The bargain basement e-cigarette: World's cheapest nicotine vaporiser goes on sale in the UK - and it costs just £1

Electronic cigarette Ezi-Cig goes on sale at Discount UK stores today



Each vapouriser lasts 220 puffs - the equivalent of a 20 pack of cigarettes

A quarter of all attempts to quit smoking in the UK are made using e-cigarettes but there are now moves to license the products

Last month the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said e-cigarettes must be regulated to make them ‘safer and more effective’

Discount UK's Ezi-Cig vapouriser lasts up to 220 puffs - the equivalent of a 20 pack of cigarettes

The world's first £1 e-cigarette has gone on sale in in the UK today.

Anti-smoking campaigners hope the product, which will be sold at Discount UK's nationwide 70 stores, will cut the cost of giving up smoking for millions of people.

At a fifth of the price of the previous lowest cost disposable brand, th e Ezi-Cig quitting aid is the cheapest disposable e-cigarette to ever go on sale.

Each disposable vapouriser lasts up to 220 puffs - the equivalent of a 20 pack of cigarettes - and, say product developers, has been developed after two years of research.

Each 'cigarette' comes in high (12mg) or medium (8mg) nicotine dosage.

Because stock is limited, customers will only be able to buy a maximum of 12 e-cigarettes each.



The e-cigarette industry is facing tighter regulation after research found that there is little quality control exercised among manufacturers.



Around 1.3million Britons use battery-powered e-cigarettes, which turn nicotine into vapour to be inhaled, avoiding the harm caused by tobacco smoke.



Last month the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency decided they must be regulated, like drugs, to make them ‘safer and more effective’.

Its research had found that nicotine levels delivered often differed from the amount stated on the label and varied from batch to batch.

Other studies have suggested that some e-cigarettes contain potentially harmful contaminants, the MHRA said, and there were anecdotal reports of a user suffering facial burns after one exploded.



Although using e-cigarettes is safer than smoking tobacco ‘the long-term safety of these components to the consumer remains unknown’, it said.



The Ezi-Cig quitting aid (pictured) is the cheapest disposable e-cigarette to go on sale. It is thought around 1.3 million smokers and ex-tobacco users in the UK use an electronic cigarette - and experts say the figure can only increase

Discount UK, the Leeds-based company behind single price retailer, Poundworld, is expecting huge interest in the new Ezi-Cig brand. The product will also go on sale in over 40 Poundworld shops in September.



In the UK, 25 per cent of all attempts to kick the habit are made using e-cigarettes, making it the most popular quitting aid.

The UK's medicines regulatory body MHRA is forecasting that e-cigarettes could help save 57,000 British lives over the next decade.

Chris Edwards Junior, trading director at Discount UK Home Stores, said: 'Quitting smoking can be a difficult and often expensive undertaking.



Hopefully, this product will make it easier for millions to make a change and move one step closer to kicking the habit for good.'

The UK's medicines regulatory body MHRA is forecasting that e-cigarettes like Ezi-Cig (pictured) could help save 57,000 British lives over the next decade

E-cigarettes are designed to imitate smoking behaviour without the use of tobacco and contain no tar, no 'second hand' smoke, ash or odour.

A rechargeable version of the Ezi-Cig has also gone on sale with ten cartridges, priced at £4.99.



The company said that similar sets often set smokers back around £20.

Naomi Bitcliffe, 27, a smoker from Leeds who has tested the Ezi-Cig said: 'It's a bit heavier to hold than a normal cigarette but it tastes a lot cleaner.

'I haven't bothered buying one in the past because they are too expensive but priced at £1 - I'll definitely use them to try and cut down.

'It's good to have something to hold and mimicking the action puts you off wanting to light up for real.'



Amanda Sandford, research manager for ASH (Action on Smoking and Health), said: 'If smokers wish to try e-cigarettes as a way of cutting down or quitting smoking then these products could be attractive since they are cheap and don't involve a big financial outlay.

Ezi-Cig goes on sale at over 70 Discount UK shops today and will arrive at over 40 Poundworld stores in September

'However, we would advise people who want to stop smoking to speak to their doctor or pharmacist and use licensed nicotine replacement products as these have a proven track record as effective aids to quitting.'

An MHRA spokesman said: 'We cannot comment on price...and without seeing the product we could not comment on the quality.

'Our research has shown that existing electronic cigarettes and other nicotine containing products on the market are not good enough to meet this public health priority.'

Some 'nicotine containing products' are already licensed, and the government is working towards licensing for all these products.

The MHRA spokesman said: 'It's not about banning products that some people find useful.

