Vaping is linked to smoking initiation in non-smokers. Finds research

While vaping provides a pathway to help smokers wanting to quit, for non-smokers it may be the first step on a pathway to taking up smoking, a new study has shown.

Led by the University of Otago postgraduate student Andre Mason and Associate Professor Damian Scarf, of the University of Otago’s Department of Psychology, the collaborative research analyzed data related to the smoking and vaping status of New Zealanders from the 2018-2020 New Zealand Attitudes and Values survey.

Associate Professor Scarf says broadly, the prevalence of smoking was found to be decreasing over time, while the prevalence of vaping was increasing. No differences were observed in the likelihood of transition from smoking to vaping or vice versa, indicating that either pathway was equally as likely.

Survey results were analyzed from the three years starting in 2018. The prevalence of those in the survey who smoked decreased at each time point, while the prevalence of those who vaped increased. In 2018, those who vaped were more likely to start smoking than those who smoked were to start vaping, while in 2019, the opposite effect was found.

Unlike other studies, the researchers found no consistent evidence that vaping acts as a cessation pathway from smoking. Mr. Mason says, “Instead there are frequent transitions between smoking and vaping and vice versa. While most individuals continued to engage in the behavior they reported at the previous time point, there were individuals transitioning between both smoking and vaping.”

Reference: Effects of vaping on uptake and cessation of smoking: Longitudinal analysis in Aotearoa New Zealand adults, Drug and Alcohol Review, DOI 10.1111/dar.13702