At a time when we are daily subjected to health scares about obesity and warnings to stop taking a spoonful of sugar to make life a little sweeter, you could be forgiven for thinking that tobacco substitutes would be widely accepted.

Nicotine patches probably are. But increasingly, action is being taken throughout the country to control and limit the public use of electronic cigarettes – e-cigarettes.

An electronic cigarette is a battery-powered device which simulates tobacco smoking. It generally uses a heating element that vaporises a liquid solution. Some solutions contain a mixture of nicotine and flavourings, while others release a flavoured vapour without nicotine.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has concerns that e-cigarettes are less regulated than nicotine replacement therapy, and that there is no peer-reviewed evidence of their safety or efficacy.

They recommend a ‘strong regulatory framework’ for e-cigarette distribution in order to ensure their safety, quality, and that their marketing and sales are restricted to adults.

The BMA encourages health professionals to recommend conventional nicotine replacement therapies, but for patients unwilling to use or continue those methods, they say e-cigarettes may be presented as a lower-risk choice than tobacco smoking.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated last July that the efficacy in using e-cigarettes as an aid to give up smoking has not been demonstrated scientifically.

They recommend that “consumers should be strongly advised not to use” electronic cigarettes until a reputable national regulatory body has found them safe and effective.

The European Commission attempted last year to alter the regulation of e-cigarettes through the Tobacco Products Directive.

It wanted to change the classification of e-cigarettes from a consumer product to a medicine product, meaning that they could only be sold in a pharmacy or superstore with a pharmaceutical licence.

A French tobacconist won a landmark court case last month to stop a neighbouring shop selling e-cigarettes after a court ruled it was unfair competition because the devices amounted to tobacco products.

North of the Border, most of Scotland’s health boards and councils have now banned e-cigarettes from being used in hospitals, schools and council buildings amid fears they may be harmful.

West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority has banned e-cigarette use in Metro bus and train stations and has asked officers for recommendations about altering current no smoking signs to include vaping.

Bradford councillor Imran Khan, who chairs Metro’s Bradford Passenger Consultative Committee, is a vaper himself – but not in public buildings.

He said: “I think there’s a big difference between traditional smoking and vaping. If there wasn’t, there would be no need for me to use an e-cigarette. But it’s a matter of public perception.

“I think the sight of adults vaping could encourage children to try cigarettes. If they see vaping as not harmful, it could be the first step to smoking.”

Roheel Janjua, owner of Smokers D’lite, which has three shops in Bradford specialising in e-cigarettes, thinks regulating the quality of e-cigarettes is a good idea, but preventing their sale in shops could harm businesses like his, which supports more than 15 staff.

He told the T&A: “We do have them tested and work with manufacturers to make sure they’re the highest quality they can be, and we would welcome having something in place to ensure the quality.”

Last year, the NHS said that research into how effective e-cigarettes are at helping people quit smoking was so far inconclusive.

Bradford Conservative Councillor Simon Cooke disagrees with forcing e-cigarette users out into the cold and wet with regular smokers.

He said: “Conspiracy theorists would say that because e-cigarettes have been developed in the private sector, public authorities like Metro have banned them. I think this is stupid. Even Clive Bates thinks it’s stupid,” he added.

Between 1997 and 2003, Clive Bates was the head of the anti-smoking organisation ASH. In an article published last year, he wrote: “The health experts and campaigners could end up piling on compliance burdens, costs and disproportionate restrictions on e-cigarettes that do not apply to cigarettes – killing off the innovative suppliers.

“They may end up throttling an incredibly important ‘insurgent’ industry with the potential over time to transform the cigarette market.

“According to the WHO, one billion deaths are likely from tobacco in the 21st century. Public health experts need to get used to the idea that changing markets for nicotine to much less dangerous products could dramatically reduce this awful toll.

“Standard consumer protection legislation has all the necessary tools to ensure e-cigarettes are safe, fit for purpose and as-described, without asphyxiating them with red tape.”