RECOMMENDATIONS FOR U.S. PUBLIC POLICIES REGULATING ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES

Since electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were introduced in the United States in 2007, their surging popularity and potential for harm reduction have generated controversies and regulatory challenges. E-cigarette experimentation and use tripled among middle and high school students from 2013 to 2014, and more youth now use e-cigarettes than conventional cigarettes (Arrazola et al., 2015). Moreover, in 2014, 3.7 percent of U.S. adults and 15.9 percent of adult smokers used e-cigarettes (Schoenborn & Gindi, 2015). Among current e-cigarette users, 76.8 percent concurrently use cigarettes (King et al., 2015). Such high rates of dual use is concerning because even if dual users reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day, that is much less effective than quitting smoking entirely to avoid the risk of premature death (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014).