In an op-ed published in The Daily Caller, Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, of the American Council on Science and Health, came to the defense of actress Katherine Heigl’s decision to use e-cigarettes as a safer, more effective method of kicking her smoking habit.

Heigl, an actress best known for her roles on Grey's Anatomy and in several movies, appeared on the David Letterman show recently and praised e-cigarettes for helping her to quit the habit. Medical professionals have since been responding in the media, saying that e-cigarettes are not a good way to quit.

In her op-ed, Whelan notes the stagnant rate of smoking among adults over the last five years and says e-cigarettes provide a safer alternative to the harmful combustion products of real cigarettes.

"The sad truth is that the approved cessation methods have an abysmal one-year success rate, so alternative methods need to be explored," wrote Whelan. "Unfortunately, many in the anti-smoking community won’t even discuss anything that contains, or is derived from, tobacco. Such an attitude consigns millions of addicted smokers to premature disease and death." 

Link to Whelan's response on ACSH.org.

Link to the Whelan's op-ed in The Daily Caller.

"Katherine Heigl uses an Electronic Cigarette with David Letterman" on YouTube.