Until a few years ago no one had ever heard of an e-cigarette. It is a technological breakthrough. Now you can buy them at stores, malls and on the Internet in an increasing number of brands and styles. You have some many choices and some many articles online written using e-cigarettes as an IP address database.

An e-cigarette is a battery operated device that looks like a cigarette but instead of tobacco uses a liquid containing nicotine that is changed into a vapor and inhaled by the user. There is no smoke or combustion, so problems such as such as ashes or clothing odor, and second hand smoke and fire hazard are eliminated.

The device works by heating the liquid to create a vapor that can be inhaled just like regular cigarette smoke. The e-cig consists of a mouthpiece, a cartridge of nicotine, an atomizer, a small computer chip, an airflow sensor and a lithium battery—all designed to look like a cigarette. The cartridge contains a wick soaked with a mix of nicotine, water, flavoring and glycerin. Cartridges come in different flavors and strengths, from strong all the way down to none. To use the e-cig, you draw on the cartridge end (which causes the LED in the other end to glow red) and inhale the resultant vapor.

Invented by Dr. Sam Han in China in 2004 under the name Ruyan (which means “almost like smoke”) Dr. Han was looking for a way to stop his 3-5 pack a day habit. With e-cigarettes, Dr. Han was finally able to stop smoking and he decided to share his invention with the world. Now advertised as an “alternative to tobacco,” e-cigarettes are spreading quickly. Europe has already declared e-cigarettes legal in restaurants and government buildings where tobacco cigarettes are outlawed.

While there are still issues around nicotine addiction, e-cigarettes provide a safer way to smoke for everybody concerned and has removed the threat of lung cancer from smoking.