Tuesday Checkup: Electronic Cigarettes Grow in Popularity

At a time that smoking in this country is approaching historic lows, there's one part of the cigarette industry that's really picking up -- electronic cigarettes. They're powered by a battery and contain liquid nicotine without the tobacco. The industry insists they are a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes, although the data's not there to back that up. Harlan Spector writes about the growth of and controversy surrounding electronic cigarettes. His story leads the health section of this morning's Plain Dealer. Spector spoke with ideastream®'s Eric Wellman.