E-cigarettes: promise or peril?

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) use a heating element to vaporize nicotine and other ingredients, simulating the visual, sensory, and behavioral aspects of smoking without the combustion of tobacco. An ever-growing number of companies around the world manufacture a wide variety of e-cigarette brands, despite scant information on the safety of the ingredients for human inhalation. This article provides an overview of the history, production, and marketing of e-cigarettes, the contents of e-cigarettes and vapor, how they are used, public health concerns, and implications for nursing practice, research, and policy development.