Greetings - requesting advice, if I may...

Nice to see so many familiar "faces"! Thought I'd also use my eBay user-name, although it looks distinctly similar to the name of at least one e-cig - if that's a problem, I could always change it.

A friend is thinking about trying e-cigarettes. I promise it's not me - my last ciggie was stubbed out 11 years and five days ago. I wish e-cigs had been around then.

I promised to do some research and goodness, but I'm befuddled. Could I take the liberty of asking a few questions?

He smokes 20 to 25 ordinary ciggies a day (Benson and Hedges in the silver packet, I think).

I've been thinking along the following lines, but would welcome alternative suggestions - especially where I really don't know what I'm talking about. Which is most of it.

The mini e-cigs would probably be unsuitable - he needs something that'll match his packet and a bit per day, in terms of battery life and the number of cartridges he carries around (say 1 cartridge = 3 ciggies? He inhales pretty positively.)

So I'm probably looking at something along the lines of a Riva. Still not sure what "510" and "900" mean. Confirm the numbers refer to the specification of the threads used by the various components - and also that 510s need a button pressing for the atomiser to heat?

Can any "generic" 510 parts (atomisers, cartridges) be used with any 510 product, or is there a risk of battling to get suitable parts, or running into limits on experimenting with different parts, for specific e-cigs?

I like the looks of this one:

www.freedomvape.co.uk/shop/article_2001-001/Riva-510-Starter-Kit-%281100-XL-batteries%29.html?shop_param=cid%3D2%26aid%3D2001-001%26

but I'm a little concerned about the warning with respect to low resistance atomisers and Riva batteries. At risk of sounding really thick, does that kit include batteries which could be used with low resistance atomisers or not? I see they are 1100mAh batteries.

Come to that, would I be asking for trouble by getting something with standard resistance atomisers? Again, not much point if the result is feeble enough to be off-putting.

And since atomisers seem to have a short life span, presumably one should purchase additional ones (making a total of five, say?) with an e-cig. In this case, I'd be inclined to try to find a couple of low resistance atomisers, too.

Told you I really have no idea what I'm on about.

Onto fluids/cartridges - I'd guess he'd need to carry about eight cartridges - he's out and about most of the day. (Presumably means a minimum of two batteries, too.)

I'm guessing that refillable cartridges are the way to go - so if I buy the Riva linked to earlier, those supplied should keep him going, along with a bottle of e-liquid. How long is a 10ml bottle likely to last a 25-a-day smoker? I'm wondering whether it would be wise to get an extra bottle or two. And what would be a good choice of flavour for a beginner? Presumably something that tastes as much as a normal cigarette as possible?

I was also thinking that, where the choice exists, I should look for 24mg strength to start with. Might this prove too low?

Finally - please confirm that "e-liquid" is the nicotine base, and that the "dilutant" is used to control the strength? And what exactly is used to dilute the liquid - I've seen both propylene glycol and glycerine mentioned - probably really demonstrating my ignorance there!

Sorry about the length of that for a first post. I need to go for a walk to clear my head, and to shop for groceries, alas. I'll probably drink a couple of the groceries later to work up the courage to make a decision and buy a starter kit - but if anyone has any suggestions before I take that step, I'd really appreciate them.

Many thanks for reading all this.