Study Confirms Vaping Did Not Increase Teen Smoking Rates

On July 22, news from Canadian media reported that a study titled "E-Cigarette and Smoking Rates Among Youth in Canada, the UK, and the US: Repeated National Cross-Sectional Surveys" showed that after years of continuous decline, youth smoking rates significantly increased, shocking the Canadian Vaping Association, health authorities, and parents across the country.

Many believed that vaping was the reason for the sudden rise in youth smoking rates. However, the release of the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS) by Health Canada has led to a forced correction, which will be published in BMJ.

"In the original paper in BMJ, the change in smoking rates among Canadian youth from 2017 to 2018 over the past 30 days was reported as 10.7% to 15.5% (a statistically significant increase), but now, after adjusting for weights, it is reported as 10.7% to 10.0% (no significant change)."

With this correction, it can be concluded that youth smoking rates continue to decline, indicating that vaping is not a gateway to combustible tobacco.

Darryl Tempest, Executive Director of the CVA, stated that the CVA has always been an advocate for protecting youth from nicotine addiction, and they are pleased to see that incorrect information has been corrected, as the erroneous statistics previously reported in this study have been used to justify legislation against the most successful harm reduction products on the market.

The Royal College of Physicians has concluded for the sixth consecutive year that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking. E-cigarettes are designed as a harm reduction tool for adult smokers. They are not suitable for youth or non-smokers. E-cigarettes have repeatedly been proven to be the most effective smoking cessation products globally, with smokers being 83% more likely to quit successfully using e-cigarettes than any other cessation product.

The CVA stated that as a part of society, we all strive to ensure that youth are protected from harm. Therefore, research on the harms of vaping to youth must be accurate, as many protective measures taken to safeguard youth can adversely affect adult smokers in reducing their harm, making this crucial.

Now, the analysis of the data accurately reflects that there is no connection between youth smoking and vaping. E-cigarettes are the most successful harm reduction tool, not a gateway to smoking, and legislation must reflect this to save millions of Canadian smokers' lives.