Irish Rail has recently banned the use of Electric Cigarettes on trains and Dart services. The new ruling, which has already come into affect by Irish Rail and is only at the early stages. Posters have been put up in all Dart and train stations across Dublin & Ireland with details of the new policy.
The ban was put into place after a number of complaints by passengers were made to Irish rail. One of the most common problems cited by passengers was the smell of some vapour from the devices. Although no long term health studies have been done on the electronic cigarettes due to it being a relatively recent invention, they are beginning to cause controversy. The E-cigarettes contain no tobacco only nicotine, meaning that heart disease and cardiovascular risks associated with smoking can still be caused by them. However, without the tobacco, which is a carcinogen, the electronic cigarettes in theory should greatly reduce the chance of cancer. They expel water vapour, which should also not cause problems for surrounding people as water vapour is heavier than carbon dioxide and cannot travel far.
Irish rail are not the only public service provider to put a ban on these E-Cigs, only last November your favourite online digital newswire, the Fountain, reported that the Coombe Hospital on Cork Street also stopped people from smoking E-Cigs (as part of an overall ban on smoking in the hospital).
Electric cigarettes or E-Cigs have soared in sales by almost 500% in the last year alone. While the sale of normal cigarettes fell by 4%. In Ireland, the Department of Health have been examining how to regulate them, and the EU have commissioned rules designed to ensure safety in using them. Several countries still have banned the use of them outright in all public buildings.
My own personal view (and it is just that and not representative of FRG or the Newswire) is that over the past 20 or so years, tobacco products have increasingly been banned from the public view. There is an increasing intolerance to smoking, through pubs and public places and indeed in the attitude of some people. The electric cigarette is a good way to cut down the habit with the idea of eventually quitting. I do not see the point of coming after people using them when there seems to be negligible second hand risk.
Hashtags: #Dart, #Ecig, #Ecigg ban, #Eciggs, #Electronic Cigarettes, #IarnrodEireann, #IarnrodEireannBan 
