E-cigarettes ‘tempt young into smoking’

YOUNG people who try e-cigarettes are much more likely to start smoking, scientists have concluded.

A year-long study of nearly 700 teenagers in the United States found that of the 16 who tried e-cigarettes, 11 (68 per cent) went on to smoke compared with only 18 per cent of those who did not.

All of those involved had expressed an aversion to smoking at the start of the study.

Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh said it was likely those who tried e-cigarettes became addicted to nicotine and grew used to the action of smoking, which normalised the habit.

Dr Brian Primack, study lead author, said: “Especially considering the rapid increase in e-cigarette use among youth, these findings support regulations to limit sales and decrease the appeal of e-cigarettes to adolescents and young adults.”

Dr Jonathan Klein, of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said: “At a time when many claim to be uncertain about the harms and benefits of e-cigarettes and argue for more studies, these data provide strong longitudinal evidence that e-cigarette use leads to smoking, most likely owning to nicotine addiction. We do not need more research on this question; we have the evidence base.”

However, some experts said it was impossible to know whether those who used e-cigarettes would have gone on to smoke anyway. Ann McNeill, profes- sor of tobacco addiction at the National Addiction Centre, King’s College London, said: “Sadly this study cannot throw any light at all on what influenced a proportion of these 16 people to soften their attitudes towards cigarette smoking.”

E-cigarettes will be banned for under-18s in Britain from October 1.

The study was published in