Fake cigarette is put to the test around Glasgow

May 11 2008

IT'S the answer to smokers' prayers - an £89 electronic cigarette that lets them puff in public legally.

The SuperSmoker certainly looks like a real fag and its makers claim it also tastes and smokes like the real thing, too.

It gives users a hit of nicotine and can be "smoked" anywhere as nothing is actually lit.

That means there is no harmful smoke. Nor does it give users a dose of tar. But the fake ciggie - endorsed by Rolling Stones legend Bill Wyman - glows at its tip and produces a puff of steam vapour that disappears without a trace.

And as the nicotine is vaporised instead of burned, it is legal to light up despite the smoking ban.

If you are challenged by the publican, you can show them the accompanying "passport" that proves it is not real smoke.

Heather Greenaway asked law student Tierney Gallagher, 20, of Glasgow, to road-test the gizmo out and about in the city.

HORSESHOE BAR

THE fake cigarette attracted lots of attention at the famous pub. Barmaid Allison Sweeney, 37, quickly pointed out the smoking ban before realising the cigarette was harmless.

Tierney said: "The minute I stepped into the Horseshoe with a cigarette, all eyes were on me and the staff were quick to ask me what I was doing.

"It has only been two years since the ban but it is as if no one ever smoked in public places in Scotland before.

"I was quite surprised at the impact my smoking had on people."

TAYLOR FERGUSON

TIERNEY slipped into the celebrity hairdresser's and took a seat at the mirror.

All eyes were on her when she slipped the electronic fag from her bag.

The boss was quickly summoned and Taylor asked her to stop smoking inside.

Tierney said: "The salon used to be a place for a quick cigarette and a coffee between haircuts.

"But all that has changed as Taylor told me to put it out.

"He said he remembered the days when you could smoke in the salon but now much prefers working in a smoke-free environment.

"Once again, the cigarette had been filled and it tasted like the real thing to me."

MANNA RESTAURANT

THE test in this restaurant caused gasps of disbelief when Tierney took a puff.

And it wasn't long before supervisor Debbie Manson, 31, asked her to stub it out.

Tierney said: "I missed being able to have a quick cigarette with a glass of wine, so it was fun to light up in the restaurant.

"But I felt self-conscious as everyone around me was staring at me, accusing me.

"After two puffs, the boss came flying over and asked me politely to put it out.

"But once I explained it was not real and showed how it worked, everything was fine.

"It was amazing how quickly people noticed I was smoking. How things have changed."

SILVERBURN

THE student really set the cat among the pigeons when she took a shopping trip to Silverburn.

Sitting on a bench in the main mall and lighting up her fake ciggie brought the security guards running to tell her to put it out.

Mum Lauren Convery, 22, of Pollok, took great exception when the part-time model apparently puffed away close to her five-month-old daughter Oriana's pram.

Tierney said: "The security guards started radioing each other the second they caught sight of me smoking.

"They approached me and said if I didn't stop, I would have to go outside. They were quite impressed when I showed them it was not real.

"I did feel really bad, though, when a mother asked me to stop smoking near her child.

"It just shows you how strictly the ban is being enforced everywhere.

"There was not one shopper who did not look at me in horror."