Smoke without fire: Will the 'e-fag' ever catch on?

There are those who remember where they were when they heard that Kennedy had been shot. Others recall the fall of the Berlin Wall or the inebriated emotion of ringing in the millennium with somewhat less lucidity. My poignant but painful moment in history came on 30 June 2007, the final hours before the smoking ban in public buildings was introduced in England.

Returning from a month-long trip, I touched down in Britain with one aim – to hook up with a fellow pariah. Together, we puffed away in a local bar, mourners at a wake, savouring our memories of better days as alcohol dulled the pain.

So discovering the SuperSmoker Ultimo electronic cigarette – the healthy alternative to real tobacco sticks – I feel a little like Rambo being proffered a water pistol. Where is the comfortably familiar warning that I will suffer an agonising death? Instead, the pack bears an image of a saint blowing smoke rings, which seems to miss the point. True smokers have long lost any hope of canonisation. We sin with relish. I smoke because it is the easiest way to – metaphorically and literally – stick two fingers up at an increasingly smug world. Nevertheless, with Tuesday's anniversary of the ban approaching, it seems a good time to road-test a gadget that claims to outwit the law.

The SuperSmoker offers "smoke" without fire, a healthier, environmentally friendly alternative to the real thing which sidesteps the ban because it neither burns nor contains tobacco. "It consists of a microchip and a harmless liquid that, when the user inhales, turns into a virtually odourless vapour resembling smoke and then provides the hit of nicotine," insists its manufacturer.

The device has a chargeable battery, atomisation chamber, nicotine cartridge and a filter. The taste of tobacco is mimicked by food ingredients. Best of all, the grey tip glows red when you take a drag.

Four varying strengths of cartridge offer everything from one-sixth of the nicotine of a normal cigarette (0.2 mg) to merely the taste. Retailing at £79, the Ultimo is not cheap, but the company insists it will prove a money saver with each cartridge, lasting about 120 inhalations – approximately 15 cigarettes – at a cost of £7.95 for six.

My first drag is unimpressive, but the second produces a satisfying wisp of "smoke". At almost 12cm, it is much longer than the average cigarette, and much heavier. Mastering the weight proves troublesome as it droops from my lips – not very Marlene Dietrich.

But by the time I find myself in All Bar One, I have attained, I hope, a realistic cigarette-handling manner. Prominently positioned at a high table, I began to smoke. A few drinkers look up, stunned at what in one short year has become a shocking sight. One man grabs his mobile phone to take a picture. But within seconds, all the horrified looks turn to grins and then – rather irritatingly – laughter. My amateur paparazzo turns out to be a banker named Richard Garner. "We were wondering why someone from the bar staff hadn't come over. But it doesn't take long to work out it is not burning down and there is no smell."

Crushed by my failure to elicit anything more than a titter, I wander down to another pub, Nicholson's. Once again, my actions draw aghast looks – for a few seconds. Determined to attract the attention of the staff with an enormous plume of "smoke", I drag hard. Either from a nicotine kick, or from sheer effort, I come over dizzy. But it works: a look of fury crosses the barmaid's face and she strides towards me. However, by her third step, she's smiling.

The smokers basking in sunshine outside the bars are equally unimpressed. While agreeing that it might prove a substitute on aeroplanes or in moments of desperation, most said they would feel silly brandishing the e-cigarette.

But perhaps that was missing the point. Despite the claims that it is the new "trendy accessory", the SuperSmoker is not a fashion item but a means of offering succour to addicts unable to light up in bars. A year on, the smoking ban remains controversial. Proponents insist that 84 per cent of the population is in favour, with one in three smokers getting through fewer cigarettes and a record number trying to quit. Cigarette sales are said to be down 12 per cent, with some stop-smoking clinics reporting a 20 per cent increase in clients.

Yet in Ireland, which went smoke-free in 2004, an initial downturn has reversed, with smoking up to 29 per cent last year. And our pubs are suffering lower profits, blamed on the ban.

The SuperSmoker is an interesting attempt to outwit the ban. Yet I suspect it will be some while before sceptical, rebellious smokers are brought in from the cold.

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