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The share of middle and high school students who used e-cigarettes has doubled in 2012 compared to the previous year, according to a CDC survey.

The significant rise is prompting obvious concerns among health officials that the new device could be creating more health problems than curbing them.

The survey by CDC revealed, one in 10 high school students had tried an e-cigarette last year. The total number of middle and high school students who tried e-cigarettes in 2012 equalled to 1.8 millions.

E-Cigarettes are battery-powered devices that deliver nicotine which is vaporized to form an aerosol mist. Although producers promote e-cigarettes as healthy alternative to smoking, most of the researchers are still to support the fact. Presently The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the use of e-cigerettes though its believed that they are going to start soon.

“The increased use of e-cigarettes by teens is deeply troubling,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a statement. “Nicotine is a highly addictive drug. Many teens who start with e-cigarettes may be condemned to struggling with a lifelong addiction to nicotine and conventional cigarettes," he later added.

The survey also found that 75 percent of the students who used e-cigarettes within 30 days also smoked the conventional cigarettes in the same period. The percentage of students who used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days also rose to 2.8 percent in the 2012 compared to 1.5 percent in 2011.

The e-cigarettes are also potential gateway as one in five students who tried e-cigarettes never smoked the conventional one.

“The adolescent brain is more susceptible to nicotine, and the trend of rising use could hook young people who might then move into more harmful products like conventional cigarettes,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC.