British Smokers Can Now Get More Time Off Work if They Take Up Vaping

Can anyone honestly say vaping is enjoyable? Is there anything less cool than walking around with a neon stick in your mouth and doing smoke tricks, unprompted, that make the surrounding area smell like bubblegum?

Yes, actually, smoking cigarettes is less cool. This isn't the 1950s. If it's a choice between the two, e-cigs are obviously the way forward—due to the fact that they're nowhere near as likely to make you die years before your time.

If you're already huffing on one of these silly little pipes in the UK, today could be your lucky day. Companies have been told to set aside a room for staff so they can smoke their e-cigs at work, as well as give them extra break time to fulfill their habit. Basically, for smoking e-cigs rather than cigarettes, you're being rewarded with something everyone universally desires: more time to slack off at work without any fear of punishment.

New official guidelines from the government's watchdog Public Health England now tell employers to make vaping a "more convenient option" in the hopes it might help employees give up cigarettes. Workers shouldn't be forced to vape outdoors, says the advice, because that would "undermine their ability to quit smoking." And because e-cigs give you a smaller nicotine hit, users should be allowed extra breaks for "frequent top-ups." Yep, frequent vape breaks.

Public Health England says cigarette smokers require only "one cigarette every hour or so, and in a short space of time" to achieve the blood nicotine level they crave. In contrast, "Vaping provides a generally lower blood nicotine level and takes longer to reach a desired level. This difference should be taken into account, particularly when developing policies for workplaces."

Read: We Tried the Most Disgusting E-Cig Flavors So You Don't Have To