To Vape or not to Vape?

Okay enough sucking up to our very own Dame Kelly Holmes and on to more serious matters. TonbridgeBlog noticed the other day that we are about to have a vaping, or e-cig, shop open in Tonbridge. There's a large sign in the window of one of the Quarry Hill Parade shops which was previously vacant. Near or next door to the chippy. I was up North a couple of weeks ago and noticed that there was already one of these Vaping (that's what they called it actually) shops just opened in my home town and made a comment to my wife that there'd be one in every town before long. So are we seeing the tip of the ice berg (or should that be cigarette butt?) in this particular market. Is it sustainable to have a whole shop devoted to the product. I've even thought of stocking them in Mr. Books as a matter of fact. Decided against though as Mr. Fags and Books didn't have the same ring to it! I read a good article by Matthew Norman, who nearly always makes me chuckle, on the Telegraph web site today which, even though delivered very tongue in cheek, said that e-cigs are one of the best inventions ever, at least on a par with the wheel and the plough! Whilst that claim appears to be hugely exaggerated, for heavy smokers at least, the writer certainly makes a good point and goes on to say that he has been vaping the equivalent of 80 fags a day with no apparent tightness in the chest of phlegmy cough which would normally be associated with that level of self abuse. The jury is out as far as I'm concerned though because the other side of the coin is that people who might otherwise have not smoked at all may well try vaping just to see what all the fuss is about and, before they know it, they'll be on super strength capsules and shortly afterwards, so the arguments go, they'll be main lining H and snorting C & E, and munching cacti extract and scoffing down magic mushrooms and all manner of substances....