E-Lites Electronic Cigarettes review

I am sneaking this review in because this site is dedicated to portable technology and the E-Lites qualify because they need to be charged via a USB port. They are also portable and have a gadget like quality that will appeal to those of you who like that sort of thing. They may also appeal to those of you who desperately want to give up the dreaded weed, but who have found that patches, inhalators and all of the other solutions on the market do not work.

When you are addicted to smoking you are unconsciously addicted to Nicotine, but consciously addicted to the process of smoking; the heat in your mouth, the feeling at the back of your throat and the overall sensation that a cigarette brings. The fact that each one slowly kills you is a passing thought that the smoker puts to the back of their mind to worry about another day. It is a truly stupid habit and I am truly and stupidly addicted to smoking.

In desperation I ordered a starter kit of E-Lites 60’s for £24.99 and patiently waited for them to arrive. They duly did and I opened the envelope. Was this the start of a whole new me or just a gimmick which claims so much more than it can possibly deliver?

The packaging is superb. You get a case which looks like a real cigarette packet and which holds the main battery (which looks like a cigarette), the atomizer, 5 cartridges (equivalent to 60-75 cigarettes) and the USB charger. In short you get everything you need to get started and decide if this solution works for you.

With a mixture of anticipation and potential doom, I charged the cigarette from my work laptop (how bizarre is that notion?) and then went outside to try it. At first the taste felt quite strange and almost overpowering, but I smoke roll-ups and a real cigarette gives me a similar feeling on the occasions I smoke one. And those are the crucial words- ‘similar feeling’. It really does feel like a cigarette, a different kind of cigarette, but there is no mistaking that it felt like a cigarette to me the first time I tried it.

As the hours passed and I got used to the new sensation I started to enjoy the taste and it reminded me of the transition I made from real cigarettes to roll-ups many years ago. It doesn’t feel the same at first, but in my mind the habit was replaced by something similar and I was still smoking. I only realised after a day that I had not touched a real cigarette in 24 hours, a process which would normally have me climbing the walls in desperation. IT WORKS!!!

Oh yes, I am confident that the E-60’s are working for me because I still feel like a smoker. I do not feel like I have given up my worst habit and feel no different than I did before I first used the product. The fact that there is no smell at all, that I can smoke anywhere I like (with more than a few strange glances) and that it is doing me no harm seems to have melted into the background in no time at all.

I will be back with an update after a month, but so far this product could prove to be incredibly important to me. I am 40 years old, have two young children and just maybe this product will let me enjoy much more of their lives. That may sound overly sentimental, but this is potentially a life saver for me and for many others. I am amazed by this product.

I have to add a disclaimer that these types of products are not endorsed by the World Health Organisation due to what they see as a lack of testing. Personally though I can’t believe they can be anyway near as dangerous as a real cigarette.

UPDATE: This is a bit of a turnaround, but I have been struggling with this particular brand due to problems with the battery and the consistency of the experience which occurred after a week of use, and subsequently with a second batch. I have now moved elsewhere and you can expect a review soon.

All comments on this review have been removed following a request from E-Lites. We are currently investigating the origin of the comments and will update in due course.

Comments

[Lloyd]

After seeing the glamouros adverts for E-Lites on television I thought that I might buy another electronic ciggerette as I have used another brand in the past.
What a dissapiontment E-Lites were. I had nothing but trouble. I brought a Starter Pack. Then I found out that if you put the battery in the wrong way into the starter pack for charging you can damage the terminals, and then another battery won't charge unless you push it down or hold it in with selotape.
Further to this the batterys were either taking well over the reccomended charging time or and when I did get a charged battery, (after recieving 2 USB chargers) The charged just didn't last as long as anticipated. I had no instructions or advice from E-lites about their product.
In the end, after numerous attemps to get replacements/upgrades etc. I gave up all hope and stopped communicating with the staff at E-lites.