TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The University of Arizona has received a $2.7 million grant to research the growing use of electronic cigarettes.

The National Institutes of Health awarded a professor and adjunct faculty member from the Eller College of Management and the College of Medicine to collect data from social media sites and analyze it.

The researchers will mine Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to try to find out why people use the battery-powered nicotine sticks.

Sales for e-cigarettes have skyrocketed in the past few years, but there is little research on them.

E-cigarettes work by heating a liquid nicotine solution that creates vapor that users inhale. Many use electronic cigarettes to wean themselves off actual cigarettes. Some also say they are a less costly alternative.

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