We set out to investigate the legality of electronic cigarettes in some countries to find out why they are not permitted. What we found is the following countries consider electric cigarettes illegal in one form or another:

Australia
Denmark
Canada
Finland
Hong Kong
Malaysia
Netherlands
New Zealand

Most restrictions are due to the cartridges and the nicotine they contain. Many governments consider the nicotine a controlled substance that should be dispensed with proper prescription or clearance. Fortunately, the U.S. and the U.K do not have such stringent regulations however in the U.S. the FDA is strongly looking at regulating electronic cigarettes.

In a recent poll, we asked "Do you think Electronic Cigarettes will be around in 10 years?"
Look at your results

Sources:
http://www.dkma.dk/1024/visUKLSArtikel.asp?artikelID=14250
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-cigarette
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=electric+cigarettes+illigal+in+hong+kong&...