E-cigarettes

E-cigarettes are being promoted as a healthy alternative to tobacco cigarettes, but health authorities are concerned about the long-term health effects on users.

How safe are e-cigarettes?

There is no evidence that e-cigarettes help people quit.

The epidemic of severe lung illness related to e-cigarettes continues to grow.

The CDC is urging everyone to stop using e-cigarettes.

Massachusetts this week became the first state to temporarily ban all retail and online sales of e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes heat up liquid inside a cartridge and create a nicotine-filled vapor.

Electronic cigarettes, mostly made in China, first appeared in the United States a couple of years ago, and they're no longer a novelty. An estimated one-half-million Americans, especially those who are trying to kick the smoking habit, have switched to them. The federal government, which heavily regulates tobacco products, wants to oversee e-cigarettes as well. But their makers are fighting hard to prevent it.

E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is addictive, but they do not contain tar or many of the other substances in traditional cigarettes, which make them deadly. Battery-powered e-cigarettes turn liquid nicotine into an inhalable vapor.

VOA's Carol Pearson reports, a new study finds that young teens who begin using e-cigarettes are more likely to transition to real cigarettes and other smokeable tobacco products.