E-cigarettes—aka vapes, e-cigs—are all the rage these days.

Vape shops have popped up all around town and big white clouds waft out of cars at traffic lights or from pedestrians as they walk the downtown streets here.

But the FDA is cracking down on e-cigarette companies, requiring them to make a plan to prevent sales to minors or face penalties, and one Chattanooga doctor said that’s a good thing because there’s a great potential for young people to get addicted.

But vaping advocates and manufacturers said e-cigs can help people quit traditional tobacco products.

Why is this topic coming up now?

Last month, the FDA gave manufacturers 60 days to restrict sales to people under the age of 18.

This renewed the national conversation about vaping and drew news coverage from local and national outlets.

This week, CBS News highlighted the topic, including interviewing Chattanooga-area residents.

Doctor’s take

Young people are using e-cigs at increasing rates and it’s dangerous, Parkridge Medical Group Pulmonologist Minerva Covarrubias said.

ICYMI: E-cigarettes are devices that contain a liquid that is heated at a low degree and turns into vapor. The e-cigarette liquids come with or without nicotine and contain three other ingredients: propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and food flavoring.

Many e-cigarettes manufacturers market their products to look like kid-friendly products resembling food and candy making them more enticing to teens, according to the FDA.

More than 2 million middle and high school students used e-cigarettes in 2017, according to the FDA.

Some products look like USB drives and are popular among college students.

“They want to get people to use their product because that’s how they make their money, so there are no marketing restrictions on the use of e-cigarettes,” Covarrubias said.

The lack of industry regulation also means it’s difficult to know what ingredients are included.

Manufacturers don’t have to report the ingredients in an e-cigarette, Covarrubias said.

“It’s really the same thing as for smokers,” Covarrubias said. “You don’t know what’s in there so anytime you inhale a toxin it has the potential to cause smoking-related lung diseases, like COPD and emphysema as far as the risk of lung cancer, I don’t think that’s really known.”

Teens who smoke e-cigarettes are more likely to use regular cigarettes as they get older, she also said.

“Within six months, 31 percent of e-cigarettes users will then turn into regular smokers,” Covarrubias said.

Vaping advocate’s take

But despite some officials’ concerns, advocates argue that e-cigs are a healthier alternative to smoking.

Tennessee Smoke-Free Association Executive Director Dimitris Agrafiotis, who is based in Chattanooga, said the FDA should enforce laws that are already on the books. It’s already illegal to sell e-cigs to minors, he said.

“The Food and Drug Administration began aggressively enforcing the youth sales ban this year against noncompliant retailers, a move supported by vaping advocates and the Tennessee Smoke-Free Association,” he also said. “The FDA could easily ramp up that enforcement even more, and it should.”

Agrafiotis said CDC numbers show the number of teens using tobacco products is on the decline. From 2011 to 2017, use dropped from 4.5 million to 3.6 million.

“Most importantly youth tobacco smoking is at an all-time low, something that for years with existing tobacco control was never achieved,” he also said.

But the CDC also reported that e-cigs are the most commonly used tobacco product among both middle and high school students since 2014.

And, for adults who have been hooked in traditional cigarettes, vaping can be a healthier alternative, he said.

“Adult users of the products that have successfully quit combustible tobacco should not be punished or have their options limited based on emotional reactions,” Agrafiotis also said.

Reader feedback

The issue is a hot one and we asked our readers, “Vaping, yay or nay? Explain.”

Here’s what some said.

Definitely a yay for me. 36 years I smoked cigarettes with frequent health and respiratory-related issues. I went to Mountain Oak Vapors in Chattanooga, and I've been tobacco-free ever since. In order to stay away from cigarettes, I have switched over to different flavorings. I feel better, I've had no respiratory-related issues since I started vaping. —Jim S.

Nay. It’s better than smoking (not as offensive to others), but you’re still putting chemicals into your lungs & there hasn’t been research on long-term effects. Choose smart and healthy & don’t smoke or vape! 💚💙 (Ex-smoker here🙋🏻‍♀️😂) —@hollywittr

I say no [to teens using them]. Too easy to switch out and be using ones with nicotine. If someone sells them the wrong in, they could be getting addicted without even knowing it.

— @amandaryall

I’m not wholeheartedly against others doing it.. but I think not enough is known about the chemicals that they put in vaping liquid. — evergreeenheatherling

Its better than cigarettes but some people just go way overboard with it. No need to rip a big cloud on the middle of sidewalk while I'm going to class. —@realjakemoore

Yay. There may not be studies based out of the US (due to big tobacco being such a massive industry) but there are multiple clinical studies based out of the UK proving the benefit of vaping over smoking. IF you're not a smoker then there is no reason to start vaping. But if you are a smoker and struggling to quit, I think it's a great way to quit. I've seen multiple lives benefitted by the vaping industry. (Smoked for years and quit because of vaping) 🙌 —@racehenderson

I think it’s another ‘look at me, I’m cool,’ gimmick. —@chadcapehart

Savannah Bennett contributed to this article.