A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that between 2016 and 2018 the use of e-cigarettes increased among smokers and those who recently quit smoking.

E-cigarettes are highly prevalent among youths who tried to quit smoking.

Study author Richard Edwards from the University of Otago in New Zealand stated in the study: “E-cigarette use was most common among those aged 18-24 years and among those who had recently quit smoking.”

The study is a part of the New Zealand arm of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) project.

For the study, researchers surveyed around 1,155 people between 2016 and 2017 and 1,020 people in 2018 who smoked or had recently quit smoking.

The study noted that 98 per cent of smokers and recent quitters said they were aware of e-cigarettes.

Researchers mentioned that 77 per cent of the respondents reported having tried vaping, while 22 per cent reported currently using e-cigarettes at least monthly and 11 per cent reported using them daily.

The daily use of e-cigarettes was most common among recent quitters (23 per cent) and young crowd (19 per cent) compared to current smokers (eight per cent) and older age groups (10 per cent).

Common reasons

The study found that the most common reasons respondents gave for using e-cigarettes were to help quit (78 per cent) or cut down on smoking (81 per cent).

Authors wrote in their study: “However, it is of concern that e-cigarette use is more prevalent among 18-24-year-olds. If e-cigarettes are to make a substantial contribution to reducing smoking, their use needs to be greater among older age groups.”

“While the research shows more people are using e-cigarettes to quit smoking, more smokers reported using e-cigarettes on a trial basis, rather than regularly, which suggests there might be barriers to more sustained use,” they noted.