From E-Cigs to Tobacco Use

Youth smoking has declined over the last decade, but electronic cigarettes may be attracting young people who weren't likely to use tobacco products at all, a new study found.

That finding calls into question the assertion that e-cigarettes may be helping to reduce youth smoking rates, according to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) researchers behind this study.

These researchers found that many young people who were unlikely to start smoking traditional cigarettes used e-cigs and often went on to use other tobacco products. These researchers noted that reductions in youth smoking were likely because of tobacco-control efforts — not because of e-cigs.

These researchers looked at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Youth Tobacco Survey between 2004 and 2014. This data included responses from more than 140,000 middle and high school students.

E-cigs are handheld electronic devices that vaporize a flavored liquid for the user to inhale. The liquid usually contains nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin and flavorings. E-cig use is not recommended because the long-term health effects are not yet known. 

For help quitting any tobacco or nicotine product, talk to your doctor.

This study was published in the journal Pediatrics.

The National Cancer Institute funded this research. Information on potential conflicts of interest was not available at the time of publication.