Worrying statistics show around 13,000 Scots are killed each year by smoking - but hope is not lost as countless nicotine addicts turn to vaping as a safer way of getting their fix.

As the popularity of the e-cigarette rises - and estimated UK figures for vaping users recently topping 2.3 million prove this is truly a trend that shows no sign of fading - so too do health concerns relating to what's actually in these substitutes.

What's not up for debate are the addictive and dangerous chemicals contained in real cigarettes. Nicotine and arsenic are two we know about, but also benezene - an industrial solvent - and camium - used in batteries - appear on the sides of cigarette packets, not to mention formaldehyde, a chemical used in mortuaries and paint manufacturing. It's a grim rollcall of ingredients. 

So how are e-cigarettes different? For starters, the concept is completely opposite to regular smoking. Instead of actually lighting an e-cigarette, each one runs on a lithium battery and contains a vaporisation chamber with a cartridge filled with liquid. Because tobacco isn't burnt in an e-cigarette, this rules out many of the cancer-causing chemicals known as carcinogens including carbon monoxide.

The liquid nicotine contained in the cartridge has been a source of contention in anti e-cigarette camps, but while addiction to nicotine can never be healthy, vaping controls the amount and encourages reduction in ways that smoking can't.

Vapourlites is just one of the companies committed to making vaping as safe as possible. Sold through its website, e-cigarettes contain digital readers to show the equivalent number of regular cigarettes has been 'smoked' to illustrate to users the benefits of swapping (up to 80% can be saved by switching to vaping). Each liquid is available in varying strengths to encourage each user to consider dropping nicotine levels after a bottle has been finished.

A common criticism of e-cigarettes is the fact they use these e-liquids that contain nicotine. There's no getting away from the fact that nicotine will always be harmful when exposed in liquid-from to skin or consumed as a drink, but Vapourlites' UK bottles come with child safety locks and are made of plastic to avoid smashing, and thus maintain the highest levels of safety for users.

Another health concern of e-cigarettes has been the levels of formaldehyde contained as a by-product from vapour. A recent study in Portland, US, shows that only when vaping at a high voltage does the risk of producing formaldehyde occur - a risk that is moot because of the unattractive taste of the product when vaping at such a voltage. By current UK standards of atomising e-liquids, only tiny volumes of the chemical manifest.

Vapourlites' products are manufactured in the company's UK laboratories, ensuring that in a market that's relatively untested at the present time it's a brand with traceable provenance. 

One user, Christopher Wilson of Coatbridge, was a former 20-a-day smoker who swapped over to vaping in an initial attempt to save money - but is now a cheerleader for how vaping has benefited his health since giving up cigarettes.

He said: " I was working in demolition outdoors and had easy access to as many cigarettes as I could smoke during the day.  It was a cultural thing, everyone was doing it so before you know it you're easily smoking 20 during a shift. It was draining my finances and my health was suffering from the effects - my wife wasn't exactly amused by the smell either.

"About six months ago a friend pulled out an e-cig at the pub and I remember taking the mickey a little. He had the last laugh though as by the end of the night I had ordered one off the internet on my phone - I couldn't believe you could get the same nicotine high and it actually felt like smoking a cigarette.

"I've now become a bit of a bore about vaping but it's changed everything for me. I think nothing of pulling it out on the sites and the guys who were giving me stick at first are now swapping flavours together. I feel I can breathe easier now and my chest doesn't feel anywhere near as as heavy as it did when I was smoking."