I've had this one for a little over 2 years, but I suspect it wouldn't last the average person 2 months before it outright fails and they just throw it away.
Why? Well, electronics don't exactly like smoke of any form, whether it be nicotine, weed, wood, paper, etc. But that's exactly what these lighters do, literally light things on fire, which of course generates smoke and dirties the electrodes, up until the point they start shorting out, if not other issues first.
I happen to be an electronics technician that knows how to safely disassemble, service and clean this thing occasionally, but its highly suggested that nobody ever try to service them, as they generate thousands of volts for the electric arc, which absolutely will burn the piss out of your fingers, if not worse.
I'm actually glad to have it, it was a cheap late Christmas gift from my mom back in January 2024, but I figure basically 99% of average consumers would end up having issues with it and throwing it away within ~2 months or less.
Sigh, e-waste...
Pretty close, had one for a brief while, mostly used for incense till something got screwy and apparently connected the electrode to the casing to zap the hell out of me.
EXACTLY!
Some folks have better, longer lasting luck out of these things, others don't, but yeah you totally get that these things can (and often will) eventually short out, one way or another.
I happen to have enough electronics knowledge and experience to keep mine properly cleaned and maintained, but I don't think that 99% of people would even be able to do that, at least not safely..