Study reveals alternative to get teens to stop vaping

By Alice Clifford via SWNS

Offering only tobacco e-cigarettes could put most teenagers and young adults off vaping, according to a new study.

When 1,414 e-cigarette users between the ages of 14 and 21 were asked what they would do if they could only buy tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, over 70 percent said they would stop vaping.

This number dropped to just under 40 percent when menthol flavors were added as an option.

The participants had all used an e-cigarette at least once a day in the 30 days before the survey.

The Department of Health and Social Care reports that fruit-flavored vapes are the most popular among adults and young people, followed by menthol or mint.

The study found that adolescents and young adults who preferred vaping fruit or sweet flavors were the most likely to stop vaping if they only had the option of tobacco and menthol.

Study author Dr. Alayna Tackett, assistant professor at the Center for Tobacco Research at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said: “The restriction of the availability for certain e-cigarette e-liquid flavors has been considered by various regulatory agencies.

“Our team was interested in surveying youth and young adults to understand their thoughts on what choices they might make should regulatory policies only allow menthol and/or tobacco flavors in e-cigarette e-liquid products.

“In this sample of adolescents and young adults, it appears that non-tobacco flavors may be important for their interest in and continued use of e-cigarettes.”

They also found that young adults who used flavors with cooling additives, such as fruit ice, were more likely to stop vaping compared to menthol flavor users.

Fruit ice flavors are fruity but have a menthol or synthetic cooling agent.

To find out if this would be the case in a real-life situation, researchers need to investigate areas that have enacted a flavor restriction policy to discover if what people say matches their actions.

Data from the ASH-Youth 2022 survey showed that 8.6 percent of 11 to 18-year-olds in England occasionally or regularly vaped in 2022. This is a jump from four percent in 2021.

The researchers insist that preventing the use of e-cigarettes among young people is a crucial goal for public health.

Dr. Tackett added: “Many adults prefer using non-tobacco flavors to switch from combustible cigarettes to e-cigarettes.

“Flavor restriction policies should consider the best ways to protect public health while also supporting adults who are interested in choosing potentially less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes.”

The study was published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.