Research Discovers Risks for Continued E-Cigarette Usage in Teens

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — Through a study of middle- and high-school students, researchers have identified a series of risk factors that relate to continued use of e-cigarettes. Published in the September 2016 issue of Pediatrics, the study, “Reasons for Trying E-Cigarettes and Risk of Continued Use,” determined several factors based on race, gender, age, and reasons for first trying e-cigarettes.

The most common reasons for trying e-cigarettes cited by the subjects of the study included curiosity about e-cigarettes, good flavors, and friends’ use. Youth who reported trying e-cigarettes because of low cost were using e-cigarettes on more days six months later. Youth who said they tried e-cigarettes to quit smoking were more than 14 times more likely to continue e-cigarettes than those who did not report this reason.

Although not the main focus of the paper, when researchers returned to the participants six months later, they discovered that, among those who tried e-cigarettes to quit smoking, 80{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} were still smoking regular cigarettes. The study also concluded that younger students and current cigarette smokers were more likely to continue using e-cigarettes over time, and suggests that campaigns to prevent continued use be targeted at younger students.