A user can buy an electronic cigarette starter kit including a battery-powered cigarette and replaceable cartridges that typically contain nicotine (though cartridges can be bought without it), flavoring and propylene glycol, a liquid whose vaporizing produces the smoke-like mist. When a user inhales, a sensor heats the cartridge. The flavorings include tobacco, menthol and cherry, and the levels of nicotine vary by cartridge.

One man who quit smoking regular cigarettes last year after trying e-cigarette likes them so much he has started selling them at a mall kiosk in Providence, R.I.

He took his e-cigarette along when he went out one night, he said, “and when everyone was smoking outside in the cold, I just stood in the warm bar, smoking.”

“I feel like this could save my life,” said one lady, who has cut her tobacco cigarette smoking to a pack and a half daily, supplemented by her e-cigarette.

Matt Salmon, a spokesman for the Electronic Cigarette Association, which represents six distributors, said ecigarettes delivered nothing more than a mixture of nicotine and water vapor and emitted “no carcinogens.” The association declined to give sales figures, but said that “hundreds of thousands” of people used the products and that the average age of those users was the mid-40s.

“It’s a really good alternative for people who smoke tobacco,” Mr. Salmon said.

Propylene glycol is used in antifreeze, and also to create artificial smoke or fog in theatrical productions. The F.D.A. has classified it as an additive that is “generally recognized as safe” for use in food.

A very popular brand is Blu Cigs, you can visit their website and purchase Blu Electronic Cigarettes, so try them out for yourself.

excerpts taken from:
www.nytimes.com