Depending on which websites you go to, the top 3 e cigarette brands are disputably V2, Blu Cigs, and Green Smoke. There are many models on the market, but read how these three brands compare with one another.

Similarities

Most reviewers are grateful that their e cigs feel like traditional cigarettes. Anyone switching from original to electronic smoking knows it is important that there not be too many changes at once. Cigarettes can even look like the old style smokes.

Each brand does the same thing heats liquid nicotine to provide vapor using battery power. Instead of burning tobacco, consumers are warming a flavorful liquid. All three brands provide a number of flavor selections including tobacco, menthol, and specialty flavors.

As for flavors, all three give you choices that are delectable or traditional. Where V2 Cigs stands out is in their added selection which includes chocolate. They are also noted for a smooth draw. With Blu, though, notice you get something unusual among flavors with a Peach Schnapps.

Starter Kits

Blu Cigs, Green Smoke, and V2 all make money saving starter kits. These are kits which come with a wall charger, USB adaptor, e cig, cartridges, battery (or batteries), and other items important to the beginner’s experience. Prices vary, but so do contents.

Warranty

V2 gives consumers a lifetime warranty against their products. This shows that they stand behind their products. Green Smoke also provides this warranty as a way to indicate that they back their products and value their customers. Blu Cigs only offer a one year warranty. Where industry standards are concerned this is decent, but it does not measure up to V2 or Green Smoke.

Packaging

Some reviewers are impressed by packaging, and in this case Green Smoke wins out. The reason is the idea that smoking electronically is “green” whereas ordinary smoking is definitely not. Environmentally conscientious smokers will definitely be drawn to Green Smoke.

Power

As for battery power, V2 comes out the clear winner. Most batteries offer less than 4 volts, but V2 uses a 4.2 volt battery giving consumers more satisfying vapor with every puff. Their customers can also choose between manual and automatic batteries. Why opt for manual batteries when the stick can do all you want without any effort on your part? An automatic battery is activated by puffing, meaning the liquid is not as hot as it could be. With a manual the vapor is heated before you puff. There is no delay and more vapor.

Also, there are three battery lengths from V2. The bigger your battery is, the more vaping you can do before recharging it.

Style

Color choices might not affect the power or vapor of an e cigarette, but consumers like to have choices. If you do not like too many choices, V2 is not for you. Their list of colors and options can be too much, especially when you move on to Vapor Couture (their slim brand geared towards female smokers). On the other hand, if your e cig is as much a fashion accessory and a statement of personality as it is a vaping tool, then color matters. Select from 4 battery colors versus two from Blu Cig and two from Green Smoke.

Beyond the Standard

There are industry standards which provide safety to customers of e cigs. For example, nicotine liquid is made from FDA approved ingredients. Where V2 goes beyond standards is by providing batch testing at their facility. If there is something wrong with your cartridge, let customer service know the batch number. Return it for a replacement and they will also find out if other customers have had problems with their cartridges. This way they can prevent potential problems with liquid in the future.

Blu Cigs offer something that matters to American smokers American made flavors.

Tobacco regulation: look what they’ve done to my brands

Tougher european rules on tobacco & e-cigarettes

• Australia

But tobacco is a weirdly resilient industry. Consumption is shrinking in developed countries but still rising in poorer ones, thanks partly to their growing populations. As GDP rises, smokers trade up to more expensive brands. The number of cigarettes smoked globally will shrink by 9% between 2015 and 2050, predicts Euromonitor International, a market research firm. But tobacco firms are adept at wringing fatter profits from stagnant markets.

Addicted customers and high taxes make it relatively easy to raise prices (a big rise for producers translates into a small uptick for consumers). Tobacco s stigma keeps potential competitors at bay. BAT aims to raise its earnings per share annually by high single digits and often does better than that, partly by using its spare cash to buy back shares, points out Rae Maile of J.P. Morgan Cazenove. Philip Morris International, BAT s bigger rival, has retired a quarter of its shares since 2008.

Big Tobacco can hardly complain that plain packs will dent demand. It insists that branding is all about market share, not recruiting new smokers. Really? The World Health Organisation reckons that a blanket advertising and promotion ban would cut puffing by 7%.

Kingsley Wheaton, BAT s head of regulation, says the injury lies elsewhere. For one thing, Australia s law amounts to an expropriation of intellectual property, which ought to worry other industries such as food and liquor. Australia s High Court rejected that claim, but the World Trade Organisation is considering it.

The second claim is that plain packs will drive smokers into the black market, which would be the fourth biggest manufacturer if it were a company. Mr Maile sees this as the main threat to the business. Plain packs will encourage counterfeiters to produce knock offs of many brands rather than just a few, he thinks. And that, the cigarette makers gleefully point out, will cut government revenue.

They are nothing if not ingenious when regulators banned light they struck back with smooth . Plain packs will not end the duel. BAT will go back to the core of our product by upgrading flavour and other inherent qualities rather than investing in promotional pizzazz, says Mr Wheaton. After all, fine wines do not sport flashy labels.

Plain packs may chime with a global back to basics mood. Some analysts think they could even help brands in their endless quest for differentiation. Faced with rows of identical boxes Aussies will ask for their favourites by name. New brands will find it hard to break in. Incumbents may find the new regime rather cosy.