Teenagers whose parents smoke, have a significantly higher probability to try e-cigarettes and become vapers, a major new Irish study shows.
The study – which highlights the risk of nicotine addiction via the “side route” of e-cigarettes – also shows the proportion of young people who try vaping has over time increase significantly (from 23% in 2014 to 39% in 2019). Boys show a higher percentage of users than girls, but in the latter the use of e-cigarettes is now increasing at a faster rate.
The researchers of the Research Institute TobaccoFree Research Institute Ireland (TFRI) in Dublin, led by director-general and professor Luke Clancy, who made the announcement at the European Pulmonology Society’s international conference in Barcelona, analyzed data on 6,216 17-18-year-olds, along with whether your parents were smokers or vapers . It found that teenagers who had parents who smoked while growing up were 55% more likely to try e-cigarettes and 51% more likely to try traditional cigarettes.
The main reasons teenagers try e-cigarettes are curiosity (66%) and having vaping friends (29%). Only 3% vape to quit smoking. The percentage of those who had never smoked before when they first tried an e-cigarette showed a large increase from 32% in 2015 to 68% in 2019.
“We found increasing use of e-cigarettes among Irish teenagers and this is a pattern we see elsewhere in the world. There is a perception that vaping is a better alternative to smoking, but our research shows that this is not the case for teenagers who typically haven’t tried traditional cigarettes before e-cigarettes. This means that for teenagers, vaping is the pathway to nicotine addiction rather than withdrawal,” said Dr Clancy.
Professor Jonathan Grigg of the European Lung Association’s Committee on Tobacco Control said: “These findings are worrying not just for teenagers in Ireland, but for families around the world. We already know children of parents who smoke are more likely to smoke themselves. New study shows that teens are also influenced by their smoking parents to take up e-cigarettes and become addicted to nicotine. More and more teens are trying e-cigarettes and not so they can quit regular smoking . This is important because we know that e-cigarettes are not harmless. The addictive effects of nicotine have been confirmed, and we are now finding that e-cigarettes can cause damage to the lungs, blood vessels and brain.”
RES-EMP
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