A new Scotland study has revealed smokers’ take on e-cigarettes, which are considered as a potential aid in quitting tobacco counterparts.

E-cigarettes are designed to mimic the real thing, with a glowing tip that emits a cloud of vapor. There’s a battery and heating element inside as well as a cartridge that holds nicotine and other liquids or flavorings.

According to some smokers who have quit the habit, e-cigarettes tempt them to resume the habit of smoking they fought hard to ditch.

For the study, researchers interviewed 64 smokers and found little consensus about the potential benefits and harms of e-cigarettes.

Senior author Amanda Amos from the University of Edinburgh Medical School and colleagues conducted 12 focus groups and 11 individual interviews with current smokers and people who had quit smoking within the past year. Almost all of them had tried e-cigarettes at least once.

According to most participants, smoking is a form of addiction in which willpower plays an important role to quit the habit completely.

The participants generally viewed e-cigarettes distinct from other nicotine replacement products like patches or gum offered by general practitioners to smokers who are trying to quit.

The findings revealed that people were less clear about what their intended purpose or correct use might be with e-cigarettes. Some people considered e-cigarettes as a more satisfying replacement to smoking, while others believe that they are as less desirable or even as a threat to smoking cessation.