Vaping products could provide a "gateway" to binge drinking and drug use, warns a new study. Researchers found that teenagers who vape nicotine products were more likely to binge drink than those who don't and 12 times more likely to use cannabis than peers who only smoke tobacco.
The study looked at data collated from more than 50,000 adolescents across the United States and discovered that those who vaped and smoked were a shocking 40 times more likely to use cannabis than those who did neither. The scientists, from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, warned the data showed vaping was 'strongly tied' to the use of other substances - and could even act as a gateway.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Substance Use and Misuse, took its findings from the US-based survey Monitoring the Future. The survey was conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to track trends in the use of cigarettes, alcohol, cannabis, and vaping - of nicotine, cannabis and other substances - for young people aged 13 to 18.
