SMOKERS have become an endangered species.

At one time this ubiquitous race was a common sight in public places. Its members populated bars, streets, cinemas, restaurants, buses, planes and trains, department stores and even petrol stations, leaving behind their tell-tale blue haze.

Having been one myself for almost two decades in my formative years, I look back nostalgically on those carefree evenings spent relaxing , cigarette in one hand, drink in the other, chewing the fat and putting the world to rights. Countless contented hours of doing a very good impression of a goldfish as I fine-tuned the art of blowing the perfect smoke ring.

We happily puffed away with an air of superiority, polluting the surrounding air and ignoring the disapproving looks from po-faced abstainers. After all, nobody was forcing them to stay.

The boot is on the other foot now and smokers are looked down on from a lofty height. They have become social pariahs, barely a notch above crazed drug addicts who steal from their mothers’ purses or despotic war criminals.

Ostracised by the “right thinking members of society” and often to be spotted huddled in draughty doorways or street corners, those halcyon days of a fag and a pint in the local pub are a thing of the past for imbibers of the weed.

I’m filled with a mixture of admiration and pity for those diehards who have persevered in the face of such adversity. This is Britain, not some totalitarian state (yet). We welcome independence of thought here and if someone chooses to burn their hard-earned cash, it’s up to them. Admittedly, I might think differently if I worked in the medical profession and saw the effects of smoking as a long-term hobby.

Anyone who is prepared to shell out £7 for a packet of fags and then suffer the ignominy of having to ask the shop assistant for them, like an illicit porn magazine or a condom, is to be applauded for their tenacity. It would be far easier to give up.

In fact, rather surprisingly, that is exactly what two friends of mine, who shall be referred to here as M and J, have just done. No cold turkey for them, no counting the hours and days since they last had one, no desperate cravings first thing in the morning or after a few drinks. They both gave up in an instant and are happy as Larry.

How did they undergo this miracle transformation? The answer is simple: electronic cigarettes.

Having given up the weed without a backward glance, they are now both addicted to something called a Skycig. They are smoking at least twice as much as before, having no longer to suffer the inconvenience of being outlawed from public places.

The electronic ciggie has a nicotine cartridge – but no tar or tobacco – and devotees inhale and exhale steam, rather than smoke, which makes it perfectly legal just about anywhere.

Instead of lighting up, you just switch them on and puff away. They are so lifelike that M has had to buy a Skycig with a blue tip instead of a glowing orange one, as she was constantly being told to put it out.

No slouch when it comes to seeking an opportunity for world domination, Rupert Murdoch owns Skycig, which is marketed as a trendy lifestyle choice rather than an addiction: “Just one cartridge of our beautifully smooth new flavour is sure to give you a taste of the exotic.” The starter kit is a steal at £49.99 and cartridges can be bought in cinnamon, vanilla, menthol, or cherry flavour, to name but a few.

It’s not just M and J that are hooked, the e-cigarette market is booming worldwide, with triple digit growth, resulting in US$250 million worth of online sales in 2011. Most of the major tobacco companies are now diverting their funds away from persuading impoverished African villagers to smoke and investing them instead in electronic cigarettes.

The reason for the phenomenal success since their inception in China in 2005 is that the e-cig is as close to proper smoking as you can ever get – even the hand actions are the same – and, according to manufacturers, up to 100 times safer.

Sitting in a restaurant with M and J contentedly puffing away after our recent curry, I was sorely tempted. But I know my limitations, I’d be hooked in an instant.

And, having seen what happened on the M6 this week when an e-cig smoker sparked off a terrorist scare, I wouldn’t dare.

Get ready for e-cigs to appear in your local hostelry of choice any time soon.

Smokers may have the last laugh after all.