Teenagers are more likely to begin smoking after trying e-cigarettes, according to new research published in the journal Tobacco Control.
The research shows that school pupils who had previously used an
e-cigarette device were then approximately 3 times more likely to start smoking cigarettes around year later, compared with those who had never used e-cigarettes.
The use of e-cigarettes in teens is
rising; increasing from 5% in 2013 to 8% in 2014. Some studies have
concluded that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than smoking
widespread concerns that they are simply acting as a ‘gateway’ to
smoking regular tobacco-based cigarettes. This is in spite of the fact
it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under-18s in the UK.
A team of experts based at the University of Hawaii monitored 2,338
high school students, a year apart, quizzing them regarding their
experiences of either smoking tobacco or ‘vaping’ with electronic
devices; if they used them, and if so, how frequently.
Just under a third (31%) of the students had admitted to using
e-cigarettes when they were first surveyed in 2013 at the age of 14 or
15, the study found.
After the researchers had questioned the children a year later, this
percentage had risen to 38. Overall, 15% of the students had smoked at
least 1 cigarette in 2013, increasing to 21% by the following year.
However, it was discovered that whoever had used e-cigarettes in 2013
were actually thrice as likely to times more likely to have smoked
tobacco the following year. This finding was still true, even after
researchers accounted for factors such as students’ home environment and
parental education, according to the authors.
The researchers also found that those that had reported to having the
larger frequency of vaping in the first year were likely to regularly
smoke later on, which could mean that many students who tried smoking in
the study were just experimenting.
The authors of the study wrote: “We followed a sample of high school
students over a one-year interval and found that among initial
non-smokers, those who used e-cigarettes were more likely to initiate
cigarette smoking.
“This suggests that e-cigarette use in adolescence has behavioural costs.
“These findings should be considered for policy discussions about the availability of e-cigarettes to adolescents.”
Those involved in creating the analysis state the study is merely
statistical, and no definitive reasons can be pinpointed as to why some
of the children had begun to smoke.
The study had also not taken into account other factors, such as parents’ smoking habits or attitudes to smoking.
E-cigarettes are used by around 1.3 million people in the UK,
intended to resemble a traditional cigarette. Liquid nicotine is
converted into a mist, or vapour, that the user inhales – simulating the
process of smoking. As the devices emit a smoke-like water vapour, this
has led to the term ‘vaping’ being commonly referred to for their use.
Smoking rates have dropped, but there are huge concerns that the
e-cigarettes could be helping to encourage youngsters to begin smoking
who previously never had, critics arguing they are a gateway to nicotine
addiction and there needs to be further research into the impact on our
health.
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