Let’s talk again about electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, e-cigs and e-smokes. They look like real cigarettes, and contain nicotine and other chemicals - but are tobacco-free. Though you might think tobacco-free e-cigs are safe, they’re not. That’s according to doctors and health organizations – like the National Cancer Society.

An ABC News report found that e-cig users can get their nicotine fix and feel like they’re smoking a regular cigarette. Basically, a small battery inside the e-cig heats the nicotine, and produces a fine mist that can be inhaled and exhaled. It even looks like real cigarette smoke. Some smokers even call e-cigs a “lifesaver,” like the California man who says he can puff one in the bathroom of the hospital where he works and nobody ever knows. Then there’s the mom in North Carolina who smoked a pack of real cigarettes every day for 14 years until she came across e-cigs. She says they’re the only thing that’s helped her stop smoking.

However, there’s still a danger. A brand new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology shows that e-cig smokers still have a much higher risk of death than someone who gives up nicotine altogether. That’s because nicotine brings on heart disease, which kills more smokers every year than lung cancer. That’s not all:

• A lot of e-cig users start out intending to quit, but often just substitute one addiction for another.
• Also, the Food and Drug Administration analyzed 19 kinds of e-cigs. Half of them contained cancer-causing chemicals, and one brand even contained the same toxic chemical that’s found in anti-freeze, which is known to cause respiratory infections.
• Another concern involves kids. Since e-cigs come in fancy flavors, like chocolate, cola, and bubblegum, they appeal to teens - who can easily get them online and at shopping malls.

As the debate over e-cigs rages on, some places - like Australia and Hong Kong - have banned them. For the time being, they’re still legal here in North America, at least until the FDA bans them or designates them as drugs that need to be regulated. In the meantime, talk to your kids about the dangers of smoking – electronic and otherwise.