Smoke without fire... a cigarette that's legal indoors

They are already a familiar nocturnal sight on the streets of London - huddles of windswept smokers lighting up outside pubs, clubs and bars.

Now one nightclub claims it has solved the problem, allowing smokers to get their fix without having to sneak outside in mid-conversation.

Celebrity hangout Chinawhite in Soho is trying out Britain's first "e-cig", a Chinese-made device that mimics the ritual of smoking but is claimed to be entirely legal indoors.

The six-inch white plastic stick uses a battery- powered atomiser to create realistic puffs of "smoke," while the tip glows red with each suck.

The smoker even gets a strong kick of nicotine from a "nico-filter" cartridge.

Its manufacturer, the Golden Dragon Group, say the invention has no harmful side-effects because there is no smoke or tar.

A £50 starter pack includes the cigarette, one filter and a recharger for the battery. The filter will provide enough nicotine for about 350 puffs, equivalent to about 30 cigarettes. Replacement packs of six filters cost £10 each.

John Stephen, co-founder of Chinawhite, said: "Clubs should move with the times and offer members the choice to smoke outside or enjoy a smoke-free cigarette indoors.

"We're trialling these e-cigs to see if our members like them and the few that have tried them say they are amazing. In my opinion, our members who do wish to smoke should be given options that don't simply force them to light up on the street."

It may be ingenious technology, but is it likely to take off with London's style conscious-club and bar-goers? We tested the e-cigs on smokers at Beach Blanket Babylon in Notting Hill.

Nicole Cammack, 18, a student from Ashford, Middlesex, said: "I like it. I smoke every day and I miss not being able to drink and smoke on a night out. This is a good solution. It's elegant and easy to hold and it doesn't make your hands smell like a cigarette does. It's almost like a herbal cigarette or a shisha.

"I would definitely use it as an alternative. I want one."

Rex Newmark, 23, an executive chef from Hampstead, said: "It tastes like apple tobacco. It would certainly be a talking point - a new toy to impress your friends with. It's good and I enjoyed smoking it but I think it's a bit too feminine for a man to use.

"I think it could become popular. Smokers would do anything to have a cigarette at a table rather than go outside."

Phuong Nguyen, 25, a bar worker from Bethnal Green, believed the price could put some people off.

She said: "You can feel the nicotine and it gives you a good taste. In a club I'm sure it would be very successful. But £50 is a lot of money to pay for a gadget. I wouldn't pay that much."

Francisca Chinchilla, 35, bar manager at Beach Blanket Babylon in Notting Hill, would have reservations about allowing her customers to smoke the electronic cigarette indoors.

She said: "Although it clearly doesn't pollute like a cigarette, I think this would cause problems by blurring the boundaries and creating confusion.

"Because it looks quite real, other customers might see it as an open invitation to light up real cigarettes inside.

"Anyway, I think my customers are perfectly happy going outside to smoke. It's good for us because it creates a nice atmosphere outside the bar and it draws more people in."

HOW THE E-CIG WORKS

The e-cig is claimed to deliver a dose of nicotine equivalent to a strong nicotine patch.

However, the device has been criticised in China for containing 18mg of nicotine compared with 1.2mg for a typical cigarette.

The makers claim the comparison is unfair because it would take much longer to get through one filter than a cigarette.

Evening Standard columnist and GP Dr Mark Porter said: "If you use them correctly you're not getting any more nicotine than you would do from a normal cigarette, but you are not getting any of the other nasty chemicals.

"Because this device lights up like a cigarette, looks like one, handles like one and even tastes a bit like one, it can only perpetuate that habit, making it more difficult for smokers to take the final step in the process and wean themselves off nicotine altogether. I would not recommend it as a way of quitting."