Smoking rates have decreased faster since e-cigarettes were introduced to the market. And this is especially true among young people. This is according to a statistical study published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health.
More widespread use of e-cigarettes is likely to have resulted in fewer people using cigarettes in Canada between 2012 and 2020.
According to a study recently published in Journal of Public Health, the introduction of vejp products on the market, combined with regulation, has accelerated the already ongoing 15 per cent reduction among adults.
Fewer young smokers
For young people aged 15-24, the decline has been even more striking - between 30 and 40 per cent faster than previously predicted.
The researchers arrived at their findings by comparing projections based on figures from 1999 and 2012 with the actual reduction between 2012 and 2020.
Unjustified concerns - and flavour ban
The Canadian government, together with the national public health agency, has assumed that the uptake of e-cigarettes among young people is likely to lead to more people taking up smoking later in life. Several provinces have therefore introduced flavour restrictions to reduce use among young Canadians in particular.
The researchers behind the study say that these fears do not match reality. Smoking rates continue to decline, even though the use of e-cigarettes has increased.
"Smoking is actually declining at a faster rate than before. There is a clear link to the spread of e-cigarettes, even when we exclude other factors," the researchers say in their analysis.
Other studies previously carried out in the USA have, at different occasions in the USA, demonstrated a similar outcomes.
