on "america tonight", on high alert. a new warning from the f.b.i. the possibility of violence when the grand jury hands down a decision. tonight, a look at a scrutinised police department in the county. >> do you think the ferguson police department is racist or corrupt? >> a former ferguson police officer speaks to lori jane gliha. what is it like to protect and serve in the city of ferguson also, indepth - a single exam aimed at lifting kids out

of poverty. >> it's one in a million. >> grading a test that may pit minorities against each other and, i'll give you a constantant and a vowel, can you guess the oxford dictionary word of the year? good evening, everyone. thanks for joining us, joie chen is on assignment. i'm adam may. we start with an exclusive. a former ferguson police officer is speaking to us for the first time. the anticipation is building as protesters and police wait for an announcement from the grand jury. it could be a matter of days until they decide if they will indict a ferguson police officer who shot and killed an unarmed

teenager. a former colleague says he also nose how it feels to be a target. >> i felt it all the time in a uniform. saying "i hate the police." it was "you don't know me, this is the first time you have met me." they may have had a negative encounter with police in the past. >> reporter: john bowman spent 15 of his 28 years in law enforcement working for the ferguson police department - now one of the most scrutinized forces in the country. >> reporter: ferguson, that's your i.d. >> retired i.d. >> reporter: bowman new darren wilson, the white police officers to shot and killed michael brown the unarmed black teen. >> i can't remember going on a call, i talked in the hallway on road call. that's pretty much it. i was not assigned to a squad. i had never been on a call with him, so... >> did you see this coming?

what was your reaction. >> i was sad it came down to that. you never want anyone to lose their life in any situation. >> reporter: over the past three months, bowman watched his former colleagues come under criticism - first in the shooting, and in the aftermath for leaving michael brown's body in the sheet for several hours. >> the police were in a terrible situation. they would have picked up the body and ran with it and did a shoddy or quick investigation. people would not be happy about that. no matter what, there'll be detractors for the police department. >> activists say the shooting was a symptom of a racist and corrupt police department. in response the federal government launched two investigations, a civil rights or a probe into whether the police in ferguson have a history of discrimination or

force. >> a report by the missouri attorney-general told federal police pulled over blacks, even though they make up 67% of the population. despite the numbers, the ferguson does good work. >> ferguson has a hit with everything. anything that is wrong in the metropolitan area, ferguson is hit with it. >> reporter: do you think the ferguson police department is the racist or corrupt? >> no. in any profession people are racist. that's in your heart. you know, i never saw any of that. a lot of anger that citizens have, that are directed at ferguson police, i think they are directed at police in general. >> what are the misconceptions that people have about the police department? >> that they are not going anything with the community. when i worked there, they worked with different community organizations. they have a strong neighbourhood watch programme. >> bowman served many years in

the ferguson area elementary schools as a research officer. he knew kids in the community by name, and watched them grow up. >> i tried to reach the, you know, people i was dealing with, whether it be students or the parents in the community, and you just - you know, treat the kids, give them respect, in their programme. we'd play kick ball, you know, at recess. we'd have races and i did double dutch and foursquare with the kids. and, you know, you try to build a relationship. >> bowman says he lived in the area, spending time in the community, meeting kids in the neighbourhoods they control. it's something activists say doesn't happen enough, with many mostly white officers living outside the city and policing a community which is mostly black. >> 12 years ago, ferguson was involved in community policing, and it kind of went away about

7-8 years ago. >> why? >> man power issues. >> how would you change the police department so that it has a better relationship with the community? >> i think the community needs to be involved with the police department, and in the city, whether it be by elections. i know in ferguson for promotional process or for hiring process, they have a citizens review board. then after that the whole metropolitan area is going have to come together. like i said before, ferguson is only six square miles out of 500 square miles of st louis county. >> while bowman and the rest of the community awaits new, he knows the stress of the situation is wearing on his friends. >> i have no problem with peaceful protesting, it's the fabric of our constitution, protest things you disagree with. what i disagree with is, you know, when the protesters are,

you know, yelling that they want the police officer to die. there's a group of guys. they - they are under a stressful situation right now that none of them asked for. the community didn't ask for this. but i think they'll be stronger in the long run. >> "america tonight"s lori jane gliha with this exclusive from ferguson. very interesting interview. the first time anyone has heard from a former ferguson police officer really interesting to get his perspective on this. it's been something that is silent in this debate, hasn't it? >> well, yes. i think a lot of cops have been quiet. i think his main point to me was not all cops were bad. he wanted to get that point out there. when i talked about racial profiling, he said he felt the numbers in his police department were not reflective of a racist police department, that there was more behind the numbers. we spoke to the protesters, many

said they feel targeted because of the colour of their skin. the thing that both agree on, both sides of the coin, is the problems in ferguson is not just in ferguson, but he thinks that the community should be involved in the police department, hiring and promoting, and it will help ease tension if there's more communication from both sides. >> it's interesting that he brings it up. he applied to be a member of the commission, looking for long-term solutions. tell us about the commission. who is on it? >> yes, he was one of the people who applied. there was more than 300 around the state who applied for the commission. he was not accepted. it is an interesting cross-section. there are 16 people from around the region, we saw religious regions on the list. there are attorneys, and educators, non-profits, a business owner from ferguson,

and one of the focal protesters who has been on the front line to apply was accepted to the commission. their first meeting will be december 1st. we'll get to it and get to some issues. >> that's "america tonight"s lori jane gliha with the exclusive from a former ferguson police officers. thank you so much the pursuit of higher education in the nation's largest school district. >> had they changed the rules, would you be where you are today? >> personally, i don't think i would be. i don't think i would have made it here in new york city, the path to academic success means getting into elite public schools. sara hoy explains why the push for inclusion could lead to exclusion and a deadly attack inside a jerusalem senn going.

-- senna going. three of the victims - americans.

check out this stunning education statistic. eight new york city public high schools have produced 13 nobel laureates to date - more than both countries. they are meant to be a path to

success for poor and working class students. to get in students need to take a rigorous test. now that test is under attack. it's a fight that may pit minorities against each other. "america tonight"s sara hoy has this story >> reporter: they are the jewels in the crown, eight specialised high schools in the city, feeders to the best college, and a golden ticket for city kids. kids like this. at 13 this girl nose her ticket out of the south bronx is education. >> school there is a lot of kids that don't care. so you are the only one that wants to learn. if they call you nerd or whatever, it doesn't matter, because you know what you are doing is right. >> reporter: in your mind, are you going to college? >> yes, i am. i definitely am. >> before college she has to get into high school, she's saming high for a -- aiming high for a

spot at a premiere school. it has been made on a test called the high school admission test. each fall 30,000 eighth and ninth graders take a test for a chance to earn a seat. now the test is under attack. students are finding neighbourhood schools are not adequately preparing them for what's on the s.a.t. less than 10% of students at her school pass, two subjects needed for the s.a.t. c. the result, less latino and black enrolment. they count for 70% of the city's public school students. in specialised schools they make up 12%. for the 2012/"13 school year, the high school, the most sought after, accepted 19 black

students. out of 967 available spots. >> what we have been seeing in the last decade, maybe more, was that the number of black and latino kids getting into the schools, as they are increasing in the numbers of students who are represented in the public school system, numbers have been going down and down. >> leading the attack against the test is the n.a.a.c.p.s legal defense and education fund. rachel filed a civil rights complaint with the u.s. department of civil education in 2012, arguing that the system disproportionately impacted blacks and latino. many fully qualified high potential students are denied access to the life-changing experiences that specialised high schools offer. what the test is testing is how well you do on the text. students with access to test prep are the ones getting in. we don't think that that's a

fair measure of merit, when so many students, again of all races, are working hard in all subjects and having to take state standardized tests and are excelling but not getting into the specialised high schools. >> reporter: this summer state legislators introduced a bill to change the 1971 law, establishing the exam based entry requirement to include other factors. proponents are fighting back. michael benjamin works with the coalition of parents and alumni who want to keep the test. the former state assemblyman said the test is not the problem. >> the test is not bias, maths is not bias. what is bias is the fact that we allowed n.a.a.c.p. and others, allowed poor underperforming middle scores to continue year after year, decade after decade in black and hispanic high

schools. >> mayor bill de blasio whose son attends an elite schools joined the argument. he wants to do away with the test as the sole criterion for administration. during his campaign, bill de blasio said the single-test requirement required a rich get richer system. but it turns out it's not affluent students acing the test. >> i feel like i earnt it. i studied hard for it, and i feel like i deserve it too. >> reporter: this is a fleshman. his family emigrated from bangladesh to queens. his father is a manhattan deli worker to support his family. >> they used to talk about high school. i had family members, some got in, some didn't. it's something i was born into. >> reporter: motivated by hopes of running a technology start up, the 14-year-old travels almost 3 hours every day just to get to school and back.

>> reporter: is this a rich kids' school. >> i feel it's not. most of the kids i go to school with are like me, they are in financial situations like me. families try families try hard and find ways to get prep and study. it's more south asian, pakistani, indian, a school to help the minorities get up. >> asian americans account for 60% of students at specialised high schools. many assume the students come from an affluent middle class, according to the poverty measure, asian americans have the highest rate in new york city. 29%, compared to latinos at 29%. and blacks at 22%. families bought into a core below of american dreams. work hard enough and anyone can be successful. it's evidence of hard work. >> do you think they should get

rid of the single test. i'm against changing it because the s.a.t. c in general is based on merit, and how well you do in school, in how well you succeed in the test. i feel it is not racial, it's equal. for the mayor to use the term the rich getting richer, it's misguided and misleading. >> ivan, a graduate is president and c.e.o. of one of the many areas serving large population, like this student who spent two years prepping. >> no matter whether you are a physician in korea or engineer in bangladesh, or a professor in albania, for whatever reason we moved to the united states, most have to start all over again. by starting up over again it

means working blue collar jobs in the industry. all immigrants would love for their children to have better opportunities, that's the main reason they migrate here in the first place. for asian american immigrants there's a hyper awareness, tunnel vision. on the pathways. >> reporter: had they changed the rules, would you be where you are today. >> personally, i don't think i would have made it in. >> reporter: this student is waiting for her test results. she may be a lucky one. she was chosen for a free 6-year college prep programme offering tutoring and mentoring to high potential low-income students, but it meant giving up week nights, saturdays, sundays. >> eighth grade, you have a practice test this saturday. >> they help us with how to study. when to study.

when to start. >> reporter: the program opened her eyes to a way out, sub par articles. >> when i went to breakthrough, i was like college prep, high schools, preparing you for college. everyone was like i'm going to high school when i get out. they had other options. great. >> her mother is a teacher at her middle school. she said kenay was the on one chosen for breakthrough. she can't help think about the kids left behind - including her own. >> it's one in a million. she had an opportunity, out of 350 students. what will happen to the rest? i have six kids at home. again, she was the on one. >> reporter: as for kenay she has big dreams. she has hopes of attending brown university and becoming a writer. has this programme opened your eyes to other things? >> diversity.

i haven't seen it a lot. coming from the south bronx is like two coaches you can learn from, african american or hispanic. >> reporter: when you come to breakthrough, what do you see? >> i get to see different people, cultures, religions, everything you can think of. i'm like so happy that i get to. >> reporter: there's a whole world out there? >> yes. >> reporter: kenna waits for her future to begin, the city waits for diversity and desparty within their schools. sara hoy joins us from new york. i think any of us want to see kids that work hard at school do well and have opportunities. where does the legislation stand. >> right now it's with an education committee in the state house. time will tell what happens with the bill. >> are there other proposals or ideas on what to do to even the playing field or give others a

chance? >> what the talks are about is to change entry requirements to keep the tests, or keep other things such as attendance, grade point. extracurricular activities. who makes you up as a student. >> one student said a test can't be racist. is it more than just the test. is there more to it? >> there's so much more to it. we are talking about the education system. what you hear from is people saying, "listen, if you don't pass the test, we are failing the students allowing the way - meaning the middle schools are failing the children." they want people to look at the system, not just the tests. >> going back to the middle schools and the schools before that. thank you so much. very interesting. >> murder during morning prayers at a synagogue. >> one shot, two shots and a flurry - five or six or seven. >> i call on the palestinian

leadership at every level to condemn this in the most powerful terms. this violence has no place anywhere. >> a bloody attack aimed at rabbis. will there be more bloodshed. rising fears and concerns. >> then the battle over the keystone pipeline. one group says it's an act of

war. now a snapshot of other stories making headlines. the n.f.l. suspended without pay all pro n.f.l. running back st. peter's square for the remainder of the season. the minnesota viking star was in dieted on a felony charge of industry to a child after disciplining his 4-year-old son with a wooden stick. st. peter's square is expected to appeal the warning mass murderer charles manson could we getting married. a marriage licence was issued for him and a 26-year-old long-time girlfriend. the licence does not have a wedding date. they must reapply within 90 days or get a new licence

a man pushed to his death from a subway platform. the victim was standing with his wife on the platform in the bronx on saturday when suddenly he was pushed deliberately into the path of an oncoming train. the suspect is a violent parolee who spent time in prison on other crimes. >> big news on capitol hill, the national senate gave a thumbs down it the keystone pipeline, rejecting a bill allowing for an extension to take it to the gulf of mexico. the house passed it friday. it was proposed by democratic louisiana senator mary landrieu. it needed 60 votes to pass but was one short, 59 senators in favour. >> the senate debate in photographer of the keystone pipeline centered around the j word - jobs. >> what people in louisiana want, what people in texas want,

what people in missouri want, what people in south dakota, illinois, kansas and vermont - are good paying jobs. >> when you look at this project, it's about energy. it's about jobs. it's about economic growth. >> reporter: but it was the counter argument centered on the e word - environment. that won the day. >> it will hurt the environment. it will worsen the impact on climate change, and it's just plain dangerous. because it will transport the dirtiest oil on the planet. >> six years in the making the keystone xl would run from canada's tar sands to the oklahoma town of cushing, and onwards to the gulf coast city of port arthur texas, carrying 800,000 of crude oil a day to u.s. refineries. 40%. project has been built. for years, it has faced firm

opposition from environmental activists and some communities along its path. who say it's bad news for the environment and people's health. among the opponents native american tribes who see it has a health hazard and a threat to the culture. in south dakota the pipeline said it would skirt seven native reservations, too close for 60-year-old steve vance who lives there and worries that the ruptures could pollute the river and the aquifer. >> it's not oil, it's chemicals, solvent to make it fluid. when the pipe breaks - which i know it will - it's not going to leak just oil, but other chemicals. >> we come and stand in the footsteps of our ancestors to make offerings to protect the sacred water. >> reporter: a fear shared by

another tribe who calls water their medicine. there are fears it will unearth sacred sites. transcanada says it will reroute the pipeline around sacred sites. many in the tribe say the federal government and transcanada have not consulted them enough about the project or its impact. and say washington's approval for the pipeline would violate 19th century treaties negotiated with the federal government protecting their landrite and sovereignty. the state department was conducted to provide an environmental assessment. but is waiting for the outcome of a supreme court case. government studies found that keystone xl could potentially pollute waterways in the areas that it passes through. congress shows where it stands

on the controversial project. president obama seems less keen to do the same. right now there's a case pending in nebraska. in nebraska, in way a state court judge questioned the plan. until we know what the route is, it's hard to finish that evaluation. i don't think we should short circuit the process. >> let's bring in cyril scott, president of the tribe. thank you for joining us. i want your reaction to what we saw unfold on capitol hill. it's defeated for now. >> first of all, thank you for having me here tonight. happy right now. >> you're very happy. >> very happy. i believe that some of what i listened to, that in the indian country and 40% of people in the united states is against the keystone pipeline.

>> this could be short lived. let's show what mary landrieu brought. she said: we don't know what will happen to her re-election, but symbolic to the voices in favour of keysto keystone. they'll bring it up when the republicans have control of the senate. do you think you'll have a shot of defeating it? >> yes, we are ready. as i stated at the end of last week, i declared war against the keystone pipe line, and we'll protect our rights, our treaty rights, our water rights and our people. >> what do you mine, you are declaring war. this is a strong statement. what can you really do? >> we will not let them cross our land. >> we are talking about the sovereignty issue. >> 1868 treaty. and all the treaties. they need to honour them today.

at first they took the sacred black hills for our ancestors, and now are proposing to contaminate the second-biggest water aquifer from the world. >> talk to be about the importance of this water, of this land to people. >> water means everything to us. we are the care takers of this land. we have been for generations. we are obligated to leave something for the next generations to come, instead of contaminated gardens and land. we were able to grow gardens with our parent and grandparents. we want to pass that on. our children and grandchildren won't be able to do that. >> how do you feel you are

influencing the debate, there's a large native american population, do you have the ear of the lawmakers? >> i believe they are. the state of south dakota has not approved the permit. we elected great people to the state. troy was elected, he was a tribal member. mr bradford in the state. we are looking pretty good. we complete them in the state. >> you say the fight will continue, and it sounds like there'll be more battles on the horizon. >> thank you for joining us on "america tonight". let's switch gears and talk about the latest in jerusalem. a city that is on edge following an attack on an orthodox synagogue. five israelis were killed. three were duel u.s. citizens, it's the latest in a series of increasingly bloody incidents

that have many fearing what comes next. >> chaotic scenes in west jerusalem, following an attack on a jewish place of worship. two palestinian cousins stormed the synagogue, both members of the popular front for the liberation of palestine. with both attackers dead, their motives are a mystery. >> family members say anger started here, at the mosque. a site considered sacred for muslims and jews. violent clashes erupted near the compound, since israel started to restrict young men from preying at the mosque. tuesday's attack is being seen as a tipping point that could bring more violence in the days and weeks to come. >> let's go to nick schifrin in jerusalem. thank you for joining us. what a lot of people want to

know is how did we get here? we have seen weeks of unrest surrounding the sanctuary, a holy place for muslims and jews. is it connected? >> it is certainly connected. that really is the flash point. look, we have been talking about israeli palestinian tension. in the last month or so, the flashpoint has been israeli restrictions to the al-aqsa. what has happened since the restrictions came in, added to the gaza war, added to settlements in the occupied jerusalem. added to a list of things that palestinians suggest. that did break the camel's back. that pushed a lot of people into the streets. what israel tried to do late last week is un do that. take away the restrictions.

when it hopped during friday prayers, it was calm. the mistrust was there. we saw that. palestinians see right wing israelis going up to the nobel sanctuary, the temple mount and believe the restrictions will come back. it's up to the israeli soldiers to remove the flashpoint whilst talking about ongoing tension and violence that we have seen in the past. >> the two attackers, there's no indications that they were ordered to carry out the attacks. but they had a connection to the liberation of palestine, others had a violence past. what are the concerns of this being escalated. >> they have a violent pass, but has not committed a major attack on israeli civilians in over a decade. there's a fear among the officials, is this the start of something new. we don't know that.

the bottom line is the fact is that the violence is increasing as a cycle of violence. a lot seem to be revenge attacks. when you get a cycle of violence of one group attacking another and in revenge another taking another attack. it's difficult to stop, especially when the vast majority of the crimes are lone wolf and not ordered by anyone. >> as we have seen in that region many times. nick schifrin from jerusalem. thank you it's a battle between north and south - the escalating crisis in sudan. most journalists and aid organizations have been banned. we'll take you inside the growing humanitarian crisis next. wednesday on "america tonight" - murder. >> within her eyes you can see the sorrow saying "i have to leave you guys." . >> and corruption. >> gangsters in blue.

that's the only way to describe it. >> her mother's life taken at the hands of a hitman decades ago. a dirty cop hoarded the hit. sara hoy, and one woman's long quest for justice.

now to a place some called hell on earth. nine years ago the u.s. went to the rescue of victims of a bloody conflict in sudan, a

conflict between a muslim government and christian rebels to the south. the u.s. brokered an agreement that essentially created a new country in 2011, called south sudan, big hopes for peace. it has not turned out that way. more than 2 million died in the civil war, the fighting and misery continued. i spoke with a reporter that risked his life to bring this harsh reality to life. >> war planes fly overhead. people on the ground run for cover. for those trapped in towns along the mountains in the south of sudan, seconds can mean life or death. tragedy or survival. this region, consumed by conflict for decades is filled by rocks, mountains and gaves.

the geography, the bombs. the political unrest. all create the perfect storm for the humanitarian crisis. nearly impossible for people to get help from international aid organizations. and even harder for journalists. >> omar wants to silence all information given. >> ryan is a few to cover this conflict since it broke out. >> the "new york times" called you the man who stayed behind. why are you investing so much in covering this? >> it has become my home. i lived there since 2003. >> how do you find the need, the desire, the passion to cover the conflict? >> i would say it's my faith. i am a christian. as i thought about going to sudan, i read one article about

sudan, when i read about what was happening to people in the last thaw i felt a conviction to go to sudan. that was my original push. since i've been there, i have a love for the people there. the most hospitable people you would ever meet. >> buoy et stopped by "america tonight" while in washington d.c. to meet with the state department. his media department called nubo support, says it is hard to measure. >> there has been aerial bombardment. we have recorded over 1,900 bombs in the region, being dropped. >> it's hard to measure exactly how many have died. it's in the thousands. >> what is it like to watch them suffer? >> it's terrible to watch them suffer. these are my neighbours, family members. i've seen some of their

fillages. and the people running from fighting, and they are burning villages living in caves. >> buoy et and a small group of citizens record eyewitness accounts and risk their lives every day. after a long and brutal civil war south sudan gained independence from sudan in 2011. under a u.s.-brokered peace agreement. hopes for piece were short-lived. suitedan and south -- sudan and south sudan fought over oil. the conflict was accelerated by differences. sudan was muslim. south sudan christian. the people of the nuba mountains fought on the side of the rebels, but were on the wrong side of the border, under the control of sudan. the entire region is now dangerous. and a target for government forces. >> you have approximately 70,000

people from the nuba mountains in refugee examples and 150,000 from blue nile. these refugees fled to south sudan, and there's a conflict there, and they are stuck in the middle of two conflict, conflict in the home and in the place where they are trying to seek refuge. >> reporter: the u.s. state department fears the conflict could lead to a famine, estimating 2 million people are facing foot shortages. in the fires year of the war we saw famine, i watched people i knew deteriorate to nothing. the children were thin, and elder by thin, and seeing people dying. i can remember a story when i drove from the refugee camp and there was a family holding a baby. i didn't realise until i stopped to help them, that the baby died. and he had died from

malnourishment and lack of food. we drove the family back to the camp, where they buried the child. i'm fearful this is what we'll see because of the displacement, we'll see this again. >> reporter: he and fellow journalists raised $40,000 online to help continue the reporting on the crisis. this fall their videos caught the attention of the u.n. human rights council. >> every day there's aerial bombardment. my house was bombed in 2012, as a result of us reporting on the conflict. reporters are going to the front lines. they are inside the caves where people are displaced and are refugees themselves. dealing with all of these complex issues as journalists is difficult. sometimes telling both sides of the story is difficult. >> you said your house was bombed. do the threats continue. are the journalists in harm's way? >> right after we showed the

video at the human rights council, our website was hacked. we believe it was by the sudan government. we can't prove that. my computer was hacked. they were using the camera on my computer to watch me, and emails were sent to the email acts threatening us if we don't stop, we'll be kill. >> did you know who was sending those? >> we don't know. >> reporter: you'll continue to do this, despite the threats. >> yes, i think it's important we do continue to do this. our team is passionate about the work they are doing. we'll continue to bring in journalists and push the information out. >> reporter: hoping extra eyes on the conflict will make a difference for the people trapped in this hell brave reporters bring us those stories. in october president obama extended the 17-year-old sanctions on sudan oxford dictionary released

the word of the year. we look at the definition of this 4-letter word. why it has some people fuming. 27th, 9:00 eastern. on al jazeera america.

>> i'm joie chen, i'm the host of america tonight, we're revolutionary because we're going back to doing best of storytelling. we have an ouportunity to really reach out and really talk to voices that we haven't heard before... i think al jazeera america is a watershed moment for american journalism finally tonight, a new ward for the ages - vape.

it's the new buzz term for 2014, and now it's formally a part of the oxford english dictionary. if you are not sure what vaping it, ask a smoker. it's part of a new massive market for electronic cigarettes. and it's taking the world and big tobacco by storm. "america tonight"s christopher putzel has more. >> in february 2013 the unthinkable happened. for the first time in half a century an ad or cigarettes appeared on tv. >> do you know what the most amazing thing about this cigarette is? it isn't one. >> reporter: a team of executives in scottsdale arizona found a loophole in the ban of advertising. the law defined cigarettes as loose tobacco lined in paper. this is something else. of the 200 stations that screened the ad, 10 agreed to air it during the super bowl. it was enough to drive up sales by 40% in some markets.

suled the handcuffs were up. >> i'm jennifer mccarthy, i found the smart alternative to cigarettes. >> i've never seen in. never heard of this. >> a bejewelled bottom. >> joy king. >> it's the marlborough man reborn. the virgin slims riding a new way. >> reporter: matt myers is president for the campaign tobacco free kids, spending his career trying to take down big tobacco. he's watching his work unravel. >> i teenager today has never seen the marlborough man. our big concern is the product and how it's been marketed. has the potential to undo literally 30 years of progress. in reducing tobacco use among america's children.

>> the cigarettes have been described as a significant develop in the history of of the tobacco industry. more than 200 companies are telling them. sales reaching 3 billion this year. >> more than 3.5 million americans tried electronic cigarettes. >> no one knows what the health effects are of puffing these things hours a day every day for 20 years. >> this is the new york health commissioner behind some of the toughest smoking laws. >> we work hard to counteract the cool factor. the concern is if e-cigarettes are cool, it may spillover and regular tobacco cigarettes may be more cool in the future the dream of a no combustion cigarette began in the '80s, when reynolds unveiled the smokeless cigarette. >> the new smokeless cigarette goes on sail.

r.j. reynolds will test market. >> the company spent $300 million developing the device. users said it tasted like charcoal and was abandoned. at this emporium, charcoal is not on the menu, they offer new flavours, part of a phenomenon known as vaping. >> i was a smoker for 36 years. i was looking for a way to quit. i saw an ad and bought myself a gret. i started to do research on it. saw an opportunity to stop smoking, which i was able to do and thought it was a great business opportunity. we have exploded. the world found out, it found out there's an alternative to smoking. a product that kills you. we offer ways to learn about that, to experience, try it and go home with something that is a

better alternative. >> alternative is how you might describe the vibe at henley. that image is a problem. critics fear the atmosphere will help nonsmokers. especially young ones. >> we are for laws regarding selling to minors, and make sure we don't sell to under age. >> you sell a lot of flavours. >> we do. >> the idea is that they appeal to minors, do you agree to that? >> does strawberry vodka appeal to minors, lemon vodka? what is important is when someone vapes bored of a flavour they look for something to replace it. by having flavours, it keeps them using it rather than going back to cigarettes. >> e-cigarettes is a mystery. what is inside depends on who

you ask. do you think it's responsible for pushing a product. >> traditional cigarettes kill you. anything to move people away from traditional cigarettes we support that 100%. that kills you. this may not. let's do what we can to keep the doors open. >> in the absence of hard science, happens in the long term fuels passion and politics. >> i don't think anyone nose where this will go in five years, 10 years. tobacco companies are business. if they can create a new market for people afraid of tobacco, the only way to prevent them from marketing is through a form of regulation. let's not legislate it. let's keep the door open so there's more definitive evidence because it might be a way to get people off the product that is killing them. >> after decades of deception

and drawn out legal battles, can big tobacco be trusted again. >> one of the most troubling aspects of what is going on is e-cigarettes may have the potential under the right circumstances to help millions of people quit, if they were responsibly marketed. if they were responsibly made. e-cigarettes could be helpful. but the actions of the e-cigarette manufacturers themselves may become the biggest impediment to us actually finding out how helpful they could be definitely not the last we have heard in that debate. that's if for us on "america tonight". remember, if you would like to comment on any stories, log on to the website at aljazeera.com/americatonight and join in the conversation on facebook or twitter. goodnight. more of "america tonight" right here tomorrow.

>> the boeing 787. sold as a "dreamliner". >> an all new airplane in a said all new airplane in a boeing 787 sold as a dreamliner. >> a new airplane in a once in a decade, if not once in a generation achievement of