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There is new high-tech help for smokers trying to quit. E-cigarettes are fake cigarettes which either provide the nicotine or the smoke, supposedly without the harmful effects of traditional cigarettes. Yet, upon investigation, the products are not approved by the FDA and while they may be safe, their potential dangers lay uninvestigated.

Alicia Vazquez tells us, "It's not bad." She's a heavy smoker who dragged on an e-cigarette we brought her.

This e-cigarette looks like a cigarette, but it's plastic and it burns propylene glycol, which is the substance theaters use to produce mist and smog on stage. Her e-cigarette doesn't have tobacco in it. The owner of this e-cigarette claims it helps smokers quit.

They can hold and inhale the cigarette-like devices, but avoid the addictive nicotine and harmful carcinogens of a real cigarette.

Alicia goes on to say, "You can feel the smoke going in your mouth and your throat and it comes out."

And, there's a whole other line of e-cigarettes, like a battery-operated cigar we found, that don't have tobacco but do deliver doses of nicotine. A tiny microprocessor heats the nicotine-solution when air is drawn in, and smokers are supposed to get a satisfying vapor to wean them off tobacco.

A starter kit is around eighty dollars.

Alicia and her mother, Elva, say the nicotine-free e-cigarettes they tried could work for them.

They say, "The sensation and the feeling that you're smoking, it's the same, the same thing."

But, even as millions of e-cigarettes have been imported from China and others are made here in the U.S., many doctors and other health experts say they worry about e-cigarettes, especially what they don't know about them.

Scott Ceretta is a respiratory therapist and works with the American Lung Association in Tucson.

He explains, "First off is the safety. The manufacturer of this product claim that it's safe and only has nicotine and doesn't have the harmful chemicals found in tobacco. But, again, we've been lied to before."

Dr. Scott Leischow of the Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson says it's likely e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes with tobacco. But, he adds they haven't been adequately tested here.

Dr. Leischow tells News 4, "We don't know, this propylene glycol that the nicotine is mixed in, we don't know what happens when a person inhales that over a long period of time."

The Food and Drug Administration has stopped e-cigarettes from being imported, for now. But, they've taken no action to stop the online sale of e-cigarettes. So, as thousands of smokers who want to quit draw on these techno-smokes, doctors say be careful.

Dr. Leischow adds, "People who use this product, especially if they use it over time, they're taking a risk. They need to understand it's not FDA approved. It's never been fully studied. It may reduce their smoking, or it may not. We don't know."

The health professionals we spoke with recommend you stick with the approved tools to stop smoking, like nicotine gum, inhalers, and patches.

They advise using those products along with counseling, for the most effective results. The Arizona Department of Health Services has a smokers helpline staffed by counselors to help you quit. Just call 1(800)-556-6222.