Tobacco addiction ‘completely transferred’ to e-cigarettes

"I would have said I was quite a prolific smoker," said Chelsea Uddo, who rolled her own cigarettes for 15 years.

She and her partner decided to try e-cigarettes a few months ago, but she did not expect it to work. She thought she would “vape” in tandem with smoking.

Now she smokes e-cigarettes exclusively. “All of my addiction has been completely transferred onto this.

“I call it a ‘haptic device’. In gaming, any kind of video game controller is a haptic device. It’s like a simulator in virtual reality. It simulates smoking,” said Ms Uddo, who is studying for a master’s degree in cyberpsychology.

She plans to drop the nicotine level in her vaporising liquid over time.

Another e-smoker, Paul Nevin, tried everything to quit smoking. "I did patches, inhalers, hypnosis, acupuncture. I did the whole lot."

He smoked for nearly 30 years until he tried e-cigarettes. He has not smoked a tobacco cigarette since.

E-cigarettes are also his livelihood. He is the director of E-Smoke Ireland, which he started online a few years ago before opening a shop selling e-cigaretes in Palmerstown, Dublin this year.

“If you can succeed cold turkey, that’s the best thing to do, but a lot of people just can’t do that,” he said, adding that he thinks e-cigarettes are a healthier alternative to traditional smoking.

New Year’s resolution season in January is his shop’s busiest time of year.