Teens Favor E-Cigarettes Over Tobacco

A survey that says more teens are puffing e-cigarettes than tobacco is both good and bad news to a New York tobacco control expert.

“I think it’s wonderful that we’re seeing a decrease in traditional cigarette smoking,” said Patricia Folan, RN, director of the Center for Tobacco Control for the North Shore-LIJ Health System. “But, many electronic cigarettes have nicotine in them. We don’t know what’s in the e-cigarettes because they’re not regulated, although about 40 states, including New York, have made laws restricting the sale of them to minors.”

The findings came out of the annual University of Michigan “Monitoring the Future” report, which surveyed more than 40,000 public and private school students in the 8th, 10th and 12th grades. The results were released today by National Institutes of Health.

The survey asked students whether they had used an e-cigarette or a tobacco cigarette in the past 30 days. More than twice as many 8th- and 10th-graders reported using e-cigarettes compared to tobacco cigarettes (9 percent vs. 4 percent for 8th graders and 16 percent vs. 7 percent for sophomores).

For high school seniors, 17 percent reported using e-cigarettes and 14 percent smoked regular cigarettes.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices with a heating component that produces a nicotine-infused vapor that users inhale. The products come in a multitude of flavors that appeal to teens, including bubble gum and pina colada.

What has many health experts worried, said Ms. Folan, is that e-cigarettes may lead to tobacco use.

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