INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO): Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and several other attorneys general are teaming up to try and get restrictions placed on the sale of electronic cigarettes. E-cigarettes, also known as e-cigs, are battery operated products that heat liquid nicotine, derived from tobacco plants, into a vapor that is inhaled by the user.

In a letter, the attorneys general urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate the e-cigarettes as tobacco products under the Tobacco Control Act.

“Some smokers see e-cigarettes as a way to wean themselves off of other tobacco products, but the health effects of these popular alternatives have not been adequately studied and the ingredients are not regulated,” Zoeller said. “Nicotine is highly addictive and, if e-cigarettes are left unregulated, our state’s youth may use them as a gateway to smoking.”

Zoeller said unlike traditional tobacco products, there are no federal age restrictions that would stop kids from getting e-cigarettes. He adds, the letter highlights the growing need to protect children from becoming addicted to nicotine through this product.