E-Cigarettes and Smoking, 3

Questions also abound about whether E-Cigs are in any way linked with starting smoking regular cigarettes. National Institutes of Health funded a study to evaluate whether exposure to E-cigarettes increased one’s risk for initiation to smoking regular tobacco cigarettes. Recently, Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA Director, released the results of the study. Researchers found that teenagers who use E-cigarettes are more likely to start smoking tobacco. Reportedly, teenagers who smoke E-cigarettes are reportedly at three times higher risk for smoking regular cigarettes within about a year—when compared with teenagers who do not use E-Cigs. Another study revealed that that students who have used e-cigarettes by the time they start 9th grade are more likely than others to start smoking traditional cigarettes and other smokable tobacco products within the next year.

Rigotti, NA. ‘e-Cigarette use and subsequent tobacco use by adolescents: new evidence about a potential risk of e-cigarettes.’ JAMA.2015;314(7):673-674.