At last, high-tech smoking!

The "safe cigarette" has long been the holy grail of smokers everywhere, but the tobacco industry has never seen fit to think outside the box (or pack, in this case), and develop tobacco-free technology.

I suppose this isn't surprising since their chief commodity is tobacco, and they have never shown any real interest in their customers' wellbeing.

It took Hong Kong based business SBT to come up with their new product - the Ruyan, which in Chinese means "just like smoke" - and it was an almost instant hit in China.

Millions of Chinese people have switched to the Ruyan to preserve their health, and over the last year e-cigarette technology has steady made inroads in countries all around the world.

They are now available in the US from NJOY or RUYAN, and across Europe from Sedansa (see links).

Most smokers are initially a bit skeptical about the electronic cigarette, but once they try it those doubts almost always disappear.

If you are anything like me, once you try an e-cig you'll never want to go back to tobacco.