Adolescents Who Use Alternative Tobacco Products More Likely To Smoke Cigarettes
Adolescents between the ages of 12 to 17 who use e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or tobacco water pipes are more likely to move to conventional cigarettes within a year.
Adolescents between the ages of 12 to 17 who use e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or tobacco water pipes are more likely to move to conventional cigarettes within a year, according to a study issued by the University of San Francisco (UCSF) School of Dentistry and UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. The paper, “Association of Noncigarette Tobacco Product Use With Future Cigarette Smoking Among Youth in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, 2013–2015” published in JAMA Pediatrics, provides support for legislation banning flavored tobacco products, policies restricting flavors in e-cigarettes, and raising the age of tobacco purchasing to help deter youth from becoming smokers.
The team analyzed data from 10,384 adolescent participants in the PATH study who said they had never tried a cigarette. A year later, 469 adolescents indicated they had tried a cigarette, and 219 had smoked a cigarette within the past 30 days. Among the study group, smoking was highest among adolescents who used noncigarette combustible tobacco (19.2%), e-cigarettes (19.1%), smokeless tobacco (18.8%) or hookahs (18.3%).
From Decisions in Dentistry. May 2018;4(5):9.
