Teens Find E-Cigarettes “Cool”

E-cigarette makers say their products can help adults stop smoking, but research suggests teens are using the devices as they seem cool and fun, according to a study reported in the Journal of Nursing.  

Dr. Michael Khoury of Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton, Canada, led a study involving nearly 2,400 students in Ontario, aged 14 and 15. The teens were asked about their e-cigarette use, including why they tried them and how often they used them.

“While e-cigarettes are frequently used as devices for smoking cessation in adults, we found most students in our survey were motivated by the “cool/fun/something new” features of e-cigarettes,” the study authors wrote.

Seven out of 10 respondents knew about e-cigarettes and just over 10% had used them.

Teens aren’t using e-cigarette to stop smoking, the researchers found, and use of them was more common among boys who said they already smoked cigarettes or have friends and family members who do.

“Use of e-cigarettes was [also] associated with lower self-identified health level, greater stress level and a lower estimated household income, which suggests that e-cigarette use may have some key associations that may help to identify adolescents at risk,” Khoury and colleagues wrote.

The authors, who called for strict regulations on e-cigarettes, said their findings may not be representative of all teens.