SmokeSmart Review

In my previous post, "My Quit Smoking Plan", I mentioned that I was going to use Nic-Out filters and SmokeSmart during Phase 1 to slowly reduce the amount of nicotine entering my body. Since I have already written a review of the Nic-Out filters, I will not go into that here. If you missed that review, you can read it by clicking HERE. I do, however, want to tell you about SmokeSmart.

Honeslty, I don't really know how to describe SmokeSmart. I guess the best way to describe it is that SmokeSmart is a device that allows you to slowly reduce the amount of nicotine, tar, and carbon monoxide that you inhale from your cigarettes. It does this by putting little perforations into the filter of a cigarette. It is really easy to use. All you have to do is insert the filter end of a cigarette into the hole in SmokeSmart and squeeze. That's it.

How does SmokeSmart actually work at removing the nictotine, tar, and carbon monoxide for a cigarette? I found the following information at quitsmoking.com:

SmokeSmart creates ultra fine perforations in the filter or tip end of any brand of cigarette. When you puff on a cigarette processed with SmokeSmart, the perforations allow cool air to enter the cigarette and combine with the hot gases from the burning tobacco. The blending of hot and cool air causes the "condensation" of harmful cigarette gases, trapping tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide and TPM-Total Particulate Matter (hundreds of dangerous chemicals in cigarette smoke) before they can enter your mouth or lungs. (Courtesy of quitsmoking.com)

So how much does SmokeSmart reduce the tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide of a cigarette? It all depends on how many perforations you put into the filter.

• 1 perforation reduces nicotine by 20%, tar by 30%, and carbon monoxide by 36%

• 2 perforations reduce nicotine by 28%, tar by 50%, and carbon monoxide by 58%

• 3 perforations reduce nicotine by 53%, tar by 63%, and carbon monoxide by 71%

• 4 perforations reduce nicotine by 62%, tar by 72%, and carbon monoxide by 80%
  

Unfortunately, I do not have any equipment to verify these claims, but I have been using SmokeSmart for a couple of weeks now and I have noticed that I feel like I need a cigarette more often. I feel as if my "nicotine fix" wears off quicker. I just have to make sure that I do not give into the craving right away. I also feel like I am not inhaling all of the normal "crap" that is in cigarettes. When I first start using it I noticed that it almost felt like I was not smoking at all. Have you ever smoked a "regular" cigarette and then switched to a "light" cigarette. It kind of felt like that, which I don't think that that is a bad thing. It makes me feel like I am doing something good. Sure, I am still smoking, but I am making steps on becoming a non-smoker. I started out with 1 perforation, and am now using 2 perforations. I will probably continue with 2 perforations for another week or so and then start smoking with 3 perforations.

The cost of SmokeSmart is only $5.95 over at QuitSmoking.com, so it might be a worthy addition to your quit smoking arsenal.

Questions or comments are gladly accepted.

Nic-Out Filter Review

A week or so ago I mentioned that I purchased a few things from QuitSmoking.com to help me quit smoking. One of those items was Nic-Out. Nic-Out is a device that fits on the filter end of a cigarette. It acts as an additional filter for your cigarettes. But what this filter does is simply amazing. Here are a few of the company's claims:

• Nic-Out cigarette filters remove over 90% of the tar and nicotine from your cigarette.
• Does not affect cigarette taste or temperature
• One pack of Nic-Out is good for 150 regular or 300 light cigarettes
• Turns 1 pack into 2 cigarettes
• The clear Nic-Out filters let you see exactly what is being removed from your very first cigarette.

Now, I am not a scientist and do not have access to any scientific equipment, so I cannot verify the claim that the filters remove 90% of the tar and nicotine, but after using a few of these filters, I believe that they do remove some "crap" from cigarettes.

Nic-Out is sold in boxes of 30 filters. The box is the size of a pack of cigarettes. If you purchase them from QuitSmoking.com, the cost is $6.50 per box if you purchase 1 box. If you purchase more than 1 box, the cost per box decreases. When you pull a fresh filter out of the package, it looks like this:

There is nothing fancy about the filter. It is clear with a yellow filtering device in the middle. There is a round end that fits around the filter of your cigarette, and the opposite end goes in your mouth. You smoke a cigarette as you normally would. I did not notice any difference in the taste of my cigarettes. Okay, so do you want to see what happens after you smoke a cigarette with a Nic-Out filter?

This is the filter after 1 "Light" cigarette:
Notice the dark area around the middle of the filter. I am not sure exactly what that is, so I will just call it "crap". Whatever it is, without the Nic-Out filter, it would have made its way into my throat and lungs.

Here is the filter after 5 "Light" cigarettes:
More "crap" that did not make it into my lungs!

And here is the filter after 10 "Light" cigarettes:
Pretty gross, huh? That is after only 10 cigarettes. A 1/2 a pack! Just imagine the build up of that crap in your lungs after many years of smoking! Does that make you want to quit? It has given me more incentive to quit, that's for sure!

Like I said earlier, I am unable to prove their claims that Nic-Out removes 90% of the tar and nicotine from cigarettes, but after using the filters, I beleive they remove something. And something is better than nothing!

One last note. They say that 1 box is good for 150 regular cigarettes or 300 light cigarettes. That means that 1 filter can be used for up to 5 regular cigarettes and 10 light cigarettes. I used light cigarettes and I have to say that 10 light cigarettes is the max. After 8 or 9 cigarettes, the filter starts tasting like like an old cigarette. Have you ever smoke part of a cigarette, put it out in an ashtray and went back later to finish smoking it? It kinda tastes like that...that old and stale cigarette taste.

Overall, I was impressed with the filter. I was skeptical at first, but after seeing the "crap" build up in the filter with each cigarette, I think that Nic-Out is a good product. I like the fact that you can actually see the "crap" getting trapped in the filter. I would recommend it to anyone who is thinking about quitting smoking.