WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) and John Dingell (D-MI) want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the burgeoning electronic-cigarette market. The letter asked FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to regulate e-cigarettes because of a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report showing more teens are smoking them.

A primary concern cited in the letter surrounds the use of television advertisements to promote e-cigarettes. “According to the American Lung Association, these products are being directly marketed to kids, ‘whish could result in a lifelong addiction to nicotine.’” The CDC report found that “use of e-cigarettes by youth doubled in just one year from 2011 to 2012. Moreover, the CDC data suggest that e-cigarettes could be serving as a gateway product to nicotine addiction,” the letter said.

The letter writers “recognize that some believe e-cigarettes could advance public health if addicted smokers switch to e-cigarettes from traditional cigarettes. … We do not dismiss these ideas, but they need to be proven. … As a first step, FDA needs to assert jurisdiction over e-cigarettes … without further delay to protect public health.”

A tobacco analyst recently predicted that the U.S. sales of e-cigarettes would hit $2 billion by the end of 2013, and rise to $10 billion by 2017.