TheMedGuru.com says that e-cigarettes are a great way to quite smoking!

Electronic cigarette, or E-cigarette, is a non-igniting substitute of the traditional cigarette in the form of a rod which is slightly longer than a normal cigarette.

These battery-powered devices contain no tobacco but deliver a dose of nicotine to the user in the form of vapors that look like smoke. E-cig uses a battery-driven heater to vaporize liquid nicotine and flavoring from a small cartridge.

Available in a number of countries, these non-flammable smoking devices that contain cartridges filled with nicotine are promoted as a way to quit smoking.

Controversy has long been brewing over the safety of e-cigarettes that claim to be both safe and eco-friendly and touted as effective in helping people quit tobacco consumption.

E-cigs helps smokers quit
Now a new survey by the BUSPH researchers shows that e-cigarettes are effective in helping smokers give up smoking.

E-cigarettes have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Designed to help smoker's quit tobacco, this alternative to traditional cigarette is actually helping smokers to give up the habit, the survey found.

The survey was carried out by Michael Siegel, a professor of community health sciences at Boston University School of Public Health, and Zachary Cahn, a graduate student in the political science department at the University of California at Berkeley.

Survey details
To find out if e-cigs are safer option, Siegel and colleagues sent out online surveys to 5,000 people who had made a first-time purchase of Blu brand e-cigarettes during a two-week period in 2009, according to WebMD.com.

Around 222 or 4.5 percent people responded to the survey, which included questions about their smoking habits and nicotine use after buying the e-cigarettes.

Of the respondents, 216 said they were smokers.

Study findings
Six months after trying e-cigarettes, 31 percent of these smokers said they'd quit cigarettes and two-thirds of them said they'd reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked. A third of those who'd quit smoking also quit using e-cigarettes.

"This study suggests that electronic cigarettes are helping thousands of ex-smokers remain off cigarettes," said lead author of the Boston University study, Michael Siegel, according to a press release published by PR Newswire.

Siegel said while additional studies are required to determine what led to the effectiveness of electronic cigarettes, he believes these devices help smokers satisfy their smoking need, thus resulting in successfully quitting the bad habit.

"While it is well-recognized that nicotine plays a role in smoking addiction, little attention has been given to the behavioral aspects of the addiction," he said. "These devices simulate the smoking experience, which appears to make them effective as a smoking cessation tool."

About e-cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes as they are popularly known as, are stainless-steel, battery operated devices that contain cartridges filled with liquid nicotine in various concentrations.

The devices resemble real cigarette but do not create smoke; instead they produce vapors acting like smoke. Users inhale this fine mist of nicotine into their lungs when they puff on it.

The mouthpiece of this device contains a replaceable cartridge filled with liquid. The main substances contained in the liquid are nicotine and propylene glycol.

Powered by a rechargeable battery, the e-cigarette is a completely non-flammable product, leading to smoking bans evasion in public places. E-cigarette can be used where the old fashion cigarette cannot. Moreover, they are not subject to the same taxation, thus are much more affordable than the normal cigarette.

These devices come in different variants; either as nicotine-free or with nicotine. Furthermore a user can opt to buy an apple, chocolate, vanilla or coffee flavor of these cigarettes.

FDA had previously attempted to ban U.S. imports of electronic cigarettes, but was challenged by manufacturers.

The products are made primarily in China but are sold in several other countries, including Brazil, Canada, Finland, Israel, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, and Britain, and have grown in popularity in the United States despite a lack of regulatory approval.