ELECTRONIC cigarettes should be outlawed in a bid to stop a new generation becoming hooked on smoking, ­according to Quit Victoria.

It comes as a leading health academic warns there is scant evidence on the safety of e-cigarettes, despite makers’ claims that their products have harmless doses of nicotine.

In a letter to the Medical Journal of Australia, Professor Simon Chapman, from the University of Sydney, said most tobacco companies had invested in e-cigarettes, drawing him to conclude that they were hoping people would smoke and use e-cigarettes

There are concerns that the devices will entice young people to take up the habit because the products come in cherry, vanilla and berry.

The NSW government recently banned the sale of e-smokes to children, but Prof Chapman said similar laws for tobacco had been poorly enforced.

Director of Quit Victoria Dr Sarah White wants a ban on the retail sale of all e-cigarettes and the advertising and promotion of the devices and an extension of smoke-free laws to cover the products.

Evelyn Ek, a spokeswoman for Health Minister Jill Hennessy, said the State Government was consulting with experts on this issue.

Dr White said there was no evidence nicotine-free e-cigarettes helped people quit smoking.

“Perhaps one day we will see an e-cigarette go through proper trials and testing processes and be approved for use as a cessation aid. Until that happens, though, these devices should be banned,” she said.