On Your Side: E-Cigarettes fuels fierce debate between users, medical community

Nich Wallace is smoking a vaporized version of nicotine. No tobacco. No cigarette smoke. An e-cigarette is a battery-operated device.
"All you're getting exposed to is a fog, a glycerine fog."
Also foggy -- the debate over the product's safety. Manufacturers say they are safer and healthier than regular cigarettes. It's an argument that's gotten the attention of the medical community.
"I am not going to say it is as dangerous as a cigarette. It is dangerous," said MCG Dr. Janie Heath.
Even if it's not the same as cigarettes, Dr. Heath still doesn't recommend it for people trying to quit smoking.
FDA studies found the vapor includes a chemical found in antifreeze and some amounts of carcinogens. But the FDA admits they've done just limited testing.
A federal court judge issued an injunction against the FDA on Thursday, ordering them to stop detaining imports of e-cigarettes that cross into the United States. The decision said the products could not be defined as a drug-device and are for therapeutic purposes. The FDA has been trying to regulate the drug by calling it a drug-device for its supposed similarities to cigarettes.
"We need more science to be able to say, yes it's OK, this is better to consume in a cigarette -- that there are 4800 toxins in one cigarette," said Heath.
Because it's not classified as a drug there are no mandated health warnings. Some retailers have them anyway -- to keep young people away.
"It's really appealing to youth, because it's cool looking, it's high tech, and it smells good," Heath added.
"When I was in school, you didn't want to bring in grape-flavored cigarettes either, you wanted Marlboro reds," Wallace said. "If you're doing it for that cool factor, this is not marketed towards them, not intended for them, and they probably wouldn't like it if they could get their hands on it."
Smoking of any kind is illegal under the age of 18.
Wallace supports enforcement, just not regulation that he says could take e-cigarettes out of his hands.
Adds Wallace: "The old quit or die attitude the government is pushing isn't going to work, and people are going to finally say, look this is safer, and I can do this, and I think we're going to win out on that."