Ryanair is allowing passengers to puff on “smokeless” cigarettes during flights.

Cabin staff on short-haul services sell the devices – which can be legally smoked in public places – at £6 for a pack of 10.

The cigs are promoted as a nicotine fix for people who can’t wait until they land for their next fag.

A passenger said: “The stewards were brandishing the packs as they walked down the aisle. No one bought any.”

Martin Dockrell, from Action on Smoking and Health, said: “Our concern with these products is that there isn’t much evidence as to their safety.”

The cigs use cartridges of nicotine that are inhaled before a water vapour that resembles smoke is breathed out by the user.

The fags do not contain tobacco or any of the harmful chemicals found in normal cigarettes.

IrishTimes :

“SMOKELESS” CIGARETTES which look like the real thing but do not have to be lit to provide nicotine to the user, are to be introduced by Ryanair.

Smoking on commercial flights has been illegal since the 1990s, but the airline says it will introduce Similar Smokeless Cigarettes, which it says look and feel like a real cigarette and deliver a small amount of nicotine through inhalation – passengers do not light the ‘cigarette’.

The new Similar Smokeless Cigarettes are available to passengers over 18 years of age and are sold in packs of 10 on board all of the company’s flights for €6.

A company statement said they contained no toxins or chemicals and were harmless to the user and to those around them.

Company spokesman Stephen McNamara said the “cigarettes” were being introduced to help passengers who like to smoke and find it difficult to travel on an aircraft for a couple of hours without getting their nicotine hit.

“As these cigarettes are smokeless they cause no discomfort to other passengers and can ensure a more enjoyable and stress-free flight for all passengers, as non-smokers will no longer have to cope with moody smokers in need of nicotine,” he said.