Even in these days of strict indoor clean air laws, you can still legally puff away in movie theaters, restaurants or even on a plane. You just have to use a cigarette that runs on a battery, not tobacco.
Electronic cigarettes — battery-powered devices that deliver a fine spray of nicotine without any flame or smoke — have been sold in this country for about three years now. Some people use them as a way to quit smoking real cigarettes. Unlike gum or patches, the devices mimic the sensation of smoking while providing the nicotine rush. Other people use them to get their cigarette fix in places where smoking is not allowed.
The Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved electronic cigarettes as an aid to quit smoking or for anything else. The agency has tried to stop the products from entering the country, but its authority over e-cigarettes is still being hashed out in courts. Meanwhile, the gadgets have developed a devoted fan base. On message boards and blogs, e-cigarette users have loudly and clearly proclaimed their allegiance to the devices.
E-cigarettes — sold without age restrictions online, in some bars and clubs, and at the occasional mall kiosk — come with replaceable cartridges containing various levels of nicotine. The regular cartridges for NPRO cigarettes from NJOY, for example, contain 18 milligrams of nicotine, but you can also get a light version with 12 mg., an ultralight version with 6 mg. and even a nicotine-free version. The company says that, for a typical smoker, each cartridge would last about as long as a pack or pack-and-a-half of cigarettes. For comparison, a smoker would get about 20 mg. of nicotine from a single pack of regular cigarettes. Each cartridge also contains water and propylene glycol, a chemical that helps disperse the nicotine. (Propylene glycol also is a key component of fog made by fog machines, should you be curious.)