Electronic cigarettes have a short history as they were introduced in 2003 by the SBT Co. Ltd. of Beijing, China. After the first launch, Ruyan developed the electronic products further and introduced electronic cigarettes to the European market at a 2006 Austrian conference. Marketing promotions assigned the name “Electro fag” to electronic cigarettes.

Initially, the e-cig was not meant as a replacement for tobacco but as an alternative nicotine delivery system to be used where tobacco smoking was not allowed. The purpose was simply to ease the nicotine cravings of smokers during periods when smoking was not an activity they could indulge in. Overly promotional marketers quickly began referring to e-cigarettes as a method to help the public stop smoking. Manufacturers recognized the danger of making such claims and disapproved of the ads. The World Health Organization issued a statement condemning the portrayal of electronic smoking products as a cure for smoking as benefits and risks of e-cigarettes had not been tested.

Some smokers consider e-cigarettes to be a hobby but not a habit. Gathering online in forums, electronic smokers who refer to themselves as “vapers” argue the merits of one e-liquid over another, offer advice on the best electronic cigarettes and discuss vapor volume endlessly.

Initial products attempted rather unsuccessfully to mimic the appearance of tobacco cigarettes. As the e-cig has become a product in its own right those designs have been joined by colored and brightly decorated models and with e-cigarettes displaying logos. The electronic products that do resemble standard smokes are much more realistic in detail than those early products on the market.

In 2009, electronic cigarette suppliers formed their own trade association with a goal of providing factual information about electronic cigarettes and correcting misinformation spread by others. The focus is to promote electronic smoking as an alternative to smoking tobacco.

A significant amount of opposition has been aimed at electronic cigarettes by tobacco and pharmaceutical companies and the powerful lobbies that represent them in Washington, D.C. Bowing under pressure from these large corporations, the FDA has issued statements against e-cigarettes and last year imposed a ban on imports of the product from China. Recent court decisions may help counter the FDA’s policies and limit the ability of the lobbies to influence decisions of a government agency.

The large tobacco companies have partnered with big pharma to spread misinformation about their competing electronic products. In the guise of protecting public health, opponents of electronic smoking products innocently claim to be concerned for the public even as they sell the most dangerous consumer product legally available today.

An innovative new e-cigarette design is a two piece product with a replaceable cartridge. The mouthpiece is pre-loaded with nicotine solutions. One mouthpiece is equal to approximately one pack of tobacco cigarettes (about 400 puffs). The ability to replace a cartridge with no more effort than is needed to open a pack of cigarettes has been a hit with e-smokers. They no longer need to carry bottles of e-liquid with them wherever they go and no cleaning is required.

Though the history of e-cigarettes may be short, the future is very bright for this product. The improvements in user experience and vapor volume combined with factual information is being provided to the buying public. Suppliers hope this will generate a demand for e-cigs that will only increase with time.

Mary Kay Rivers is a true expert on all aspects of electronic cigarettes. Her publications about the FDA’s stance on electronic cigarettes and a review of the best electronic cigarette are very famous.

Warnings issued by big tobacco and big pharma about the dangers of propylene glycol are not grounded in scientific reality or backed by scientific research. After a study in mice at the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital in 1942, it was thought that propylene glycol when inhaled might cause such diseases as pneumonia and other illnesses affecting the respiratory system. To determine long term effects followup studies on money and other animals were conducted. This larger study produced results that showed no ill effects from propylene glycol in the lungs.

The FDA and tobacco companies were quick to cry “danger’ and point to an ingredient that has been judged safe to use for many years. There is primary truth that is totally ignored in the warnings. We know smoking almost anything is safer than smoking tobacco.

Propylene glycol in e-cigarettes dilutes the nicotine in a solution that can be deliver to the smoker as a vapor. PG is commonly used as a food additive and is an ingredient in many products we buy. Propylene glycol is the substance that produces the fog generated by fog machines.

It is interesting that the many cautions about propylene glycol found online are not found on scientific or medical sites or referenced as articles in scientific journals. The dire warnings are on conspiracy blogs, natural healing sites and on the sites of anti-smoking groups. Several entries claim that propylene glycol is antifreeze. No. Not true. That would be ethylene glycol.

A tremendous amount of information can be found on the internet but it’s important to know who you are listening to. PG is used in baby wipes and even the FDA is unlikely to approve a dangerous product for use on infants. The best electronic cigarettes deliver only a very small amount of PG to the e-smoker. Some e-liquids use glycerol rather than PG as a base but propylene glycol is the most used ingredient in e-liquid solutions.

Consumers are more conscious of food additives and harmful ingredients in the foods they eat than every before. Looking at the ingredients on products you buy is a smart thing to do. We know to look carefully at labels when buying products low in sugar. Ingredients such as sucrose and fructose and various types of “syrup” may be listed and each of those ingredients is sugar.

Thirty years ago the FDA announced a ban on saccharin and any products containing saccharin. The public was in a panic and threw out their boxes of sweet and low while manufacturers hustled to change the recipes of their food products. Only later was the public told the truth.

To induce cancer in mice who ingested saccharin researchers had provided extremely high doses of the ingredient. The scientific “proof” offered by the FDA was rejected by the scientific community. The affected mice were given a daily dose of saccharin that could only be ingested by a human drinking 400 cans of diet cola a day for many months. Saccharin is totally available to the marketplace today.

Propylene glycol is a necessary ingredient for delivery of e-cig vapor. There is no evidence ths PG causes any danger to electronic smokers despite the efforts of tobacco companies worried about the competition.

Mary Kay Rivers has become an acclaimed expert in the field of e-cigarettes. Her publications about steam producing- and smokeless e-cigs used by COPD patients and about the best electronic cigarette are well-known.