Sarah Gayford is one of hundreds of vapers in the Northern Territory who say they quit smoking tobacco with the help of vapes or e-cigarettes.

Key points: A bill before the NT Parliament is likely to see e-cigarettes treated as a tobacco product

A bill before the NT Parliament is likely to see e-cigarettes treated as a tobacco product Former smokers are worried it will limit their access to e-cigarettes

Former smokers are worried it will limit their access to e-cigarettes Some say e-cigarettes helped them break lifetime cigarette-smoking habits

When the Territory Parliament sits this week it is expected to debate for the first time how it will regulate the sale and use of e-cigarettes.

Ms Gayford, now in her early 40s, was just 39 when she suffered a stroke and her neurologist advised the life-time smoker to quit immediately or risk suffering another stroke.

Less than 12 months later she suffered two more strokes.

"I had one stroke, and I was like: 'What happens if I have another stroke? Because I'm still smoking cigarettes, am I going to be in a wheelchair? Am I not going to be able to speak? Am I going to be in a shell … with nothing?'" she said.

Like many people who struggle with addiction, Ms Gayford found herself unable to stop smoking.

"I started smoking when I was fourteen and I was instantly hooked, I smoked right through my two pregnancies," she said.

"I just couldn't stop, thank God there were no complications."

But now, it's been almost a year since she smoked her last cigarette and she puts that success down to vaping.

The use of e-cigarettes, or vaping has become increasingly popular in Australia, with many people seeing them as a safer alternative to tobacco smoking.

Despite this, Australia has some of the toughest laws when it comes to the use e-cigarettes compared to other western countries.

Vaping nicotine is legal in Britain, New Zealand, the US and Canada, however, the sale of liquid nicotine is illegal in Australia — a ban that was upheld by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in 2017.

All states and territories, except for the Northern Territory, have introduced individual legislation around how businesses can sell e-cigarettes, and where people can use them.

But that's set to change when the Northern Territory Parliament resumes this week after the Government drafted amendments to the Tobacco Control Act to regulate e-cigarettes.

That bill is likely to treat e-cigarettes as a tobacco product, with similar restrictions.

Sarah Gayford says vaping helped her quit smoking. ( ABC News: Mike Donnelly )

'We're trying to help people'

Ms Gayford is worried new laws will make it harder for her to buy e-cigarettes.

"I'm concerned the privilege will be taken away from me, I worked so hard to quit smoking, I don't want to go back at square one," Ms Gayford said.

Sarah is one of hundreds of testimonials collected by Steve Whalan, 48, who owns a vaping business in Darwin.

"I opened this business to help other people like myself quit tobacco products," Mr Whalan said.

Walking into Mr Whalan's shop on the side of the freeway is like stepping into a nightclub.

Inside it's dark except for a disco ball and strobe lights illuminating the shelves which are lined with colourful vapes and liquids or "juice".

The vape store shelves are lined with colourful vapes and liquids or "juice". ( ABC News: Dane Hirst )

"We got no one under-18 allowed, we got a sign on the door, if we have a little bit of a worry about someone being underage we ask for a licence, we do the right thing because we don't want children running around vaping either," Mr Whalen said.

Mr Whalan credited vaping with helping him quit tobacco products and said he wants to help other people get off cigarettes.

"Nobody walks in that door who doesn't want to quit smoking, whether they've found us by the road or by word of mouth," Mr Whalan said.

When Mr Whalan found out the NT Government was going to introduce legislation around e-cigarettes he began asking his customers to write about their experience of vaping.

"So what we did is we collected testimonials, evidence, of what vaping has done for individuals in the Northern Territory and signatures," Mr Whalan.

"What we're trying to do is help people, and we don't want the service that we provide to be limited and to be taken away."

Steven Whalan owns 'Vapaholics' in Darwin. ( ABC News: Dane Hirst )

In other jurisdictions, governments have legislated to hide vaping products behind curtains, limit the point of sale and ban advertising.

Despite not containing nicotine, vaping products are often treated the same as tobacco.

"Show me the tobacco in my products and I will go out and get a tobacco license," Mr Whalan said.

Quitting campaigns failing in the Territory

The Northern Territory has the highest rates of cigarette smoking in Australia.

While successive governments poured millions of dollars into quit campaigns, health experts warn it has made little impact.

"We still have large numbers of people in the Northern Territory smoking, particularly Aboriginal people, and it's difficult to get those quit smoking health programs in remote and rural areas," Dr Parker said.

A new study by the New England Journal of Medicine has found smokers have a better chance of quitting using e-cigarettes than patches or gum.

But the Australian Medical Association warns that despite emerging data that vaping may be able to help some smokers kick the habit, the dangers of vaping are not fully known.

"There is not enough evidence to support e-cigarettes as a product to assist smokers to quit," Dr Parker said.

Dr Parker said e-cigarettes may also expose users to chemicals and toxins that are harmful to health.

"There is some evidence from the UK and New Zealand that vaping may be preferable to cigarette smoking, but the AMA is certainly waiting for more definitive data before it could support any proposal," Dr Parker said.

"I suppose there's still a vigorous debate going on within the AMA about both the positive and negative aspects of e-cigarettes."