insya-Allaah.

Just now was chatting with my fren whose doing her PhD in Scotland. Hubby dia seems to have re-ignited his ZIPPO lighter dan mula isap rokok balik. Pity you dear... have to persevere and endure... and hope dia akan cuba berenti, eventually.

I also mentioned to her that, the BIGGEST road bump (or sometimes can be viewed as a U-TURN sign) during the stop-smoking process is the temptation AFTER stopping :) Meaning that, let's say after 2-3 weeks, or even a few months (3-months in one case I heard)... there will always emerge a reason for the 'stopped' to smoke again. It can be stress, or just getting the urge to smoke when seeing someone else smoke... or sometimes just the stupid act of just wanting to smoke another stick (since it's been so long since you had one). Normally, this one stick will become 10-20 sticks. And before you know it, you're on that road again... well on yer way to nicotine La-la land :D

So, basically... I think I'll approach this time's 'stop-smoking-plan' with a bit of strategy. Get ready for the post-temptations :) That's basically the plan. To stop... meaning to NOT SMOKE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME... insya-Allaah can be achieved. But maintaining a smoke-free life is harder than many might think. So maybe later I will surf a bit... tengok2 kat Internet camne nak maintain the non-smoking periods :) And insya-Allaah, eventually QUIT!

Tapi takpe... Slow slow slow. Cold turkey still macam susah nak buat (walaupun hari ni macam dah one day cold turkey je :P). Warm turkey la kot is the way to go... ada ke such an expression? :P Hehehehe.

Okes... insya-Allaah the battle will go on. I might slip a bit along the way. But I will make sure that I get back up again. One batang does not mean I have to bantai the whole packet ye dok? :D Hehehehe. If I accidentally smoke one batang la that is. :D

Oraitey... tq for reading. Oh.. and tq for da support for those of you who're supporting my efforts :D Cheerios!

(Reference: http://www.smokingisgross.com/images/stop-smoking.jpg)

Assalaam aleykom WBT :)

For the past week, I have been vehemently trying to cut down on my ciggies :) I won't say I'm a heavy smoker... cuz I can't finish a whole pack of 20's (or even 14's) per day. But then again, if I keep to the title of 'not-so-heavy-smoker', then I might NEVER stop! Because somewhere in the back of my mind, I would justify to myself that it's not the time to quit yet... for you are not a heavy nicotine addict :)

Well... I think that sort of thinking needs to end somewhere... and I am trying to end it now... Now and Forever bak kata Richard Marx :D I know this is the ump-teenth time of my stop-smoking campaign. But if you ask some people who've totally given up the habit... they too (might) have gone thru this road of stop-start-stop-start... and insya-Allaah in the end it would be to stop! :D For the past week, I've managed NOT TO BUY a whole pack of fags... which is good. But I still managed to 'pow' a few from my roomie Mr. Azrul Hazri, occasional sleep over friend Mr. Rashidi, as well as bought some in 'sticks-form' from Naseer Nasi Kandar and also AM/PM sundry shop.

But at least it's ok. Because from 6-8 per day... I've successfully dropped down to 1-4 per day. That's a giant leap for a smoker, I reckon :)

Annywayz... I will try some more... some more and more and more :) But of course, not to suddenly and entirely cut down the habit lah. Slowly I am building up my mental strength, and slowly I am erecting the barrier to withstand Satan's calling for a fag (hehehe. Setan pulak disalahkan :P).... Cold Turkey style? Not yet la I think...

But, in the end, insya-Allaah, I will stop. Stop bukan just at a stop sign (sebab kalau stop sign, bila xde kereta buleh jalan balik)... but Stop as in Stop berenti ... parking for a very2 long time... sleeping beauty like stop (with the hope of no prince charming coming along)... STOP IN DA NAME OF DA LAW!!!! (who made this phrase famous anyway...?).

Okes. Apa2 pon... I will stop insya-Allaah. And when that day comes, I will be able to tolak a ciggie without even thinking about its 'pleasures' :D

Oraitey then... Selamaat... and on a different note... please do Make do'a for myself, Azrul n de rest of the fishing geng so that our TENGGIRI a.k.a. SPANISH MACKEREL expedition will be far away from harm's reach, as well as yield an exceptional hasil insya-Allaah :D Ok, tq for reading :)