It's the electronic cigarette, a fancy device that delivers nicotine without the tar and the ash and the unpleasant smell.
It's not a cigarette, banned from television advertising. So you know you'll be seeing a lot of advertising, and soon. Which means it won't be long before your local politician will apply all the same tobacco taxes to it, to keep revenues up. If people start switching to e-cigs in droves, where will all the sin tax money come from?
Want to really aggravate some holier-than-thou anti-smoking campaigner? Suck on an e-cig in a bar or a restaurant where smoking is banned, and enjoy the frustration when they can't make you stop smoking in public where it's not allowed because you're not smoking.
There are the usual cries from the nannies among us who insist that e-cigs will encourage children to smoke and who knows what medical dangers lie within the nicotine vapor being inhaled. Movie stars will make it look glamorous, and now that the French are discovering the e-cig, it will be nearly impossible to stop the fashionistas from indulging.
The traditional manufacturers of tobacco cigarettes are getting into the field, recognizing the shift that is taking place. As their product is pushed towards extinction, the lure of nicotine addiction finds a new method of delivery and the old school corporations are not going to miss the vapor boat on this product. As long as people remain hooked on the nicotine, they'll want a way to get it, and that means profits.
It isn't exactly like smoking, but when you want a fix and you don't want to stand out in the cold to smoke, all you have to do is pull out the plastic stick shaped like a cigarette and enjoy the rush in comfort. Your doctor will applaud you for giving up tobacco and all its cancer risks.
Your local taxing body will thank you as well, as soon as they figure out how to make you pay for your habit that isn't dirty any more.
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