Blu: The cigarette that helps you social-network

Electronic-cigarette maker Blu has made a new cigarette pack that vibrates and flashes when another e-smoker is near. Is this the future of slightly sad friendship?

As smoking becomes less socially acceptable, Blu is trying to make it easier for those who do smoke to find one another.
(Image credit: www.blucigs.com)

The social networking craze has spread to some unexpected places: A Samsung refrigerator that lets you tweet, anyone? Not to be outdone, Charlotte, N.C.–based electronic-cigarette company Blu is making a push to update "social smoking for the social networking era," says Joshua Brustein in The New York Times. Later this month, Blu will start selling $80 "smart packs" (each holding five e-cigarettes) that vibrate and flash a blue light if another Blu e-smoker is within 50 feet. What's the real value here?

First, what's an e-cigarette?

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