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Paris Hilton Gossip Column

12
Jun
2011

The celebrity ecig trend – why is the UK lagging behind?

US gossip columns, celebrity blogs and news feeds have been flooded recently with reports of celebrities turning to electronic cigarettes to help them kick the habit. There’s been footage of Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl happily puffing away on the Late Show with David Letterman, snaps of Leo DiCaprio smoking an e-cig while cycling, Johnny Depp’s famous e-cig scene on board a train alongside Angelina Jolie in The Tourist and numerous other reports on ‘celeb vapers’ such as Dennis Quaid, Paris Hilton and Tom Perry.

Last week Charlie Sheen’s use of an e cigarette on stage in Toronto during his ‘Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option’ tour sparked a flurry of interest online, with some parties condemning him for ‘cheating’ the city’s smoking law while others praised him for abiding by it.

So what about our UK celebs? Why aren’t more of them following our American cousins and ditching traditional tobacco cigarettes in favour of the ecig? Admittedly they may not need to make the thousands of pounds-worth of savings that come with the switch, but surely they should be interested in the health benefits of changing to electronic cigarettes?

Image attributed to Just Jared

So far, the only ‘celebs’ we’ve seen taking a drag on an e-cigarette are the cast of popular reality TV show ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ and even then, the focus of the evening was firmly set on the girls’ outfits and love lives, rather than the benefits of the product.

Of course we mustn’t forget British snooker pro Jimmy White, who is apparently an e-cig fan too. Although they’re to be applauded, these celebs are hardly on the same level as the Johnny Depps and Leo DiCaprios of this world! Come on British A-listers, start the UK smoking revolution!

We decided to test out an electronic cigarette ourselves to see what all the fuss is about and if e-cigs really deserve the ‘celebrity-status’ they’ve earnt out in the US. We went with the UK-based brand ClearSmoke, which claims to offer a ‘smoking alternative that really works’ and lists the following as its benefits:

No tar, ash or smell
No yellow teeth or bad breath
A cheaper alternative to cigarettes
A solution proven to work amongst smokers
A full money-back guarantee

The first thing that struck us was the authenticity of the e-cig – its size, shape, weight, colour – everything. It came in a neat black box which looked exactly like a normal cigarette pack, and when we inhaled and exhaled, the puff of vapour which came out was like real smoke. Of course the novelty of smoking indoors at our desk, legally, was another benefit we couldn’t overlook!

We used the site’s cost calculator to work out what we normally spend on cigarettes and were shocked to find it added up to £2263 a year! Each ClearSmoke cartridges costs just under £1 and is the equivalent of 12 cigarettes.

With the ever-increasing cost of smoking normal cigarettes (a 2% increase on tobacco duty above inflation comes into effect in 2012) and the well-known health risks, not to mention the less than glamorous lingering smell of smoke, it seems inevitable that UK celebs and members of the public alike will soon be turning to these devices as a legitimate, authentic and life-saving alternative.

If you’re a smoker, why not try ClearSmoke today? The brand is so confident you’ll enjoy the product, they’re offering a risk-free trial on their electronic cigarette starter kit today!

About the Author

A guide to electronic cigarette brands and products, as well as news, reports, discussion points, independent reviews, user guides, trivia and more.

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