Family and Friends Affect Teens’ Risk of Using E-cigarettes

Family and friends can have a huge influence over whether or not teenagers will start using e-cigarettes, a new study found. E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that allow the user to inhale vapors that typically contain nicotine.

In this study, researchers headed by lead author Jessica Barrington-Trimis from the University of Southern California examined data on 2,084 teenagers. The information was collected in 2014.

The team found that 25 percent of the sample stated that they have used e-cigarettes and about 20 percent stated that they have smoked traditional cigarettes. More teens used e-cigarettes within the past 30 days in comparison to teens who smoked (10 percent vs. six percent).

14 percent of e-cigarette users also believed that these devices were not harmful. Only one percent of cigarette smokers thought that cigarettes would not harm their health. The researchers noted that even though they found a link between e-cigarettes and traditional ones, they could not concluded that using one automatically leads to the other. About 41 percent of the e-cigarette users never smoked a cigarette.

"There is a lot of concern by the public health community that e-cigarettes may be recruiting a whole new group of people who never smoked cigarettes," said Barrington-Trimis. "If you think of e-cigarette and cigarette use as two circles, the overlap isn't as big as expected."

The researchers also found that teens were more likely to use e-cigarettes if they had family members or peers who thought e-cigarettes were cool.

"Parents should just be aware if their teens are hanging out with other who are using these products," Barrington-Trimis said.

The study was published in Pediatrics.