If you see someone smoking indoors, there is a chance the person isn’t breaking the state smoking ban. It could be an electronic smoking device that does not use tobacco.

Basically, it is a nicotine delivery system that doesn’t use the carcinogens that tobacco possesses to give smoking addicts the nicotine they crave. Nicotine itself, while addictive and can raise blood pressure, is not classified as a carcinogen.

Marketers from Fifty-One, a company that sells electronic smoking devices, were on hand on Wednesday this week at Trail’s Travel Center in Albert Lea to display what they called electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes.

Marketer McKenzee Rae said the device uses four ingredients: water vapor, propylyne glycol, flavoring and nicotine. Propyline glycol is a sweet liquid found in food coloring. Tobacco cigarettes, on the other hand, contain thousands of chemicals, many of which are cancer-causing.

Electronic cigarettes have become fairly common in Europe, but in the United States they seem to be getting a greater foothold in the Midwest than in other regions, she said.

The Fifty-One brand of e-cigarette comes in five flavors: tobacco, menthol, vanilla, chocolate and coffee. There isn’t secondhand smoke. The “smoke” people see exhaled is really water vapor. It dissipates right away and without an odor.

Nate Olson and Paul Olson — no relation — said their company is visiting places in the Midwest, particularly truck stops, to educate people about their product and to let nonsmokers know that the devices can be used indoors.

The Fifty-One e-cigarette has two parts. The nicotine cartridge looks like a cigarette butt. The lithium ion battery looks like the white-paper part of a cigarette. They screw together, and the tip lights up when a puff is taken, just for effect. The tip also blinks when the battery is low.

At Trail’s, the Fifty-One e-cigarette kit goes for $99.99. It comes with two filter cartridges, two e-cigarettes, two batteries, a charger, a booklet and a membership card. More filter cartidges can be purchased in packs of five for $19.99. One filter cartridge equals two packs of cigarettes, so five equal a carton.

Cartons of tobacco cigarettes run about $50 to $60 these days.

“It’s not only healthier, it’s cheaper, too,” said Paul Olson.

Cartridges can be bought with smaller amounts of nicotine, too. They range from 16 milligrams — the amount in a nonfilter tobacco cigarette — to 4 milligrams — the amount in an ultra light. There is also a filter that comes with zero milligrams of nicotine.

Rae said reducing amounts gradually can assist people in quitting a nicotine addiction, if they should choose, though she was careful to add the e-cigarettes are not a quit-smoking cure.

Additional chargers can be purchased at Trail’s for $24.99. They even have chargers that work in an automobile cigarette lighter. What was once used to light cigarettes is now used to charge them electronically.

Rae pointed out that even though there are nicotine gums and patches on the market, the e-cigarette provides the oral fixation and use of hands that smokers often like. She said she likes to smoke the menthol flavor because it’s not harsh like real menthol cigarettes and has a crisp, minty taste.

Trail’s Travel Center spokeswoman Cathy Purdie said she was as eager to learn about how the electronic smoking devices work as anyone.

“I just think this is an opportunity to educate the public,” she said.