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.

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.

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).

“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.

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