Electronic Cigarettes have grown in popularity over the few years and just like with any market, last year’s greatest has now fallen to the bottom of the barrel and this years has only surfaced. With only an estimated 3.7 million american electronic cigarette users, this market is still fresh and yet to blossom. With that being said, out with the old and in with the new.
With only 7 years in existence and the past 2 years being at its high, its summit is still yet to come. The industry estimates puts U.S. sales of the devices and accessories at more than $200 million annually and by late 2012 an expectant to double, if not triple in users. The new vendors, suppliers and manufacturers seemingly arising each month, expansion has become key and with expansion comes the need for new product.
The new electronic cigarette users that have just made the switch to this alternative are being introduced to a whole new market of electronic cigarettes from that seen 2 years back. Vendors are coming out with what is called to be mods, short for modified electronic cigarettes. Some of these mods are pushing higher voltages for more vapor, bigger batteries to reduce time between charges and in bigger bodies to accommodate the battery and its other electrical components.
It’s understandable of the want to increase battery life, but could the larger size discourage new e-cigarette users? The question kept me interested and I knew finding someone with the knowledge and experience was only a keystroke away. I contacted a friend of mine, a highly reputable e-cigarette modder known in the electronic cigarette community to present him the question.
“The larger size will undoubtedly turn new vapers away. If anyone remembers back when they first thought about getting an e-cig, the idea was to get something the same size as a normal cigarette. This leads to our first experiences not being great, for the majority of us. The size of a mod at our infant state makes us think “I’ll look like an idiot in public with this”. However now, anyone of use wants our mod to catch attention as if it were a neon sign while out in public. What is really needed is for veterans to hand these newbies a mod and let them play with it for a day. After using a mod for a full day it turns that idea of using a larger device in public that they would normally feel embarrassed using, into pride. That’s a short part of a much longer topic that will hopefully change the way we do our vape meets.” says Josh. Owner and Operator of JollyrifficMODS.com.
As I own what looks to be the world’s largest magazine styled electronic cigarette information website, I had to chime in and give a response as well.
“At GuideToVaping we have a much larger audience to the new vapers just making the switch to this alternative device. The majority of our content is focused and directed specifically to the new vaper. I understand and realize that the e-cigarette mods aren’t as appealing, therefore I try to keep what they are first introduced to, at more of a medium. Throwing too much information on the newbies from the start probably isn’t the best idea and in most cases could possibly turn them away. Times have changed from using your average stick style e-cigarette that looks like a normal traditional cigarette to the ones that are just a tad bit bigger in size, packing a slightly larger battery and tend not to look like a real cigarette, but at the same time not being a mod either. The e-cig that I’m referring to and has gained the most popularity in the vaping community for one starting out is the EGO electronic cigarette. The EGO electronic cigarette is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand without drawing too much attention, it provides an intermediate battery life lasting up to 1 full day and it pushes out plumes of vapor.” says Blake. Co-Owner of GuideToVaping.com.
It’s obvious that as times change, the electronic cigarette industry will follow. Your traditional stick style electronic cigarette becomes the old and your mod becomes the new. This is how the e-cigarette scene has been shaped and stepping out of the cycle isn’t always progression.
Got to give props to Janty for inventing the eGo!
Here is an article posted on about Janty being nominated for the Danish Product Awards 2011 for the eGo – http://ing.dk/artikel/120983-produktprisen-2011-dansk-designer-bag-verdens-mest-solgte-e-cigaret
Vaping will change the world! No tobacco – no secondhand smoke:)
I prefer pen-style e-cigs ‘coz they don’t give me away as a “smoker”. I’m a vaper now and I want to differentiate myself from those who are actually using the real cigarettes.
The let them play for a day strategy is what I used on a buddy of mine. Granted, I don’t use a mod, I use an eGo, but still significantly larger than the traditional stick I started out with that he was leaning toward. That day turned into “can I keep this for over the holiday to use until my order comes in?” I am pleased to say his first ecig is going to be alot more satisfying than mine was; an 1100 mag 4 stage variable volt device for a noob isn’t bad. He has already cut his analogue consumption in half.
Funny timing. I just wrote a piece on the E-Cig News Alert blog a couple of days ago, titled, “Is the Joye 510 Dead?” I maintain that the 510 will always be a staple because of how self conscious people are at the beginning. We still have hundreds of people using a 510 that refuse to go to anything bigger – even an eCab. It got them off of analogs and that’s the most important thing – whether they ever graduate to a bigger e-cig or not. The 510 works just fine and puts out a decent amount of vapor as long as you don’t mind toting a pocket full of batteries around with you.