E-Cigarette Dilemma

After barely a decade on the market, electronic cigarettes have transformed the nation's smoking landscape. Now a $5.6 billion business, the vaping industry has disrupted the tobacco marketplace and reversed years of declining smoking trends, creating what health officials call an epidemic of use among teens. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating e-cigarettes as tobacco products in 2016 but delayed full implementation of its rules until at least 2021, allowing sales to continue while awaiting FDA approval. E-cigarettes — which deliver the nicotine smokers crave without the toxins of burning tobacco — have split public health officials. Some consider the devices safer than regular cigarettes and an aid to those trying to quit smoking. Others, noting that e-cigarettes deliver a highly concentrated form of nicotine, say the devices are creating a new generation of nicotine users who may move on to traditional cigarettes. E-cigarettes are not approved as a smoking cessation device, and research remains unclear about their long-term safety. Meanwhile, cannabis vaping is catching on among marijuana users.