* In Australia, the sale of electronic cigarettes containing nicotine is illegal.
* In Brazil electronic cigarettes sales, importation or advertisement of any kind are forbidden. Anvisa, the Brazilian health and sanitation federal agency, found the current health safety assessments about e-cigarettes not to be yet satisfactory to make the product eligible to be approved for commercialization.
* In Canada, as of March 2009, imports, sales, and advertising are banned. In March 2009, Health Canada also advised Canadians not to purchase or use any electronic smoking products. Health Canada cited the Food and Drugs Act, stating that electronic smoking products containing nicotine require market authorization before they can be imported, marketed, or sold. No market authorization has been granted for any electronic smoking product.
* In Denmark, the Danish Medicines Agency classifies electronic cigarettes containing nicotine as medicinal products. Thus, authorization is required from the retailer before the product may be marketed and sold. The agency has clarified, however, that electronic cigarettes that do not administer nicotine to the user, and are not otherwise used for the prevention or treatment of disease, are not considered medicinal devices. The use of electronic cigarettes has not been prohibited in Copenhagen Airport, but at least one airline (Scandinavian Airlines) has decided to ban their use on board flights.
* In Netherlands, use and sale of electronic cigarettes is allowed, but advertising is forbidden pending European Union legislation.
* In New Zealand, the Ministry of Health has ruled that the Ruyan e-cigarette falls under the requirements of the Medicines Act, and cannot be sold except as a registered medicine.
* In Panama, importation, distribution and sale has been prohibited since June 2009. The Ministry of Health cites the FDA findings as their reason for the ban.
* In Singapore, the sale and import of electronic cigarettes, even for personal consumption, is illegal.
* In United Kingdom, use and sale of electronic cigarettes is currently unrestricted, although the MHRA has proposed bringing all nicotine products except tobacco within the medicines licensing regime.

United States

As of November 2009, use is unrestricted, however some imports are being seized. The FDA considers e-cigarettes to be a nicotine delivery system, subject to its approval.

However, in January 2010, federal judge Richard J. Leon ordered the FDA to stop blocking the importation of electronic cigarettes from China, and indicated that the devices should be regulated as tobacco products, rather than drug or medical devices: “[...] With the passage of landmark tobacco legislation last year, the FDA’s new tobacco division will be able to regulate the contents and marketing claims of e-cigarettes, in the same way it is about to begin regulating traditional tobacco products. But the agency’s drug division cannot ban the devices [...]“. Richards mentioned in his reasoning that e-cigarettes were not marketed as medical devices to help smokers quit, as FDA had argued, but rather as safer substitutes to give users the “nicotine hit that smokers crave”. In February 2010, the FDA began an appeal of the ruling in a federal appeals court in Washington. | Doesn’t the FDA have other things to do?

* In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have banned sales, stating “[...] If adults want to purchase and consume these products with an understanding of the associated health risks, they should be able to do so [...]“. | Kudos to Arnold for that!

* In New Jersey, legislators have started work on a proposal to ban the use of electronic cigarettes in all “no smoking areas” of the state.  | No surprise here, NJ has there noses in everybodys business.

Member companies are involved in all sectors of the creation and promotion of electronic cigarettes.

ecas mission is to provide the tools and information necessary for policy-makers, opinion leaders, media, and private sector companies worldwide to make informed decisions about the management and use of electronic cigarette technologies, particularly the most recent advances and applications.

The association was founded to institute and promote industry-wide standards and a code of conduct, work to maintain sound professional practices, educate the public and policy-makers on the industrys activities and potential, and ensure the ethical use of electronic cigarette technologies.

Asked recently to write about electronic cigarettes, I have to confess that I had never heard of such a thing. Some internet research later and I discovered that electronic cigarettes are very much a quickly growing concern. A Google search revealed there is no smoke without fire as almost six million results just for the phrase “electronic cigarette” were returned.

What is an electronic cigarette?

The electronic cigarette has been in existence for almost three years and is a clever device aimed at providing smokers with a healthier option. Apparently also useful in helping to reduce and indeed quit smoking altogether.

Now in a fourth generation, electronic cigarettes have become much more user friendly than earlier versions which perhaps were a little too large to encourage a mass market appeal. The “mini” is the most realistic e cigarette to date with its length of 100mm being the same as a conventional cigarette.

An electronic cigarette contains a taste of tobacco but none of the harmful substances found in normal cigarettes allowing smokers cravings to be satisfied without inhaling the many dangerous toxins. Is it all smoke and mirrors? Or can this item really be the saviour it wants to be?

A battery, an atomiser and a renewable nicotine chamber allows the smoker to hold and smoke the electronic cigarette just as they would any other cigarette, even creating a “smoke” like vapour and glow at the end as they draw. The nicotine chamber proves very useful as cartridges are available in different strengths, permitting the user to reduce the amount of nicotine they intake until if they wish, can quit completely.

A nicotine cartridge typically lasts the same time as 15 to 20 cigarettes, thus creating a huge saving to normal costs. Standard, medium, low and no nicotine at all are the various cartridge strengths.

A healthier option altogether it seems, though the benefits don’t end there. Due to the electronic cigarette not emitting any dangerous substances, toxins or real smoke for that matter, they are perfectly legal to smoke in public. In winter in particular, normal cigarette smokers have to brave the freezing cold and the rain just for a quick smoking break but this alternative will allow them to stay in their offices, restaurants and pubs.

None smokers also will benefit, as their worries about passive smoking are rendered null and void by the electronic cigarette. A much more sociable environment then!

Upon reflection the electronic cigarette is a healthier, cheaper and environmentally friendly alternative to smoking and as the awareness and the market grows they have great potential to successfully replace the harmful cigarettes we have all come to know and many of us have come to dread and fear.

The electronic cigarette really does seems to be a good idea.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jules_Price
http://EzineArticles.com/?Electronic-Cigarette—Smoke-Without-Fire&id=1406383

1. Electronic cigarettes are marketed as a healthier alternative to tobacco smoking, since most of the harmful material produced by the combustion of tobacco in traditional cigarettes is not present in the atomized liquid of electronic cigarettes.
2. Electronic cigarettes are becoming the preferred alternative, offering smokers the opportunity to cut down on the harmful chemicals that they inhale and emit while successfully avoiding persecution.
3. They are the cool new alternative to tobacco cigarettes.
4. Electronic cigarettes are actually much safer than tobacco cigarettes.
5. Within the last year at least three independent labs have given the green light to electronic cigarettes and the fda pretends they do not exist.
6. Electronic cigarettes are known to be the most healthy alternative to traditional smoking today.
7. They don’t produce smoke, don’t burn and don’t contain carbon monoxide.
8. Electronic cigarettes are an alternative nicotine delivery system.
9. Electronic cigarettes are also inhaled delivering nicotine almost instantaneously so you can use electronic cigarettes and regular cigarettes interchangeably with no worry of nicotine overdose.
10. They are completely non-flammable electronic devices.
11. Electronic cigarettes are designed to deliver a comparably satisfying smoking experience, minus overwhelming health risks associated with smoking conventional cigarettes.
12. Electronic cigarettes are on the top of the christmas list for tobacco users.
13. Electronic cigarettes are rechargeable devices which simply require the replacement of nicotine cartridges, causing minimal damage to our environment, unlike conventional cigarette smoke and the trash from the  flicking of cigarette butts and ashes.
14. Electronic cigarettes are reusable, you’re never buying cartons or packages of cigarettes, so there’s less trash to fill our landfills.
15. They are more than just an alternative to tobacco, they’re a way to save a lot of money.
16. Each “cigarette” consists of a heating element and a replaceable plastic cartridge that contains various chemicals, including various concentrations of liquid nicotine.