Cigarettes have long had a prescence on the battlefield. In both World Wars, cigarettes were rationed to soldiers to maintain morale. Despite the obvious dangers smoking cigarettes brings to your health, there are plenty of nicotine addicts in armed forces around the world.
One problem with cigarettes however, is that no matter how much you try to cover a cigarette with your hands, the familiar red glow will still shine through at night. This does not bode well for soldiers on nighttime missions, especially when there are enemy snipers about.
Another e cigarette company has decided to address this by coming up with the novel idea of using e cigarettes in the field instead of regular tobacco cigarettes. Codenamed the No. 9 Stealth, it will be coloured black for concealment and the LED which simulates the red glow taken out. This will mean that the only thing coming out of the e cigarette will be the nicotine vapour, which itself disapears a few seconds after leaving the smoker’s lungs.
Not only that, but e cigarettes emit only 10% of the heat a normal tobacco cigarette generates, meaning this reduces the changes that soldiers can be detected by heat sensing devices.
An ex-US army ranger sergeant, Earl Ellis said:”It’s amazing how bright a cigarette glow is from a mile away at night. When I was in (the army), they didn’t tell you you couldn’t smoke at night, but they made it clear you were putting your whole unit’s lives in your hands. If everybody dies tonight, it’s your fault. It’s no joke.”
Although many non-smokers would just say to quit smoking, in reality, it’s alot harder than they think. Even with the use of nicotine patches, gums and therapy, it’s an uphill struggle to give up the habit especially if you’ve been addicted for years.
Thanks to ecigs, my lungs will probably survive a few more years