In a single year, the use of e-cigarettes among teenagers has tripled from 2013 to 2014.  

Recent numbers published by the CDC’s Youth Tobacco Survey show e-cigarette usage among high school students increased from 4.5 percent in 2013 to 13.4 percent in 2014, growing from around 660,000 to 2 million students.

Amid middle school students, the current usage tripled from 1.1 percent in 2013 to 3.9 percent in 2014, rising from 120,000 to 450,000.

The increase in usage has prompted the FDA to implement regulations on “vaping.” However, limited research makes it difficult to justify harmful effects, and it’s unclear how strict those regulations are.

E-cigarettes contain a battery, a cartridge for nicotine, liquids and flavors and a heating component. They look similar to an actual cigarette and glow as you inhale, but the smoke exhaled is vapor, coining the term “vaping.”

E-cigarettes do not contain tobacco, but do contain the addictive drug nicotine, which can hinder adolescent brain development and cause significant health problems.

An article published last week by Forbes discussed e-cigarette usage among teens and spoke to a pediatric pulmonologist at Texas Children’s Hospital.

“We know that nicotine changes the brain structure and chemistry, and we know that adolescence is a time of active growth and development to the brain,” said Dr. Harold J. Farber.

Now, manufacturers are marketing to this young demographic, and they’re doing a good job. Still, there are no guidelines that will stop them.

Most states in the country enforce restrictions for anyone under the age of 18 who wants to buy e-cigarettes, but teens will find a way to get ahold of them, regardless.

“You’re exposing the fetus in the womb to a powerful psychoactive drug that goes straight to brain receptors, and you’re getting women addicted before they reach the age of parenthood,” Farber said. “We’re getting a substantial number of young people addicted who wouldn’t necessarily try cigarettes. It’s really, really important for the FDA to stop waiting and take action.”

E-cigarette supporters boast about the alternative and the fact that there are no significant findings that prove harmful effects. Groups such as CASAA, or the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association, support the alternative by collecting personal testimonies from people who claim the substitution “helped them quit smoking.”

Again, with limited research, there isn’t anything to prove they are entirely harmless, either.

— For the editorial board, Danielle Prewitt