Restricting Flavored E-Cigarettes Reduces Vaping Among Young Adults: Study

State restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes are associated with a 3.6 percentage point reduction in daily vaping by young adults.

New research reveals that while restrictions on flavored e-cigarette can reduce the rate of daily vaping among young adults aged 18 to 29 by up to 3.6 percentage points, they simultaneously lead to a 2.2 percentage point increase in daily use of traditional tobacco cigarette.

Recent studies have indicated that e-cigarettes with fruit or candy flavors can cause a sharp increase in youth vaping rates. Moreover, teens who use e-cigarettes are more likely to start smoking tobacco cigarettes later.

However, studies have also shown that between 2014 and 2022, while e-cigarette use among young adults rose from 5.4% to 13.6%, the use of traditional cigarettes fell from 17.9% to 6.5%.

In a report published in the journal JAMA Health Forum on December 27, researchers from Yale University determined that state restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes can further decrease young adult use of those products, while simultaneously increasing their use of traditional cigarettes.

In the new study, a team of researchers led by Dr. Abigail S. Friedman of the Yale School of Public Health, used annual survey data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to determine how e-cigarette flavor restrictions affect young adults’ daily use of e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes.

The team looked at data for 242,154 young adults aged 18 to 29, and determined that state restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes simultaneously decreased e-cigarette use among the group by 3.6 percentage points, while it increased their use of traditional cigarettes by 2.2 percentage points.

“While these point estimates may seem small at first glance, they represent a 22% to 30% increase in daily smoking and a 76% to 80% reduction in daily vaping compared with young adults’ rates in 2018, 1 year before the first state-level restriction on flavored ENDS (electronic nicotine delivery systems) sales went into effect,” Friedman said.

Vaping and Young Adults

While vaping was once touted as a means for helping adult smokers kick their addiction, e-cigarettes have come to be associated with a number of health concerns for teenagers and young adults in recent years.

A study released earlier this year showed that more than half of U.S. teens vape to deal with stress, while previous studies also showed that vaping could be linked to major depression among American youths.

Adding to the growing concerns, e-cigarettes not only take a psychological toll on young users, they have also been found to cause the same DNA damage as traditional smoking, resulting in similar cancer risks.

However, despite all these negative effects, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that teen vaping rates had dropped to their lowest levels in 10 years in September 2024.

Teen vaping has emerged as a significant health issue in the U.S. in recent years, prompting federal officials to emphasize the need for continued action. Agencies like the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are advocating for stronger regulatory measures to sustain the decline in teen e-cigarette use.