So what does an e-cigarette do?

I was at Angel Stadium tonight and these women in front of me were passing one around every 30 seconds during the game, and they were smoking it in a huge crowd of people as if it were no big deal. And at one point the security guard for my section came down and said something to them about it - and they still continued to use it. I thought they were aides meant to help people quit smoking, and not a substitute for real cigarettes. I guess I was wrong, can someone help me out here?

"An electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, is an electrical device that attempts to simulate the act of tobacco smoking by producing an inhaled mist bearing the physical sensation, appearance, and often the flavor and nicotine content of inhaled tobacco smoke. The device uses heat, or in some cases ultrasonics, to vaporize a propylene glycol- or glycerin-based liquid solution into an aerosol mist, similar to the way a nebulizer or humidifier vaporizes solutions for inhalation."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cigarette

They can be used to help someone quit nicotine consumption but weren't invented for that reason. Because of the skyrocketing price of cigarettes, the mystery chemicals in them, the new laws banning smoking in various public places, etc. an alternative to smoking was desired and this is the result. They can be used with "juice" that makes the vapor either with or without nicotine and various levels of nicotine as well as a wide variety of flavors.

Because there is no smoke there is no harm to others, so they can be used in public. The women shouldn't have been made to stop using it while at the game. E-cigs are NOT smoking. There is no smoke, no burning substance to make smoke, so it is not smoking. The visible substance created in using them is a benign vapor that is not harmful to others nor creates an odor.

They were not invented as a device to quit smoking... they were invented as a non-tobacco cigarette smoking alternative. The fact that some people have found them very helpful in quiting smoking is just icing on the cake.

My brother recently bought one of the e-cigarette gizmos. It has decreased his smoking habit quite a bit and he says it works pretty good because the nicotine "hit" is pretty strong. It's my understanding though that one is not supposed to continuously "smoke" it like a cigarette but just take an occasional hit off of it, since the nicotine is concentrated. Could be different types which work differently though, I don't know. Only problem is, you have to recharge it and every time my brother gets out somewhere he forgets his charger it seems. It's kind of funny because when he first started using it, he would come to my house and tell me he had to plug his e-cigarette charger in. Never thought years ago I would one day hear anyone say he had to plug his cigarette charger in.

Mine is the NJOY, which come with the atomizer and cartridge in one. When the cartridge is spent, you replace it with another.
Speaking of the nicotine content, e-cigarettes have the zero-nicotine option for those who have to have something in their mouths constantly. My friends got a laugh when they saw me charging my e-cigarette battery, joking, "meow2u3 has to charge her cigarette. 21st century smoking!" :D

so has your stamina/lung capacity/heart rate improved?

I am considering ecigs and am interested to know if I use them to quit smoking if I will see health benefits as mentioned above.