Look Ma, no butts!

An e-cigarette “starter kit” from E Smoke

When I first heard of “e-cigarettes” I assumed it was a Web site where you click on a picture of a cigarette and watch a puff of smoke come out. But e-cigarettes are very tangible and are marketed to solve the problems of the typical cigarette smoker – such as complaints from one’s family about the smell of smoke.

E-cigarettes are battery operated cigarette substitutes with an LED light on one end to simulate burning and an atomizer that vaporizes liquid nicotine inside a little cylinder into a “smoke” that is almost odorless and disappears quickly. ECigarette, a maker of the product, says it “looks and tastes like a real cigarette.” The company also says you can use e-cigarettes in places where cigarette smoking is prohibited – although I bet you’d get a hard time in a no-smoking restaurant if you pull out something that’s meant to simulate a cigarette.

E-Cig, another maker, lets you “design” your own e-cigs: Choose your colors, select a “nicotine density” and then add a flavor like cherry, chocolate, coffee and vanilla.

But there’s one big smokers’ problem that no e-cigarette can solve for you: the high life insurance rates charged to smokers. Whether you’re getting nicotine through a traditional cigarette, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarette or a nicotine patch, it’s going to show up in the blood test that’s usually done as part of your life insurance application.

According to the Society of Actuaries, most life insurance companies require that you be smoke-free for a year before you can qualify for nonsmoking rates; some companies may require a longer smoke-free period.

Have you tried e-cigarettes?