E-cigs “are growing in popularity . . . no question about that,” says Chad Maynard, spokesman for ElectronicCigarette.net on the category.

Electronic cigarettes might not be marketed as smoking cessation aids, but recent studies posted in the American Journal of Public Health suggest that many smokers are turning the the product for that reason.

Smokers are far more aware of e-cigarettes, and are more likely to try them. The devices are not necessarily attracting young people or non-smokes, as some public health experts have feared.

“People have their own reasons for trying vapors,” said Chad Maynard, spokesman for ElectronicCigarette.net. “But no one is marketing them for that purpose and we couldn’t say whether or not they would be effective. Our Website is there to help people who decide to try vaping, learn more about it and make an informed choice about which brand to try, regardless of why they want to try them.”

Awareness of vaping products was reported to be highest among cigarette smokers. While some public health experts advocate for the Food and Drug Administration to ban the devices, others have raised the issue of what would happen to the growing number of people who are vaping, especially those who are former smokers.

Dr. Michael Siegel of the Department of Community Health Sciences at Boston University School of Public Health reported that pulling e-cigs from the market could push former smokers back to traditional cigarettes, further damaging their health. He reported in his blog that vaping poses less risk to health than traditional smoking.

“All we can do is wait and watch,” Maynard said. “We would welcome more research, but don’t see any valid reason for an outright ban.”