CDC Study: Curiosity (Not Flavours) Is The Main Instigator Of Teen Vaping

Source from:  Vapingpost 12/13/2019

In line with previous arguments by several anti-smoking experts, new data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have indicated that curiosity is the main motivator driving minors to try vaping, not flavours.

Released last week, the CDC data indicate that all the flavour bans being set in place across the US, may do little to decrease teen vaping rates. “Among students who reported ever having tried e-cigarettes, the three most common reasons for use were “I was curious about them” (55.3%), “friend or family member used them” (30.8%), and “they are available in flavors, such as mint, candy, fruit, or chocolate” (22.4%). Among students who never used e-cigarettes, 39.1% were curious about using e-cigarettes and 37.0% were curious about smoking cigarettes,” reads the CDC website.

Extracted  from part of the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), the figures confirm arguments by countless anti-smoking experts: personality traits such as a tendency to experiment, play a main role in tobacco/substance use initiation. With this in mind, given the relative safety of vaping products, the fact that minors who would otherwise turn to smoking, may turn to vaping instead, should be considered a victory from a public health perspective.

To this effect, speaking in response to a 2018 report claiming that tobacco companies are behind the push for e-cigarettes, Australian expert Dr Attila Danko, had explained that like many of his peers, he had started smoking at the tender age of 11. Also like most other smokers, he had struggled to quit, and when he had finally managed to do so via nicotine-containing vaping products, he became an advocate of the harm reduction tools.  Enditem