E-cigs spark smoking debate

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Jason Miller

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Smoking indoors can be an exhilarating feeling – until you get caught. But it took almost five minutes before an employee at a busy financial district Starbucks approached me while I puffed away on my SmokeStik.

The SmokeStik or e-cig is an artificial cigarette that resembles a traditional cigarette minus the ashes and butts. The $90-plus device recreates the smoking experience by allowing smokers to puff on a mist that resembles smoke. The manufacturer claims the tobacco-free gizmo satisfies nicotine cravings without the harmful chemicals emitted by regular cigarettes.

My SmokeStik created such a buzz at the Starbucks that longtime smoker David Lewis, 51, immediately decided to give it a try.

"It's pretty cool if you can utilize something that isn't a cigarette to help kick the habit," he said. "It's better than the gum."

Lewis even thinks the government should get in on the action by using alternatives like SmokeStik to encourage smokers to quit.

Avid smoker Robert Pearce was taken aback by how the SmokeStik worked. He was surprised to discover that the rechargeable butt uses cartridges to approximate the taste of a cigarette while delivering varying strengths of nicotine.

"It might satisfy the craving for nicotine," he said. "Never seen anything like it on the market."

During my test drive at Starbucks, the SmokeStik smelled like burning newspaper but Pearce's taste buds told a different story.

"It tastes almost like a cigarette that isn't burning," he said. "You're almost sucking through a burnt-out cigarette."

Its introduction has sparked a debate over whether or not smokers should be allowed to use it inside a pub or restaurant since it's technically legal.

David Old, the manager at Harbour Sports Grille on Yonge St., said he had a spat two weeks ago with a customer who refused to put out his SmokeStik.

"They tried to give me an argument why it was legal," he said. "We basically said until we get clarification on the law I'm going to ask you to stop smoking. If we get clarification and the board of health says go right ahead, then fine."

Old said many business owners will argue products like SmokeStik will bring back customers who've been driven away by anti-smoking bylaws, but he added many smokers have already adapted. They "are now used to the fact that we need to go outside and smoke and business is starting to come back," he said.

Toronto Star

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