The You Docs: Are e-cigarettes helpful?

We normally cheer anything that can help you kick butts, but we're urging a bit of caution about electronic cigarettes, or "nicotine delivery devices." E-cigs look like cigarettes and come in cute colors and wild flavors, such as chocolate, cherry and cigar. They use batteries to vaporize a nicotine/propylene glycol solution. You inhale - or, in the new parlance, "vape" - a shot of nicotine that's supposed to be a tiny fraction of what's in tobacco products. We're big boosters of nicotine patches, gum and lozenges to help get you off cigs.
However, one study found that the amount of nicotine released by e-cigs varies from 6 mg to 24 mg. (The average cigarette contains 10 mg.) Just be aware that you may get more nicotine than you think.
Still, e-cigs don't contain the thousands of other chemicals packed in your smokes.
Some may have trace amounts of tobacco carcinogens. One thing that troubles us is that you apparently get some of the toxin propylene glycol.
How much isn't clear. And another concern is the dearth of research on e-cigs. They debuted in the United States a little more than three years ago.
Although they appear to be safe, the Food and Drug Administration already has cited five distributors for poor manufacturing processes and claiming the products help people stop smoking without proving it. Although the risks may be slight and the devices are promising, using them makes you a guinea pig in an unofficial market test of an unregulated product.