We've looked at what's inside e-cigars and our Mark Wilson has even tried them out, but what's the point of using a $200 gadget that's as unhealthy (or worse!) as the real thing?

The FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation, Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis (DPA) came our with the following conclusions as a result of its analysis of e-smoking devices available on the market:

• Diethylene glycol was detected in one cartridge at approximately 1%. Diethylene glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze, is toxic to humans.
• Certain tobacco-specific nitrosamines which are human carcinogens were detected in half of the samples tested.
• Tobacco-specific impurities suspected of being harmful to humans-anabasine, myosmine, and β-nicotyrine-were detected in a majority of the samples tested.
• The electronic cigarette cartridges that were labeled as containing no nicotine had low levels of nicotine present in all cartridges tested, except one.
• Three different electronic cigarette cartridges with the same label were tested and each cartridge emitted a markedly different amount of nicotine with each puff. The nicotine levels per puff ranged from 26.8 to 43.2 mcg nicotine/100 mL puff.
• One high-nicotine cartridge delivered twice as much nicotine to users when the vapor from that electronic cigarette brand was inhaled than was delivered by a sample of the nicotine inhalation product (used as a control) approved by FDA for use as a smoking cessation aid.

Let's review: the device that's supposed to help you get healthier and save money by quitting smoking is more likely to worsen your addiction, be more harmful to your health, and be an even bigger waste of money. [FDA via Instead]

Over at Instructables, there's a step by step on boring a cigar, treating its surface, and then loading it with a fiery LED along with a USB stick. The result is a classy cigar USB dongle that can possibly lead to computer mouth/throat cancer. But don't feel bad for your laptop, it'll turn obsolete well before its needlessly induced nicotine addiction claims its life. So you'll thoughtlessly drop your computer in a retirement home (a landfill disguised as a recycling center) from where it will spend the rest of its days doing its damnedest to poison you back. [Instructables via Geeky Gadgets]

By NJoy, the NROBO is a disposable cigar that's good for 1,500 puffs. It's automatically activated when you take a puff, vaporizing an internal nicotine/water solution. The air resistance is just right, though the flavor is somewhere around 1/1000th of a normal cigar. (Then again, the odorless smoke is something that most people around you will appreciate.) You can pick up an NROBO soon for about $40 if you're interested in fellating a robot without all the cleanup.

The Mismo cigarette comes from Sosu's 'Nicolestyle' (or "Nicotine-less Style") line of products. Nicotine-free and tar-free, the cigarettes ensure you get your essential nutrients such as CoQ10 and Vitamin C. Flavors come in mint and grapefruit, which lay in cartridges that cost about $10 each and last for 300 inhales. For about $126, you can at least look swanky and cultured (coughpretentiouscough) as you hang outside a high upscale Euro club. I guess smoking is still pretty in—just this morning I swore I woke up and for a few hours I thought it was 1929. [Engrish]

The product is called Marlboro Intense, and it's being test marketed in Turkey.

While a normal cigarette measures 8.5cm, the Marlboro Intense is just 7.2cm long. If it takes the average person 7 minutes to smoke a cigarette, our middle school math tells us that the average Intense would take just 6 minutes to enjoy (we calculated the time saved at 63 seconds).

We're not going to end this with a snarky, anti-smoking comment. That shit is like crack nicotine to the smoking crowd. We'll just observe how interesting it is that the miniaturizing trend (that could probably be best credited to consumer electronics) has made its way to tobacco products. [timesonline via dvorak][photo]

Whenever you feel the urge to smoke, double click the button on the Linkman. If the light turns green, go ahead. If it's red, you need to wait. The Linkman starts its minimum wait-time at 10 minutes, then gradually increases the time every time you press that button. Eventually you'll reduce your cigarette intake to something more manageable—or possibly even quit entirely. If you don't quit for your kids, quit for the guy (me) who has to smell your smoke. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Linkman via Medgadget via Sci Fi Blog]