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Strong tobacco laws may also discourage vaping

By HealthDay News
New research suggests that laws targeting cigarettes and traditional tobacco products may also have an effect of tamping down the popularity of e-cigarettes and vaping. Photo by lindsayfox/Pixabay
New research suggests that laws targeting cigarettes and traditional tobacco products may also have an effect of tamping down the popularity of e-cigarettes and vaping. Photo by lindsayfox/Pixabay

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 28, 2018 -- Along with reducing conventional smoking, anti-tobacco laws in the United States may tamp down use of electronic cigarettes, a new study suggests.

New York University researchers found that states with anti-tobacco regulations -- such as smoke-free air laws and cigarette taxes -- had fewer vapers as well as fewer cigarette smokers.

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"Our research adds to the understanding of the geographic and sociodemographic factors underlying e-cigarette use within the existing tobacco control environment," said lead author Dr. Omar El-Shahawy. He's a postdoctoral fellow in the NYU School of Medicine.

"Several decades of research on traditional cigarettes guided the existing tobacco control environment. E-cigarettes are relatively new and constantly evolving, which makes the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration's] task in regulating them very challenging," El-Shahawy said in a university news release.

The researchers analyzed 2012-14 national data. About 5 percent of adults said they were e-cigarette users, and 17 percent said they were cigarette smokers.

E-cigarette use varied widely by state, with vaping most prevalent in Oklahoma (10 percent) and least so in Delaware (less than 3 percent).

There are still many unknowns pertaining to the link between tobacco control and battery powered e-cigarettes, El-Shahawy said. Some experts believe vaping helps smokers quit the tobacco habit. Others argue that e-cigarettes are harmful, too.

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"Until this ongoing debate is settled, tobacco control advocates and policy makers should continue focusing on enforcing the existing tobacco control interventions and regulatory framework," El-Shahawy concluded.

The study findings were published Feb. 27 in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about e-cigarettes.

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