e cigarettes

Some districts are using money from a $1.7 billion legal settlement against e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs to pay for the high-tech devices. But there are critics and also privacy concerns.

U.S. health officials attributed the decline to fewer high school students using Elfbar and other vapes that come in fruit and candy flavors.

On this episode of "Florida Matters," we talk with experts from FAU and Moffitt Cancer Center about the health impacts of vaping — both on adults and youth.

The bill focuses on single-use electronic cigarettes and will allow the state attorney general's office to set up a registry of products deemed off-limits, after an administrative process.

The FDA and most scientists agree that, based on available evidence, e- cigarettes are far less dangerous than traditional cigarettes. But that doesn’t mean vaping is harmless either.

According to the lawsuit, filed in Hillsborough County, the state seeks civil penalties and an injunction to prevent Juul from “targeting children" and "deceiving consumers with respect to the nicotine concentration.”

The number of different e-cig devices sold has nearly tripled despite a three-year federal effort to block kid-friendly flavors. The rise has been almost entirely driven by a wave of cheap, disposable devices imported from China.

A CDC survey finds that while adults are smoking less, vaping is increasing. The smoking rate has been gradually dropping for decades due to taxes, price hikes and bans.

The data seems to show more high school students vaping, with 14% saying they had done so recently, At least one educator says vaping in campus bathrooms and stairwells remains "a constant battle."

More than 500 companies submitted applications for 6.5 million vaping products to the FDA. The agency ruled on some of them but did not yet make a decision on products made by Juul.