“I’m calling on healthcare professionals, health systems, employers, insurers, public-health professionals, and policy makers to take action to put an end to the staggering — and completely preventable — human and financial tolls that smoking takes on our country.”

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the update “has important implications for public policy on e-cigarettes.”

“It shows that e-cigarette interests distort the evidence when they cite the purported smoking-cessation benefits of e-cigarettes in fighting policies needed to reverse the current youth epidemic, especially bans on flavored e-cigarettes.

“There is limited evidence that e-cigarettes in general help adult smokers quit and no credible evidence that flavored e-cigarettes do so.”

Myers said the update “demonstrates that the FDA’s failure to require e-cigarette manufacturers to provide scientific evidence about their products has hurt smokers by eliminating the need for manufacturers to conduct valid scientific studies about the impact of their products on smoking cessation.”

Meanwhile, anti-smoking advocates say Adams has joined in the chorus of those who are overlooking or ignoring studies that support the public-health benefit of e-cigarettes.