When Is a Cigarette Not Cigarette?

When Is A Cigarette Not Cigarette?

A United Kingdom firm has succeeded in producing a virtual cigarette (Ecigarette), claiming it can be legally smoked in any no smoking zone.

The ecigarette looks and feels exactly like a real cigarette. The company claims it is a cigarette without all the cancer creating chemicals. The smoke from the ecig is merely vapour, produced from nicotine liquid-suspended cartridges, which have been atomized. The user is able to refill the cartridges, from a variety of over twenty different flavours. The companies advertising states: ‘The only difference from a real cigarette, is the lack of cloying tobacco smell and second hand smoke’.

There is also a dire warning attached to the ecigs. ‘Because of the high concentration of nicotine, they must be used with caution. Keep all ejuice and cartridges out of the sight and reach of children and pets at all times. This is to safeguard your inquisitive pets and children. Please select a child safe cap at the checkout’.

One drop of pure nicotine is sufficient to kill a person, making it a lethal poison. Many researchers feel nicotine is more addictive than alcohol, heroine, or amphetamines. Ecig smokers appear as if they are smoking a real cigarette, while still getting their nicotine fix. How then can the company claim this is an attempt to aid smokers to quit the habit of smoking?

Who would be game to light up an ecig in a restricted area, when it has all the appearances of being a real cigarette? The company’s advertising proudly claims, “Even up close the ecig will fool everybody into thinking it’s a real tobacco cigarette”.

Perhaps the authorities will have to develop a breathalyzer kit for cigarettes, just as they have a breathalyzer for alcohol.

The smokeless cigarettes were given out for free, in sway bags at the recent British film awards and passed out at an international trade show. The beginner’s pack comes complete with 2 rechargeable batteries, 1 atomiser, 1 battery charger, 1 power cord, 5 assorted cartridges and 1 user manual. A twenty-a-day smoker will go through 4-5 cartridges a day. Starting cost is from thirty-five pounds.

The company has also produced e-cigars and there are some fancy cigarette cases designed specifically for the ecig. If it looks like a cigarette and smokes like a cigarette, what do you say as you are arrested and hauled off to jail? “Excuse me officer, I am not really smoking. This is just a virtual cigarette”.