The government’s top doctor is taking aim at the best-selling electronic cigarette brands in the U.S., urging swift action to prevent them from addicting millions of teenagers.
In an advisory Tuesday, Surgeon General Jerome Adams said parents, teachers, health professionals and government officials must take "aggressive steps" to keep children from using e-cigarettes. Federal law bars the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18.
Federal officials are scrambling to reverse a recent explosion in teen vaping that public health officials fear could undermine decades of declines in tobacco use. An estimated 3.6 million U.S. teens are now using e-cigarettes, representing 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 20 middle schoolers, according to the latest federal figures.
Separate survey results released Monday showed twice as many high school students used e-cigarettes this year compared to last year.