E-cigarettes, also known as electronic cigarettes, are devices designed to dispense nicotine without the help of smoke. The "smoker" will not be inhaling smoke to get their nicotine fix. Instead it is designed to use water vapor as a carrier of nicotine. This is why "smoking" e-cigarettes is also known as "vaping". The device itself is simple. On the outside it looks like a regular cigarette. The part that looks like a filter houses the atomizer. This part also contains liquids with various amounts of nicotine. Different brands and models will have different amounts of nicotine. There will also be different flavors available.

The portion which looks like a cigarette contains a battery and electronic circuitry. When a person "draws" on it, like they do on a conventional cigarette, the battery will activate the atomizer to give the smoker nicotine laced vapor. The beauty of smokeless cigarettes is that there is no burning or combustion involved, as found on a conventional cigarette. To appreciate this, one needs to understand that it is the smoke produced by a conventional cigarette which is harmful, more so than the nicotine. There are nearly four thousand toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke! The toxins found in smoke are far more poisonous compared to nicotine.

All this means that the smoker will be able to get their nicotine fix with the e-cigarette. Without most of the harmful side affects that usually come with smoking. This does not mean that smokeless cigarettes are completely safe. E-cigarettes still give nicotine to the user which has its own side effects. On the whole it is considered safer than conventional cigarettes. The best alternative would of course be to not have any addiction at all to nicotine. This is perhaps why a large amount of people who use smokeless cigarettes do so in order to quit smoking.

Due to the fact that E-cigarettes are also smokeless cigarettes, smoking them in public is accepted. This is because there will be no residual odor or smoke to deal with. After all, the "smoker" will only be blowing out some water vapor. The vapor will dissolve into the air very quickly. Another reason for the social acceptance of e-cigarettes is that there is no second hand smoke to deal with, not to mention having to deal with messy ash trays, bad breath and yellow teeth. With all of these benefits going for smokeless cigarettes, it is no wonder that big tobacco companies are lobbying hard to get e-cigarettes banned!