It's been seven smokeless years since nicotine addicts were allowed to light up in restaurants and bars. But recently public places have once again been full of people puffing away, this time inhaling a legal 'water vapour' from electronic cigarettes. But is the is the rise of the e-cig reversing decades of anti-smoking campaigning, or are they a handy tool for people looking to quit the real carcinogenic deal?

The World Health Organization is callling for stronger regulation on e-cigs, recommending that their use be banned indoors and that the devices not be sold to minors. They claim that the exhaled vapour “increases the background air level of some toxicant, nicotine and particles" that is "in the range of that produced by some cigarettes".