So far, there is no evidence to prove that vaping is a gateway into smoking, as evident by a recent study conducted by Esther Afolalu of Philip Morris International, Katharine Coombs and Peter Lee of P.N.Lee Statistics and Computing Ltd.
The team was able to carry out an analysis through a literature search on the link betweenvaping and subsequent use of conventional cigarettes among young adults and adolescents. In this investigation, they noted the claims made by recent publications on the use of e-cigs and subsequent use of traditional cigarettes among teens.
In their search, the team also noted that the recent paper by Soneji et al.(2017) was responsible for fuelling the claims that vaping could be a gateway to smoking. Jessica Barrington-Trimis’s 2017 paper was also implicated as another study that lacked details and quality
From the research, it was found that strong indicators that prompt smoking include the following;
- other tobacco product use
- low self-esteem
- peer attitudes toward smoking
- peer smoking
- household smoking
- anxiety
- poor school performance
- risk-taking behaviour
- substance use
- susceptibility to smoking
- outcome expectancies
- internalizing/externalizing disorders
- low education level
- conduct problems
However, the team identified that many studies that made claims to vaping as being a gateway to smoking failed to consider these factors which in itself introduces a bias to the entire study.
There are no indications of what smoking prevalence would have been without e-cig, hence the analysis is limited. The analyses do not suggest any possible adverse effect of introducing electronic cigarettes on the trends and prevalence of conventional smoking.
So far, experts in the field have strongly criticized the Barrington-Trimis/Soneji’s work and the study involving Glantz. They opine that those studies are either inaccurate or misleading.
So far, there are no clear indications of vaping being a true gateway to smoking. This is because of the lack of control for the confounding or predisposing factors. If there is any indication of the effect of vaping on smoking in some individuals, the prevalence would probably be negligible. However, the overall impact of electronic cigarettes on public health is one that will be beneficial.