Electronic cigarettes could bring smokers in from the cold

Smokers fed up with having to go outside for a cigarette may be interested in a new product that allows them to get a hit of nicotine, but doesn't involve them having to stand in the rain outside the pub.

The Butler's Arms in Sutton Coldfield is pioneering a new product called the E.cig, manufactured by the Electronic Cigarette Company, which users inhale like a real cigarette, but which produces vapour not smoke and which contains no tar or carbon monoxide, meaning there is no risk of passive smoking.

The device retails at around £40 and landlord Chris Giles said he expects it to be popular as winter approaches.

Users can choose between no nicotine, low, medium or high nicotine, menthol, strawberry or cherry, but the makers add that the E.cigs are as addictive as ordinary cigarettes.

However, health campaigners have raised fears over the new device, calling for more research to be carried out before it is rolled out elsewhere.

Deborah Arnott, director of Action on Smoking and Health, said: "At the moment we don't know enough about this product. The electronic cigarettes fall into a regulatory gap and they haven't been chemically tested."

In related news, it has been reported that illegally-imported cigarettes could be causing 4,000 deaths a year due to their low price encouraging people to smoke more.