The technology used in making these tobacco-free, battery-powered products is increasingly making them more lifelike.

"I'm a smoker and I could not quit smoking," said John Cameron, brother of Oscar winning director James Cameron.

About the time James was releasing "Avatar," John decided to get healthy. He took his first puff of an e-cigarette and got hooked. Now he's CEO of Safecig, an e-cigarette company.

"I can tell you that this is a revolutionary product. It will change the human race," he said. "It will change our relation to technology. It will change our relation to addiction."

Safecig uses technology and components which Cameron said are often found in cellphones. These help recreate the look, heat, taste, smell, and feel of smoking tobacco. Even the packaging mimics a regular pack of cigarettes. But instead of "smoking," users inhale liquid nicotine heated into a vapor, without tobacco or tar.

Why bother, when you can buy nicotine gum or patches? Often it's hard to quit because smokers miss the act of smoking. "It's probably 60 to 70 percent — the experience," Cameron said.

Other brands in the space include Njoy and Vapor Corp., which trades as a penny stock. China-based Ruyan has been a pioneer in electronic cigarettes, but as rivals began multiplying last year, the company filed suit against ten American firms, including Safecig, alleging patent violations.