Juul products are being pulled off shelves nationwide after the Food and Drug Administration accused the brand of targeting minors.

“The use of electronic cigarettes has exponentially and dramatically increased, especially for people age 12 to 17 which was really the underlying driving factor behind this ban,” Hidalgo County Health Authority Dr. Ivan Melendez said. “There's about 11 million people aged 12 to 17 that the FDA felt were being targeted by different companies, specifically this one.”

RELATED: FDA bans Juul e-cigarettes tied to teen vaping surge

The problem was the dangers of smoking an e-cigarette weren't often talked about,” Melendez said. 

“Even though electronic cigarettes are less toxic than regular cigarettes, they're still very toxic, still very dangerous,” Melendez said. “Particularly in kids, it was identified that it causes a slowing of brain growth. It affected attention, focus, mood, self-control, and learning.”

Melendez, says studies also linked vaping to an increased risk of other substance abuses, as well as lung and cardiovascular damage. While other e-cigarette companies still sell similar products, public health professional hope the ban will change the target demographic.

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