Study: E-cigarettes may double the risk of smoking tobacco in teens

Adolescents who try e-cigarettes may be at double the risk of smoking tobacco cigarettes, a study warns.

Researchers, including those at University of Waterloo in Canada, found that students in grades seven to 12 who had tried an e-cigarette are 2.16 times more likely to be susceptible to cigarette smoking.

They used data from the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey and found that almost 10 per cent of students in grades seven to 12 reported having used e- cigarettes.

"Since e-cigarettes came on the market there has been a debate about whether their use may lead to cigarette smoking.

The answer among adolescents is yes," said Bruce Baskerville from University of Waterloo.

E-cigarettes can contain nicotine but not many of the harmful substances produced by smoking tobacco, such as tar or carbon monoxide.

These products work through an inhalation-activated system that heats a solution to create an inhailable aerosol, often known as vapour, researchers said.

"While preliminary evidence suggests that e-cigarettes contain fewer toxic chemicals than traditional cigarettes, our findings suggest that a potential increase in harmful cigarette use may follow as e-cigarette use continues to rise among adolescent populations," said Baskerville.

The study was published in the journal Preventive Medicine.