E Cigarette: Our Experience

It was at the Perez Hilton party at SXSW backstage when we first encountered the strange e cigarette. Maybe it's because we're not smokers, but it was the first time we were truly spooked by technology. For the uninitiated, (which is almost everyone), here's a definition:

E cigarettes use a rechargeable battery to activate a heating coil that quickly heats nicotine suspended in a propylene glycol solution, which in some models is soaked into a soft fabric cartridge, until it vaporizes. The user inhales the vapor just as if he were smoking a cigarette and exhales a white mist that resembles smoke or steam.

What results is the weirdest thing you've ever seen. It doesn't taste like a cigarette (we tried it), but it does give off nicotine, something that makes us sick, personally. And then produces this fake smoke that has no odor but, we guess, gives the smoker a feeling of satisfaction.  But now the FDA is stepping forward to regulate these products as the newest use of the drug nicotine. And one importer of the product is filing suit. The man in the photographs, who we met backstage at Perez's party, sells the product and says he's got a lot of celebrities in Hollywood using them, but we haven't really seen any since.  It will be interesting to see where this debate lands. Also interesting is the price. Will Latinos be willing to shell out for a $60 cartridge (which, according to the manufacturer equals to about 20 cigarettes) with eight refills? In some states, we suppose that's quite the bargain. In others, it might be on the pricey side.