In 2014, researchers found that more teens were using electronic cigarettes more than the traditional tobacco cigarettes, raising concerns among health experts about the negative impacts of the devices that emit vapor instead of smoke.
The news was announced in a 2014 Monitoring the Future survey press release. The MTF was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and was conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan.
According to the press release, around 40,000 to 50,000 students from about 400 public and private schools participated in the MTF survey. While this is the first time that e-cigarette use among youth has been measured, the researchers believe their results show that use of e-cigarettes is high among teens.
The results show that in a 30-day period about 17 percent of high school seniors were using the e-cigarettes compared to the 14 percent who smoked cigarettes, according to researchers.
"As one of the newest smoking-type products in recent years, e-cigarettes have made rapid inroads into the lives of American adolescents," said Richard Miech, a senior investigator in the study.
In addition, researchers found that when asked about their cigarette use, eighth and tenth grade students reported that they favored the modern cigarettes over the traditional cigarettes in a 2-to-1 ratio, reported USA Today.
A Hawaii study, published in the journal Pediatrics, and a Connecticut study, published in the Oxford Journals’ Nicotine and Tobacco Research journal, also indicate higher e-cigarette use among teens.
The Hawaii research found that 12 percent of teens used e-cigarettes in the last month and that e-cigarette use among teens has doubled every year in Hawaii since 2009.
The Connecticut study reported that about one out of four high schoolers in the state used e-cigarettes last year and 18 percent used the device in the last month.
In addition, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that e-cigarette use more than doubled among U.S. middle and high school student in 2011 to 2012.
This national report along with the other studies have researchers and health officials concerned.
"These results (out of the University of Michigan) show that e-cigarettes have become the nicotine delivery device of choice among today's teens," Miech said in an NPR interview.
In the same report, NPR's health correspondent Rob Stein said while e-cigarettes may be safer than regular cigarettes, health officials worry about the addictive nature of the product.
Stein explained that e-cigarettes do not burn tobacco but instead heat up a liquid containing nicotine which creates a vapor that people can inhale.
"And they (public health experts) worry e-cigarettes could hook a new generation on nicotine, increasing the chances they'll start using regular cigarettes, as well as other drugs," he said.
Health experts don't want to reverse the progress made to decrease the daily cigarette use among teens.
“It would be a tragedy if this product undid some of the great progress made to date in reducing cigarette smoking by teens,” said Lloyd D. Johnston, principal investigator at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
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