Health security

E-Cigarettes Pose ‘Major’ Risks, Surgeon General’s Report Warns

The U.S. Surgeon General called surging e-cigarette use by children and young adults “a major public health concern” and recommended increased regulation and taxation of the products in a report set to be released Thursday.

The report joins a public debate about the potential benefits and risks of e-cigarettes, which are battery-powered devices that heat nicotine-laced liquid into a vapor. Some groups, including industry advocates and the Royal College of Physicians in the U.K., have argued that e-cigarettes should be promoted as a means to help adults quit smoking conventional cigarettes.

The surgeon general’s report, by contrast, highlights the risks of nicotine exposure to young people. Those risks include mood disorders, deficits in attention and cognition, and addiction to nicotine that could lead to the use of traditional cigarettes, according to the report.