The e-cigarette maker is set to release 'Smart Packs' that detect other e-smokers nearby to prompt potential social hookups.

Electronic cigarette maker Blu is set to release e-cigarette packs that detect other e-smokers nearby to prompt potential social interactions, according to a report this week by The New York Times.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based maker of battery-powered e-cigarettes that vaporize nicotine rather than burning it is equipping $80 e-cigarette packets with sensors that can detect other Blu Smart Packs within 50 feet. The new product is set for a June release, according to The Times.

Why? To enhance the social connection of "vaping," according to Blu founder Jason Healy. Smart Packs vibrate and flash a blue light when they pick up the radio signal of another Smart Pack. That supposedly will spark a social exchange between people who discover that there's another person with a really expensive and geeky smoking habit nearby.

"Customers were always telling us how social Blu e-cigs were—they'd be in a bar or outside, and someone would see this blue light and what looks like smoke," Healy told Fast Company in an interview about the new product line last month.

Healy puts a lot of emphasis on the product's reported ability to break the ice between the sexes.

"In a dating sense, your Pack is laying the groundwork for you. It's almost like a little wing man, from a guy's perspective. You don't have to go up to a girl with a cheesy pick-up line. It's doing all the talking for you because you're too chicken-sh*t to do it yourself," he told Fast Company.

The sensors on the reusable packs also detect retail outlets that sell Blu cigarettes. And Blu's social networking plans for its Smart Packs go far beyond the sensor technology. The company is integrating Smart Packs with sites like Facebook and Twitter so that e-cigarette users can exchange information easily after connecting via their flashing packs.

There will also be a desktop app that allows users to track their interactions with other e-cigarette users, the company said. Future plans include tethering the packs to a smartphone and a monitoring system to report to users how much they smoke.