"We have conquered smoking in this country. Then Juul arrived.

Jim Cramer, of CNBC, criticized Juul on Wednesday, calling it "formidable": the manufacturer of electronic cigarettes is facing many criticisms and a possible repression of its products.

"It was a national health problem treated as if it were a simple shop issue," said Cramer. "We defeated smoking in this country, and then Juul arrived."

Cramer's comments on CNBC followed Wednesday morning's announcement of Kevin Burns' resignation as CEO of Juul, the market's e-cigarette market leader, accused by the government of the day. have fueled a teenage vape epidemic.

The percentage of Americans who smoke cigarettes has fallen to a record low of about 14% in 2017, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the previous year.

At the same time, 27.5% of high school students reported using an e-cigarette in the last 30 days, compared to 20.8% in 2018, according to preliminary results from the National Annual Survey of Youth Smoking. of the CDC, published earlier this month. In 2017, these figures were about 11%.

"I'm just against the death of children, just a long standing position," Cramer said in "Squawk Box," adding later: "I am an anti-adolescent death and everyone in America should be the only one. to be."

Cramer also said that Juul had "done a remarkable job in a very short time" to set the stage "for the murder of many people". He added that Juul's rapid progression was "almost unstoppable", but that the current moment is a good time to make changes.

"The only moment to stop them is the present moment," said Cramer. "What must happen to people to realize what it's like?"

The amount of nicotine in a standard Juul capsule is equivalent to a pack of cigarettes, according to the National Center for Health Research. Nicotine is also particularly harmful for the development of the brain of adolescents, warns the CDC.

"It's a good thing this case goes out of business," said Cramer.

Juul was not immediately available to respond to CNBC's request for comment on Cramer's remarks.

In addition to many states, such as New York and Michigan, which have enacted regulations on flavored electronic cigarette and vaping products, the federal authorities have also taken action earlier this month to develop guidelines on restrictions. .

Flavored products are more likely to appeal to teenagers.

Juul initially envisioned his electronic cigarettes as an option for adults seeking to smoke cigarettes – although their popularity extended not only to teenagers, but to those who had never smoked before.

Cramer said that if Juul and other electronic cigarettes are really effective at keeping people away from tobacco, "then make a prescription appointment".

"Sometimes we have to take a stand, we are human beings and we are parents," said Cramer, adding that "we have the responsibility to preserve adolescents."

While regulators are struggling with the teenage vaping crisis, federal health officials are also investigating a mysterious lung disease suspected to be related to the use of the electronic cigarette. The disease has sickened at least 530 people and killed at least nine. The median age of the victims is 19 years old.

Former FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, said in an interview Wednesday at CNBC, "It is not clear that these acute lung injuries are caused by legally regulated products sold, of which FDA oversees manufacturing. "

"It seems that many of these acute lung injuries are caused by illegal products containing oil," he said.

The two crises – lung disease and teenage vaping – "are not completely disconnected," said Gottlieb, a health advocate and board member of Pfizer. "If fewer children used the electronic cigarette, they would not risk acute lung injury," he added.