New Study Shows that Regular Use of Electronic Cigarettes by Nonsmoking Youth is Extremely Low

A new study published in the journal Addictive Behaviors confirms the conclusion of last week's CDC study: the use of electronic cigarettes among nonsmoking youth is extremely low.

In fact, of a high school population of 1,345 students, the survey could find only 5 nonsmokers who had experimented with e-cigarettes in the past 30 days.  

In the first wave of the survey (February 2010), a total of 1,719 students were surveyed. The total number of nonsmokers who had experimented with e-cigarettes in the past 30 days was 2.

In the second wave of the survey (October 2010), a total of 1,702 students were surveyed. The total number of nonsmokers who had experimented with e-cigarettes in the past 30 days was 5.
 
In the most recent wave of the survey (June 2011), a total of 1,345 students were surveyed. The total number of nonsmokers who had experimented with e-cigarettes in the past 30 days was 5.

Thus, the percentage of nonsmoking e-cigarette users among this high school sample was 0.1% at wave 1, 0.3% at wave 2, and 0.4% at wave 3.

The estimated percentage of nonsmoking e-cigarette users among youth nationally in the CDC survey was approximately 0.5%, suggesting that we are not seeing a substantial increase in the use of electronic cigarettes among nonsmoking youth.

Not surprisingly, the study does not actually directly mention the very low use of electronic cigarettes by nonsmoking youth and does not point out that the evidence it presents suggests that there is currently no reason for major concern that e-cigarettes are serving as a gateway to youth smoking.

The Rest of the Story

This study adds to the evidence that electronic cigarette use among nonsmoking youth is not currently a significant problem and that these products are not serving as a gateway to cigarette smoking, as claimed by many anti-smoking groups as well as policy makers.

Last week, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) stated: "These e-cigarettes are a gateway to tobacco use by children and teens and should not be marketed to youth."

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal stated as follows: "“Electronic cigarettes as marketed today – with flavors like bubblegum and strawberry – are targeted at young people with the very clear intent of creating a new generation of smokers. Without question, tobacco companies are using the same despicable tactics with e-cigarettes that they used in previous decades with traditional cigarettes to lure youth down a path of nicotine addiction and eventual death."

And CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden proclaimed: "The increased use of e-cigarettes by teens is deeply troubling....Nicotine is a highly addictive drug. Many teens who start with e-cigarettes may be condemned to struggling with a lifelong addiction to nicotine and conventional cigarettes."

This study, along with CDC's own study, demonstrates that these public health advocates and politicians are merely blowing smoke. They are not basing their statements on scientific evidence but are apparently jumping at the opportunity to lash out at electronic cigarettes, about which they presumably have reached a pre-determined conclusion based on ideology, not science.

The 0.4% prevalence of nonsmoking youth who have experimented with e-cigarettes in the past 30 days is even less concerning when you consider that this merely represents the use of an e-cigarette in the past month. It does not necessarily indicate regular use of the product, adoption of vaping as a regular behavior, or addiction to nicotine. In fact, the absence of major observed increases in the prevalence of e-cigarette use among nonsmoking youth suggests that at the current time, this behavior holds little appeal for them.

It is now clear that neither of the two potential drawbacks to the promotion of e-cigarettes - the inhibition of quitting by smokers and the initiation of smoking by nonsmokers - are significant problems at the present time. Therefore, it is quite clear that the net public health impact of electronic cigarettes is a positive one.

While FDA regulation is necessary to make sure that e-cigarettes remain out of reach and/or out of favor among nonsmoking youth, the scientific evidence supports the contention that the FDA, along with anti-smoking groups and advocates, should embrace electronic cigarettes as an important strategy in their efforts to reduce smoking and its related health consequences.