About sixteen million American children can buy electronic cigarettes as the loose regulation allows them to do so legally, according to a new estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to a CDC survey of state tobacco laws, ten states have still not banned the sale of equally injurious modern cigarettes to minors.

Dr. Brian King, a senior scientist at the CDC’s Office of Smoking and Health, said, “The aerosol that’s emitted from these products has been shown to include harmful, and potentially-harmful, ingredients.”

According to King and other public health officials, their main concern is not limited to nicotine and its adverse effects on the brain development of adolescents.

“There’s also some other ingredients that have been detected such as things like volatile organic compounds as well as ultrafine particulates, including heavy metals. And so the contention that these products emit a harmless water vapor is simply not true.” King asserted.

Experts said that the Congress must expedite the passage to a legislation that makes the sale of e-cigs stricter for children.

“Specifically, we have concerns that the proposed rule’s February 15, 2007 grandfather date for newly deemed tobacco products will impede innovation and impose unnecessary regulatory burdens on both the FDA and regulated industries,” write the House Republicans which includes bigwigs like House Speaker John Boehner, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich), House Majority Leaders Keven McCarthy (R-Calif).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a two day public workshop this week in order to gather scientific facts and figures on e-cigarettes.

Earlier this year, the federal agency has proposed inclusion of electronic cigarettes to the list of tobacco products that it regulates. But the scope of that regulation remains a big issue for debate.

The health agency detailed the report’s findings in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).