E-cigarette study produces hazy results

LONDON - A British study into smoking and e-cigarette use among UK teenagers has produced mixed results, prompting scientists to caution against altering policy decisions or public health advice until evidence becomes clearer.

The research, published online in the British Medical Journal's specialized Tobacco Control journal on Aug 17, suggests there may be evidence e-cigarettes could be leading UK teenagers to try tobacco smoking. But the results do not fit with underlying smoking trends and drew criticism from external experts.

The findings show that among teenagers who at the start of the survey say they had never smoked cigarettes but had tried e-cigarettes, more than a third, or 34.4 percent, say a year later that they had tried cigarettes. This compared with only 9 percent in the group who had not tried e-cigarettes when the survey began.