The British Medical Association has called for a ban on public vaping in the same way that public smoking was banned.
They stated that a strong regulatory framework was needed to "restrict their marketing, sale and promotion so that it is only targeted at smokers as a way of cutting down and quitting, and does not appeal to non-smokers, in particular children and young people".
Ram Moorthy, from the British Medical Association, said that their use normalises smoking behaviour.
"We don't want that behaviour to be considered normal again and that e-cigarettes are used as an alternative for the areas that people cannot smoke," he told BBC News.
But Lynne Dawkins, from the University of East London, said that while light-touch regulation was important, it must be treated with caution.
She said that e-cigarettes presented a "viable safer alternative" to offer to smokers.
"We don't want to spoil this great opportunity we have for overseeing this unprecedented growth and evolving technology that has not been seen before, We have to be careful not to stump that.