A new study from the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine suggests teens who use electronic cigarettes are more likely than their peers to try regular tobacco products.
USC researchers surveyed 2,530 non-smoking ninth graders in Los Angeles at the beginning of the school year. Of those, 222 had experimented with e-cigarettes.
Six months later, nearly 31 percent of e-cigarette users had tried a tobacco product, compared with 8 percent of their peers. The different rates of tobacco smoking held at the 12-month mark, as well, as the teens were getting ready to enter the 10th grade.
Tom Novotny, professor emeritus of public health at San Diego State University, said the study suggests that kids who vape are more likely to smoke.
“So that’s been the big concern about e-cigarettes, is that they’re another form of nicotine addiction, and that they may be associated with either initiation or continued use of cigarettes," Novotny said.
E-cigarettes are advertised as a tool to help people quit smoking. Novtony said there's no evidence to support that claim.
