An electronic cigarette is an exciting new product designed for people who find it hard to give up smoking but want to better their lives nevertheless. Although an electronic cigarette is not strictly marketed as a smoking cessation device, it has been found by many people to be very effective as such. Electronic cigarettes deliver pure vapourised nicotine to the lungs, thereby satisfying the craving, without also exposing the "smoker" to any of the thousands of harmful chemicals and poisons that tobacco-based cigarettes do.

The central argument for using an electronic cigarette stems from the recognition that within the smoke of a normal tobacco-based cigarette it is not the nicotine itself that is harmful the the smoker, but rather the myriad of other components. They are what cause cancer, heart disease, strokes and all the other known smoking-related diseases. Nicotine is merely the agent that satisfies the craving and to which the smoker becomes addicted. The argument follows that if nicotine is absorbed in its pure form, as it is with an electronic cigarette, then the health effect on the smoker should be minimal to none. The harmful effect of pure nicotine is sometimes compared to that of caffeine.

An electronic cigarette looks similar to a conventional cigarette. It consists of three components: a rechargable battery (typically housed in the section where the tobacco would be in a normal cigarette), a replacable nicotine cartridge (located where the filter would be in a tobacco cigarette) and an electronic atomiser section, which sits in between the other two components. When the smoker sucks on the electronic cigarette, nicotine is electronically vapourised in the atomiser section and is inhaled by the user just like he is used to. The near-odourless vapour looks and tastes similar to tobacco smoke, but dissipates within seconds of being exhaled. Electronic cigarettes often have a light at the tip where the ember would normally be, which lights up when the user sucks on the device.

The benefits of electronic cigarettes are manifold: starting with the obvious health benefits both to the actual user and to those around him, a cost reduction of as much as 80%, environmental benfits through lack of littering and reduction of fire-risk, a cleaner ambience through the absence of lingering smoke and odours, the ability of the user to satisfy cravings in public places such as pubs and bars, etc.

Watch a short clip about electronic cigarettes.

Purchase an electronic cigarette starter kit.