Smoking just got beautiful. And harmless.

I like to think of fire held in a man's hand. Fire, a dangerous force, tamed at his fingertips. I often wonder about the hours when a man sits alone, watching the smoke of a cigarette, thinking. I wonder what great things have come from such hours. When a man thinks, there is a spot of fire alive in his mind--and it is proper that he should have the burning point of a cigarette as his one expression.

At the primal level, beneath any rationalizations we can come up with, smoking is cool because you are taming a giant force of nature, similar to the way that a motorcycle rider is cool. It's about the confidence that is signified by the act. I don't see that in this product.

Today it's considered cool to try and be healthier. To some extend at least. People are well aware that smoking isn't healthy but it still has appeal because it's somewhat "rebellious" and "nonchalant". I'm very convinced you can "re-invent" smoking with a healthier alternative but I don't see this being it at all. Mainly because it reeks of desperation which is very much opposite of cool as well as rebellious and nonchalant. That product with it's smoking stick, the pods and the fuel is just way too mechanic. Going through the steps of that product "just" to smoke seems silly. It's not even like those who roll their own cigarettes. They at least have the image of being quality-concerned or someone who prefers handcrafted things.

From the ploom faq: " Is Ploom "safe"? Ploom does not comment on the relative risks of smoking vs. vaporizing. Ploom is not sold or marketed as a safe alternative to cigarettes."

It's a nice thought, but e-cigarettes / vaporizers simply do not stand up to regular cigarettes in neither usability, pleasure nor cool-factor (if there even is any such).