Put that cigarette back in your mouth and smoke it. Smoke it in the bar or restaurant of your choice. Smoking is back -- it's legal.

As long as it's an Elxtro Vapor Cigarette.

Elxtro is a company started by 26-year-old Valparaiso resident Marc Smith. He got the idea after his mother saw a commercial for an electronic cigarette, or "e-cigarette" and promptly ordered $400 worth.

"I got into the business," Smith said. "I did all the research and contacted the manufacturers."

So what exactly is an electronic cigarette? It's not a real cigarette, but it looks one, feels like one and has built-in technology allowing users to smoke liquid nicotine through a vapor the e-cigarette produces. It even produces simulated smoke -- a vapor mist that evaporates into the air within seconds.

The product was developed several years ago and according to Elxtro.com has been perfected and ready for market in the United States, having already been a success in Europe and China.

The major concept behind the E-cigarette is it delivers all the pleasures of smoking "without all the problems."

"Our biggest advocates are the nonsmokers," Smith said.

The Elxtro cigarette does not fall under the Nevada Clean Air Act and can be used anywhere smoking has been banned, Smith said.

"It's legal but you have to proceed with caution, because at this point no one knows what it is," said Marty Smith.

Marty, Smith's father, is the co-owner of Smoke-E-Smoke, a kiosk at Westfield Mall that exclusively sells the Elxtro cigarette. Smoke-E-Smoke Vice President Saso Joveski claims their product is healthier than a regular cigarette.

"There's no tar -- it won't get your teeth yellow, it has no carcinogens, no carbon dioxide, no second-hand smoke and no tobacco," Joveski said.

According to the American Cancer Society, the e-cigarette has no published clinical trials that suggest it might work as a way to help smokers quit, and there may be questions about how safe it is to inhale some of the flavorings and other substances in the nicotine mists into the lungs.

"The FDA hasn't had a chance to actually look at them and determine if these are safe or healthier in any way," said Janet Sikorski, community program manager for the American Cancer Society of Northwest Indiana.

"They don't really know if the nicotine over the long run might affect you. It has not been tested like the nicotine patches or the gum. Those have all been regulated by the FDA."

Starter kits for the Elxtro cigarettes begin at $65 with the high-end model at $99. Elxtro.com reports its E-cigarette costs an average smoker about $1 a day and saves a smoker more than $100 monthly.

Smith said he has exclusive arrangements to sell his product in several other Westfield malls and plans to launch in the West Coast and Florida as well. He has bartenders in Chicago demonstrating the cigarette behind the bar, hopes to vend the product at cancer treatment centers and gas stations and plans to take the E-cigarette to the stage.

"My next target is theater," he said.

Smith plans to contact the Chicago productions like "Jersey Boys," which excised all smoking from the performance to comply with Chicago's indoor-smoking ban.

Smith, who also offers the e-cigarette technology in cigars and pipes, said he cannot guarantee his product will help someone quit smoking.

"But it's a smarter alternative," he said.