Smoking sales for e-cigarettes

THE sale of electronic cigarettes has rocketed 200 per cent over the past year as smokers look to alternative ways of getting their nicotine fix.

The products, which offer a nicotine hit without the inhalation of tobacco, do not fall under the jurisdiction of the smoking ban and are proving especially popular with smokers during the winter months.

But anti-tobacco campaigners have warned that the product could glamorise smoking and raised fears that there is currently no regulation of the device.

James Dunworth, of retailer ECigaretteDirect.co.uk, says it has experienced a steady month-on- month increase in sales, with a marked rise ahead of the Christmas and New Year period.

“It’s only the beginning of December, but we are already seeing sales climb,” he said. “Electronic cigarettes make an imaginative gift and can be used as a healthier alternative to traditional cigs.

“But we are also seeing many people buy them for themselves as they can be used anywhere, so smokers can get their nicotine hit without having to huddle outside in the freezing cold.”

Celebrities including green-fingered Alan Titchmarsh, snooker player Jimmy “Whirlwind” White, singer Matt Cardle and June Brown, chain smoking EastEnders’ star Dot Cotton, are all known to favour e-cigarettes.

Sheila Duffy, chief executive of anti-tobacco charity ASH Scotland, said it is “interested in the potential that e-cigarettes could have to help people take the first steps away from a deadly tobacco habit. With e-cigarettes, however, there is no standardisation or regulation of the product, which concerns us.

“Many e-cigarettes also look like cigarettes and, as a society, we should be moving away from giving the impression that smoking is desirableto protect young people from the harms of tobacco.”