Ways to quit smoking

original article SunTime

But FDA trying to stop importation of battery-powered devices that look, taste like real thing, even emit vapor.

After years of being sold overseas, electronic cigarettes are starting to catch on in the United States.

  But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is trying to stop importation of these "e-cigarettes" — which are touted as a healthy alternative to smoking — because the agency considers them unapproved drugs that need to be tested for safety.

Battery-operated electronic cigarettes look and taste like the real thing and even release vapor that looks like smoke. But they don’t have tobacco or tar in them, makers say. Instead, they contain liquid nicotine, a highly addictive yet less-toxic ingredient in cigarettes.

Some companies also make nicotine-free versions.

Brian Culwell, president of the U.S. division of SmokeStik, an e-cigarette maker, said electronic cigarettes appeal to smokers because "we have taken away every single harmful chemical in the cigarette and left nothing but a nicotine delivery device."

Canada-based SmokeStik says its products are not meant to help people quit smoking. "We’re saying, if you want to smoke … at least choose a healthier alternative," Culwell said.

Carol Southard, a tobacco treatment specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said electronic cigarettes are a good idea in theory, but there isn’t enough reliable scientific evidence to prove that they aren’t harmful.

"All we know so far is that they contain vaporized nicotine," Southard said. "My concern is what else is in them."