A year ago I wrote an amusing story about the new way to smoke: electronically! A new form of smoking, called e-cigarettes, was moving from the small ads in the back of the magazines, into the marketing mainstream.
What was surprising was how closely they were being watched - the big cigarette companies were taking an interest - and with them came the potential to invest millions of dollars.
Suddenly - it seems, with the blink of an eye - the world is flooded by an estimated 100 e-cigarette brands, and they are beginning to carve out a niche of market share. In the US they are already selling $US2 billion of the products, and expecting to hit $US10 billion in another three years.
UK law prohibits anything that looks even remotely like a cigarette on the screen. And definitely no satisfaction for the "vaper" (they try to avoid the word "smoker").
So our romantic couple are shot separately, running in slow motion and leaping through a cloud (perhaps suggesting cigarette smoke?) to the line: "Pure satisfaction for smokers - Vype E-Cigarettes. Experience the breakthrough."
Even this much innuendo is being deeply debated by authorities in Britain, with the anti-smoking lobby totally against the campaign. They are claiming that just the mention of these smoking key-words can start the whole "corruption of youngsters" controversy again.
In Australia the tobacco companies could not even go that far. At present, e-cigarettes are in a legal limbo with a ban on their sale. Yet a very steady underground market exists for the products.
They are being reviewed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration - just like drugs, medicines and therapies. The TGA has invested large amounts of time and resources verifying smoking aids like nicotine patches and gum. The government view seems to be that these cigarettes will have to jump the same hurdles before being let loose.
The main problem is the nicotine, which is a scheduled poison. Now most e-cigarettes use vapour perfumes rather than nicotine. But it is also possible to buy the nicotine separately - again, under the counter.
"People purchase stuff on line," said Scott McIntyre of British American Tobacco. "It's been brought in from Asia by cowboys and you don't know what the quality is."
The tobacco firms claim that they could control quantities and quality to protect the consumer. Allison Davis, Philip Morris Corporate Affairs, issued a statement saying: "It is essential that governments establish a rigorous regulatory framework to deal with the broad range of alternatives to cigarettes, including e-cigarettes."
When I wrote my previous story, an old friend with a 40-year, pack a day habit, thought she'd try the gadget out. Now, for the first time in her life, she has not smoked tobacco for almost a year. It may be too late for her emphysema or damaged gums - but at least she has stopped filling her lungs with soot and tar.
A survey of one is not very scientific, but what I saw has convinced me that these e-cigarettes ought to be available to those who want to trial them.
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