Pediatrician weighs in on ban of e-cigarette brand

Following an order from the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, products made by e-cigarette maker Juul Labs will be unavailable for sale in the United States.

Dr. Beth Ebel, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said she interprets the FDA's decision as a positive change for adolescents' health.

"There was such a steady reduction of smoking as people realized how harmful and damaging it was to the lungs, but with the e-cigarettes, they were really marketed as something that supposedly was safer. That has not been shown to be true," she said.

A February 2021 study estimated that about 1 in 5 high school students uses e-cigarettes, a practice also known as vaping.

"I encourage parents to be knowledgeable, to be able to recognize and identify these products," said Ebel. "Second, see your pediatrician. There is now a nicotine therapy that some kids have needed to be able to break this addiction. Know that almost every child who starts using these products in a daily fashion ... they are still users today. That's how powerful the dependency is."

Download broadcast-ready soundbites on the health effects vaping can have on teens.