USB Cigarette Could Be Habit Forming, Humor Inducing

by Steve Levenstein

The e-cigarette from Thanko plugs into your computer's USB port and offers puffers a genuine smoking experience... without all the nicotine, tar, ashes, smell and, er, smoke.

The busy bees over at TokyoMango are in the habit of finding new and interesting Japanese stuff so it's no surprise they're featuring the amusing and addictive USB Cigarette. Made by Japan's Thanko, the so-called "e-cigarette" comes about as close to approximating the experience of smoking as one can get without actually lighting up. Actually, the e-cig DOES light up - via a tiny red LED embedded in its tip.

The USB cigarette is not a toy though it's not a real cigarette either. It might even have a practical purpose: many ex-smokers miss more than the buzz of the nicotine; the physical mechanics of smoking itself are said to be habit forming. With the e-cigarette you get the look, the feel, even the sight of "smoke" being exhaled with every puff!

Here's how it works... the "cigarette" comes in 3 parts: a filter, a sprayer and a body with a rechargeable battery inside and an LED on its end. Use the included cable to plug the cigarette into your computer's USB port - it takes 2-3 hours for a full charge. Unplug, inhale and enjoy! The sprayer/filter combo provides enough "mist" for about 150 draws and you get 11 filters (a pack of 10 plus 1 additional) with each order. You can also buy replacement packs of 10 filters in regular or mint flavor.

The complete package costs 2,980 yen (about $31) and the extra filter packs are 980 yen (about $10) each, available direct from Thanko's product page. Wacky tabbacky was never so much fun! Well, almost.

Steve Levenstein
J A P A N O R A M A
InventorSpot.com

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Submitted on June 11th, 2009 by Anonymous

Actually, This product has been on the market for over 2 years, and was created in china.

Japan is actually kinda slow to adopt this. I'm currently using one, and have been using the e-cig for about 2 months now. I LOVE this thing. I buy my liquid separate, and fill up the cartridges manually. It's MUCH cheaper than buying pre-filled cartridges.

Plus, when using un-flavored nicotine liquid, you can buy candy flavorings, and make your own flavors. Apple, Strawberry, Kiwi, Menthol etc..etc..

Free Electronic Cigarette Kit

Submitted on June 11th, 2009 by Anonymous

If anyone is interested, http://www.invisismoke.com is giving away a Free electronic cigarette kit every month. The contest if Free to enter with no purchase necessary.

cheers

More practical than amusing.

Submitted on June 11th, 2009 by Anonymous

Yeah. Not that new. USB pass-thrus for e-cig work very well and save wear and tear on the more portable rechargeable batteries. Several models of e-cig have USB-powered batteries... not just this one.

Electronic Cig is a great product !

Submitted on August 7th, 2009 by Anonymous

I am very much excited about the new generation which they will be heading towards a better & safer future. Electronic Cigarette invention is the greatest yet to a positive alternative for smoking. I give thumbs up to Chinas Manufactures for making it all possible for out future. I purchased an Electronic cigarette myself and it works great. The best part about my experience is that I've quit traditional smoking for good. So I can freely suggest to those who are considering an effective alternative product that will aid them into quitting tobacco smoking. I purchased mine from http://www.electroniccig.com

Unfortunately, most of the

Submitted on August 18th, 2009 by Anonymous

Unfortunately, most of the sellers of e-cigarettes right now have products that contain overseas liquid. Newer companies like Halo have provided American Made electronic cigarette juice which seems to be a safer alternative. Its a shame, but you just cant trust ingestibles that are coming from China, as their quality control standards are much lower.

Johnny Blaze