Study Finds E-Cigarette Ads May Increase Teen Vaping

On June 30, reports from foreign media indicated that a new study in Canada suggests that banning e-cigarette advertisements can reduce smoking rates among teenagers. The study compared the rates of teenage e-cigarette use in Quebec and Manitoba, where strict laws prohibit e-cigarette advertising, to other provinces where there are no such restrictions.

 

Published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from the University of Waterloo in Ontario found that teenagers exposed to e-cigarette advertisements in unrestricted areas were more likely to use e-cigarettes.

 

David Hammond, a public health professor at the University of Waterloo and author of the study, stated in an article for U.S. News & World Report that this situation provided researchers with a "unique natural experiment" as Canada transitioned from a ban to a more open market.

 

It allowed us to answer a hypothetical question: Does lifting restrictions affect teenage e-cigarette use?

 

What was the answer? Hammond said, "Cigarette marketing is indeed important. It does affect minors. Our research shows that regulating marketing limits the number of smokers. "