A person exhales vapor while using an electronic cigarette device in San Francisco.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. officials should consider banning flavored e-cigarettes to protect teenagers, Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a congressional hearing Tuesday.
“We are extremely concerned about flavors and the role that they play in hooking young people to a life of nicotine and we really want to avoid another generation being addicted to nicotine so addressing flavors directly is a good idea,” said Schuchat.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee’s panel on consumer products is hearing from doctors and at least one parent affected by a mysterious lung disease that has sickened at least 530 people and killed at least nine.
Health officials have tied the illness to vaping, although they are still trying to identify the exact cause.