Good news for smokers who want to quit for health reasons: Japanese gadget-maker Thanko has just come out with this USB-powered “e-cigarette” that’ll let you skip on the tar and nicotine by-products that you get from traditional rolls of tobacco, but you still get the good old “me-blow-smoke, me-feel-good” feeling that no amount of nicotine gum or patch can provide.
Of course, it’s still no substitute for the real thing, and they’re not promising that it’ll make you kick the habit. As far as we can understand from the translated product page, it’s just a way for anxious smokers to simulate the mechanics of lighting up and puffing on something in places where you normally can’t, which is just about everywhere these days. We could be wrong though, since we really can’t read the page, but here’s the actual description, via Google Translate:
“How is the sprayer body charged with Making completion, the cartridge. And just suck smoke from the mouth, is a mechanism that spew from the mouth breathe mist dilution sensor response to flow automatically. Of course, nicotine, tar without damaging your health is not included because, when I recommend it to accompany smoking.”
Did you get that? No? Well, here’s a video:
So here’s the deal. The e-cigarette comes in three parts: a filter, a sprayer, and the main body that holds a rechargeable battery and a red LED light at the end. When charged for 2-3 hours, the kit’s replaceable filter provides enough “mist” for around 150 nicotine and tar-free draws. It’s a bit expensive to maintain though: Thanko is selling the initial package—including the e-cigarette plus ten filters for around $31. Extra filter packs amount to about $10 each for ten more filters in either regular or mint flavors.
Tags: e-cigarette, Oddities, Thanko, USB Gadgets
