Volkswagen will pay owners of its polluting diesel cars up to $7,000 (€6,160) and agree to fund a grant program to offset air pollution, under a $10bn settlement being negotiated for submission to a federal judge next week, people familiar with the talks said.

Warning once this has been seen, it cannot be unseen.

Researchers have warned that flavourings used in e-cigarettes contain potentially harmful high levels of chemicals.

Electronic cigarettes would be banned from bars, restaurants and workplaces and made illegal for under-18s, under proposed new laws in Ireland.

Tens of thousands of lives could be saved every year if all British smokers switched from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, experts have said.

Our eating and dietary habits are as varied as we are. One year’s super diet, one season’s super food is destined to become next year’s leftovers.

Electronic cigarettes should be banned from indoor spaces and face curbs on their sale over health fears, the World Health Organisation has said.

A group of 53 leading scientists has warned the World Health Organisation not to classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products, arguing that doing so would jeopardise a major opportunity to slash disease and deaths caused by smoking.

‘E-cigarettes’ can improve the success rate of people trying to quit smoking by 60% compared with nicotine patches and gum or relying on will power alone, research has shown.

The Health Services Executive’s decision to ban the use of electronic cigarettes in all health service facilities should be warmly welcomed as a step in curbing what could develop into an undesirable trend in nicotine use.

The use of e-cigarettes is to be banned in all health facilities from the start of next month.

A hospital consultant has likened e-cigarettes to heroin substitute methadone as he revealed two children have presented at an emergency department having been poisoned by liquid nicotine.