Science Articles | Page 3 of 3

blu eCigs vs Pavlok

blu eCigs promote themselves as the top eCig on the market. Great, they sell lots, but do they actually work? Not if you want to quit smoking.
blu-vs-pavlok

blu eCigs are not for quitting smoking and the company says not to use it that way

That surprised me.

When I asked the company for blu’s success rates for quitting smoking they went silent and then started with the lawyer talk:

Please be aware that we are not a smoking cessation device and no electronic cig has been approved by the FDA to make that claim. We are an alternative to smoking tobacco.

Okay. So:

blu eCig is not a device for quitting smoking;
no electronic cigarette is FDA approved to help you quit smoking;
And the main use is as an alternative to tobacco.

What? An alternative to smoking? I’m not going to choose “fruits and berries” flavour instead of Marlboro, Newport or Basics.

If you are serious about quitting a bad habit, Pavlok uses mild electric shock to help you do it. It’s not some magic device that stops smoking instantly, it’s a powerful tool based on 80+ years of aversion science that helps you stick to your goal of quitting.

BTW, here is the actual chat I had with a blu eCig representative…

Thank you for choosing blu eCigs. A representative will be with you shortly.
You are now chatting with ‘Jocquelyn’

Jocquelyn: Hello. Thank you for contacting Blu e-Cigs Support Center. My name is Jocquelyn. How may I assist you today?

Michael: Hi, how much does blu cost?

Jocquelyn: Depends on which kit you want

Jocquelyn: Rechargeable is 34.95

Michael: Does that last forever?

Jocquelyn: Plus kit is 42.99 which is the best kit.

Jocquelyn: There is a 1 year warranty on the product.

Michael: And do I buy flavour cartridges too?

Jocquelyn: A pack comes with the starter kit, but you would have to purchase additional cartridges to use the product.

Michael: How much are the cartridges?

Jocquelyn: PREMIUM

Jocquelyn: 1 Five Pack $12.80

Jocquelyn: 2 Five Packs $11.00 ea.

Jocquelyn: 5 Five Packs $10.00 ea.

Jocquelyn: PREMIUM 100

Jocquelyn: 1 Five Pack $13.80

Jocquelyn: 2 Five Packs $11.90 ea.

Jocquelyn: 5 Five Packs $10.80 ea.

Michael: is a 5 pack good for 5 “smoke breaks”?

Jocquelyn: 1 cartridge is equal to 1 pack of cigarettes.

Jocquelyn: A pack of cartridges contain 5 cartridges.

Michael: I see, and do you have any data on using blu to quit smoking? success rates, etc.

Jocquelyn: Please be aware that we are not a smoking cessation device and no electronic cig has been approved by the FDA to make that claim.

Jocquelyn: We are an alternative to smoking tobacco.

Michael: ok, thanks, see ya

Marty Used Pavlok To Quit Chain Smoking

Marty is a 25 year old guy that had been smoking for 7 years. He smoked 18 cigarettes per day.

After 1 week with Pavlok, Marty was down to 7 cigarettes per day and a pack would last him 3 days. He was happy with his progress and with all the money he was saving.

The next week Marty set a goal of 3 cigarettes per day. The result? He only had 2.

If I grabbed my pack I would shock myself, every time I picked up a cigarette I would shock myself. Every time I lit a cigarette I would shock myself, and every time I took a drag I would shock myself. I made it this big hassle so that I’d only smoke if I really really wanted too.

The next week he had just 1 per day, without the cravings.

And by week 4 Marty had completely quit smoking.

He was thrilled, “To be able to quit smoking in 3 weeks is pretty fast in my book!”

Okay, so Marty is just one guy but there are also countless studies on using electric shock to quit bad habits.

Scientific Study Shows Electric Shock Helps Up To 67% Of Motivated People Quit Smoking

cigarette-consumption Back in 1970 Hamilton Russell, a UK doctor and member of the Royal Colleges of Physicians, did a study on how electric shock helps smokers quit their habit.

The study was posted in the British Medical Journal and was very promising.

After 3 sessions, the average number of cigarettes smoked daily dropped from 22 to 1.

After 5 sessions, most patients had stopped smoking completely.

But the doctor wanted to make sure the change was permanent. One year after completing the study, 67% were still not smoking.

The doctor concluded that “electric aversion is a powerful suppressor of cigarette smoking.”

Some blu eCigs Contain Twice As Much Nicotine As Cigarettes

Anyone who smokes knows that nicotine is the chemical that makes tobacco products so addictive. So you’d think that a good alternative to smoking would have zero nicotine or at least way less nicotine than cigarettes.

But it turns out that each blu cartridge has up to 18mg of nicotine. For comparison, the average cigarette in the United States contains only 9mg of nicotine. I’d guess that twice as much nicotine would make eCigs twice as addictive.

Pavlok is made of electricity and is not addictive. Our goal is to help you break your bad habit, not replace it with a slightly less bad habit that is more expensive and more addictive.

5 years of blu eCigs costs $4715+
5 years of Pavlok costs $199

blu eCigs has a business model that is really expensive for you (which is why their company makes so much money).

You know how when you buy a razor, then you have to buy all the expensive blades for years? Or when you buy a printer and it’s cheap but then ink refills are so expensive? blu eCigs does the same thing.

blu says their best kit is $42.99 which includes an ecigarette and only 1 pack of flavour cartridges. That won’t last long.

Because blu claims to be an alternative to smoking tobacco, it seems you will still smoke just as much (and possibly more with the extra nicotine). They say 1 flavour cartridge is equal to 1 pack of regular cigarettes and the cartridges come in packs of 5 for about $12.80. Okay, what does that mean?

Assuming you smoke a pack a day, blu eCigs will cost you $934.40 per year.
If you smoke 2 packs a day, then it costs you $1868.80 per year.
If you smoke 3 packs a day, it goes up to $2803.20 per year.

You get the idea. The more you smoke the more expensive blu eCigs are as an alternative. And it is a lot of money, for $2800 you could go on a 7 day vacation with your spouse, or pay off debt, or save for a house, and a lot of other stuff too.

Look at what this guy had to say about blu eCigs pricing:

christopher-hates-blu

So blu eCigs aren’t used to quit smoking and they can easily cost you thousands of dollars per year.

But Pavlok has a really simple pricing model. You just buy your unit for $199 and then you own it forever. Plus it comes with a 1 year manufacturer’s warranty.

And Pavlok has a program where if your friend buys from a link you share with them then you earn 20% in cash (about $40). If you refer just 5 people it’s like getting your Pavlok for free. And if you refer 5 more then Pavlok will send you $200.

blu eCigs Are Easy To Forget At Home And Need Constant Recharging

There is one more way to compare blu eCigs with Pavlok, and that’s on convenience.

Whenever I leave the house, I take my keys, phone and wallet. I know that if I have those 3 things, I’ll be fine. But the eCig is another thing to remember to bring, and another thing I have to carry. What do you do on days you forget? Maybe go back to smoking cigarettes.

Pavlok is a wearable wristband, like a watch, that you can put on in the morning and don’t have to worry about for the rest of the day.

And another thing about convenience is charging. In the last few years the number of things you have to charge has probably tripled. Before it was just a cellphone. And now it’s a phone, and an iPad and maybe a laptop and on and on. This means it’s really important that your devices have good batteries that last a long time.

How often do blu eCigs need charged?

blu eCigs typically need a full charge every day. I had to do some math for this because blu presents the data in a tricky way, i.e., # of puffs. But basically it takes 1 full charge to smoke 1 cartridge. If you smoke a pack a day then you have to charge every day. Just like you have to charge your phone and your tablet and everything else.

How often does Pavlok need charged?

Pavlok needs charged just once or twice per week and it takes just 20 minutes each time. Similar to a good quality electric razor.

So, blu eCigs or Pavlok?

Pavlok is cheaper and more effective than blu eCigs — it should be an easy choice.

BTW, here is a discount code to get 10% off your Pavlok device: BONUS10

The discount goes on the very last page and we usually limit codes to 24 hours.

Click here to buy your Pavlok at 10% off

Positive vs Negative Reinforcement: Which Is More Effective?

The central premise of Pavlok is getting the user to take action and create a new habit — or change an existing one. To do this, we built “pattern interrupts” — jarring but effective stimuli — into the device that encouraged users to change their routines.

We then faced a difficult question that’s challenged behavioral psychologists for decades.

Which is more effective for behavior change: Negative or positive reinforcement?

Positive reinforcement is a reward for doing something well. Remember the joy of receiving gold star from your kindergarten teacher when you spelled your name correctly? That’s all positive reinforcement.

Negative reinforcement is a penalty for not doing something. Why do you go into work every day? If you’re like most people, you show up because if you don’t, you’ll get fired.

(Note: negative reinforcement is NOT the same thing as “punishment.” Punishment implies that you receive a penalty for doing something you’re not supposed to do — whereas negative reinforcement implies not receiving a penalty for doing something. For instance, if you misbehave and your mom spanks you, that’s punishment: adding a bad stimulus when you did something bad. If you get charged money–or electrically shocked by your Facebook friends—because you don’t exercise, that’s negative reinforcement:

Negative reinforcement occurs when an aversive stimulus (a ‘bad consequence’) is removed after a good behavior is exhibited. The difference is subtle, but very important.)

Do you think positive and negative reinforcement are equally effective?

In the end, it all comes down to pain versus pleasure.

Most would agree that running from painful circumstances is exhausting. It’s annoying. It’s the exact opposite of seeking pleasure.

Our research found that negative reinforcement is actually far more effective for sparking initial habit change.

In the context of the over-snacking example above, imagine that you got fined $50 for every spoonful of ice cream that you ate?

You probably don’t have to spend any time researching to know that you’d very quickly stop eating ice cream.

But here’s where things get interesting: If you were continually penalized for eating ice cream, the negative reinforcement would eventually stop working.

You’d become resentful of the constant punishment. Maybe you’d switch to cookies.

Long term, negative reinforcement doesn’t get the job done — and that’s where we bring back positive reinforcement.

If you allowed the new routine to take place, and you replaced the ice cream with berries successfully for a week, rewarding yourself with a small amount of ice cream on the last day will actually aid in maintaining that habit.

Negative gets you started. Positive keeps you going.

We call this “Push-Pull Motivation” — and it’s the foundation of Pavlok’s habit change technology.

Why Willpower and Motivation Aren’t Enough

Think about the last time you failed when trying to form a new habit. Did you blame failure on willpower? Do you think you need more willpower to be successful?

If so, you’ve got it partly wrong.

Yes, willpower is important. Clearly we need willpower to follow the courses of action we set for ourselves. Yet, willpower alone is not sufficient to get us to form those habits. According to psychologist Roy Baumeister, willpower is like a muscle and it can be depleted from doing tasks that require the control of impulses.

This is why habits can’t be formed from brute force alone. You’ll fail if your method relies solely on your willpower. You’re human, and sooner or later, you’ll have a day where you’re feeling tired and lacking in energy.

The same goes for motivation — it also is important, but definitely not enough on it’s own.

You need to have a reason for your habit change, but more importantly, you need to keep that reason in mind. Not just the cue, and reward, but the big-picture goal that you can receive from having changed your habit. However, motivation will not get you out of bed at 5 in the morning so that you can meditate, neither will willpower. What will help you is a mindset and systems. You need to have developed a proper framework to deal with these situations.

You’re a creature of habit. Embrace your inner animal and automate your life.

The Pavlok Habit System Explained

At Pavlok we’ve broken down behavior change into a set of specific terms to help you be successful.

The Pavlok system starts with a HABIT, a new behavior that you want to develop in order to lead you to a better life.You can commit to do a variety of things, such as go to the gym, wake up on time, journal each day, or study a new language.

All these have a few things in common. First, they start with a CUE, a certain time of day or event that kicks it off. Second, they each require that you follow a ROUTINE, an action that you perform. So the Pavlok system defines a HABIT as a CUE + ROUTINE. This is the basic framework that makes it all work.

Pavlok has different methods to verify if you’ve performed your Routine. There’s a simple honor system of course, where you can just say if you did it or not. But you can also ask a friend to be a referee to verify that you’ve performed your routine, or you can use the app to check into your gym to verify.

Now we can get more sophisticated. To increase the success rate of sticking to a Habit, we can add Rewards and Punishments. For example, if you don’t write in your journal by 6pm each day, you’ll be shocked. Or if you want to use positive rewards, you can get points or even win money.

By putting all these together, a Cue that triggers a Routine that you verify, reinforced by Punishments and Rewards, Pavlok helps you on your way to building the habits for a better life.