A new study suggests that teens who smoke e-cigarettes are more likely to smoke traditional cigarettes. They are also at risk to becoming more addicted to nicotine as e-cigarettes are not effective in helping people stop smoking.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, concluded that use of e-cigarettes is related to the increased traditional cigarette smoking in teens.
Using the data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Youth Tobacco Survey, they analyzed the smoking habits of 38,000 middle school and high school students. Data were based on interviews conducted in 2011 and 2012 about their use of traditional and e-cigarettes.
After analysis, they found that, in 2011, 3.1 percent of participants had tried smoking e-cigarettes. Of those, 1.7 percent has tried traditional cigarettes, too.
In 2012, the percentage of respondents who have tried e-cigarettes increased to 6.5 percent, while those who have tried it in combination with traditional cigarettes increased to 2.6 percent. Furthermore, two percent of the respondents were current e-cigarette smokers -- 50 percent of them smoke it in conjunction with traditional cigarettes.
"We found that e-cigarette use was actually associated with increased cigarette smoking among adolescents, contradicting the idea that e-cigarettes are effective smoking-cessation aids," said study co-author Lauren Dutra to Healthday.
However, "the study doesn't show a causal relationship. I can't say e-cigarette use causes kids to smoke based on this finding. We need some more longitudinal data on this. But it does look like these devices are contributing to it," said study co-author Lauren Dutra to Healthday.
Michael Burke, the treatment program coordinator at the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center, said that the study proves that e-cigarettes are making inroads with teens, which is alarming because most individuals who become addicted to nicotine started smoking during their younger years.
Further details of this study can be read in the March 6 issue of JAMA Pediatrics.
