Posted on 8th Jul 2011 @ 3:11 PM

He took a drag, closed his eyes briefly -- felt the nicotine hit -- and blew a white cloud out of his mouth. He took a drag again. But he wasn't smoking. He was vaping. Gregg Leplae of Fort Gratiot is among a growing group of smokers who have turned to electronic cigarettes as a way to help them quit smoking. For Leplae, a former two-pack-a-day smoker for 36 years, e-cigarettes have helped him kick the smoking habit entirely. E-cigarettes are battery-powered, pen-like plastic and metal devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge, creating vapor that users inhale. Some e-cigarettes are made to look like a real cigarette with a tiny light on the tip that glows like the real thing. "They're like asthma inhalers that deliver drugs to the lungs, but instead it delivers nicotine," said Spike Babaian, president of the National Vapers Club, which has about 2,500 members in the United States. "If you're using the patch or gum, it constantly gives nicotine to you." Recently diagnosed with a mild form of emphysema, Leplae knew it was time to stop smoking and tried several options -- nicotine gum, medication -- to no avail. After trying e-cigarettes in November, Leplae said he liked how he could control the amount of nicotine he was taking in and the way it mimicked the same hand-to-mouth action of "analog" smoking. Bill Miskell, a psychologist and owner of Change Your Mind Hypnosis in Port Huron, said about 25% of his clients have tried to quit smoking by using e-cigarettes and didn't like it. "If they come to us, there's still something out there they haven't tried," Miskell said, noting the last resort for most smokers trying to quit usually is hypnosis. The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association, based in Mobile, Ala., have called e-cigarettes a promising new smoking alternative. According to the CASAA, the majority of e-cigarette users treat the devices as an alternate source of nicotine -- one without the harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke -- and not as a nicotine cessation program. Leplae openly admits he's addicted to nicotine, especially since different e-cigarette cartridges come in a variety of different flavors, such as orange, cherry, vanilla and Key lime. "You can get too comfortable with it," Leplae said. "My doctor is glad I quit smoking, but she wants me to lower the nicotine levels." The different flavor options are just one of the reasons the Food and Drug Administration is trying to crack down on their regulation, as e-cigarettes could be too attractive to children younger than 18. The FDA announced plans in April to regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products instead of under stricter rules for drug-delivery devices. "Everyone who uses one thinks they're a miracle," Babaian said, who lives in Long Island, N.Y. "They thought they would never get off cigarettes and would die from smoking." The state of New Jersey banned e-cigarettes from areas where smoking is not allowed -- a move Babaian, like many others, finds ridiculous. "It's not smoking -- and we don't want to go into smoking areas because we don't smoke anymore," Babaian said. "I don't use them where it's going to cause a fuss," Leplae said, adding that he doesn't vape in restaurants but feels comfortable using e-cigarettes in public. It's not clear what risks secondhand e-cig vapor holds. It's mostly just water, even though it looks like smoke. The FDA has said its tests found the liquid in some electronic cigarettes contained toxins besides nicotine as well as carcinogens that occur naturally in tobacco. But nobody has studied what onlookers might be inhaling. Industry estimates put U.S. sales of the devices and accessories at $200 million to $250 million annually.