18 April 2023 , 22:30
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Early teenagers who try vaping and smoking are twice as likely to be heavy smokers by their late teens.
A representative study of 1,100 UK youngsters found vaping early could “entrench” the habit of tobacco smoking.
It comes as the Government plans to give out e-cigarettes as a quitting tool to get Britain smoke free by 2030, while the Mirror found illegal vapes are being sold to kids in shops.
The study was carried out by Pennsylvania State University and Purdue University in the US, where a similar study produced similar results.
Author Dr Jeremy Staff said: “E-cigarettes entrenched teens who smoked early into later patterns of continued and more frequent tobacco use.”
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Officials are aiming to get Britain smoke-free by 2030 (PA)Participants were surveyed about smoking up to age 17.
Among UK early teen smokers, 57% also vaped. UK health authorities claim vapes carry just 5% of the risk of tobacco.