As many turn to this fancy gadget with a hope to quit smoking and as the Internet gets stormed with enquiries about effectiveness of the e-cigarette in getting rid of traditional cigarette, manufacturers prefer to call it an alternative and not a remedy.

Kalyan Gangwal, a Pune-based anti-tobacco crusader has a word of caution. “An addiction is independent of the percentage of nicotine one inhales. In fact, side-effects of reducing the nicotine percentage can be that one smokes more cigarettes per day in order to meet the quota. Nicotine is carcinogenic, no matter how much or how little of it is consumed. I would advice smokers to become determined to quit smoking rather than choosing mind games that might just give self assurance and no results,” said Gangwal.