The E-Cigarette Dilemma

But as total cigarette volume has declined 3 percent to 4 percent a year, according to Wells Fargo Securities analyst Bonnie Herzog, e-cigarettes have been growing at 20 percent annually. She predicts that e-cigarette consumption could pass conventional cigarettes within 10 years.

This could be good news, except for two unfortunate developments. First, many adults who use e-cigarettes continue to smoke regular cigarettes. Although tobacco consumption may drop for these dual-use smokers, the duration of tobacco use, not the amount of it, appears to be of greater concern when it comes to both heart disease and cancer.

More troubling, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported recently that more than 260,000 youth who had never smoked a cigarette tried e-cigarettes -- triple the number just two years earlier.

The youth numbers would be troubling even if none of the middle- or high-schoolers went on to tobacco products because of nicotine's addictive properties and its particular impact on the still-developing adolescent brain.

Which makes the current regulatory void all the more alarming. In about 10 states and the District of Columbia, there are no restrictions on minors buying e-cigarettes. Rules against such purchases are toothless in many other states.

The Food and Drug Administration, importantly if belatedly, has proposed extending the federal ban on sales of tobacco products to minors to e-cigarettes.

But the FDA held off acting in two other areas: advertising and flavors. While cigarette advertising has been banned from television since 1971, in large part to diminish cigarettes' allure to children, the FDA declined to restrict e-cigarette advertising.

As the American Heart Association observed last month: "Many of these advertisements have themes that promote rebelliousness and glamorize e-cigarette use. ... Such marketing practices are likely to recruit a new generation of nicotine addicts."

Similarly, while Congress banned flavored cigarettes (other than menthol) in 2009, again in an effort to reduce smoking among children and young adults, the FDA opted against regulating flavored e-cigarettes.

"The last thing that anybody in this industry wants is to indoctrinate youth or new vapers," Daman said, referring to those who use e-cigarette vaporizers to inhale. "This is an adult consumer product for smokers."

That's a welcome sentiment. But one that will require vigilance to ensure that it reflects reality.

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Ruth Marcus' email address is ruthmarcus@washpost.com.