Vaping makes youth more likely to think about smoking, research says

WATERLOO — Teenagers who try e-cigarettes double their risk for smoking regular cigarettes, according to a new study.

The study from the University of Waterloo and Wake Forest School of Medicine found that students in grades 7 to 12 who tried an e-cigarette were 2.16 times more likely to think about smoking a tobacco cigarette.

“It’s a stepping-stone to become a tobacco user and we’re concerned about that,” said Bruce Baskerville, coauthor on the study and a researcher at the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact at the University of Waterloo.

Using data from the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, the study found almost 10 per cent of students reported ever having used e-cigarettes. Those students, compared to those who never tried vaping, were more than twice as likely to think about smoking.

“They had intentions to start using cigarettes,” he said.

He said very few studies look at e-cigarette use and the intention to try tobacco cigarettes, even though intentions are a strong predictor of eventually doing something.

“It’s a very important part of behaviour change.”

E-cigarettes, which use an inhalation-activated system that heats a solution to create an inhalable aerosol, can contain nicotine but not many of the harmful substances produced by smoking tobacco, including tar or carbon monoxide.

But Baskerville warns that doesn’t mean they are harmless, especially for youth. E-cigarettes normalize cigarette use and they can also get teens hooked on nicotine, prompting them to transition to regular cigarettes.

“E-cigarettes may facilitate the use of tobacco cigarettes,” Baskerville said.

He said the study supports Ontario legislation that came into effect early last year that restricts the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under 19, adding that the province may need to look at further controls on the marketing of e-cigarettes and flavouring that appeals to youth considering the greater risk of youth to start smoking.

Despite the success in recent decades to lower smoking rates, Baskerville said that “tobacco is the leading cause of cancer in Canada still.”

He would like to do additional research, following the youth over the five or six years to better understand the impact of e-cigarette use on tobacco use and other substances.

The study is published in the journal Preventive Medicine.