Electronic cigarettes have exploded on to global markets over the past decade and in the process have generated some strongly polarised views.1 2 3 Some believe that e-cigarettes are a disruptive technology that could consign tobacco smoking to history; others think that they are a distraction from core public health aims of eradicating all nicotine use and a tobacco industry ploy to perpetuate smoking and undermine international tobacco control treaties. This article summarises the findings of a new report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) on the role of e-cigarettes in tobacco harm reduction.4