In an early step towards this ambitious goal, the government in NZ have introduced the Smoke-free Environments (Controls and Enforcement) Amendment Bill, which will make the display of cigarettes and tobacco products in stores, supermarkets, petrol stations etc illegal from July next year. Retailers are being given a twelve month period to remove the displays, after which a hefty fine will be applied. It is hoped that by removing displays of cigarettes and tobacco products, the temptation to purchase them will be reduced. Under the amended bill, retailers caught selling cigarettes to under 18’s will also face increased fines of up to $10,000.

New Zealand’s restaurants, bars and casinos went smoke free in December 2004, with the country also controversially bringing in a smoking ban in its prisons earlier this year. Prison inmates have not been able to buy cigarettes, tobacco, matches or lighters since the ban came into force in the country on 1st July 2011.

The forward thinking approach of New Zealand’s health ministers was praised at a recent World Medical Association General Assembly in Montevideo, Uruguay. Statistics from the country’s department for health claims that one in five teenagers in New Zealand is exposed to smoke, and 20% of the coutry’s population smoke – figures which the government and health officials are determined to not only reduce, but eradicate altogether.

• An electronic cigarette is a battery powered device that simulates the action of smoking and provides the smoker with a ‘nicotine fix’.
• Electronic cigarettes are shaped and designed to look like regular cigarettes.
• In terms of their construction, electronic cigarettes have three constituent parts: a nicotine cartridge, a vaporiser and a lithium ion battery.
• Electronic cigarettes work by the battery providing power to heat the nicotine cartridge, vaporising the nicotine. This is a different process to conventional cigarettes, where the nicotine is burnt after the cigarette has been lit.
• The resultant nicotine vapour is then inhaled and subsequently exhaled. The exhaled substance looks like smoke, but is in fact water vapour.
• The majority of electronic cigarettes are reusable, with replacement parts including nicotine cartridges and batteries.
• The electronic cigarettes that we know today originate from a design created in 1993 by a Chinese pharmacist. The original concept of an electronically powered cigarette was in fact developed in 1963, but due to lack of available technology, the electronic cigarette was not put into production at this time.
• Communities/groups of people sometimes refer to themselves as ‘Vapers’ – the name originating from the vaporisation of nicotine during electronic cigarette smoking.
• Electronic cigarettes do not contain many of the harmful substances that are associated with smoking related disease, such as tar and tobacco.

Whilst it can be very difficult to give up smoking for good, there are healthier alternatives to smoking available, including using an electronic cigarette. An electronic cigarettes is a battery powered cylinder, designed to resemble a cigarette. Like normal cigarettes, they can be smoked at any time of the day, and have a similar effect on the body in terms of fulfilling the nicotine craving. Unlike conventional cigarettes, however, the electronic cigarette contains far fewer harmful chemicals, no tobacco or tar.

Switching to electronic cigarettes could prove to have a positive effect on your health, or can even be used as an effective aid to stopping smoking altogether. So if you are looking for a little Christmas present for yourself, an electronic cigarettes make the perfect gift. Electronic cigarette starter kits can be purchased online and contain everything you need to try this fast-growing, healthier and cost-effective alternative to smoking.