The E-cig craze sweeping pubs

A man smoking an electronic cigarette. Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire

No, we haven’t released a new beer that doesn’t get you drunk and ... we’re not giving it away. It’s a new wave of pub goers that are setting the new trend – the E-Cig smokers.

These folk have taken the greatest step to preserving their lives by kicking the old nicotine habit into touch. Even my daughter has followed suit, and can now be seen puffing on one of those Nicorette versions.

When the smoking ban in public places was bulldozed through by the Government in 2007 it virtually emptied local boozers – especially in the afternoons. The daytime drinkers, mainly retired men, turned their backs on us, usually quoting: “I fought a war for the right to smoke in the pub.” In a way they were spot on – but hey, whenever have any Government listened to the concerns of the people?

Mick Dennison. Pub Landlord. York Hotel, Morecambe.

In the evenings there would be a constant wave of folk wandering in and out to the smoking area which suddenly became a new room – the debating chamber. Non-smokers became “Billy No Mates” as their friends and partners left them stranded at the bar as everyone caught up with the latest gossip – outside.

Moving forward eight years and we have a new way of socialising at the bar with the proliferation of the E-Cig. Now the conversations revolve around the different flavours available to smoke and how much battery life we all have left; not for the mobile phone – the E-Cig!

We still have a wave of people in and out to smoke cigarettes, but the crowd at the bar is growing.

Even more amazing, to a non-smoker like me, is the rise of the vapour lounge. There is one next door to the York and has a constant trickle of customers for its products.

Can you believe there are competitions to judge who can produce the longest vapour trail? Could that soon be a pub sport? What about syncronised vapouring – just make sure your pub allows them to be smoked indoors.