A Rational Look at Vaping

At the beginning, I introduced myself. I have been working in regional management for a domestic electronic cigarette company for about four years. At the peak of my previous company, there were over 100 sales points. In those days, it was also regarded as a large electronic cigarette company in the industry. During my work, I witnessed the ups and downs of the industry in recent years. Currently, I have switched careers. This article is purely for sharing, with no other purpose. I aim to objectively explain some of the industry's ins and outs. Haha, these views represent personal opinions only. The statement is for reference only. Reprinting is strictly prohibited.

The first question:

1. Can electronic cigarettes help quit smoking?

Answer: First of all, this topic is a misleading proposition because regardless of whether the answer is yes or no, it is very irresponsible to the customer. You must understand a principle: the main factor in quitting smoking is yourself; electronic cigarettes are merely an auxiliary tool that provides a simulated effect to satisfy your imagination of smoking. This logical relationship is similar to buying a reading tool for children to improve their grades.

When you shop offline, ordinary salespeople will not tell you in detail to increase transaction volume and control communication time. They will directly tell you: you can quit smoking. Here, we must mention a general situation we discovered during our operations. In the sales process, the more responsibly you explain to the customer, the more they understand the product, and the higher the probability of closing the deal. Haha.

Now, back to the essence of this question. I will share my own experience (I have over ten years of smoking history). Can electronic cigarettes help quit smoking? The answer is: the probability of quitting smoking is indeed quite high. This probability is certainly much greater than your willpower or other quitting methods, such as chewing seeds or gum. However, quitting smoking also brings many other hidden dangers, which I will explain later. Let's be patient and take a look.

2. What is the difference between electronic cigarettes and traditional cigarettes?

Answer: First of all, the principle of smoke production is completely different between the two. Traditional cigarettes are burned with an open flame. In the process of burning and inhaling smoke into the lungs, substances like tar and nicotine are introduced. I won't go into too many technical terms like benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and hydrogen cyanide. In short, these substances are extremely harmful to the body. The main condition for these substances is open flame combustion.

The smoke produced by electronic cigarettes is generated by heating and vaporizing e-liquid, which can be understood as water vapor. Therefore, during the smoking process, there is no tar produced from open flame combustion. However, it still contains nicotine. As for the nicotine dosage, it depends on the e-liquid (pod) you use, which will be labeled on all standard electronic cigarettes. Generally, salespeople will also inform you to choose the dosage independently.

In simple terms, the main difference between the two lies in the tar content.

What is tar?

Official explanations can be found online; haha, I will describe it in my popular terms. First, tar is a substance that is very difficult to dissolve. When you smoke for many years, it gradually accumulates on the surface of the lungs, forming a layer of oily film. The lungs, as important respiratory organs, will gradually lose function when covered by tar, leading to severe conditions like lung failure and lung cancer. Therefore, long-term smoking also affects lung capacity due to tar covering the lung pores.

One disgusting point is that tar is black. The simplest way to see tar is to not exhale the smoke after smoking. Cover your mouth with a paper towel and blow smoke into it. After a few times, the paper towel will turn black.

What is nicotine?

Official explanations can be found online; here, my personal understanding is: nicotine can stimulate dopamine in the brain through blood circulation, bringing a brief sense of refreshment and anti-fatigue effect, similar to caffeine, which is a stimulant but more harmful than caffeine. If absorbed excessively, it can lead to nervous exhaustion and a dazed mental state, and most can be expelled through urine by drinking plenty of water.

The main reason most people cannot quit smoking is nicotine. Nicotine is the primary issue of addiction to cigarettes. If they smoke to obtain nicotine, they will also introduce harmful substances like tar. Therefore, in the early days of electronic cigarettes, some unscrupulous manufacturers advertised them as lung-cleansing devices or quitting aids. Later, due to issues of misleading consumption and false advertising, regulations were implemented, and they generally became known as a healthier smoking option.

Nicotine content in electronic cigarettes.

In 2018, the overall products in the electronic cigarette industry were optimized, and older large e-cigarette products gradually phased out. I won't mention those products as they have basically exited the historical stage, like manual transmission cars. Now, only a few sentimental users still use them. Here, I will take YOOZ as an example.

First, you need to know the nicotine content in traditional cigarettes for comparison. Most cigarettes contain between 1.1mg to 3mg of nicotine per cigarette, so a pack contains between 22mg to 60mg. Generally, the more expensive the cigarette, the lower the nicotine content. The numerical description is on the side of the cigarette pack, and the scientific name is nicotine. As for why it is not directly called nicotine, everyone can ponder that.

Then, regarding the nicotine content in electronic cigarettes, using the above two brands as examples, different flavors have different nicotine levels, generally ranging from 30mg to 50mg per milliliter, with standard pods being 2ml, so a pod contains 60mg to 100mg of nicotine, which is also indicated on the pod box. In the early days, there was concealment or no reporting, but now companies have standardized and must label the content.

There is also a negative phenomenon where when customers ask about the nicotine content of pods, most merchants will deliberately report it per milliliter rather than per pod, as most customers do not have a concept of this dosage, and being too detailed may raise concerns.

Below is a comparison of nicotine content between electronic cigarettes and traditional cigarettes. Here, I must explain the rules in advance because questions like how long a pod lasts are the easiest to encounter in sales. Most companies express it intuitively by comparing it to cigarettes or directly telling customers per puff, which is generally not allowed. Based on my knowledge, most pods last for about 500 puffs, and the answer is based on a 2-second frequency. Most people do not take 2 seconds; due to different smoking habits, the frequency generally ranges from 8 to 15 puffs, with significant personal habit differences.

Based on extensive feedback from frontline customers, generally, a 2ml pod is almost equivalent to one and a half packs of cigarettes, which is about 30 cigarettes.

A pod contains 60-100mg of nicotine, while one and a half packs of cigarettes contain 33-90mg of nicotine.

You may be surprised to find that the nicotine in electronic cigarettes can even exceed that in traditional cigarettes. This relates to what I mentioned at the beginning about selling for the purpose of quitting smoking, where customers easily misunderstand. In other words, you may successfully quit smoking, but electronic cigarettes can still lead to addiction because you remain dependent on nicotine.

Six, trade-offs.

Objectively speaking, based on current scientific evidence, the known harms of electronic cigarettes are indeed much lower than those of traditional cigarettes. In daily life, the vapor from electronic cigarettes can quickly dissipate in the air because it is water vapor. Unlike the smell of traditional cigarettes, which is quite appealing, and due to tar, it lingers in the mouth for a long time, leading to heavy bad breath, which is an advantage of electronic cigarettes. As for the downside, it is nicotine. If you have strong self-control, it is not a big problem. If your self-control is weak, you should carefully consider whether to use it because electronic cigarettes are too convenient. When you want to smoke, you don't even have to think about the scenario; you can hide under the covers. Finally, in terms of appearance, electronic cigarettes will definitely win. Today's products are becoming increasingly refined.

If you are interested, please leave a message. Currently, I can think of so much, but there is certainly more to discuss.

Including whether this business can be done or if there are partners engaged in this business who want to discuss, I have a lot of frontline experience from a few years ago. Although I don't dare to claim expertise in site selection, decoration, display, recruitment, training, activities, etc., I do have rich experience.