E-CIGARETTE shops are enjoying a boost in trade after the NHS endorsed the devices as ‘definitely safer than smoking’.
Mike Cameron, founder of Tunbridge Wells shop SMOKO, said business is booming with greater general acknowledgement that e-cigarettes offer smokers an effective way to quit.
His Camden Road outlet is now one of four shops selling electronic cigarettes around town.
Their trade is also set to pick up this month with many smokers signing up to national campaign Stoptober.
Mr Cameron, whose wife Daisy Hicks is SMOKO’s co-founder, said: “We are expecting a rise (in trade) as October is always a big month.
“There is a lot of awareness and people are looking to make a change in their lives.
“Every bit of news about e-cigarettes is good for us.”
Last month a spokesman from NHS Health Scotland described the devices, which are now used by three million people nationally, as ‘a lot safer than cigarettes’.
Electronic cigarettes are typically charged by a small battery and contain flavouring, nicotine and water.
SMOKO has been a presence in Tunbridge Wells for more than five years but the business also successfully trades online to several countries.
Mr Cameron warned the product is addictive and would not sell to either anyone aged under 18 or who had not smoked regular cigarettes before.
He continued: “For people who are still smoking cigarettes (Stoptober) makes them question what they are doing.
“(We also saw) more people come through the door when cigarettes went up in price recently, it is now £10 for a pack or even more.
“I now see a lot of people walking around Tunbridge Wells using e-cigarettes.”
