Vaping, for youngsters, has turn into “a route into nicotine addiction, rather than out of it”, an professional has warned.
The warning comes after a brand new examine steered a major variety of teenagers who strive vaping have by no means smoked.
Researchers from the Tobacco Free Research Institute Ireland stated the proportion of 16 and 17-year-olds who had tried e-cigarettes had elevated from 23% in 2014 to 39% in 2019.
The 39% of adolescents who stated they’d tried e-cigarettes compares with 32% who had tried smoking.
And 68% of those that had tried e-cigarettes stated they’d by no means tried smoking.
The major causes youngsters gave for making an attempt e-cigarettes have been curiosity (66%) and since their buddies have been vaping (29%), in accordance with figures from 1000’s of youngsters.
Only 3% stated it was to give up smoking.
Meanwhile, researchers stated children whose dad and mom are people who smoke are 55% extra prone to strive e-cigarettes.
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4.3 million Brits now use e-cigarettes – however 350,000 of them have by no means smoked
The new analysis, offered on the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Barcelona, Spain, additionally discovered that these children have been 51% extra prone to have tried smoking.
Professor Luke Clancy, director common of the Institute, stated: “We have found increasing use of e-cigarettes in Irish teenagers and that’s a pattern that is emerging elsewhere in the world.
“There’s a perception that vaping is a better alternative to smoking, but our research shows that this doesn’t apply to teenagers who usually haven’t tried cigarettes prior to e-cigarettes.
“This signifies that, for teenagers, vaping is a route into nicotine dependancy, relatively than out of it.”
‘Worrying’
Lead researcher Dr Joan Hanafin added: “We can see that the variety of youngsters utilizing e-cigarettes is altering quick, so we have to preserve monitoring the state of affairs in Ireland and around the globe.
“We also plan to study social media to understand how this influences girls’ and boys’ vaping behaviour.”
Commenting on the examine, Professor Jonathan Grigg, chair of the European Respiratory Society’s Tobacco Control Committee, stated: “These findings are worrying, not just for teenagers in Ireland, but for families all around the world.”
Earlier this 12 months, a separate report from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) concluded that the proportion of kids vaping is on the rise, with many being influenced by social media websites resembling TikTok.
While it’s unlawful to promote vapes to under-18s, the proportion of kids aged 11 to 17 at present vaping has jumped from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022.
Source: information.sky.com”