In 2013, nearly three times more U.S. high school students smoked regular cigarettes than vaped ones. By 2015, the trend reversed. Nearly twice as many students vaped as smoked, a new study finds. Federal researchers analyzed data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey and found that some 2.39 million U.S. high school kids vaped in 2015, while about 1.37 million smoked regular cigarettes. Since 2011, teen use of tobacco products has fallen for all categories but two: e-cigarettes and hookahs (although even hookah use has droppedsince 2014). In fact, the federal researchers conclude: the vertical growth in vaping seems to be keeping general teen tobacco use the same.

The vast majority of U.S. states have banned sales of vaping handhelds and supplies to minors, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Yet “minors do not face any significant barrier in purchasing liquid nicotine over the Internet” to vape in e-cigs, a second new study shows. Last summer, Dmitriy Nikitin of the University of California, Irvine and his colleagues recruited three teens to buy e-liquids from 120 different U.S. online vaping-supply vendors. Only four stores did not sell e-liquids to the 16- and 17-year-olds. “I was really blown away,” Nikitin says.

Some of the stores packaged their e-liquids with child-friendly bonuses: toy frogs, stick-ers, little green army men or candies. On May 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the creation of new regulations for e-cigs, hookahs and other tobacco products.

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