E-Cigarettes And Hookah: Many Young Adults Think These Are Safer Than Cigarettes

First Posted: Aug 26, 2015 05:25 PM EDT
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New findings published in the journal Health & Education Behavior show that so many young people believe that e-cigarettes and hookah are safer than cigarettes.

"This is concerning as it suggests that even a substantial proportion of nonsmokers may view hookah as being a relatively safer and acceptable way to use tobacco," researchers Dr. Olivia A. Wackowski and Dr. Cristine D. Delnevo, wrote in a news release

In the recent study, researchers analyzed data on close to 3,000 smoking and nonsmoking young adults between the ages of 18 and 34.

They also discovered that close to a quarter of young adults under the ages of 25 years, including both high school grads and college students, believed that hookah was less risky than cigarettes--a belief shared by current cigarette smokers and those who had never even smoked before.

More specifically, the numbers revealed that 62.1 percent of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 believed that e-cigarettes were less risky than cigarettes, while 54.6 percent of adults aged 25 to 34 believed e-cigarettes were a less risky choice. Furthermore, researchers discovered that 32.7 percent of young adults under 25 believed that hookah was less risky than cigarettes, while 18.5 percent of people between the ages of 25 and 34 believed hookah was less risky.

"This might be associated with differences in advertising messages these groups are exposed to, the variety of flavors these different products are offered in, and in the case of e-cigarettes, possibly an inclination for younger people to attribute more positive feelings toward newer products that are seen as new and 'techy'," the study authors concluded.

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