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CDC: E-cigarette use tripled among adolescents since 2011
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More than 250,000 adolescents who had never smoked conventional cigarettes used electronic cigarettes in 2013, according to recent study findings from the CDC.
Data, based on the 2011, 2012 and 2013 National Youth Tobacco surveys, indicated a threefold increase in the number of adolescents who smoke e-cigarettes, from 79,000 adolescents in 2011 to 263,000 in 2013.
Adolescents who had never smoked conventional cigarettes but who used e-cigarettes were almost twice as likely to intend to smoke conventional cigarettes compared with those who had never used e-cigarettes. Forty-four percent of adolescents who had ever used e-cigarettes reported they intended to smoke conventional cigarettes within the next year vs. 21.5% of adolescents who had never used e-cigarettes.
Researchers also assessed the association between tobacco advertisements and smoking intentions among middle school and high school students. Students who reported exposure to tobacco advertisements on the Internet, in magazines and newspapers, retail stores and in television programs and movies had higher rates of intention to smoke compared with those who were not exposed to tobacco advertisements.
The more advertising sources students were exposed to, the greater their rate of intention to smoke cigarettes. Thirteen percent of students who reported no advertisement exposure had intentions to smoke vs. 20.4% among those who reported exposure from one to two sources and 25.6% among those who reported exposure from three to four sources.
According to a press release, the surgeon general reported about one in every 13 US children will die prematurely of a smoking-related disease if the smoking rate is not significantly reduced.
“We are very concerned about nicotine use among our youth, regardless of whether it comes from conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes or other tobacco products. Not only is nicotine highly addictive, it can harm adolescent brain development,” Tim McAfee, MD, MPH, director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, said in a press release.