A girl with a long ponytail that falls down her back is holding a cigarette in between her index and middle finger. She brings it to her mouth, inhales deeply, and exhales a plume of smoke. All around her, people pass by. Some of them are craning their necks to stare at her while continuing to walk. The reason for their staring is because she is inside a mall, smoking a cigarette.

It may seem like an ordinary cigarette to innocent bystanders but it is not. This cigarette, more commonly known as the electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), emits vapor into the air instead of the harmful smoke from traditional cigarettes. There is no need to worry about inhaling secondhand smoke and adding to air pollution, and no need to worry about littering because there will be no cigarette butts.

Jessie Vang had been smoking for roughly six years before she started smoking the e-cigarette. "I don't smoke as much as I used to," she says. "I've cut down from two packs a day to one stick a week." According to her, the e-cigarette gives people a chance to quit smoking and a choice from other products that help smokers quit such as patches and gums.

Instead of harmful smoke, the user inhales and exhales a vaporized nicotine solution. For some brands, the user has a choice between high or low doses of nicotine, or none at all. The e-cigarette is tobacco-free and comes in various flavors such as mint, coffee, and strawberry. "[The e-cigarette] gives you a healthier option to smoking and the great thing about it is that you're in control. You get to choose, unlike in traditional cigarettes where they set a level of nicotine a smoker smokes," Vang says.

The e-cigarette looks, feels, and smells like the real thing but with a few things altered. Vang says that some smokers are so used to the act of smoking that they feel the need to physically hold a cigarette in their hand, take a breath from it, and exhale out the smoke. The e-cigarette satisfies this act compared to the other methods of getting your dose.

Although the e-cigarette is considered "healthier" and more "eco-friendly" than traditional cigarettes, there are some negative aspects to this new product. Several unknown elements found in the e-cigarette may or may not be harmful to the user after using the e-cigarette for a long time. It also uses batteries and the manufacturing process is not considered eco-friendly either.

According to e-cigarette researcher, Maciej Goniewicz of UCSF's Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, there has been very little research about the e-cigarette and the effects on the user. "The levels of cancer-causing nicotine found in the e-cigarette is very, very low compared to the conventional cigarette," says Goniewicz.

"But the knowledge we have now is not enough to claim if they are 100 percent safe." He is concerned that the compound propylene glycol has been found in the products and may have chances to be harmful when inhaled frequently but that has yet to be determined.

Romana L., who wishes that her last name be undisclosed, is thankful for the e-cigarette. Her close friend, who would engulf her with cigarette smoke whenever they were out together, has chosen to switch to the e-cigarette as a healthier alternative.

Romana claims that her friend coughed a lot and she would notice that her teeth were yellow. "I used to smell like cigarettes when I got home even though I didn't smoke," she says. "I'm happy that [my friend] doesn't buy those smelly cigarettes anymore. Now, she doesn't need ashtrays in her car and I don't have to see cigarette butts scattered all over the floor and random ashes on her dashboard!"

For people who are trying to quit smoking, Goniewicz recommends trying the nicotine drugs, such as the patches or gum, because they have been tested and proven successful. If those fail, that is when you should resort to the e-cigarette. He strongly discourages people who have not smoked from trying the e-cigarette.

"People might think that e-cigarettes are a safer alternative, which may be true, but people must understand that the best solution for them as a smoker is to quit," he says.

"If [the companies] convince people that they don't have to quit and just use the e-cigarettes, that's not a good way to go."