Blu Cigs are consumed "electronically" through a battery-powered device that provides inhaled doses of nicotine by delivering a vaporized propylene glycol/nicotine solution.
"We try to get as close to the experience of a real cigarette," Blu Cigs President Jason Healy told XBIZ. "Our goal is to produce the best product that can serve as a replacement to smoking regular cigarettes."
One of the product's improvements lies in the Blu Ecig Box, a portable battery charger. Healy said that in developing the product about eight months ago, he tested other electronic cigarettes that couldn't make it through the night because of low battery life.
Blu Cigs employ lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that can be recharged in the Ecig Box or through USB. The Ecig box itself offers a superior battery life that can be recharged by wall outlet.
The Ecig Box has room to store the two batteries whenever not in use as well as charge them while on-the-go. The box also can hold five flavored filters. It's the same size as a typical box of traditional cigarettes, lightweight and bares a sleek, sophisticated design.
Another revolutionary element in Blu Cigs is its heating element, called the atomizer. It vaporizes the liquid nicotine, which according to Healy is of European standards. The atomizer punctures the sealing surrounding the liquid nicotine and once heated delivers the vapor with the help of a gap along the side of the container that allows for the flow of clean air. This is important to Healy, who sampled other electronic cigarettes that leaked nicotine into his mouth and caused burning, numbness and sometimes nausea.
The attention-drawing blue LED at the end opposite to the mouthpiece is activated during inhalation, which serves as an indicator of use.
Blu Cigs are available in various flavors including vanilla, coffee, menthol and classic tobacco. They are offered in four levels of nicotine intensity: Full Strength (16mg) — the equivalent of a regular cigarette — Light (12 mg), Ultra Light (8 mg) and No Nicotine (0 mg).
Blu Cigs can be used legally anywhere without fear of second-hand smoke offending or harming anyone in proximity, and are completely void of the tar and chemicals that make smoking harmful to the user.
The starter kit, which retails for $59.95 at BluCigs.com, contains two batteries, a charger and 25 flavor cartridges.
Blu Cigs, which are produced in China, are currently available exclusively online and so far have yielded more than 5,000 orders, Healy said. Plans for sales through brick-and-mortar retail stores are in the works and will be available in another three months.
The company teamed up with online adult company AEBN since the product's inception to sell Blu Cigs online through traffic gained via the online adult market. Healy said he has been friends with AEBN founder Scott Kaufman for some time and when his idea to launch Blu Cigs came about, Kaufman immediately supported him and offered to help through affiliate marketing.
The Blu Cigs affiliate program is currently in place, which offers webmasters monthly payouts of up to 20 percent on all sales and promotional tools to support their endeavor.