Bhyan et al Journal of Drug Delivery & Therapeutics. 2018; 8(6):356-359 ISSN: 2250-1177 [356] CODEN (USA): JDDTAO Available online on 15.11.2018 at http://jddtonline.info Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics Open Access to Pharmaceutical and Medical Research © 2011-18, publisher and licensee JDDT, This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited Open Access Review Article Electronic delivery of nicotine: help in smoking cessation or an alternative means of addiction Bhyan Bhupinder 1 *, Jangra Sarita 2 1) *Department of Pharmaceutics, NIMS Institute of Pharmacy, NIMS University, Jaipur (Raj.) 303121, India. 2) Department of Pharmacy Practice, NIMS Institute of Pharmacy, NIMS University, Jaipur (Raj.) 303121, India. ABSTRACT All over the world currently there are billions of people who use tobacco regularly that’s why now these days the tobacco is one of the most widely used drug. Many of scientific evidences reveal that tobacco is dangerous to human health. Tobacco contains plethora of harmful chemical substances, out of which many of them are carcinogens. Smoking is responsible for 90% of all lung cancer and mouth cancer, 75% of chronic bronchitis and emphysema and 25 % of ischemic heart disease cases so tobacco is one of the leading preventable causes of deaths. In consideration of all these factors this review discusses various aspects of these electronic cigarettes like their structural components, working mechanism and their role in smoking cessation. E-cigarettes now gained a lot of popularity. This review also helps to aware health care professionals along with general population about the safety, myths, future challenges and about all pros and cons of using E-cigarettes. Keywords: Cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, e-cigarettes, nicotine, public health, smoking cessation, tobacco Article Info: Received 03 Oct, 2018; Review Completed 06 Nov 2018; Accepted 09 Nov 2018; Available online 15 Nov 2018 Cite this article as: Bhyan B, Jangra S, Electronic delivery of nicotine: help in smoking cessation or an alternative means of addiction, Journal of Drug Delivery and Therapeutics. 2018; 8(6):356-359 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22270/jddt.v8i6.2045 *Address for Correspondence: Bhupinder Bhyan, Department of Pharmaceutics, NIMS Institute of Pharmacy, NIMS University, Jaipur, 303121, India. INTRODUCTION The fact that existence of tobacco in human life is from many last centuries which cannot be denied and became possible due to the addiction causing property of tobacco. Various conventional forms of tobacco like cigarettes, cigar and chewable tobacco as dip or snuff are delivering nicotine and many other harmful chemicals into the human body. Heavy intake of tobacco causes accumulative health problems that can lead to death no matter how tobacco was taken 1 . Chemical present in the smoke of tobacco are responsible of causing lung, throat, mouth cancer, as well as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, various heart problems, tooth decay, gum disease (gingivitis). Even these harmful chemicals are not only the threat to the life of those who are smoking but also very dangerous to the progeny of the smokers because these chemicals bind to human DNA and cause mutations that complicates over time. In fact, tobacco is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the world, according to a report by the center of disease control. Nicotine is present in all the tobacco products and is highly addictive. As the bioavailability of nicotine is very high, within very short period of time nicotine reaches to brain. It stimulates the brain for the production adrenaline which in turn causes a buzz of pleasure and energy. With this wish of pleasure and energy again, tobacco user become dependent and develop a high tolerance to tobacco. Tobacco also causes may withdrawal effects like increased appetite and weight gain, constipation, headache, anxiety, irritability, stress, nausea and insomnia. So in present scenario smoking cessation is of great concern in reference to public health. In smoking cessation e-cigarettes are now very popular 2 . The first E-cigarette was invented in 2003 by a Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik as a means to quit smoking. Presently electronic nicotine cigarettes (ENC) are available in hundreds of different brands and models, along with many of different liquid formulations sold in cartridges or in small refill bottles. In January 2014, Zhu et al. conducted a study in a US and observed 466 brands of devices and 7,764 unique flavors advertised on the internet 3 . Flavors include tobacco and many others claiming as having the characteristics of fruits, sweets, drinks (coffee, alcoholic beverages 4,5 . Different brands also vary in amount of nicotine delivered per puff i.e. 0µg to 35µg and the accuracy of labeling of nicotine content 6,7 . The market of ENC has shown a tremendous growth