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ddavelarsen Dave: ok...I can see how higher amounts could help, I used to be a chain smoker myself and smoking one every 5 to 10 mins, and at times using my last cig to light my next one, bad, bad habit, I know, so I can kinda understand where you're coming from. For me, it was more the hand/mouth habit and the thick heavy smoke that I needed, especially when I was nervous or upset, I'd smoke like a freight train, lol. I started at 36mg of nic, and found myself vaping constantly like phene, and at that time, there wasn't anything higher than that available, and I figured the reason I was doing that was I wasn't getting enough nic, Because when I vaped heavily like that, not ever putting the thing down, I started to notice that I got a buzz from it, and felt kinda spaced out, lol like I need any help in THAT department, lol I'm spaced out enough as it is, lol. Anyways, So I decided to challenge myself, or test myself, if you will, to see if this was true, To see if it was the nicotine, or the smoking/hand to mouth bit, the thick smoke, or what. So I started slowly cutting down on my nic level, over the past 6 months time and increasing the vapor thickness with VG,instead. Mixing my own stuff, playing with lots of flavors. =) At first, for the first several weeks or months, I just kept vaping and vaping, never able to put it down, but still kept slowly decreasing the nic level I was using a little more. Then after several more weeks, when I felt I could take it on, I'd decrease it still, a little more, and more. Then one day, I noticed I was starting to put my e-cig down, without thinking about it or craving it for awhile, So I kept it up, and noticed more and more that I was not only laying my pv down, I was going for longer and longer periods, before I actually picked it up to vape again. Sooo, then I started purposely leaving it in the other room, so I'd have to get up to go get it, and pretty soon, I was noticing, I kept forgetting exactly "where" i'l left it at, and found myself searching room to room for it, lol. (Never would do THAT, with an analog, lol, I KNEW full well exactly where my cigs were, at ALL times, -they went everywhere I went, lol, kindof like my shadow, or my friendly little pet does, lol) I worked my way down slowly, to 2mg doing this, ha, I really surprised myself!I started noticing just a couple of weeks ago, when I'd take my pv with me at night and left it next to the bed, (my little pacifier, lol) I'd get up the next morning, start my day, drink my coffee, answer e-mails, whatever, and a whole hour went by! I hadn't even thought of my e-cig, Then last week, I noticed it was almost noon time before I remembered it, or felt the need to use it, I couldn't believe it! (I started vaping July 11th) Now here's the thing, the story gets even better, my husband just recently started vaping and uses 26mg. So, in the process of getting him started, priming atty's for him and getting his cart reading, fixing issues with the atty, e-liquid, etc, I was hitting on his 26mg occasionally, I figures, once it while, just a few hits wouldn't hurt anything,right?! Well, let me tell you something, I could not get over how good I felt after using high 26mg nic and I felt more alert/awake, more energetic, like I used to feel when I smoke analogs. It took several times of fixing his e-cig for him and hitting that higher nic, before I made the connections. I mean, I didn't realize it was Nicotine that made me alert, and have this, like an over-all sense of well-being, and more energetic feeling. So then I did some research on the net, and learned, that yes, Nicotine has does have some good benefits and has been scientifically tested and proved to do those things. Soooo...now, I'm just using 2mg during the day, like usual, and then use the higher nic only to give me that boost I'm looking for, by just adding some to my cart, and then go back to my favorite flavor, which is 2mg filled with plumes of VG vapor clouds. =) I discovered that when you do high levels all the time, you don't really notice these things so much, and only want more of the same. It's like, once I separated myself from it, I could feel and appreciate the benefits of vaping nic, so much more. Since I know, our bodies tend to build up tolerances to things after awhile, and if demands aren't met, it throws a little fit, much like a spoiled child, saying "I want, I want, I need, i HAVE TO have" more, more MORE! weeeeeehooooo! lol least I did. lol Now I've discovered, vaping is so much more rewarding and special, to have special treats for myself. And to honest, if they had had a higher of nic than 36mg when I first started vaping, I most certainly would have bought it and been using it, and I'm not sure if ANY level amount would have EVER been enough to completely satisfy that need. But now, I totally love & enjoy all the the thickness of the VG vapor, all the good flavors, And I also found out by doing this, it is far more pleasing, and now "I" am in charge of my vaping, not my e-cig, lol, I have the power bc I can now pick n' choose when, where and what I vape based on my mood or flavor cravings, and NOT for the nic only. lol. And THAT, is a huge victory for me! Which feels sooo much better than, all the panic and anxiety, and that ever-present "need" to "have to" vape/smoke. I don't "have to" do anything! lol You can't tell me what to do, stupid nicotine habit, lol, I'm in charge now. lol Sounds silly, I know, but it's actually,....'sad but true'. Anyways, I know this if off-topic you guys, for whoever else may read this, but I figured I'd share this, and maybe someone might benefit from my little test trial here, lol, Least ways I hope so.... Anyways, I know you're happy with your nic level, if that's what does it for you in life, then, hey, enjoy it. Please lemme know when you get your flavors, hope you enjoy them! peace..... Michelle

AHHH you guys are killin' me. I know this thread is old and busted, but I just can't help myself. I took a couple pictures for the next people to read this thread... ahem: Side by side comparison: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Larger resolution pics, for the visually impaired: INCORRECT (green light): CORRECT (red light): ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BTW, I heavily exaggerated the gap in the "incorrect" picture, so your mileage may vary.

Here's an article I saved some time ago regarding the inventor of the ecig: A high-tech approach to getting a nicotine fix The electronic cigarette -- a gadget that looks like the real thing and delivers nicotine without smoke -- is established in China, and companies are taking aim at the U.S. market. By Barbara Demick April 25, 2009 Reporting from Beijing -- Hon Lik used to light up first thing in the morning. He smoked between lectures at the university where he studied Oriental medicine, between bites at lunch, in the lab where he researched ginseng health products. He'd usually burn through two packs by dusk and smoke a third over dinner and drinks with colleagues. It wasn't until his father, also a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer that Hon finally kicked the habit. Hon's story could be that of any other nicotine-addicted, middle-aged man in China, where 60% of the men smoke. What distinguishes the 52-year-old pharmacist and inventor is that he found inspiration in the addiction. One of the strangest gizmos to come out of China in recent years, Hon's invention, the electronic cigarette, turns the adage "where there's smoke there's fire" on its head. It doesn't burn at all. Instead, it uses a small lithium battery that atomizes a liquid solution of nicotine. What you inhale looks like smoke, but it's a vapor similar to stage fog. (Take that, smoke-free bars!) It even has a red light at the tip that lights up with each drag. "It's a much cleaner, safer way to inhale nicotine," said Hon, blowing curlicues of e-smoke as he showed off the cigarette in his Beijing office. (He says he doesn't smoke anymore, except for such demonstrations.) Hon got his first patent on the e-cigarette in 2003 and introduced it to the Chinese market the next year. The company he worked for, Golden Dragon Holdings, was so inspired that it changed its name to Ruyan (meaning "like smoke") and started selling abroad. This year, it's planning a big push in the United States. A disposable e-cigarette called the Jazz ($24.95 for the equivalent of five packs) is due to hit 7-Elevens in the Dallas-Fort Worth area shortly. Many rival versions, all made in China, are making their way to the U.S., sold mostly over the Internet by small marketing firms. Unlike nicotine patches and gum, electronic cigarettes are designed to be fun. There are regulars and menthols, as well as chocolate and strawberry. A company in Japan is selling one that is charged by the USB port of a computer. The e-cigarettes aren't marketed as a way to quit smoking, but as a smoking alternative. "It's safe smoking -- like smoking with a condom on," said William Taskas, a Canadian distributor who is marketing a product called Smoke- Stik. What makes the electronic cigarette more than just the latest curiosity from China is the enthusiasm it has inspired among respected anti-tobacco activists. "This is exactly what the tobacco companies have been afraid of all these years, an alternative method of delivering nicotine that is actually enjoyable," said David Sweanor, an adjunct law professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in tobacco issues. "It took the Chinese, who are very entrepreneurial, and not burdened with all kinds of regulation, to take the risk." Even without smoke or fire, electronic cigarettes are sparking controversy. Australia, Canada and Hong Kong have banned them on the grounds that they have not been sufficiently tested for safety. "The way they were being sold, there was no control. A kid could buy it and take too many puffs. You could overdose on nicotine," said Ronald Lam, tobacco control chief of the health department in Hong Kong, where 800 shops were raided last month and the entire e-stash confiscated. The Food and Drug Administration last month confiscated shipments from three Chinese companies on the grounds they were making false health claims. The agency said in a recent letter to prospective importers of electronic cigarettes that it had not decided on their legality, but was "evaluating them on a case-by-case basis." Although they're not kicking Marlboro off the shelves in China, the electronic cigarettes have a small but loyal following. "They're quite popular with both men and women," said Sun Shujuan, a clerk at the tobacco counter of the Beijing City Department Store. Each day, she sells one or two of the reusable cigarettes (a $145 appliance), and a much larger number of the replacement cartridges, which run $9 for the equivalent of five packs of cigarettes. "We have many repeat customers." Chinese smokers complain that the electronic cigarettes are expensive (most brands here are still less than $1 a pack) and can't be easily shared. In China, cigarettes are the essential lubricant for opening a conversation -- the smoke offered to the cop who has pulled you over, the pack held open by a salesman approaching a prospect. "What is the point of having cigarettes if you can't give one to a friend?" said Liu Hai, who works as a driver and lives in Chengdu, in Sichuan province. The United States is considered a far more promising market because of the higher price of cigarettes and the prohibition on smoking in many indoor spaces. "When you're in Minneapolis in the winter, it's a lot more attractive to spend $24.95 on an electronic cigarette than it is to go out to smoke where it is 20 degrees below," said Alex Chong, chief executive of Ruyan America, the Minneapolis-based U.S. affiliate of Hon's company. E-cigarettes are already sold legally in some British pubs, where smoking is banned. Even though the devices are not yet widely available in the United States, the battle lines are being drawn. The electronic cigarette marketers refrain from calling e-cigarettes a smoking-cessation aid -- in part because under U.S. law, if they made any health claims, they would be subject to FDA approval. Bill Godshall, head of Smokefree Pennsylvania, estimates that at least 100,000 electronic cigarettes have been sold in the United States. (The gizmo got a boost last month when Leonardo DiCaprio was photographed smoking one on a bicycle.) "You have these abstinence-only extremists who want to eradicate all nicotine product. But as you've seen, whether we're talking about sex or alcohol or nicotine, abstinence doesn't really work," said Godshall, who has collected 4,000 signatures on a petition to allow e-cigarettes to be legally sold in the United States. Chong, of Ruyan America, said his company was willing to put its product up for safety testing to win U.S. regulatory approval but not immediately, explaining that it is a $20-million, three-year process. He said that seven laboratories the company commissioned to test the product found no dangerous level of chemicals. Inventor Hon says the idea of the electronic cigarettes came to him in a dream in 2000: Coughing and wheezing, he imagined he was drowning, until suddenly the waters around him lifted into a fog. He gave one of the first prototypes to his dying father. "It was too late for my father, but not for me. I switched over myself to electronic cigarettes."

Hi vbear, I promised you a response last night so here it is.