The study has supported the belief that e-cigarettes use is linked to the increased risk of combustible tobacco product.
Advertisement
An independent review has estimated e-cigarettes are at least 95 per cent less harmful than smoking tobacco.
Smokers in the North East are leading the way in using e-cigarettes to quit their habits.
Calling the study an “incredibly important milestone”, a BAT spokesman acknowledged the risk posed by chemicals found in cigarette smoke and said increasing sales of e-cigarettes would greatly benefit their customers’ health.
State Sen. Ed Hernandez said his bill to increase the smoking age to 21 would significantly reduce the number of young people who take up smoking.
“However, we believe e-cigarettes are a commercial product and should remain so – they should not be prescribed by the NHS”.
E-cigarettes emit vapours, and models that include nicotine are illegal in New Zealand.
“E-cigarettes could be a game-changer in public health in particular by reducing the enormous health inequalities caused by smoking”, expresses study co-author professor Ann McNeil.
Advertisement
Adam Leventhal from University of Southern California, Los Angeles and colleagues conducted the study to determine the chances of adolescents who reported ever using e-cigarettes to initiate the use of combustible tobacco during the subsequent year.
