E-cigarettes or electronic cigarettes are battery-operated devices designed to turn nicotine into vapor. Upon its introduction in the market, many are skeptical of its potential effects to smokers. A new study has attempted to gather the thoughts of e-cigarette smokers in hopes of thoroughly understanding whether or not these smoking devices are helpful to smokers, who want to quit the vice. 

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Some smokers consider this device as a potential aid in quitting smoking, while some people, who have already started to let go of this vice, are seeing e-cigarettes as a type of temptation for them to resume a bad habit they fought hard to ditch, as per a study, Yahoo News has learned.

Sixty-four smokers have been interviewed by the Researchers in Scotland and they found little consensus about the possible benefits and harmful effects  of e-cigarettes, which somehow may reflect in the medical community, the authors said in the study published in the journal Tobacco Control. Researchers added that the "appropriateness of promoting e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to the real thing."

Amanda Amos, a senior study author and a researcher at the Center for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh Medical School said, "Because e-cigarettes are relatively new products we are only beginning to learn about the health risks." 

E-cigarettes are made to imitate the real thing; the device has a battery and heating element inside with a cassette that holds nicotine and other flavorings. Its glowing tip releases a special type of vapor. E-cigarettes flavors range from butter rum to caramel macchiato to strawberry lemonade.

Amos and her colleagues conducted an interview with 12 focus groups and 11 individuals, who at the time of their interview were smokers, and people who already quit smoking for the past year.

Based on their interview, most of the participants saw smoking as a form of addiction, a bad habit that is hard to break, and they believed that willpower played a strong role in quitting. Participants admitted that all of them already tried e-cigarettes for once.

And because most of the general practitioners give nicotine to their patients, who were trying to quit smoking, the participants being studied tend to think of the device as a medical product.

Meanwhile, Some people view e-cigarettes as a satisfying replacement for smoking, while others saw them as less desirable.

Dr. Ricardo Polosa, a professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Catania in Italy, said," This paper shows that the public's view of e-cigarettes is far from being clear, with a great deal of ambiguity around the product and it's intended use," Reuters has learned.

Polosa, who wasn't involved in the study, said, "Really, it's not complicated at all. E-cigs are a much safer alternative to smoking and are intended for smokers who are unable to quit using other methods."

The reason why e-cigarettes are hard to study is because this product varies widely, Vox News reports.

Maciej Goniewicz, of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, one of the leading researchers in the area, said, "Some had a higher presence of the toxicants, while other products have very low levels or even undetectable levels of toxicants." 

Researchers also found that the heating process in e-cigarettes can change the composition of potentially harmful chemicals. Goniewicz warns, "If the temperature goes too high, then there are more toxicants."

Tagse-cigarettes, smoking, Science, Study