Surgeon General Calls for Reducing Use of E-Cigarettes Among Young People

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Thursday called for reducing e-cigarette use among young people, Reuters reports. He said young people are more vulnerable than adults to the negative consequences of nicotine exposure.

“These effects include addiction, priming for use of other addictive substances, reduced impulse control, deficits in attention and cognition, and mood disorders,” Murthy said in a preface to the report.

According to the report, e-cigarettes should be incorporated into existing smoke-free policies, including preventing young people from accessing e-cigarettes, implementing price and tax policies that discourage use and encouraging federal regulation of e-cigarette marketing.

“We know a great deal about what works to effectively prevent tobacco use among young people,” the report states. “Now we must apply these strategies to e-cigarettes.”