New study finds vaping could lead to teenagers smoking cigarettes

25% of 11 to 15-year-olds have used e-cigarettes according to NHS data, and a new study by scientists at the RAND research centre has concluded that teenagers who vape are more likely to smoke real cigarettes further down the line than teenagers who do not. The study also found that those teenagers who vape and smoke are more likely to be heavy smokers of both types of cigarettes. NHS Digital conducted the same study that concluded that 93% of regular smokers said they had vaped in the past.
Back in 2015, Dr John Middleton, Faculty of Public Health, said: “We need to protect children and young people from the harms of nicotine by regulating electronic cigarettes. Our concern is that if we wait for proof that electronic cigarettes could act as a gateway to smoking cigarettes, it will already have happened. The tobacco industry has the opportunity to recruit its next generation of smokers.”
Dr Michael Dunbar, lead author, said: “For young people, using these products may actually lead to more harm in the long run. Vaping may be normalising tobacco and nicotine use among young people. Using one product may “lower the bar” for going on to use other types of products.”