It looks like a cigarette in every way, but, instead of paper, there is a hard casing.
Instead of fire are mechanical innards. And instead of smoke, the user breathes in nicotine-infused mist.
The new electronic cigarette, or "e-cig," has been making its way into the Gainesville market, but local health officials, who agree with the Food and Drug Administration, are skeptical of the product's claims. "I've had some people say they really like them," said Naoma Hunlock, a manager at the Kangaroo on North Main Street, which sells NJOY brand e-cigs.
Almost all of the starter kits have sold out, Hunlock said. For $70, the kit includes an atomizer, which creates the mist and is shaped like the butt of the cigarette; two batteries, shaped like the stem; a charger; and five nicotine cartridges, roughly equivalent to two and a half packs of cigarettes. Cartridges are sold in packs of 10, in flavors like apple and menthol, for $20.
Adi Weiss, who works at the Smoke Anywhere kiosk in Oaks Mall, has several suggestions for the possible use of e-cigs.
Because the starter kit he sells includes four different levels of nicotine, ranging from that of a normal cigarette to none, he suggested that it could be used to help smokers quit.
"You can smoke it where you cannot smoke normally," he said. "It's also a healthier way to smoke, because the carcinogens are gone."
While these claims have not been tested extensively, Weiss believes that as the market grows, research will confirm his statements, he said.
But Maureen Miller, a tobacco prevention specialist at UF, believes that these claims could be misleading to consumers.
"The fact that it mimics smoking will definitely not help with quitting," she said. "I would not endorse this product."
She is also concerned that until the FDA has time to research e-cigs, there could be unknown health risks associated with the product, she said.
