E-cigarettes '˜attract teenagers who wouldn't normally smoke,' finds research

E-cigarettes and their tempting flavours are attracting teens who might not otherwise have smoked tobacco, new research has revealed.
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The study disproves previous theories that e-cigarettes are responsible for a decline in youth cigarette smoking.

Combined e-cigarette and cigarette use among adolescents in 2014 was higher than total cigarette use in 2009, according to the University of California, San Francisco.

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The authors said the low-risk youths in the study, who went on to smoke regular cigarettes, may not have used nicotine at all if e-cigarettes did not exist.

Lead author Lauren Dutra said: "We didn't find any evidence that e-cigarettes are causing youth smoking to decline.

"While some of the kids using e-cigarettes were also smoking cigarettes, we found that kids who were at low risk of starting nicotine with cigarettes were using e-cigarettes.

"Recent declines in youth smoking are likely due to tobacco control efforts, not to e-cigarettes."

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The analysis builds on several previous studies that have reported that adolescents who start with e-cigarettes are more likely to subsequently smoke traditional cigarettes.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restricted e-cigarette purchases to adults ages 18 and older in August last year.

The FDA will also require a warning label on e-cigarettes, starting in August 2018, about the addictive nature of nicotine.

But the ruling does not regulate advertising or flavours and e-cigarettes continue to be sold in flavours that appeal to youth.

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Researchers examined survey data from more than 140,000 middle and high school students.

Cigarette smoking among US adolescents declined during that decade - but did not decline faster after the advent of e-cigarettes in the US between 2007 and 2009.

Senior author Stanton A. Glantz said: "E-cigarettes are encouraging - not discouraging - youth to smoke and to consume nicotine, and are expanding the tobacco market."

The study was published in science journal Pediatrics on January 23.