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	Ontario&#39;s anti-smoking law is one of the toughest in the country. So is Toronto&#39;s own bylaw.</p>
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	Both ban smoking in offices and enclosed spaces. And both force puffers to head outside for a butt - even in the dead of a -30C winter or the heat of a 40-plus humidex.</p>
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	Smokers have been forced to grin and bear it all these years, while crying they&#39;ve been discriminated against. And many have been looking for loopholes to get around the all encompassing bans. And now some think they&#39;ve found it, thanks to an electronic cigarette.</p>
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	They&#39;re made by a company called Crown Seven. The user puts a nicotine capsule inside, then puffs on one end. The other end lights up just like a cigarette even though this product does not burn.</p>
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	The gizmo delivers a hit of nicotine but lets out a puff of odourless water vapour instead of a plume of smoke. It only contains nicotine and not the hundreds of other chemicals that can be in a standard smoke.</p>
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	It comes with a rechargeable battery that heats up the liquid nicotine and turns it into a gas. And since it&#39;s not technically a cigarette and doesn&#39;t threaten anyone else&#39;s airway, it may not fall under the strict laws regarding indoor puffing. But how does it taste?</p>
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	&quot;It&#39;s got a bit of a bite, sort of tobacco-like bite but it doesn&#39;t really taste like tobacco,&quot; reports volunteer Leo Jablonski.</p>
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	They&#39;re for sale all over the Internet at a range of strengths and prices, and advocates insist they have lots of benefits. There&#39;s no chance of fire since you don&#39;t light them, they don&#39;t stain your teeth, there&#39;s no second-hand smoke and they may make quitting easier.</p>
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	But vendors also claim they don&#39;t harm your health because the tar and smoke that comes with normal coffin nails isn&#39;t present.</p>
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	&quot;I think people need to be cautious,&quot; warns Dr Roberta Ferrence, director of the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit. &quot;It&#39;s an unknown.&quot;</p>
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	&quot;The concern is that the product will probably be promoted as something that&#39;s safer than smoking,&quot; she adds.</p>
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	Dr Ferrence doesn&#39;t think they&#39;re safe at all.</p>
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	In an interview with CityNews Medical Specialist Dr Karl Kabasele, she pointed out the many disadvantages of this &quot;smokeless&quot; cigarette:</p>
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	We don&#39;t know for certain that they are less harmful than regular cigarettes. They&#39;re not regulated, and because they&#39;re available in different strengths, it&#39;s difficult to gauge the danger.<br />
	It keeps smoking visible, and therefore increases its social acceptance, at a time when the Ontario government is working to make smoking &quot;uncool.&quot;<br />
	Kids will have easier access to the gadget, and it may act as a gateway to the real thing.<br />
	It&#39;s not a tool to help you quit smoking; it&#39;s just a way to get around the smoking ban laws. There&#39;s no evidence that it can help with smoking cessation.<br />
	Finally, inhaling nicotine is the most addictive of all delivery modes.<br />
	However, the company never claimed it could be used to help you quit smoking.</p>
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	&quot;It&#39;s intended just for smoking alternative...for smokers to get their nicotine in nonsmoking environments,&quot; agrees Ron MacDonald, President and CEO of Crown Seven.</p>
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	There are other, tested, methods that can help you quit smoking. Check them out at the Health Canada website.</p>
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