Are E-cigarettes Safe ?

First developed in China in 2004 e-cigarettes are now sold throughout the world. They might mimic smoking,by giving the user their daily nicotine fix, but are they safe?

Chinese manufacturers have solved that problem by creating an electronic cigarette, which delivers nicotine in a cigarette-like package but without the tobacco and chemical additives that are linked to cancer and other health problems.

An e-cigarette looks remarkably like the real thing and even includes a red light at one end to mimic the burning embers of a cigarette.

It has a chamber for storing liquid nicotine, which is heated to a mist and absorbed by the lungs.

But while these products are slowly growing in popularity around the world, they are not approved for use as smoking-cessation aids such as nicotine gum and patches, and it is still unclear if the amount of nicotine they deliver is safe as little or no testing has been done to determine amounts.

"I think that things that help people to quit are very good, like approved products that help people to quit," Prof.

"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."

While some manufacturers and distributors of e-cigarettes market them as smoking-cessation aids, many simply advertise them as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes.