FDA Wants To Crack Down On Teen Vaping

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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - With more and more teenagers vaping, the FDA is launching a hard-hitting campaign aimed at keeping young people from using e-cigarettes.

Government health officials hope graphic messages like 'vaping can deliver nicotine to your brain' and 'reprogramming you to crave more and more' will educate teens about the dangers of e-cigarettes and prevent them from vaping.

The FDA's Real Cost Campaign targets the more than 10-million 12 to 17 year-olds who have vaped before or are open to trying.

"Just telling kids something is bad for them has never worked. Giving them a graphic visual understanding of it, to undercut the marketing of it that has made it so cool and so appealing is the kind of message kids will understand," said Matt Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Myers said his group is very concerned about the increasing number of kids using e-cigarettes. More than two million middle and high school students use them.

"Kids who experiment with e-cigs are more likely to go on to smoking cigarettes and new evidence shows e-cigarettes are being used to deliver marijuana to kids as well," he said.

To get the word out, the FDA ads will run on social media and posters will be placed in thousands of high school bathrooms nationwide.

Last week the agency announced the largest crackdown in history, sending more than 13-hundred warning letters and fines to e-cigarette retailers and online shops for selling to minors.