STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A smoker for more than 20 years, Michael Catoggio tried every smoking cessation method on the market to quit.

"Gum, patches, pills - unfortunately none of those things worked. I tried other electronic cigarettes, but none of them provided the throat hit or draw to satisfy me enough to keep me away from tobacco products," said the former stockbroker.

"I wanted to sell a non-tobacco product that would keep smokers satisfied without the ash, smell and the negative impact to others," he added.

Foreseeing an emerging trend, Catoggio left Wall Street to get in on the ground floor of a $1.6 billion dollar industry: e-cigarettes, which are being marketed as "a healthier alternative" to conventional cigarettes.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered, tobacco-free devices that create an odorless, flavored vapor mist. The devices come with various levels of nicotine -- similar to the nicotine patches -- and some brands offer cartridges ranging from 24 milligrams to zero.

Puf Cigs

Address:

236 Richmond Valley Rd.

Staten Island, N.Y.

Established:

March, 2012

Contact:

(800) Puf-Cigs

"We keep our flavors interesting yet simple because we gear our product to adults - especially those who are former smokers," said Catoggio.

While the market for e-cigarettes is booming, the Food and Drug Administration is seeking to ban sales to minors of electronic cigarettes as part of an effort to "make the next generation tobacco-free." In addition, a New York state law recently banned the usage of e-cigarettes indoors.

He noted that Puf Cigs supports Sen. Charles Schumer's call to eliminate marketing campaigns targeting minors.

"We have been diligent in our commitment to market our product to those adults who are interested in vaping or who are seeking an alternative to traditional tobacco products," he said.

Products and services:

Puf Cigs offers reloadable starter kits with a battery, a USB charger, and two flavor cartridges.

"The kits, which are $14.99, also come with two flavor cartridges because we know one isn't enough," said Catoggio.

The refill cartridges for the kits are $9.99 and come in six flavors: extreme menthol, menthol ice, tobacco red, smooth tobacco, cherry blast and mango madness. A single pack contains three refill cartridges, he said.

Puf Cigs also offers disposable electronic cigarettes that come in a variety of flavors, from tobacco red and watermelon splash, to bull energy and extreme menthol.

"Depending upon how you like to vape, each disposable can provide up to 900 puffs or up to 400 drags. Our disposables and reloadable electronic cigarettes bares no resemblance to a regular cigarette," said Catoggio.

He noted the company is working on a vegetable based, liquid refillable line and a "couture line."

The company just launched "zero nicotine ecigs," for smokers who want to quit without using nicotine.

Growth strategy:

"Puf Cigs' growth strategy is to continue to provide the best quality vaping product at a reasonable price," said Catoggio.

The company is also using social media to grow the business.

"We continuously interact with people who vape via Facebook, Twitter and in person at public tasting so that we can find out what they think of our product and what they would like to see us do to expand the product line in the future," said Catoggio.

Five year goals:

Catoggio hopes to make Puf Cigs one of Staten Island's largest employers.

"Our five-year plan is to become a Fortune 500 company and to be able to go public. We stand behind our product 100 percent and are proud to be based right here on Staten Island," he said.