- Senator called for faster regulation of e-cigarettes in order to protect children
- One in five New York schoolchildren use devices, the highest rate in the nation
- Schumer said students are smoking in class using device disguised as a USB
- Regulations would prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under 18
Senator Chuck Schumer has called for faster regulation of e-cigarettes to protect the growing number of teenagers who are using the devices.
More than one in five New York teens say they use the smoking aids which is the highest rate in the country, Schumer revealed at a press conference.
The Senator said youngsters are even smoking in class thanks to a device which is disguised to look like a USB stick.
Chuck Schumer has warned that more than one in five New York teens have smoke e-cigarettes as he called for the FDA to speed up legislating the devices
The device, called the Juul, sells for $35 and uses flavored pods which clip into the top, allowing the user to smoke.
‘One Juul pod promises the same amount of nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes,’ Schumer told NBC.
While a disclaimer on Juul’s website states the company will only sell their device to those aged over 21, this will not apply in private stores that stock the products.
Anchela Mbrice, a Brooklyn pupil who spoke to the news station, said: ‘It’s just much more convenient.
‘You can just slip it in your pocket. Smoke it, put it right back in. People do it in class.’
He singled out one device, Juul, as being particularly popular with young people as one girl confessed to smoking it in class
Schumer spoke out after the FDA delayed passing regulations prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes earlier this year.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the delay would give the agency time to determine how e-cigarettes fit into its overall strategy for tobacco regulation.
The proposed laws would prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to under 18s, prohibit vending machine sales, and prohibit giving out free samples.