With the winter months ahead, smokers are looking for better, safer ways to get their nicotine fix.

Electronic cigarettes may be a better option, but the Food and Drug Administration is concerned that this new wave of “e-cigarettes” is just as harmful.

Electronic cigarettes are battery-operated devices that generally contain cartridges filled with nicotine, flavor and other chemicals, according to the FDA. The e-cigarette turns nicotine and other chemicals into a vapor that is inhaled by the user.

These products do not contain any health warnings comparable to FDA-approved nicotine replacement products or conventional cigarettes.

Although some concerns about the safety of the cigarettes have yet to be clarified, some customers are turning to the smokeless cigarettes.

“They’ve been selling like crazy,” said Muhammad Mustafa, owner of Smoker’s World, 818 W. Lincoln Highway. “Customers really like them.”

Smoker’s World has been carrying the e-cigarettes since the end of July.

Unlike usual cigarettes, smokers can “smoke” these anywhere, Mustafa said.

“You can just put them in your pocket when you’re done,” Mustafa said. Other smokers do not feel the same way.

“I wouldn’t buy them,” said sophomore accountancy major Katie Long. Some local bars are unsure how to regulate use of the product.

“Control might be a problem,” said Steve Shaffer, manager at Molly’s Eatery & Drinkery, 1022 W. Lincoln Highway. “We haven’t decided anything yet.”

Shannon Hawkins, a manager at Fatty’s Pub & Grill, 1312 W. Lincoln Highway, is also not sure what her company’s plans are.

“We’re not sure what to do,” Hawkins said. “We’ve had it happen twice about a month ago where a customer came in and used them, but quickly put them away before we had a chance to even say anything.”

It is still unknown exactly what chemicals are in these e-cigarettes, but one sample test done by the FDA found there is diethylene glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze.

Of the 599 additives in cigarettes, diethylene glycol is not one of them, according to the list of ingredients on tobacco.org.

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