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E-cigarette exposure increased tobacco users' desire to smoke

The urge to smoke was a regular (combustible) cigarette increased when regular cigarette smokers saw others use electronic cigarettes, according to recent study findings published in Tobacco Control.

“E-cigarette use has increased dramatically over the past few years, so observations and passive exposure will not doubt increase as well,” Andrea King, PhD, of the department of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago, said in a press release. “It’s important to note that there could be effects of being in the company of an e-cigarette user, particularly for young smokers. For example, it’s possible that seeing e-cigarette use may promote more smoking behavior and less quitting.”

Andrea King

King and colleagues evaluated 60 healthy people aged 18 to 35 years who smoked five to 18 cigarettes per day without any major medical or psychiatric disorders to determine the behavioral effects of exposure to e-cigarette use. Participants were randomly assigned to passive exposure to combustible (regular) cigarette use (n=30) or e-cigarette use (n=30).

Exposure to combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes increased both groups’ urges to smoke a regular cigarette (P=.01) and the overall smoking urge (P=.028). However, only exposure to an e-cigarette, and not to a regular cigarette increased participants’ desires for e-cigarettes (P=.003).

“Clinician's may want to be aware of patient's utilizing e-cigarettes, advising them that their use may be triggering others around them to smoke both regular or electronic cigarettes,” King told Healio.com. — by Amber Cox

Andrea King, PhD, can be reached at aking@bsdad.uchicago.edu.

Disclosure: The study was funded in part by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Two researchers report financial ties with the FDA.