New research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that fewer teens are smoking cigarettes, reports USA Today.  Overall tobacco use among middle- and high school students last year — 6.7% and 23.3%, respectively — was about one percentage point lower than in 2011, mostly due to a decline in teens smoking cigarettes.  However, teens seem to be getting their nicotine fix from hookahs and electronic cigarettes.

In a press release from February 2013, the CDC discusses the use of e-cigarettes among adults.  Much like the trend in youths, use among adults also doubled.  In 2011, six percent of all adults reported trying electronic cigarettes, which is approximately twice as much as in 2010.  Focusing just on adults that smoke traditional cigarettes, the CDC also saw a similar trend.  In 2010, 10 percent of adults that smoked had tried e-cigarettes.  In 2011, this number more than doubled to 21 percent of adults that used traditional cigarettes.

The CDC reports that electronic cigarettes, otherwise known as e-cigarettes, are battery-powered replacements for traditional cigarettes.  They provide doses of nicotine and other additives in an aerosol form, without smoke. In general, e-cigarette cartridges typically contain nicotine, ingredients necessary to produce aerosol, and flavorings such as fruit or chocolate. Currently, unless the electronic cigarette is being marketed for therapeutic purposes, it is unregulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Research in this area is still developing, but there are potentially harmful ingredients in e-cigarette cartridges, such as irritants, genotoxins, and animal carcinogens.

According to WebMD, electronic cigarettes are purported to be safer because they do not contain the tar of traditional cigarettes.  However, health professionals are still concerned.  E-cigarettes may still contain carcinogens and it is not clear how nicotine without tar impacts health.  The CDC describes hookahs as water pipes that are used to smoke specially made tobacco that is available in a variety of flavors.  While many hookah smokers may consider this practice less harmful than smoking cigarettes, hookah smoking carries many of the same health risks as cigarettes.

Regulation of hookahs and electronic cigarettes is still developing.  In particular, e-cigarettes have been subject to recent scrutiny.  Given the uncertainty about the public health risk, France made plans to expand its 2007 prohibition on smoking in public places to include using e-cigarettes, reports CBS News.  According to 4 NBC Southern California, the California legislature is considering a proposal similar to that of France.