Ever since electronic cigarettes first hit the market in 2004, there have been a number of critics who have complained that the devices can’t be good. They cite all sorts of negative things – from carcinogens to “second hand vapour” – an all out effort to make sure they are regulated just as heavily as tobacco. But the question that must be asked is whether or not the perceived dangers of electronic cigarettes are real. Perhaps they are simply the fanciful imaginations of those with a political agenda.

One of the most oft-mentioned potential dangers of electronic cigarettes is the carcinogens they release into the lungs of the users. While e-cig manufacturers acknowledge these carcinogens are very real, they contend that testing shows the levels to be well below what is considered harmful to human beings. Even though I’m not a doctor I’m inclined to believe their claims. With all the grief tobacco companies have gone through, why manufacture a device with even a remote possibility of being equally dangerous? Only the most foolish of entrepreneurs would do such a thing.

The second biggest concern with e-cigs comes by way of the nicotine delivery system. Since nicotine is officially deemed a drug by most Western governments, the natural assumption is that it must be regulated by law regardless of how it’s used. There are several nations now looking into the electronic cigarette delivery system for fear that it will deliver too much nicotine to the user and thus, be potentially more dangerous. However, common sense dictates that such a fear is a foolish one. Smokers have had the opportunity to abuse nicotine for centuries, simply by smoking more cigarettes. If excess nicotine delivery was not a fear up to this point, why start worrying about now?

For all of the alleged dangers of electronic cigarettes, many critics of the devices have no room to accept the fact that they do offer many benefits. For example, both smokers and non-smokers have the right to live their lives as they see fit, both in public and private. Forcing non-smokers to deal with second hand smoke is wrong, but by the same token, so is forcing smokers completely out of the public arena to the extent that they can’t even smoke in bars and restaurants. Electronic cigarette reaches the happy medium that balances the rights of both groups of people.