"Its a portable piece of technology providing seemingly bottomless access to a drug craved by more than  billion people worldwide  nicotine. That craving is caused by smoking tobacco but is now being increasingly satisfied by ecigarettes and the trend to vape instead of smoke.  The selling point is the clean image ecigarettes purvey by removing the simultaneous exposure to the tar and thousands of chemicals found in the tobacco smoke of regular cigarettes  removing the cause of lung diseases as well as other tobaccorelated conditions.  Tobacco kills almost  million people each year according to the World Health Organization WHO and a growing number of people are now vaping instead of smoking resulting in industry worth . billion worldwide. Since their introduction in  ecigarettes have become commonplace among smokers trying to kick their habit with a third of smokers trying to quit in the United Kingdom turning to ecigarettes to aid them according to one study httpsedition.cnn.comhealthecigarettessmokingaddictionnicotine But some critics argue these electronic nicotine delivery systems ENDS are fueling a new addiction to nicotine  particularly among young people experimenting with them. Allure for adolescents While ENDS may have the potential to benefit established adult smokers ... they should not be used by youth and adult nontobacco users because of the harmful effects of nicotine and other risk exposures says Tim McAfee director the Office on Smoking and Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to nicotine can harm adolescent brain development. Read Contact lens with builtin telescope httpedition.cnn.comtechcontactlenstelescopeblindnessindex.html Studies conducted by the CDC through its Adult and Youth National Tobacco Surveys found increased experimentation by youth trying out ecigarettes but not conventional cigarettes. The gadgetry and flavors associated with the devices is suggested as a reason behind this with fears of them acting as a gateway into real tobacco smoking. Benan BarwickCNN But others in the field of tobacco control disagree stating that whilst people  including youth  may have tried ecigarettes the evidence is lacking for their regular use. Kids like new technology and just experiment or use it once or twice says JeanFrancois Etter professor of Public Health at the University of Geneva.  Etter has been researching the use of ecigarettes since  and believes they are much safer than conventional cigarettes. The most dangerous way of consuming nicotine is to smoke it he says. Etter argued this point last week at the World Conference of Tobacco or Health http in Abu Dhabi. Whilst Etter says that use among young people should be monitored he believes the role of ecigarettes in reducing global tobacco consumption is more important. They are a gateway out of smoking says Etter. The number of people using a combination of tobacco and ecigarettes is on the rise according to Etter resulting in smokers switching and consuming less tobacco each day. They have the same level of nicotine but people are less exposed to toxins ... nicotine is not a health problem he says. However further evidence on the longterm health effects of ecigarettes or nicotine is needed. Satisfying the craving Nicotine is the main substance keeping people addicted to smoking tobacco and consequently exposing them to the tar and toxins found in cigarettes. Whilst many people try to kick the habit cold turkey nicotine replacement through gums and patches has long been advocated as a helping hand. Nicotine withdrawal is a very unpleasant process says Linda Bauld professor of Health Policy at the University of Stirling whose recent report https_datafileEcigarette_uptake_and_marketing.pdf for Public Health England identified an extensive and growing market for ecigarettes worldwide. The vast number of people using ecigarettes are using them to stop smoking theyre about  more effective than going cold turkey or buying nicotine replacement therapy over the counter. Baulds research hasnt identified a dependence on nicotine with ecigarettes in the same way as the addiction resulting from regular cigarettes. Ecigarettes are not the best nicotine delivery devices she says referring to the fact nicotine is not seen to enter the bloodstream as readily when using ecigarettes. Thats backed up by Etters research http as well as a recent study  httpnews.psu.edustoryresearchecigaretteslessaddictivecigarettesby researchers at Penn State College of Medicine in which ecigarettes were found to be less addictive than tobacco cigarettes. Benan BarwickCNN They do however provide nicotine more effectively than aids such as patches or gums according to Bauld. Patches and gums are a very small market says Etter about the quitting devices which first came onto the market  years ago. He fears too much restriction on ecigarettes will limit their impact in achieving a world free of tobacco.  Both Bauld and Etter recognize the need to monitor the consumption of nicotine among teenagers but feel the value of ecigarettes among adult smokers and their potential to save lives by reducing tobacco consumption should not be underestimated  a sentiment recognized by the World Health Organization. Ecigarettes could be a way to help people quit but we need more evidence and regulation says Armand Peruga program manager for the WHOs Tobacco Free Initiative http which has celebrated  years of its Framework for Tobacco Control  http at the conference in Abu Dhabi. Legislate and regulate The greatest impact to date in reducing the number of smokers worldwide has been the taxation and legislation restricting tobacco advertising and increasing prices. For every  increase in tax you have  reduction in tobacco consumption says Peruga. The growing fear is the increasing domination of big tobacco in the ecigarette market which was once seen as a competitor. Their ownerships of popular ecigarette brands could push out smaller companies in the field reminiscent of the original tobacco epidemic. The intent of big tobacco is to sell their product concludes Peruga. They may expand their market to other customers who didnt use cigarettes but might consider nicotine use. But as it seems ecigarettes are here to stay most calls are for informed regulation rather than prohibition. The majority of ecigarettes  especially when they are well regulated  are likely to be less toxic than cigarettes  and that for smokers is an advantage says Peruga."