The popularity of vaping, or using e-cigarettes, is growing exponentially. E-cigarettes are battery-operated smoking devices that deliver vapor in flavors without burning like traditional cigarettes. The liquid used in the devices comes with or without nicotine.

Some say they help smokers become ex-smokers, while others say not enough is known about them to categorize their risks. Still others are making money selling them. But nearly everyone agrees that they should be kept away from minors.The Food and Drug Administration has not implemented any restrictions, and the Pennsylvania Legislature has balked at limited purchases to adults.Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is among the 29 attorneys general who have asked for tight regulations on e-cigarettes, including prohibiting sales to anyone under 18."Vaping has become trendy and attractive," said Jaclyn Steed, prevention program manager at the Council on Chemical Abuse in Reading, in a story in the Reading Eagle.She has reason to be concerned.Last spring, administrators at Reading's Northwest Middle School asked for guidance because two seventh-graders were caught with the devices.Administrators at two other county districts, Exeter and Wilson, are concerned enough that they have banned the devices.What about claims that e-cigarettes help smokers quit?The American Heart Association's first policy statement on electronic cigarettes backs them as a last resort to help smokers quit.The American Cancer Society has no formal policy but quietly took a similar stance in May.Both groups express great concern about these popular nicotine-vapor products and urge more regulation, especially to keep them away from youth.They also stress that proven smoking cessation methods always should be tried first.Meanwhile a survey at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine found that e-cigarettes appear to be less addictive than tobacco cigarettes in a large sample of long-term users, said Jonathan Foulds, professor of public health sciences and psychiatry.This is a good start, but more research must be done.Still another facet of the issue is taking shape. A business in Hamburg is going gangbusters over e-cigarettes. The business, Sabor Vapors, is Berks County's first vape shop, whose owners say they do not sell e-cigarettes to minors unless they are with a guardian.Amelia Rivera, co-owner of Sabor Vapors with her husband, said: "No matter the regulations imposed now, there will be no way to completely eliminate or enforce the regulations to already established electronic cigarettes users. Adults and children find different ways of getting legal and illegal substances and contraband."She's right. Which is why state and federal lawmakers must do what they can to regulate e-cigarettes to keep them out of the hands of minors.Sellers of e-cigarettes are riding a wave.Those trying to keep them away from young people are trying to escape a tsunami.Reading Eagle