E-cigarettes could turn young into lifelong nicotine addicts

ELECTRONIC cigarettes could leave children hooked on nicotine for life.

The warning by the US government undermines British health officials’ claim that e-cigarettes are ‘95 per cent less harmful’ than normal smoking.

US Surgeon General, Dr Vivek Murthy, brands the devices a ‘major public health concern’. His report cites evidence that vaping is a ‘gateway’ to smoking for teenagers, who can become hooked on nicotine after as little as one to three days of it a month.

The harm to their developing brains can affect attention span and memory, the document states. It also raises fears over cancer-causing chemicals such as formaldehyde found in the vapour.

Dr Murthy writes: ‘E-cigarette use among youth and young adults is associated with the use of other tobacco products, including conventional cigarettes. Because most tobacco use is established during adolescence, actions to prevent young people from the potential of a lifetime of nicotine addiction are critical.’

He described use of e-cigarettes – which provide nicotine without tobacco – among US teenagers as a ‘major public health concern’. It comes after the World Health Organisation asked countries including Britain to consider a vaping ban in public places.

But last night Public Health England continued to state that e-cigarette use carries ‘a fraction of the risk of smoking’.

There was some criticism of the US report as evidence of e-cigarettes’ effect on teenage brains is in some cases taken from animal studies. But the technology is still so new that scientists have not yet been able to study the impact on health over several years, as they can for normal cigarettes. PHE chief Duncan Selbie said in a study last year that ‘in a nutshell, best estimates show e-cigarettes are 95 per cent less harmful to your health than normal cigarettes’.

Since then a stream of studies have suggested otherwise. Last month research found formaldehyde in e-cigarette flavourings. US scientists also found teenagers who vape are 71 per cent more likely to get bronchitis, while the latest report focuses on brain damage. It states: ‘Nicotine has more significant and durable damaging effects on adolescent brains compared with adult brains, the former suffering more harmful effects.’

PHE’s Professor Kevin Fenton said: ‘Our review of evidence found e-cigarette use carries a fraction of the risk of smoking … we are closely monitoring any emerging evidence.’