E-cig ads luring young adults jumps 321%

The marketing of e-cigarettes has led to a dramatic increase in the consumption of this product by young people.

A new report has claimed that the advertisements of e-cigarette luring teens and young adults jumped 321%.

It is to be noted that e-cig is still to be regulated in the same way as conventional cigarettes. The report published in the journal Pediatrics showed that marketing has increased during programming that caters to adolescents and young adults.

The exposure for e-cigarettes advertising increased 256% for young people ages 12 to 17 from 2011 to 2013.

Exposure for young adults ages 18 to 24 jumped 321% during the same period. Over 75% of this advertising was shown on TV networks, including AMC, Country Music Television, Comedy Central, WGN America, TV Land, and VH1. Over 80% of these ads were for blu eCigs, a popular e-cig brand.

The researchers reported that advertising was present on the top rated shows, "The Bachelor," "Big Brother," and "Survivor."

We still do not know much about the safety of e-cigs but some reports claimed that they produce carcinogens. Some other reports found they had a small impact on helping highly motivated people to quit smoking.

The FDA recently banned e-cig in some states and the agency is expanding its jurisdiction to cover e-cigarettes. The FDA, however, is yet to take a call over regulating the advertisement of e-cig like conventional cigarettes.