‘Vape’ named as word of the year for 2014

The Oxford English Dictionary has announced that “vape” is its word of the year.

So it can come as little surprise that e-cigarettes were the fastest-growing high street product of 2014.

To vape — to inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette — was the buzz phrase of 2014 and research published in The Times suggests that its accolade was deserved after sales of e-cigarettes rose by 50 per cent in the year to more than 17 million.

Nielsen, the industry research company, said that Britons spent nearly £123 million on e-cigarettes. Sales of old-fashioned cigarettes, which, sadly for anyone with an interest in health, still eclipse those of their digital rival, fell a little over 2 per cent in the past year, but sales of traditional smoking quitting remedies, such as nicotine gum and patches, fell by more than 6 per cent.

“The rise of the e-cigarette is the biggest trend in this market,” said Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer.