Electronic cigarettes on the horizon

Chinese manufactureres have found a way for you to get your daily nicotine fix without the dangerous chemicals found in conventional cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, were first developed in 2004. They provide nicotine in a cigarette-like package and even have a red light at the end to mimic the glowing embers of a real cigarette.

Electronic cigarettes do not contain tobacco or any of the chemical additives that are linked to cancer and other health problems.

These products are rapidly growing in popularity, specificically in the United Kingdom where smokers use e-cigarettes as a way to avoid anti-smoking laws.

An e-cigarette looks incredibly similar to a real cigarette. They contain a chamber for storing liquid nicotine, which turns into mist and is inhaled when heated.

However, the safety of these products is still up for debate. Some people claim that the World Health Organization (WHO) has approved e-cigarettes as safe, something that WHO denies.

"WHO knows of no evidentiary basis for the marketers' claim that the electronic cigarette helps people quit smoking," said WHO in a statement issued by the organization's Tobacco Free Initiative last fall.

"Indeed, as far as WHO is aware, no rigorous, peer-reviewed studies have been conducted showing that the electronic cigarette is a safe and effective nicotine replacement therapy."

Health Canada has also not approved their use in Canada as a smoking-cessation tool.

If an e-cigarette is marketed as a smoking-cessation aid, then it would be subject to the Food and Drug Act.

Companies selling the product would be required to prove to Health Canada that the products safetly and effectively assist in quitting smoking. The companies would also be subject to all the restrictions and procedures that apply under the Act.

"I think that things that help people to quit are very good, like approved products that help people to quit," Professor Kelli-an Lawrance, a tobacco researcher at Brock University's Community Health Sciences department, told CTV.ca.

"I think that these particular devices are being marketed with the intention of keeping people smoking. They're not smoking them to try to quit. And so I think that that's a really big issue."

Although some manufacturers of e-cigarettes market the products as smoking-cessation aids, many choose to simply market them as a safer alternative to smoking real cigarettes.

WHO says that little testing has been done on the products and that more must be conducted before any decisions are made, specifically on whether the amount of nicotine the cigarettes provide is safe.

It costs about $180 for an e-cigarette starter kit, which includes an e-cigarette, a rechargeable battery, a charger, cable, five nicotine cartridges and 20 refills.

Consumers can even choose between tobacco or menthol flavours, which are available in various strengths.