USERS of an illegal smokeless, battery powered cigarette say they can't understand what the problem is with the product.

More than 70 consignments of e-cigarettes, some destined for Cairns, have been seized at Brisbane Airport in the past month.

Queensland Health is warning people not to buy the smokeless smokes which they say are illegal in Australia and dangerous.

But e-cigarette users in the Far North are disappointed by the reaction  to a product they say is cheaper and cleaner than normal cigarettes.

Cairns man Jarred Lucas began using e-cigarettes last year and has not smoked a standard smoke since.

He said the product costs less than $5 and last about the same time as a packet of tailor-made cigarettes.

Mr Lucas said he inhales and exhales liquid nicotine suspended in propylene glycol and water from cartridges inside a rechargeable holder.

“I used to smoke up to two packets a day, if I was feeling stressed out and I could never quit, no matter how much I tried,” he said.

“As far as I am concerned they are healthier than normal cigarettes, there is no tar or sulphur in them and I don’t have to find a place to flick my butt when I am done.”

A spokesperson for the Federal Department of Health and Ageing said the e-cigarette had not been evaluated for safety or efficacy.

“Nicotine has well recognised physiological and pathological effects and, as with conventional cigarettes, the e-cigarette would be expected to lead to, and sustain, nicotine addiction,” he said.

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