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.
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