Apr 15, 2014 03:34 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

A new report reinforces what others have said about electronic cigarettes, their marketing appeals to young people and it needs to be regulated.

According to CBS News, a group of lawmakers including Sen. Dick Durbin, Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and California Rep. Henry Waxman drafted a Congressional report urging the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the marketing of e-cigarettes.

"I can't understand why the FDA is taking this long," Durbin told the Associated Press. "It is clear that the longer they wait, the more young people will be addicted."

The FDA is already planning to do something to regulate how these devices are produced and marketed, but makers can pretty much do whatever they want until then. Previous studies say e-cigarettes appeal to a younger audience because they are not taxed as heavily as regular cigarettes.

They use a liquid nicotine solution to produce a vapor that is inhaled. While they cut down on a wide range of harmful secondary chemicals found in cigarettes, e-cigarettes cannot compare with flat-out quitting.

Durbin said e-cigarette sales topped $2 billion in 2013 and are sold under more than 200 brands. The report found two companies increased their spending on marketing expenses by 300 percent between 2012 and 2013 while many others' doubled during that time.

Durbin said if the FDA "accepts responsibility for this product as they have for tobacco," they can start implementing policies to regulate sales and marketing.

"If they fail to do that, I'm afraid it's going to continue reach into the ranks of our children," he told the AP.

The main concern for the group of lawmakers is that e-cigarettes cause a health concern for children.

"E-cigarette manufactures don't have to play by the same rules (as traditional cigarette makers)," Waxman told reporters, according to CNN. "E-cigarette makers are free to sponsor youth-oriented events and produce flavors that appeal to kids. And that is exactly what's happening."

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