Findings for any tobacco smoking and more frequent smoking seen among both U.S. and U.K. teens <\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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THURSDAY, April 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Early electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among adolescents is associated with higher odds of tobacco cigarette use later in adolescence, according to a study published online April 18 in Tobacco Control<\/em>.<\/p>\n Brian C. Kelly, Ph.D., from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and colleagues assessed whether e-cigarette use steers adolescent early smokers away from tobacco cigarettes (disruption hypothesis) or deepens early patterns of tobacco smoking (entrenchment hypothesis) in comparison with early smokers who do not use e-cigarettes. The analysis included 1,893 youth in the United Kingdom and the United States who smoked tobacco cigarettes before age 15 years.<\/p>\n The researchers found that among youth who were early cigarette smokers, 57 percent of U.K. participants and 58 percent of U.S. youth also used e-cigarettes. Among early-smoking youth, the odds of later adolescent smoking were significantly higher among e-cigarette users versus those who had not used e-cigarettes (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.45 and 2.19 for U.K. and U.S. youth, respectively). Early-smoking youth who used e-cigarettes were more likely to be frequent smokers compared with both those who did not smoke (U.K. aOR, 2.01; U.S. aOR, 5.11) and those who smoked infrequently (U.K. aOR, 1.67; U.S. aOR, 2.11).<\/p>\n “Comprehensive steps must be taken to reduce adolescent access to e-cigarettes, particularly to reduce the likelihood of entrenchment among youth who initiate smoking early,” the authors write.<\/p>\n