--- description: E-cigarettes are everywhere—and are reportedly quitters' favorite tool with some experts claiming it's a healthy alternative to traditional tobacco. But vaping doesn’t deserve its health... title: E-Cigs Should Be Last Resort for Quitters, Says Medical Group image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt471243a73a857e8c/69869b81e8524b0efc603dc2/e-cig.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Addiction](/tag/addiction/) ## Addiction Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # E-Cigs Should Only Be "Last Resort" for Quitters, Experts Say  by [Mandy Oaklander](/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Aug 25, 2014 3:52 PM CUT  A salesman waits for customers as he enjoys an electronic cigarette at a store in Miami, Florida on April 24, 2014. A salesman waits for customers as he enjoys an electronic cigarette at a store in Miami, Florida on April 24, 2014.Joe Raedle—Getty Images  by [Mandy Oaklander](/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Aug 25, 2014 3:52 PM CUT E-cigarettes are everywhere—and are [reportedly quitters’ favorite tool](time.com/3103691/e-cigs-are-smokers-favorite-quitting-tool/ "undefined") with some experts claiming it’s a healthy alternative to traditional tobacco. But vaping doesn’t deserve its health halo, says the American Heart Association (AHA) in a [policy statement](http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2014/08/22/CIR.0000000000000107.full.pdf "undefined") released today in its journal _Circulation_. The group calls for an overhaul of how we deal with e-cigs, advocating for stricter laws, industry oversight by the government, and more rigorous research. Right now, e-cigs are a Wild West industry, with [10 new companies coming to market every month](http://time.com/2885999/10-new-e-cig-brands-hit-the-market-every-month/ "undefined"). The FDA doesn’t yet regulate them—[though the agency plans to](http://time.com/76275/e-cig-execs-are-actually-thrilled-with-new-fda-regulations/ "undefined")—fueling concerns about possible contaminants, quality control, labeling, and marketing. There’s not much research about the [public health](http://time.com/90756/e-cigs-still-produce-carcinogens-study-shows/ "undefined") impacts of e-cigs. Yet they’re a big business, and sales are expected to rake in $10 billion by 2017, according to predictions by Wells Fargo. Many people use e-cigs, many of which contain nicotine but not tobacco, to wean themselves off of cigarettes. Their reputation as cigarette-cessation tools is widespread—though [more research is needed to see if that reputation is warranted](http://time.com/36090/study-e-cigarettes-do-not-help-people-quit-smoking/ "undefined"). “We don’t have much data on the efficacy as a cessation aid,” lead author Aruni Bhatnagar, chair of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Louisville, tells TIME. E-cigarettes aren’t approved by the FDA as tools to help people quit, and the AHA says that there’s a lack of evidence that they actually work for that purpose. However, some studies suggest e-cigarettes may perform as well or a bit better than nicotine patches, so they should be viewed as a last resort when other methods fail. Another concern is [marketing to young people](http://time.com/14260/e-cigarettes-dont-discourage-smoking-among-teens/ "undefined"). Television ads for e-cigarettes reached an estimated 24 million youth between 2011 and 2013, the AHA report says. And a separate CDC study released today in the journal _Nicotine and Tobacco Research_ found that more than a quarter of a million youth who’ve never tried a cigarette puffed the electronic version in 2013\. That’s a three-fold increase from 2011-2013. “We have grave concerns about industry marketing and advertising of e-cigarettes to children,” Bhatnagar says. The AHA is calling for a federal tax on e-cigarettes, which may help deter young would-be adopters, in addition to a ban on flavorings. (E-cigs come in more than 7,000 flavors like mint and chocolate, which tend to appeal to younger users.) And while many states ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, the AHA is calling for a federal ban on the sale to minors. Walk into any smoke-free area and you’re bound to encounter e-cigarettes—another fact the AHA wants to change by subjecting e-cigarettes to the same laws as tobacco products. On Monday, Toronto joined the growing list of cities banning e-cigs in the workplace. There’s still a lot we don’t know about e-cigarettes, including how chemicals and nicotine interact with the environment and bystanders, and normalizing smoking behavior undoes years of anti-smoke crusading, the AHA says. So the group recommends that e-cigs be classified as tobacco products to subject them to the same smoke-free air laws. “We don’t have much data on what their long-term health impact is going to be,” Bhatnagar says. “It will be five to seven years before we know what happens to cardiovascular health.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3174362/e-cigarettes-health-quitting/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3174362/e-cigarettes-health-quitting/"},"headline":"E-Cigs Should Only Be \"Last Resort\" for Quitters, Experts Say","datePublished":"2014-08-25T15:52:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:50:18.513Z","description":"E-cigarettes are everywhere—and are reportedly quitters' favorite tool with some experts claiming it's a healthy alternative to traditional tobacco. But vaping doesn’t deserve its health...","url":"https://time.com/3174362/e-cigarettes-health-quitting/","keywords":["Addiction","E-Cigarettes","e-cigs","heart health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt471243a73a857e8c/69869b81e8524b0efc603dc2/e-cig.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mandy Oaklander","jobTitle":"Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt471243a73a857e8c/69869b81e8524b0efc603dc2/e-cig.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FDA Proposes New Regulations On Electronic Cigarettes","caption":"A salesman waits for customers as he enjoys an electronic cigarette at a store in Miami, Florida on April 24, 2014.","creditText":"Joe Raedle—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/addiction/","name":"Addiction"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3174362/e-cigarettes-health-quitting/","name":"E-Cigs Should Only Be \"Last Resort\" for Quitters, Experts Say"}}]}] ```