Vapes are more popular than ever, erasing progress made with cigarettes When the vape first hit the high street, it was boring. Generally accredited to the pharmacist Hon Lik, the invention of the commercial e-cigarette in 2001 was intended as a remedy for his smoking addiction. Hon wanted to make a difference, to benefit people and fix bad habits. Like many things, the origins of the modern vape began with too much optimism. With its introduction to cigarette addicts, vaping was promoted as...

What canoeing taught me about leaving your comfort zone The first time I capsized, I panicked. It’s an odd thing to do: willingly throwing yourself overboard. It was a mandatory requirement before I could properly join the canoe club here, as everyone has to complete a spraydeck test in the pool. I had ended up in that pool session quite by accident. All it took was one Wednesday night social where I agreed to tag along with a friend, and then there I was one week later: upside down, under...

What we might lose if the internet goes dark Part of a temporary existence means acknowledging the inevitable end of it. We grieve who we are today, knowing the micromoments will be gone by tomorrow. Life is so finite it leaves us desperate to cherish it, but it also makes us desperate to live on in some way: in memory, in stories, in writing. When there are billions of us, how do we differentiate ourselves? How do we avoid falling into the blur of time? It’s terrifying. From meticulously...