Blu e-cigarettes: Who will you meet while smoking your next cigarette?

In the era of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and much more, social networking is shaping the products of tomorrow. And guess who is the latest to jump on this band wagon? Blu, the maker of electronic cigarettes has pioneered its entry into this lucrative market.

blu e cigarette

For those of you living in the stone age, Blu makes electronic cigarettes, which as the name suggests runs on an electronic mechanism to produce a nicotine laden vapor. Mind you, this is not smoke. Although the effects on your health are unknown, manufacturers promote it as a safer alternative than their traditional counterparts as there is no actual combustion of tobacco and other related chemicals. It still gives users a dose of nicotine and a puff of vapor, much similar to that of smoke. These cigarettes are reusable. Simply charge them with the provided charger and use again when the batteries are fully charged.

And if you thought that this was fancy enough, Blu has now developed packs of these e-cigarettes which will let you know if there are other e-smokers around you. While smoking an e-cigarette outside a coffee shop in Manhattan, Jason Healy, the founder of Blu said,

“You will meet more people than ever, just because of the wow factor.”

He also suggests that such technology will be most useful in places like nightclubs, where users will be able to strike conversations with others. Not only that, you will also be allowed to smoke inside the venue since e-cigarettes do not burn! Apart from vibrating and flashing a blue light when the pack is within 50 meters of other users, it will also vibrate when you are near a retail outlet that sells Blu cigarettes. For smokers worrying about running out of smokes, this pack also acts as a charger which will charge your e-cigarettes. There are many out there who may have picked up the habit of smoking due to peer pressure or social interaction. Whether the ‘social networking’ aspect of Blu’s electronic cigarettes appeals to users, only time will tell.

Healy also said that future versions of this futuristic pack will be able to communicate with smart phones and other wireless enabled devices. In the pipelines are the company’s plans to use this connectivity to monitor usage and report vital data to themselves and other researchers. These new packs can be yours for $80. With it, you will get 5 e-cigarettes. And before you start scouting the internet for good deals, be warned that there is lack of controlled studies of electronic cigarettes and their regulation is still being debated by the FDA and in governments across America.

Source: NYTimes