The Ecig Advanced Rewards Store is now up and running.  We had a tape cutting and everything (in our office with masking tape and safety scissors).

Members of our forums from now on will accumulate points in various ways.  Those points can be spent on free stuff from some of our favorite electronic cigarette companies.  Even the shipping is free (as long as it’s within the 48 contiguous United States).

Members of the forum automatically get 25 points for joining.  More points can be gained through Facebook activity, posting forum threads, commenting, and more.  For 80 points, members can get a bottle of flavored e-liquid.  For 300, they can get the Ecig Advanced ego (a rechargeable electronic cigarette pack).  More products will be available soon!

You can see a guide to the store here. Or just start shopping here.

We’ve done our best to present the two sides to the FDA and electronic cigarette issue. In one piece, we explain that the FDA has a job to do while another explains that the FDA has failed to look unbiased in its efforts against e-cigs.  The following explains what should be the future of the relationship between the FDA and electronic cigarettes.

According to many within the e-cig industry, the story of the FDA and electronic cigarettes follows as such:

E-Cigs entered the market and the FDA decided they should be regulated as a drug delivery device.  Upon failing to qualify e-cigs as drug delivery devices the FDA engaged in a revenge campaign to smear e-cigs as dangerous, toxic devices and now the budding industry fights to prove its worth in the face of a prolonged FDA tantrum.

This is not a precise history, but it does display the essential issues behind the FDA and electronic cigarettes.  The FDA hopes to regulate a currently murky new industry and electronic cigarette producers and consumers want to be free to do as they like.  There’s concern on both sides.  The FDA may ban a healthier, successful alternative to smoking for the sake of public health policy. Electronic cigarette producers may use unclean processes and unsafe materials and label them as healthy to uninformed consumers and–more concerning–may become the tool used to snag a new generation of under-aged smokers.

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According to many within the e-cig industry, the story of the FDA and electronic cigarettes follows as such:

E-Cigs entered the market and the FDA decided they should be regulated as a drug delivery device.  Upon failing to qualify e-cigs as drug delivery devices the FDA engaged in a revenge campaign to smear e-cigs as dangerous, toxic devices and now the budding industry fights to prove its worth in the face of a prolonged FDA tantrum.

The FDA is not the moral compass that people seem to expect it to be — and, surprise, it isn’t supposed to be.  The FDA is first and foremost a regulatory agency.  What it does isn’t about morality or fairness — it’s about ensuring people know the risks of what they put into their bodies and assuming they have the competence to decide whether they will or not.

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According to many within the e-cig industry, the story of the FDA and electronic cigarettes follows as such:

E-Cigs entered the market and the FDA decided they should be regulated as a drug delivery device.  Upon failing to qualify e-cigs as drug delivery devices the FDA engaged in a revenge campaign to smear e-cigs as dangerous, toxic devices and now the budding industry fights to prove its worth in the face of a prolonged FDA tantrum.

It’s easy to make any conflict as big as that of the FDA and Electronic Cigarettes sound over-blown and largely unnecessary.  Those on the side of regulation want to assume that e-cig users are taking on that classic “Don’t harsh my mellow, man” mentality when the FDA is just trying to protect them against potentially dangerous substances.  There are, however, specific circumstances to the FDA and electronic cigarette conflict that deny the FDA a “Just doing my job” defense.

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Firebrand Cigs’ new product, the Powerbolt, is what we believe to be the first disposable electronic cigarette to offer a complete e-cig experience. Normally, we don’t get very excited about disposables. They’re a great way to try electronic cigarettes on the cheap but they often lack in vapor production and battery life. But by bringing together thick, viscous vapor production, longer battery life and long cartomizer life in a slim, light design, the Powerbolt is an impressive introduction to vaping. Needless to say, we feel the name reflects the product pretty well.

The Powerbolt is the first manual disposable electronic cigarette.  The user presses a button while drawing in the vapor similar to non-disposable e-cigs and mods.  This drains batteries slower than automatic mechanisms and is more efficient with e-liquid. A manual battery of course gives a user more control, too- allowing them to choose the length of the heating separate from the draw itself. And it serves as a nice introduction to beginners, who are often unaware of manual batteries until purchasing products exclusive to them, like an eGo.

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