Forty states have joined together to call for the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the promotion, contents and sale of e-cigarettes to teenagers.

The decision of attorney generals from 40 states to finally make a move came after the National Youth Tobacco Surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing a 10 percent increase in the number of high school students who have used e-cigarettes less than three weeks ago. The number has doubled 4.7 percent in 2011.

E-cigarettes are very accessible for teenagers because federal authorities are not regulating it. However, the FDA is planning to propose new rules for implementation by Oct. 31. The new rule aims to ban the sale of conventional cigarettes including the e-cigarettes to individuals below 18. To date, more than 24 states have already acted to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.

"Unlike traditional tobacco products, there are no federal age restrictions that would prevent children from neither obtaining e-cigarettes, nor are there any advertising restrictions," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine stated in the letter.

The letter from the attorneys general of the 40 states to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg is a reminder and request “to take all possible measures'' in creating regulations to meet its Oct. 31 deadline, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Ad campaigns of e-cigarettes are rampant in the Internet and vulgarly advertised on television. Teens are also attracted with its appealing taste which comes in flavors like cherry and chocolate.

Previous studies show that e-cigarettes are less dangerous than conventional cigarettes, which release deadly chemicals through its combustion. Advocates claim that e-cigarettes effectively help smokers quit the habit. Public health officials, on the other hand, claim that e-cigarettes could get people more addicted on nicotine and attract more people to smoking.