E-Cigarettes: Harmless substitute to conventional smoking or a devil in disguise?

Smoking tobacco through cigarette use kills around six million people each year worldwide and is one of the biggest public health threats the world has been facing. Electronic-cigarette (E-cigarette) use is marketed as being a healthier substitute to traditional cigarette smoking and is also used as a smoking cessation tool. It is commonly believed that e-cigarette use might be a harmless substitute to conventional smoking and has no long term debilitating side-effects. E-cigarettes were introduced in 2007 and they seem to be getting day by day and the prevalence of their use has rapidly increased. Awareness and trial use of e-cigarettes has almost doubled in most countries from 2008 to 2012. Since late 2013, there have been different varieties of e-cigarettes. Some are with nicotine, while others are nicotine-free. E-cigarettes are becoming an emerging public health concern as they gain popularity worldwide. The health concerns are due to the ingredients found in the e-cigarettes. FDA has reported that e-cigarettes may contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals, such as nitrosamines and diethylene glycol, which can cause harmful effects on humans. There is a need for more in-depth studies on not only the constitution of e-cigarette products, but also to ascertain whether these produce significant harmful health effects to their users in the short term or in the long run. Till then, the users need to be wary of the potential threat these e-cigarettes may pose.