A new study has warned that teenagers are likely to begin smoking conventional cigarettes as a result of using electronic cigarettes. E-cigarettes are believed to cause much lesser harm than conventional cigarettes, but the perception among teenagers that they are socially acceptable could eventually lead them to give a try to conventional cigarettes, thereby trapping them into becoming smoking addicts.

The study has showed that teenagers who use e-cigarettes are highly likely to smoke conventional cigarettes, cigars and hookahs over the next year than those who do not use them.

Electronic cigarettes, devices that deliver inhaled aerosol are not nicotine free and they have gained immense popularity in recent times, particularly among adolescents.

“Some teens may be more likely to use e-cigarettes prior to combustible tobacco because of beliefs that e-cigarettes are not harmful or addictive”, said the study authors.

Adam Leventhal from University of Southern California, Los Angeles and colleagues conducted the study to determine the chances of adolescents who reported ever using e-cigarettes to initiate the use of combustible tobacco during the subsequent year.

The researchers found that likelihood was very high among e-cigarettes users to smoke any combustible tobacco product. At the sixth-month follow-up 31% started using combustible tobacco products and 25% by the end of 12-month follow-up.

The study has supported the belief that e-cigarettes use is linked to the increased risk of combustible tobacco product. Parents may like to pay heed to the findings of the study and discourage their children from using e-cigarettes, regardless of much touted benefits of e-cigarettes.