Vapor trails: the e-cigarette business is booming despite safety concerns.

• Author: Felix, Devin
• Position: E-Cigarettes

The story of how Lacey Hall became a smoker is a common one. She was a rebellious kid, and whatever her parents and teachers told her not to do was instantly alluring. She picked up cigarettes when she was 12 years old, and before long she was addicted. The story that followed is common too: She got tired of exiling herself from public buildings whenever she needed a cigarette. She got tired of struggling to breathe. She knew she was slowly killing herself. So she decided to quit. She tried going cold turkey or using nicotine gum, but she always came back to cigarettes.

And the story of how she finally stopped smoking cigarettes is becoming more and more common as well. She heard about a device that could provide the nicotine her body craved, in a way that felt like smoking, but without the smoke. Once she started using electronic cigarettes, she was able to almost completely eliminate tobacco cigarettes from her life. She still smokes occasionally, but hopes to soon kick the habit entirely.

Electronic cigarettes, commonly known as e-cigarettes, have exploded in popularity in the United States and Utah in just a few years, especially among smokers looking to quit, creating thousands of e-cigarette devotees who swear by them and a proliferation of companies providing e-cigarettes supplies--including many in Utah.

Proponents say the devices have the potential to save millions of lives by providing addicted smokers a safer alternative to the myriad chemicals and carcinogens produced by burning tobacco. But not everyone sees e-cigarettes as harmless. Some, including Utah's Department of Health, worry they have not been adequately tested and regulated and may bring unseen dangers to users. Members of the State Legislature and others fear that the devices may be luring teenagers and children into a life of addiction and acting as a gateway to cigarettes.

Despite such concerns, e-cigarettes seem likely to continue to grow in popularity. How they will be regulated and viewed by the non-smoking public is less certain.

Get Your Fix

Brad Bacher first heard about e-cigarettes in August 2009. As a smoker, he was intrigued by the possibility of a less hazardous alternative to cigarettes. As a programmer and tinkerer, he was intrigued by the prospect of a new electronic device. As an entrepreneur, he was intrigued by the business possibilities.

Bacher ordered an e-cigarette online and tested it out. It worked as advertised, but he thought the flavor options were too limited. He decided he could do better, so in January 2010 he started Gourmet Vapor, a company that makes and sells customized flavored e-liquid to individuals and retailers. The company's website allows customers to create their own flavors by mixing and matching from among 109 flavored...