Electronic cigarettes increase the desire to smoke in young people
They are promoted as a healthy alternative to traditional tobacco and to quit smoking. However, little evidence exists on the effectiveness of the electronic cigarettes at the time of leaving such an unhealthy habit. They may even be encouraging the younger ones to get hooked on these harmful items.
This is suggested by a study of University of California Research and Education Center on Tobacco Control. This work suggests that in fact see someone use a electronic cigarette It increases the desire to smoke real tobacco and can cause youngsters to get hooked to this harmful habit.
Desire to smoke
The team in this investigation raised 108 young smokers two different scenarios. In one they would have to face an image of a person smoking traditional tobacco and another of an individual using an electronic cigarette. The objective was to check if in both cases the desire to smoke was activated in these participants.
Indeed, as the researchers had predicted, facing both images provoked in these young people the desire to smoke. That is, the fact of seeing an electronic cigarette made these people want to consume tobacco in the same way. A result that question the utility of these items when leaving this addiction.
Inefficacy of the electronic cigarette
It is also surprising from the data of this study that more than 80% had resorted to electronic cigarettes at least once on his vinea and almost 30% had used it during the last month. Despite having used this article focused on quitting tobacco addiction, these articles are presented as ineffective in this mission.
In addition a study conducted in Spain highlights the prevalence of people who never smoked was higher among current users (28%) of electronic cigarettes and among experimenters (25.6%) compared to those who used it in the past, and also these never smokers belonged to the group of younger (18-45 years.
These figures leave little room for doubt: electronic cigarettes, far from helping to stop smoking, are helping young people get hooked to these harmful substances. For them, it is part of the responsibility of all to teach children and adolescents that it is a product as harmful as conventional cigarettes, so its use should not go through the head.
Damián Montero
