Electronic cigarettes, also known as E-Cigs are gaining popularity as a healthier replacement to tobacco smoking. Containing no tobacco, E-Cigs work in the same way that nicotine patches and gum are used. While they are proved to aid adults in withdrawal from conventional cigarettes, the concern that E-Cigs are being abused by minors is ongoing.

Retailers that vend these devices are prohibited from selling to anyone under the age of 18, yet the use among underage teens has doubled in the last year. Not only do E-Cigs give people the feeling of smoking tobacco, for high school age kids, they seem to give them a label of being a rebel. Most high school seniors are 18 years old by the time they graduate, so access to these devices are not limited. Although they are prohibited on high school campuses, they do not contain any real tobacco and legal matters cannot be considered.

 The unregulated device is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to the unknown effects that it may have long term. However, the FDA is  presumed to publicize their intent to regulate E-Cigs. Rita Chapelle, a spokesperson for the FDA said, “We [FDA] are concerned about the potential for addiction and abuse of these products. We don’t want the public to perceive them as a safer alternative to cigarettes.”

 The FDA has approved cigarettes, yet they have not regulated electronic ones. If something is not regulated by one of the biggest organizations known, it does not make any sense why a person would willingly put something potentially harmful into their own body. The FDA simply does not know enough about the long term effects that the use of these devices may cause. If the FDA found out that E-Cigs produce cancer causing carcinogens like cigarettes do, proper warning labels should be implemented on the packaging. Claiming that it is a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes is absurd because either way the person is putting artifical chemicals into their body. If it still causes damage to the smokers lungs, it cannot be in good health.

 As the use of the contraption continues to increase, the worry becomes that the use of the vaporized device may lead minors to smoke cigarettes which are directly linked to causing cancer. While it is meant to wean adults off of cigarettes it will have a different effect that will lead teens to the use of cigarettes.

The E-Cig devices are made up of four main parts; a heating element, a mouthpiece, a battery and the fluid also known as the juice. Most of them are rechargeable with a certain USB cable. The juice that is put into the mouthpiece is made up of a solution of propylene  glycol, vegetable glycerin and variable concentration of nicotine.

 The rechargeable battery is also dangerous as recent reports have shown the if overheated, the battery can blow up and cause a fire. While some of the devices are made to look like conventional cigarettes, others are bright colors like pink green and blue that seem to attract a younger audience, particularly targeting a teen audience. It is clear that companies are intentionally producing devices in colors that minors would like, they do not care about the harm or legallity, as long as it sells.

 Since the product contains no tobacco, ads from the companies are not banned by tobacco regulations, which gives companies selling the products, little to no guidelines on the information that must be presented or audience that which it should appeal to. Laws that ban ads that involve tobacco products are often criticized for glamorizing the use of cigarettes to minors, however, with electronic cigarettes being introduced, reevaluation on what should be considered harmful regarding tobacco and advertising to minors, may be necessary.

 It is legal for electronic cigarettes companies to advertise their products on television networks, in the ads they do not say the potential harm that can come out of them, mostly because the company does not even know let alone the people who are using them. Until the FDA approves the use and sales of the devices, E-Cigs should not be in circulation and sold to people who are not aware of the possible risks.