What are E-cigarettes?

Electronic cigarettes use an electric spark to vaporize a nicotine-infused liquid that users inhale. The smokeless device was first sold in the U.S. in 2007. A top tobacco analyst predicts sales will likely hit $1.7 billion.

Cost may be driving some of the popularity in the devices. While a pack of regular, tobacco cigarettes can cost as much as $15 in big cities like Manhattan, manufacturers estimate an equivalent amount of e-cigs costs about $1.50.

Tobacco industry experts note a lot of the awareness about the e-cigs is the perceived lower health risks, and the affordability. Users can also utilize e-cigs in locations where traditional cigarettes are banned.

But are they safer and less harmful than traditional cigarettes? A recent study released by the Drexel University School of Public Health, finds chemicals in electronic cigarettes pose no health concern for users or does not produce "second hand smoke" that can be harmful to bystanders. This is the first definitive study of e-cigarette chemistry and finds that there are no health concerns based on generally accepted exposure limits.  The e-cigs can be used as a low-risk substitute for smoking by millions of former smokers, and their increasing popularity seems to account for the current downward trend in smoking in the U.S. and some other countries.  

While experts agree that the risks posed by e-cigarettes are significantly less than those posed by smoking, there had been some debate about how much lower the risk was.  By reviewing over 9,000 observations about the chemistry of the vapor and the liquid in e-cigarettes, researchers determined that the levels of contaminants e-cigarette users are exposed to not significant and are far below levels that would pose any health risk.