Prop Cigarettes, Fake Cigars & Stage Vapes for Theatre and Film in Canada
When a script calls for smoking, you need a prop that reads as a real cigarette from the back of the house and on a 4K close-up, without lighting anything. ePuffer makes rechargeable prop cigarettes, artificial cigars and electronic pipes built for exactly that. They produce visible vapour on cue, leave no ash, no burn risk and no smell in the wings, and they work in venues where smoking bans rule out the real thing because nothing is burning.
We have supplied theatre, film and television productions since 2007, and we ship across Canada from our GTA warehouse.
Recommended by the Actors' Equity Association. ePuffer is the brand the union has named for on-stage smoking effects.
Tested and certified by Ramboll, the international engineering and safety consultancy, so your production manager and venue have documentation to work from.
Already on stage. Our devices are in use in professional theatre, film and television worldwide, including world-class musicals where a smoking beat has to land cleanly eight shows a week.
Yes - they produce visible smoke
This is the first question every stage manager asks. Our devices produce a dense white water-vapour cloud that photographs and reads from the stalls exactly like cigarette smoke. Because it is vapour rather than combustion smoke, it disperses in seconds instead of hanging in the lighting rig across a run, and it will not trigger most venue smoke detectors - though you should always test in your own space during a technical rehearsal rather than assuming.
Three Props, Three Kinds of Role
Prop Cigarettes
The SNAPS® rechargeable cigalike matches a real cigarette in length and diameter, with a glowing tip and a realistic draw. The most-used prop in our range.
Contemporary drama, period pieces, anything where a character lights up.
See the cigalike rangeArtificial Cigars
The Robusto rechargeable e-cigar has an aircraft-grade aluminium body and a genuine cigar ring gauge, so it holds and reads like a real Havana in the hand.
Power, wealth, period gangsters, boardrooms.
See the prop cigar rangeProp Pipes
Our electronic pipes are wooden-bodied and shaped like a traditional briar, with the same slow draw and vapour plume. The clear tank window is the only giveaway on close inspection - production houses commonly sleeve or tape it so the pipe reads as fully period.
Period drama, detective and noir roles, musicals, character work.
See the e-pipe rangeWhy Not Real Cigarettes, Herbal Cigarettes, or Powder?
Productions have worked around stage smoking for decades. Each of the old approaches has a cost.
- Real cigarettes - prohibited in most Canadian venues, an obvious fire risk near flats and drapes, and they expose cast and crew to smoke night after night.
- Herbal cigarettes - still combustion, still smoke, still an open flame, and the smell carries into the house.
- Talcum powder or cornstarch - reads as nothing beyond the first few rows, and is useless on camera.
- Mimed smoking - fine in stylised work, breaks realism in naturalistic staging.
- Electronic props - visible vapour on cue, no flame, no ash, no smell, repeatable take after take, and rechargeable across a full run.
Kitting Out a Production
Most productions take more than one unit - a performance prop, a rehearsal prop, and a spare in the wings. Because every device is rechargeable, one set covers an entire run rather than being consumed nightly. The only recurring cost is pods, cartridges or e-liquid.
Nicotine-free across the whole range
For stage work this is usually the right choice, and it is available on all three props:
- Prop cigarettes - SNAPS cartridges available nicotine-free
- Artificial cigars - Robusto takes blank refillable pods, or prefilled pods in nicotine-free
- Prop pipes - fill with any nicotine-free e-liquid
A non-smoking performer can play a smoker through rehearsals and a full run without nicotine exposure. Tell us when you order and we will configure it that way.
Tell Us About Your Production
Send us the period, the role and how many units you need, and we will tell you which prop fits and what it costs. We ship from our GTA warehouse, with free delivery on orders over $100 and 2-4 day delivery across Canada.
Contact Us About a Production Or call 1 855 378 3337 - Mon-Thu 10am-6pm, Fri 10am-4pm ESTStage & Film Smoking Props - FAQ
A prop cigarette is a small rechargeable device shaped like a real cigarette. A battery heats a measured amount of liquid into water vapour, which the performer draws and exhales exactly as they would smoke. Nothing burns, so there is no flame, no ember and no ash.
The tip lights when drawn on, which is what sells it visually. On our SNAPS cigalike the cartridge clips on magnetically, so a stage manager can swap a fresh one between scenes in a second.
They produce water vapour, which on stage and on camera reads as cigarette smoke. It is dense, white and visible from the back of the house. Unlike combustion smoke it disperses within seconds and does not build up in the lighting rig or the auditorium over a run.
Water vapour does not trigger most optical or ionisation detectors the way combustion smoke does, which is the main reason venues permit these devices where they prohibit cigarettes. Detector sensitivity varies by installation, so always test in your own space during a technical rehearsal rather than assuming.
Yes, on all three props, and for stage work we would usually recommend it. SNAPS cartridges come in nicotine-free, the Robusto e-cigar takes blank refillable pods or prefilled pods in nicotine-free, and the e-pipes can be filled with any nicotine-free e-liquid. A non-smoking performer can play a smoker for a whole run without nicotine exposure. Mention it when you order.
As an audience member, no. Canadian cinemas and theatres prohibit vaping in the auditorium in the same way they prohibit smoking, and provincial vaping legislation restricts use in enclosed public spaces.
What happens on stage or on camera is a different matter. A production using a prop vape as part of a performance is operating under the venue's production arrangements rather than its audience rules, which is why prop vapes are standard in theatre and film while audience vaping is not.
They are built to the dimensions of the real thing - a cigalike matches a standard cigarette in length and diameter with a glowing tip, and the Robusto matches a real cigar's ring gauge. They hold and handle correctly, which is usually what gives a prop away in close-up rather than the vapour itself.
Most productions take one prop for performance, one for rehearsal and at least one spare. Devices are rechargeable and last a full run, so you are buying hardware once rather than consuming props nightly. Cartridges, pods and e-liquid are the only recurring cost.
Yes. Federal and provincial smoking legislation covers combustible tobacco, and vapour devices are regulated separately under the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act. Individual venues set their own policies, so confirm with the venue as part of your production risk assessment. Devices are sold to adults 19 and over, or 18 in Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
