According to a new report from the CDC, e-cig use among teens is growing. It found the number of US middle and high schoolers using the battery powered devices doubled from 2011 to 2012.
E-cigarettes are not yet regulated by the FDA and in most states there are no restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. This will all change in October when the FDA has planned to regulate the quickly growing industry.
Although there has been no regulation of electronic cigarettes just yet preventing minors from obtaining the devices, local e-cigarette shops and online vendors have been taking matters into their own hands by joining the WeCard program and for online vendors, implementing plugins that give users an option to enter or not after displaying a line of text that says their e-cigarette products are only sold to people who are 18 years of age or older.
It’s sad to say, but teens have always and will always use or try adult products, no matter what the law is or who bans them. It’s how many of us started smoking traditional cigarettes and as long as tobacco, alcohol and other products are restricted from minors, they’ll continue to try and use them. Kids will be kids – they’ll sneak a bottles of dad’s beer or a parents tobacco cigarette, and now e-cigarette and hide out behind the house just to do something they’re not supposed to do.
It’s the parents job to teach their children the importance of not using those type of products. And, even though you’ll spot them being rebellious, it’ll take consistency of the parent to engrave the harm these products can cause.
