It’s midnight. There are no stars. There are no stratus curls. There is not even a moon. There is just the dark and you hide within it, manipulating it to your own needs, your own reward. You’re stationed in a tree, waiting for proof that there are creatures below. They’ll come. Of that you’re certain. You’ve mapped these trails too often to ever doubt that. But, as the minutes pass and the air turns cold, your thoughts begin to drift, recalling the sweet drag of a cigarette, the slow satisfaction. You finally must fumble one free from your pocket, hurrying to then find your lighter, to let the tip burn. It’s a burst of ash and smoke, an ember in the night.

And you realize your mistake then as there’s a scurry of paws beneath you, a sudden break of branches. The flame was seen, you know. The nicotine was a signal, however small. That was unfortunate.

It was also avoidable, if you had only used electronic cigarette cartridges.

While the concept may seem too unfamiliar, it is instead a convenience that can’t be denied. Simply explained, these products remove the need for a lighter and eliminates the chemical-filled secondhand smoke of traditional cigarettes. Instead, these are powered by a battery that, when activated, ignites sensors that filter in a pure flavor without the accompaniment of tobacco, combustion, or pollutants. You experience the taste you crave without the usual complications; and this becomes vital when you’re trying to enjoy a hunt.

Electronic cigarettes are without the typical emissions, which can be tracked by creatures far more intuitive than yourself. They instead release a water-based vapor: It’s odorless and harmless.

Devoting hours to the chase and the careful precision a gun requires is a thrill you won’t abandon; just as nicotine is a taste you won’t deny. Now you don’t have to deny it.