蜜芽传媒

New research in the United States warns that years of declining cigarette smoking is at risk because of a marked increase in the use of vape e-cigarettes among under-18s, with many vapers go on to smoke tobacco cigarettes.

Professor Karen Messer from the University of California San Diego blames that increase on the fact that in the US, e-cigarettes are very lightly regulated and can have "double the nicotine content of e-cigarettes in Britain". She says the argument of the industry is that e-cigarettes help people give up smoking tobacco, but she says that in the data that is available, there is no evidence that they help adult smokers quit.

Photo: A young vaper Credit: Getty Images