As a word, vaping has yet to achieve common currency, but it is getting there. Short for vapourising, it describes the process whereby nicotine is inhaled into the body by those who smoke electronic cigarettes.
These e-cigarettes, as they are known, have gone from being a curiosity a couple of years ago to a near-ubiquitous presence in convenience shops and garages.
Increasingly, in pubs and clubs the little red or blue glow of e-cigarettes is replacing what was once the fug of cigarette smoke.
E-cigarettes were first introduced in China in 2004, the same year that Ireland introduced the workplace smoking ban.
As smoking restrictions increase with every passing year around the world, they have become more popular.
Battery-powered
The battery-powered devices let users inhale nicotine-infused vapours. These e-cigarettes use a vapour to deliver the nicotine hit to users.
Crucially, there is no tar, carbon monoxide or any of the other chemicals that make cigarettes such a deadly product.
E-cigarettes are not carcinogenic because nicotine, the only relevant agent in them, does not cause cancer.
Because there is no secondhand smoke, they are not banned indoors and they leave no lingering smell. It is hardly surprising then that they are being seized upon by smokers as an alternative to cigarettes.
Labour Senator John Kelly said he was a 30-a-day man until taking up electronic cigarettes on November 1st last year.
“I was smoking €5,000 worth of cigarettes a year and I couldn’t afford to keep doing it, not to mention the health effects,” he said. “I know they work. I’d recommend them to anybody. I know somebody who was on 60 a day and hasn’t touched a cigarette since taking them up.”
Source: Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times, 25/06/2013
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