Could E-Cigarettes Be A Gateway Drug?

E-cigarettes may provide a healthy alternative to smoking, yet recent findings published in the journal Pediatrics reveal that teenagers in the United States may be using them more frequently.

Researchers at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center are even referring to e-cigarettes as a "gateway drug, in some instances.

For the study, they discovered that about 30 percent of over 1,900 teens surveyed in Hawaii had tried e-cigarettes, while another 17 percent of the population had been using them exclusively; these numbers are about three times higher than those reported in larger U.S. studies conducted in both 2011 and 2012.

"You have to think carefully about the risks and benefits of using either tobacco or nicotine, which is known to be an addictive substance," said Thomas Wills, PhD, the interim director of the UH Cancer Center's Prevention and Control Program, in a news release. "A lot of teens think it is easy to quit smoking but it isn't true. It's hard for anybody to quit."

Findings showed that teens as young as 14 and 15 have been using e-cigarettes. A survey showed that those who used only e-cigarettes were found to be at an intermediate level risk while teens smoked both cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

Overall, about 12 percent of participants were both regular and smokeless tobacco, while another 3 percent used primarily cigarettes. Though many of the participants surveyed said they believed e-cigarettes to be less dangerous than regular tobacco products, health officials reiterate that the verdict is still out on just how healthy they are.

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