E-Cigarettes Sought by Users with Mental Health Disorders: New Regulations Needed

It turns out that e-cigarettes are sought by those with mental health disorders. Scientists have discovered that people living with depression, anxiety or other health mental condition are twice as likely to have tried e-cigarettes and three times as likely to be current users.

Quite a bit of controversy currently surrounds e-cigarettes. Although these devices though by some to be a way to help people quit smoking, there's no current proof that they manage this feat. In fact, the FDA has not approved e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid.

"Since the safety of e-cigarettes is still unknown, their use by nonsmokers could put them at risk," said Sharon Cummins, one of the researchers, in a news release.

In order to better understand who uses e-cigarettes, the researchers examined a survey of Americans' smoking history, efforts to quit, and their use and perceptions about e-cigarettes.  The volunteers were also asked about their mental health history.

So what did the researchers find? It turns out that 27.8 percent of current smokers self-reported health conditions, compared with 13.4 percent of non-smokers. In addition, 14.8 percent of the volunteers with mental conditions had tried e-cigarettes and 3.1 percent were currently using them, compared with 6.6 percent and 1.1 percent without mental health conditions.

"People with mental health conditions have largely been forgotten in the war on smoking," said Cummins in a news release. "But because they are high consumers of cigarettes, they have the most to gain or lose from the e-cigarette phenomenon. Which way it goes will depend on what product regulations are put into effect and whether e-cigarettes ultimately prove to be useful in helping smokers quit."

The findings reveal how e-cigarettes can drastically impact this particular population of people. More specifically, it highlights the fact that more research needs to be conducted on the effects of e-cigarettes on the health of individuals.

The findings are published in the journal Tobacco Control.