Much of electronic cigarette technology has been constrained to 3.7 volts with forays into 5V and higher now becoming commonplace. The relatively new option of variable voltage has appeared recently and I am excited about one new device that is coming next week. The Infinity is now for sale at Notcigs and promises to be a sleek and easy to use variable voltage PV. According to Mike at Notcigs, “it is as easy to use as a Bic lighter – just turn the dial to set the hit or flavor” to match whatever atomizer or cartomizer is attached. It’s a good looking device at a reasonable price, too. I am looking forward to seeing if it lives up to Notcigs goal of seeing it become a standard in the market.

I noticed two interesting articles this week in the Chicago Independent Press. First a general article on the ever increasing market for electronic cigarettes and second, an article that states that Walmart will soon be selling ecigs in stores. I don’t hold out much hope that these will be great models or anything, but any news that points to more mainstream acceptance is good news.

The electronic cigarette comes in at number 2 on the list of unfounded health scares in an article in the Daily Caller. It is then reprinted on the American Council On Science and Health website.

From the article, “So-called public health and anti-smoking groups who condemn the e-cigarettes as health hazards similar to traditional smoking are doing a great disservice to the tens of millions of addicted cigarette smokers in America.”

Another great editorial appeared today in the Wisconsin Public Journal. This is a good one to send to those who insist that vaping is dangerous because the FDA says so.

You have to check this one out – http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/stossel/index.html. Great mainstream positive press for a change.

Clear cartomizers are a relatively new addition to the list of cartridge/cartomizer alternatives and I finally ordered some in the form of FLüXomizers from Gotvapes. These probably deserve a full review, but you will find plenty of those on their forum at ECF. I’m not a big cartomizer fan, so my review might be a little lackluster anyway. In short, the 3.0 ohm version was nothing special at 3.7v and lacked the throat hit that is a must for me. At 5v, however, the 3.2 ohm version packs a nice punch and will probably have me returning for more.

On the surface, e-juice calculations seem pretty straightforward, but figuring out just how much concentrated unflavored nicotine liquid, PG, VG and flavoring to mix can get a little complicated. Thankfully, some kind folks have taken the guesswork out of it with well designed calculators. Scubabatdan on the E-Cigarette-Forum has posted several iterations of his calculator and Daath has created the beginnings of an online recipe database at e-liquid-recipes.com.

I ran across an interesting link to Vapers Alley today, an auction site for vaping related material. There are categories for everything from e-cig kits to mixing supplies and it also includes a category for that other type of vaporizer. I didn’t see anything that struck me as a bargain on Vapers Alley and there were a relatively small amount of items for sale, but registration, buying and selling appear to all be free, so this has potential. Buyer beware is undoubtedly a phrase that applies here, however.

Nicotine is often guilty by association with all of the other nasty ingredients found in cigarettes.  The truth is that nicotine, while it is addicting, is not that dangerous by itself.  New research has confirmed that it may even be beneficial – Nicotine Improves Memory And Helps Brain Repair Itself