http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/03/the-inevitable/
Smokers are pariahs. Evil, stinking polluters of the sweet city air, a single cancer stick’s smoke is worse for the lungs of passersby than the exhaust fumes of a thousand SUVs. Or so say non-smokers (and the California authorities).
If you’re the kind of smoker who hates these whining do-gooders, there are a few ways to drive them crazy while remaining inside of the law — electronic tubes which vaporize a nicotine-containing liquid like the NJOY faux-fag, for instance. To our knowledge, though, there is only one USB-powered cigarette, and it’s from Thanko, the Japanese tat-shop.
Thanko’s “USB electronic cigarette" works just like all the other electronic cigarettes. You slide in a cartridge and an electric element vaporizes the liquid inside. This makes it more-or-less odor-free and means that you can, technically at least, smoke in restaurants, bars and even planes. The Thanko version adds USB charging to its spec sheet, meaning you can leave the cigarette on your desk to taunt your co-workers. We suggest adding an ashtray for maximum baiting effect.
The kit is available for ¥3,000, or around $30. And for those of you wondering how my cigarette-quitting went, the answer is “very well". The tech didn’t help in the end as much as plain old-fashioned willpower (and some super-strength nicotine patches) but I have made it for eight weeks without a single lapse. I am, though, knocking back a bottle of whisky a day.
Smokers are pariahs. Evil, stinking polluters of the sweet city air, a single cancer stick’s smoke is worse for the lungs of passersby than the exhaust fumes of a thousand SUVs. Or so say non-smokers (and the California authorities).
If you’re the kind of smoker who hates these whining do-gooders, there are a few ways to drive them crazy while remaining inside of the law — electronic tubes which vaporize a nicotine-containing liquid like the NJOY faux-fag, for instance. To our knowledge, though, there is only one USB-powered cigarette, and it’s from Thanko, the Japanese tat-shop.
Thanko’s “USB electronic cigarette" works just like all the other electronic cigarettes. You slide in a cartridge and an electric element vaporizes the liquid inside. This makes it more-or-less odor-free and means that you can, technically at least, smoke in restaurants, bars and even planes. The Thanko version adds USB charging to its spec sheet, meaning you can leave the cigarette on your desk to taunt your co-workers. We suggest adding an ashtray for maximum baiting effect.
The kit is available for ¥3,000, or around $30. And for those of you wondering how my cigarette-quitting went, the answer is “very well". The tech didn’t help in the end as much as plain old-fashioned willpower (and some super-strength nicotine patches) but I have made it for eight weeks without a single lapse. I am, though, knocking back a bottle of whisky a day.
Old news. Many of us have been vaping USB devices long before the Japs even set eyes on them. China beat them to it, by oh, 5 years..and no nicotine patches or whiskey needed either.