Time for a change

With our eldest child’s 6th birthday fast approaching it has made Lee and I think about how quickly time is flying by and that we are both getting older too. We are far from being spring chickens. I am in my early 30’s now and Lee who is 8 years older hit the big 40 late last year.

As we are getting older and are feeling the aches, pains and tiredness of our busy lives now more than ever we have decided that it is important that we take more care of ourselves. So that we can play and have fun with the kids and be there for them as they grow older we need to think about our health and be as fit and healthy as we can be. Whilst on the whole we are relevantly healthy and do not have many bad habits (we eat healthy and neither of us drink any alcohol) there is always room for improvement which will hopefully leave us healthier with more energy.

Vaping with the blu PRO™ eCig kit - #bluForYou

* This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. Readers must be 18 years of age or older. All opinions are mine alone. #bluForYou #CollectiveBias

A Just You & blu experience

Like most people Lee has many facets to his character. He 'wears' a number of different hats, taking on different roles in his life. Along with the 'characters' he is called such as dad, fiance, son, brother, friend, and co-worker he has a number of habits, interests and quirky characteristics that he embodies which combined make him the individual that he is. 

One habit that interlaces throughout most of his life and lives on regardless of the 'role' he is currently embodying is smoking.

For over half of his life Lee has been a smoker. Having smoked traditional cigarettes for many, many years Lee recently decided to try smoking e-cigs.

Quitting smoking.

Whilst I have and would never judge anyone for smoking and have many friends and family who do smoke, having never personally smoked I find the smell and cost of smoking rather unappealing. As a non-smoker who hates the smell I always thought that I would never date a smoker, as the smell would give any potential partner an air of unattractiveness to me.

So when I met Lee and found out that he was a smoker – one who had smoked for many years and the habit of smoking was strong – I was surprised to see myself overlooking his smoking and not being as bothered by or put off him because of it as I always thought I would be. As I had an instant connection to him and then fell in love with him I didn’t care that he smoked – my love for him blinded me to his habit.

As a person who has never smoked in her whole life I cannot really understand or pass judgement on how easy or hard it is to quit smoking. Whilst I loved Lee regardless of his smoking and accepted him habit and all, and would never dream of giving him an ultimatum to quit or not be with me as it’s up to the person to decide if they want to give up smoking or not; deep down I always hoped one day he would want to kick the habit.

When we started a family Lee's thoughts on smoking changed and he started to consider quitting for the sake of our children and to improve his own health in the hope of being fit and healthy for his family for years to come.

Vaping Industry figures and benefits.

The vaping industry has snowballed from virtually nothing to being a huge growth area in just a few years. In 2015, sales in the UK alone rose by 75 per cent to £459m, while global sales of e-cigarettes and associated paraphernalia grew by 59 per cent to £3.9bn. At the same time, sales of nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) such as patches and gum fell by 3 per cent to £137m, which was the first decline in NRT sales since 2008. UK vaping sales surpassed NRT sales in 2012 and are now more than three times higher. With smoking figures continuing to dwindle, it looks like more and more people are using e-cigarettes over NRT alternatives as a means of kicking the smoking habit.

Sunrise Pro E-Cigarette Review.

My partner Lee is a smoker; he has smoked for many, many years and has tried and struggled on numerous occasions to reduce his smoking and quit. As well as smoking rollies using pouched tobacco he now also regularly uses e-cigarettes which has helped reduce the amount of tobacco he smokes. He aims to eventually only smoke e-cigarettes and then hopefully quit smoking any form of cigarettes altogether. Lee has only tried one brand of e-cigarettes before and even though he gets on well with them he finds that particular e-cigarette quite big and heavy compared to smoking rollies. As he has only tried one brand he was more than happy to try another brand when we were given the opportunity to review an e-cigarette starter set from Paramount Zone.

After testing numerous e-cigarettes on the market Paramount Zone decided to stock what they consider to be the best electric cigarette on the market, the Sunrise Pro e-cigarette which according to Paramount Zone performs brilliantly and is great value for money. With great praise from Paramount Zone being bestowed on this e-cigarette Lee was keen to test it out for himself.

The Sunrise Pro e-cigarette starter set contains –

* 1 e-cigarette

* 1 lithium battery

* 1 USB charger

* 1 atomizer

* set of instructions

Currently the starter set also includes -

* a tub of 10 refill cartridges

The cartridges sent for this review were tobacco flavour with medium nicotine strength.

The e-cigarette comes in a cigarette style packet; the box is useful for storing the e-cigarette and accessories when not in use. Even though the box is a decent quality both Lee and I agree that it would be better if the box was sturdier, perhaps made from a strong plastic (or a carry pouch provided instead) so that it would definitely withstand being used on a regular basis to store the e-cigarette and accessories when not in use and when going out and about. 

The Sunrise Pro e-cigarette is simple and easy to use.

To charge - 

* Screw the battery into the USB charger. 

* Plug the USB charge into an USB port. A red light glows on the USB charging device as it charges the e-cigarette battery.

* Unscrew the battery once charged and begin using the e-cigarette. The red light is replaced by a green light to indicate that the battery is fully charged. 

To use – 

* Once charged screw the battery into the atomizer (short bit) ensuring it is screwed tightly

* Place a new cartridge over the atomizer

* Suck on the cartridge and smoke the e-cigarette

Lee loves that it is simple to use and finds that it just the same as smoking a normal cigarette, you even get ‘smoke’ when you exhale (the smoke is only vapour and is not harmful to those around you). As Lee smokes rollies using tobacco from a pouch and has done for many years he is used to the taste and feel of smoking rollies, as such he finds that smoking a regular cigarette feels and tastes slightly different which he has also found to be the case when smoking e-cigarettes. He says that the Sunrise Pro e-cigarette tastes very similar to regular cigarettes but a tad different to smoking rollies, even though it is different it is not a unpleasant smoking experience just not quite the same. Lee says that the Sunrise Pro e-cigarette provides a smooth smoking experience, with (at times) a woody taste and satisfies his nicotine cravings.

Lee likes that you charge the battery using a USB charger as he is always near a laptop or computer so it is convenient for him to charge this way. He also likes that it is relatively quick to achieve a full charge and he has found a full charge lasts approximately 1 day of usage which means he does not need to re-charge throughout the day. He likes that the LED flashes when the battery is low providing him with a warning so that he can recharge the battery for further use.

Lee likes the colour and design of the cigarette; the e-cigarette is compact, not too heavy and Lee thinks the gloss black e-cigarette is sleek and stylish. He thinks it is nice that it has not been designed to look like a traditional cigarette in regard of the colour, which he thinks helps when he is smoking in public places where smoking is banned as people are less likely to think he is smoking a traditional cigarette. We both agree that it would be useful if there was a card with the e-cigarette which explained that they were safe and legal to smoke in public places for use in circumstances where he is questioned about smoking the e-cigarette where smoking cigarettes is banned. When smoking the e-cigarette the tip glows red, Lee likes that the e-cigarette glows when being smoked and by glowing red it provides a realistic regular cigarette smoking experience which gives him a sense of familiarity. 

Lee says that the Sunrise Pro e-cigarette satisfies the habit element of smoking, provides the familiarity of holding a cigarette and curbs his cravings for nicotine. The e-cigarette allows Lee to continue smoking in a healthier way and for now he can get his nicotine hit without being exposed to the nasty chemicals (expect nicotine) that he gets exposed to when smoking traditional cigarettes.

Even though the instructions suggest that 15 puffs equate how many puffs you would take when smoking a regular cigarette, Lee finds it hard to know when he has smoked a cigarette worth. Even though he has followed the 15 puffs suggestion, taking 15 puffs or less when he uses the e-cigarette he has found that he tends to graze smoke, having little and often, simply satisfying his nicotine craving. Even though the downside is that Lee cannot see how much of the cigarette he has smoked, I think it is a good think that his nicotine craving is satisfied without wasting a cigarette unlike at times when he smokes a regular cigarette there is left over cigarette that was not smoked because once his cravings have been sedated he no longer wants to smoke the cigarette so he does not finish the whole cigarette. Also if he has to stop smoking the cigarette half way through his smoke with the e-cigarette he simply puts the e-cigarette away, compared to smoking a regular cigarette where he would have to die-out the cigarette for use later on or waste some of the cigarette.

We both like that the Sunrise Pro e-cigarette does not contain tar, tobacco or harmful chemicals (except nicotine) and no carbon monoxide is produced. I love the fact that the e-cigarette only produces a vapour which eliminates second hand smoke inhalation and Lee does not smell of cigarettes and tobacco which is brilliant. Even though passive smoking is not an issue when using the e-cigarette Lee makes sure he does not use it around little man because he does not want him to get used to seeing him use it especially as little man is always intrigued by everything daddy does and uses. We both like the fact that the refills come in a child proof bottle. Another bonus is that he is not polluting the air and there are no unsightly cigarette butts. For now these are a great alternative for Lee to curb his nicotine cravings in a healthier way.

As well as the black e-cigarette Lee received to test the Sunrise Pro e-cigarette is also available in Platinum which Lee think looks very smart and more interesting to the eye than the black e-cigarette. The Sunrise Pro e-cigarette has an RRP of £39.99 but currently costs £24.99 on the Paramount Zone website. Cartridge refills are available at £7.99 for 10 refills which is the equivalent to approximately 200 cigarettes. Also available are different flavours and nicotine strengths. The e-cigarettes are in my opinion good value for money and are a healthier, cheaper alternative to regular cigarettes as in the long run they will save you money and you have the bonus of them being healthier. 

More information about Paramount Zone.

As well as selling this e-cigarette Paramount Zone also sell a vast range of great products with lots of ideas for gifts for Christmas including Christmas present ideas for men, for women and for kids.

* Paramount Zone kindly sent us the Sunrise Pro e-cigarette to review for free, despite this I have written an honest review that contains my own words and opinions as well as the opinions of my tester Lee *