Well-intentioned as it may have been, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent crackdown on retail sales of the popular JUUL vapor device to minors is a misguided strategy that will likely do more harm than good in the quest to reduce the incidence of smoking-related illness and death.

Recent studies and statements from the American Cancer Society and the National Academies of Sciences state that e-cigarettes and vapor products are less harmful than traditional, combustible tobacco products. Yet, state and local public health entities continue to deride these products as gateways to higher smoking rates among minors and young adults. While the war against vapor products continues to be waged in the court of public opinion, a closer look at the facts reveals that it’s a game of smoke and mirrors.