Research that appeared in ‘Tobacco Control’ this week, looked at teenagers who smoked cigarettes and concluded that if they also vaped they would be more likely to go on to smoke. In reaching a conclusion, the research looked at two different schools of thought: firstly the ‘diversion’ hypothesis that sees vaping use reducing the frequency of later cigarette use; and secondly ‘catalyst’ hypothesis, that predicts vaping use leads to smoking. It also cites research done in France that concludes the former theory – that vaping use reduces the frequency of cigarette smoking for teenagers.
I should stress at this point that, while the incidence of teenage use of vapes is relatively low, it is unacceptable for children to have access to vape products and the UKVIA has been campaigning for many years to strengthen the way retailers are policed in selling to teenagers. Progress is being made but it is our belief that more can be done. What is also critical is that we ensure parents and schools, are given all the facts to help understand the facts around vaping, to deal with the wealth of misinformation out there today.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) conducted research in 2022 that included the finding that incidence of vaping amongst teenagers who hadn’t previously smoked cigarettes was very low (0.5%), compared to those who had previously smoked (7%). The research published by Tobacco Control only looked at teenagers who had previously smoked; however, and perhaps crucially it is not clear, or rather the researchers are not clear, what comes first – vaping use or cigarette use. Experts writing for the Science Media Centre also pointed out that two key determinants of smoking in young people or adults were ignored – dependence and mental health. This is important for a number of reasons, not least as we know those who suffer from mental health problems find it harder to stop smoking and could therefore use vaping to deal with nicotine withdrawal in environments where they are not able to smoke cigarettes.
The view of the experts (full quotes from these and other leading scientists can be found HERE) :
Dr Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Associate Professor in Evidence-Based Policy and Practice, University of Oxford said:
“Although well-conducted, this type of study cannot prove that vaping causes young people to start smoking or to smoke more than they should have in the absence of e-cigarettes – a limitation acknowledged by the authors.”
Professor Peter Hajek, Director of the Tobacco Dependence Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London, said:
“If vaping led to smoking, we would see an increase in smoking rates among young people since vaping came along. In reality, the decline in smoking among young people has accelerated.”
As highlighted above, the UKVIA believes that no children should have access to vapes or be using vapes and more needs to be done. This also goes for the research, as the more we understand the facts about vape products, the better.