Cameron English finds the idea ridiculous:
[P]erhaps the hollowest argument leveled at e-cigs, as voiced by experts in Australia, is precisely what makes the devices so innovative: they're similar to the real thing. "Because e-cigarettes mimics [sic] smoking in both design and use, the ACT Health Directorate does not support [their use].'' The technically advanced rebuttal to this assertion goes like this: so what? If the goal is to prevent diseases and deaths associated with tobacco consumption, who cares if the alternatives emulate cigarettes? What's more, the evidence indicates that this is what makes e-cigs so effective. Part of breaking the addiction is addressing the behavioral aspect, the actual act of smoking a cigarette. In e-cigs we have an effective replacement.
(Photo: French director Xavier Beauvois smokes an electronic cigarette during the press conference of 'Des Hommes et des Dieux' (Of God and Men) presented in competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2010 in Cannes. By Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images.)
The Dish 