E-cigs ARE a gateway to tobacco – teens are MORE likely to become regular smokers after vaping
E-CIGARETTES 're-normalise' smoking and encourage teens to take up tobacco, experts have warned.
Teenagers who vape were more likely to become regular smokers within a year of trying e-cigs, new research suggests.
A study of more than 44,000 school children in Canada found "strong evidence" that e-cigarettes are associated with taking up fags, contrary to recent studies that have suggested vaping helps people quit tobacco.
And Public Health England controversially endorsed e-cigarettes in their Stoptober campaign this month.
Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada followed 44,163 high school students for one year.
They put them into six groups; current daily smokers, occasional smokers, former smokers, experimental smokers, puffers and those who have never tried smoking.
Kids who had used e-cigarettes in the 30 days prior to the study were more likely to start smoking and continue smoking after a year.
Lead author David Hammond, of the school of public health and health systems at the university, said: "While our study provides strong evidence that e-cigarettes are associated with smoking initiation among youth, the association is unclear.
"E-cigarettes may help to re-normalise smoking, however, the association between e-cigarettes and smoking may simply reflect common factors rather than a causal effect: the same individual and social risk factors that increase e-cigarette use may also increase the likelihood of youth smoking."
But the researchers noted that the prevalence of smoking decreased slightly over time - so the impact of e-cigarettes on youth smoking rates may still be minimal.
"Youth may be trying e-cigarettes before smoking because they are easier to access.
"Until recently, youth could legally purchase e-cigarettes without nicotine, whereas regular cigarettes cannot be sold to young people under 18 years of age," Dr Hammond added.
VAPING BAD What are the laws on e-cigarettes, is vaping harmful and are e-cigs safer than normal tobacco?
Public Health England's independent review of the latest evidence, published in 2015, found e-cigarettes are around 95 per cent safer than smoking.
But experts have warned vaping is a new trend and, as a result, scientists are still learning about the effects vaping can have on the body.
Recent studies have warned the devices not only harm the lungs, but also the heart.
Another study, published in February, warns vapers may be at greater risk of a life-threatening stroke than smokers.
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