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In spite of various studies showing that e-cigarettes have a positive impact on smokers, a new study proves that this, in fact, might not be a hundred percent true.
A team of researchers discovered that teenagers who start using electronic cigarettes are more likely to start smoking tobacco later on.
The study involved about 2,100 Californian high school students. Surprisingly enough, almost 25 percent of them used to vape in the past. Right now around 200 of them still use electronic cigarettes.
What was even more shocking was that the tool that was meant to prevent them from smoking had the exact opposite effect. It might seem that electronic cigarette only triggered these teenagers’ appetite for the real thing because the ones who vaped were much more likely to take up smoking.
Thus, about 33 percent of the vapers also tried normal tobacco cigarettes as well, while only 1 percent of those who didn’t use e-cigarettes smoked tobacco.
However, even if the numbers might seem surprising, the researchers also state that there is no reason to believe that e-cigarettes are responsible for teenagers’ later addiction to tobacco.
An explanation for this comes from the lead study author, Jessica Barrington-Trimis from the University of Southern California, who believes there is a chance electronic cigarettes shape a tobacco-friendly culture and teenagers are more likely to keep the habit and go to the next step.
Over the past few years, electronic cigarettes have become very popular, both among those who are trying to give up smoking and those who just want to do it for the sake of it, without feeling that their health is being jeopardized.
Reports also show that teenagers all over the United States have warmed up to the e-cigarette as well, which prompted the researchers to carry out this study.
The authors of the research are not concerned about the findings because they have reported that there has been a decline in smoking tobacco cigarettes and that there is still a large number of people who vaped but never tried tobacco.
Other experts are concerned that the methods that should be helping teenagers to stay away from cigarettes are not working well enough. According to them, we should be worried about the fact that young people who would never smoke in other circumstances are exposed to nicotine.
The results of the findings were published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, July 27.
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