Hit & Run's Jacob Sullum at Reason Magazine, who earlier this week went out on a limb to say the FDA would ban cigarettes Tuesday, offers the rest of the story today in 'We're About Harm Reduction...Except I Can't Say That' :

Contrary to an email message that the Food and Drug Administration seems to have sent accidentally, the agency did not announce enforcement actions against leading distributors of electronic cigarettes yesterday. Craig Youngblood, CEO of the e-cigarette company inLife, says an FDA official told him the message contained "inaccurate information," but it's not clear whether that means the "extensive rollout" described in the notice has been called off or merely delayed. "Some of the people I know are saying a ban is imminent," says Youngblood, but "we really don't know."

In the meantime, the FDA says it is treating e-cigarettes on a case-by-case basis, which seems to involve looking for health claims that render them unapproved drug delivery devices. The more cautious distributors therefore avoid describing e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool or as a way of treating or mitigating disease. It's clear that e-cigarettes, which contain no tobacco and deliver nicotine in water vapor instead of smoke, are far less hazardous than standard cigarettes. But saying so risks attracting unwanted attention from the FDA, which has seized some companies' shipments.... (recent seizures)

...At the same time, the industry's main argument against FDA interference is that it is providing a safer alternative to cigarettes.

That's a tough one. It leaves Youngblood trying to curl his brain around, "We are not a quit-smoking device....We are an alternative nicotine delivery device."

But a lot of smokers view these as a way to transition off tobacco without giving up a whole set of behaviors and associations.

I did some research and read lots of user reviews of different brands at e-cigarette-forum.com -- where satisfied users share their experience with "vaping" just as folks on the garden forums discuss plants and suppliers. I settled on a choice and ordered a starter kit. After a wait of a few weeks for it to make it out of customs, It has now shipped. (In the swirl of rumors about the impending ban, it looked
for a while like my order would arrive one step ahead of the sheriff.)

I intend to blog what happens.

Background links are in this post.