Study suggests e-cigarettes are gateway for kids to real cigarettes

Study suggests e-cigarettes are gateway for kids to real cigarettes


Kids who try electronic cigarettes are more than twice as likely to take up tobacco cigarettes.

That’s the finding from a group of researchers in Canada, who found that e-cigarettes appear to be a bit of a nicotine gateway to traditional cigarettes. Children in grades seven to 12 who tried an e-cigarette were found to be 2.16 times more likely to use tobacco. Nearly 10 percent of kids in that age group said they had tried an e-cigarette. The researchers reported their findings after analyzing data from the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey.

E-cigarettes deliver a jolt of nicotine without many of the harmful compounds such as carbon monoxide and tar that come from smoking tobacco. E-cigarettes work by heating a liquid to produce an inhalable mist.

While researchers note that preliminary evidence from other scientists suggest that e-cigarettes have fewer toxic chemicals than tobacco, they said their findings show a worrisome pattern that begins with vaping and ends with smoking.

Regulators in the United States banned e-cigarette sales to minors beginning in August 2016. The regulations also require photo identification for e-cigarette sales and bar manufacturers from promoting the devices as a healthier alternative to smoking.

The researchers at the University of Waterloo said the findings add new details to the debate about whether e-cigarettes lead to cigarette smoking among adolescents. They note the relationship between e-cigarette use and tobacco smoking is complex, involves many factors and needs additional study.

But for kids who are puffing on an e-cigarette, there could be addictive consequences.

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