In a recent release, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more than 18 million students in middle and high school are exposed to electronic cigarette advertising that promotes smoking to underage children. Through online, newspapers, magazines, television, and movies, e-cigarettes provide a similar enticing themes of “independence, rebellion, and sex—used to sell cigarettes and other conventional tobacco products,” the CDC Vital Signs report said. 

“The same advertising tactics the tobacco industry used years ago to get kids addicted to nicotine are now being used to entice a new generation of young people to use e-cigarettes,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH. “I hope all can agree that kids should not use e-cigarettes.” 

According to the CDC, e-cigarettes typically deliver nicotine, which at a young age may cause lasting harm to brain development, promote addiction, and lead to sustained tobacco use. In 2014, e-cigarettes became the most commonly used tobacco product among youth, surpassing conventional cigarettes. 

In its position statement on e-cigarettes, ONS stated that it supports that e-cigarettes be subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and that all advertising carry health warnings.