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Teenagers who use e-cigarettes are more likely to try tobacco

Pastoral issues PSHE
Many people assume that e-cigarettes are safer than conventional cigarettes. However, new research has found that teenagers who have tried an e-cigarette (known as “vaping”) are nearly four times more likely to start smoking regular cigarettes within a year than peers who have never used e-cigarettes.

The study, published in the journal Tobacco Control, reported a “robust association” between e-cigarette use and the increased probability of smoking a cigarette within 12 months.

The research team, which included academics from Leeds, Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan, Durham, Staffordshire and York universities, surveyed nearly 2,840 teenagers from 20 schools in England. The vast majority of them were non-smokers, while a third had used an e-cigarette in the past.

A year later the youngsters were surveyed again. They were asked if they had tried a conventional cigarette and if so, how often.

A third of the teenagers (34 per cent) who had never smoked in the past but had tried an e-cigarette said they had smoked at least one cigarette during the year.

However, among the group who had not smoked and had never used an e-cigarette, the figure was 124 out of 1,383 – or nine per cent.

This is the first study to report a prospective relationship between the use of e-cigarettes and the initiation of cigarette use in UK teenagers.

The research paper states: “It is … plausible that the use of e-cigarettes might lead to initiation and escalation in cigarette use by normalising any kind of nicotine use, by developing nicotine addiction (if the e-cigarettes contain nicotine), or by developing friendship networks with smokers and decreasing the perceived risks of smoking.

“However, there is no direct evidence yet to suggest that ever use of e-cigarettes normalises cigarette use.”

Lead investigator Professor Mark Conner, an applied social psychologist at the University of Leeds, told SecEd: “The findings suggest that among the teenagers who had never smoked the use of e-cigarettes was a strong predicator that within 12 months they would have tried a conventional cigarette.

It is impossible to say if these young people were just experimenting with cigarettes or were becoming more regular smokers.”
Since October 2015 it has been illegal for retailers in the UK to sell e-cigarettes or vaporising liquids to anyone under the age of 18.