The Toronto Board of Health is holding a meeting to discuss banning of electronic cigarettes in areas where traditional cigarettes are not allowed to be smoked.

Running on batteries, electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, mimic the look and taste of usual cigarettes without the nicotine. Instead of tobacco, e-cigarettes contain a liquid that is heated and vaporized when a smoker inhales.

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Although they are deemed by the public as a healthier alternative to conventional cigarettes, the health risks involved with smoking e-cigarettes are still unknown.

Toronto Public Health's Dr. Barbara Yaffe, however, said e-cigarettes are the starting point of many adolescents when it comes to smoking. Yaffe is all for the municipal ban on e-cigarettes, believing this new technology will be about "re-normalization of smoking" when they have worked so hard to fight against the habit.

Toronto Medical Officer of Health David McKeown was the one who recommended in a report the use of e-cigarettes in public areas be banned.

Aside from the municipal ban, McKeown also believes there should also be a ban on flavored e-cigarette liquid as well as e-cigarette displays in shops.

McKeown's report noted that second-hand vapor smoke and the liquid itself can cause injuries.

The e-cigarette, which is raking in big bucks for the new industry, was created for smokers that wanted to quit. This new technology is currently unregulated.

The health of the community is on the line and the proliferation of e-cigarettes has Yaffe concerned.

"We feel we need to advocate for more action before the situation becomes more serious," Yaffe said.

After taking McKeown's report to heart, Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins said the government will take a deeper look into the dangers and risks of e-cigarettes to determine its classification.

Unregulated, e-cigarettes are classified neither as a drug or tobacco.

In the United States, e-cigarette smoking is banned in restaurants and clubs, while it is also banned in public areas in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.