2023-06-19 09:12:00
INSERM confirms it: the gateway effect does not exist
In early May 2023, the Minister of Health, François Braun, expressed his support for the ban on puffs, citing the risk of inciting young people to smoke. The Minister will work with parliamentarians and associations on the subject. With this support, MPs hope to achieve a ban by the end of 2023. Several European countries, such as Germany, Belgium and Ireland, have already started similar moves. Lawmakers hope the proposal will be discussed at a session in October or November 2023.
The debate did not remain confined to the National Assembly: online, the battle of “pros” and “antis” was launched on the site www.vapoter.fr, then taken up by many media. For example, you can read the debate on the puff in question on trucdemec.fr. This is a theory that “puffs” would be a gateway to smoking, especially among young people. However, several studies have proven otherwise. Despite this, this theory remains one of the favorite arguments of the anti-vape.
The “puffs” (these disposable e-cigarettes that can be bought between eight and twelve euros and offer a variety of flavors) exert a different influence than what some would have us believe. Contrary to popular belief, buy a puff does not encourage young people to use tobacco. Critics of the vape do not see it as a way to divert smokers from traditional cigarettes and their tobacco flavors. Rather, they see “puffs” as a bait for young people, which would only constitute a first step towards traditional cigarettes. However, studies have shown that this gateway effect does not exist.
In France, INSERM conducted a study of 44,000 young people aged 17 to 18, which confirms the absence of a gateway effect from vaping (and therefore “puffs”) to tobacco. According to this study, 43% of French people aged 17 to 18 who have tried vaping have never smoked or even tried cigarettes.
Vaping even reduces the risk of becoming a daily smoker
In fact, experimenting with e-cigarettes first was associated with a reduced risk of daily smoking at age 17-18.5. Additionally, the analysis shows a 42% reduction in the risk of being a daily smoker at age 18 for those who tried vaping before ever smoking compared to those who first experimented with cigarettes.
Of the 44,000 young people surveyed, 18,495 tried cigarettes first. And among them, 46.3% are daily smokers at the time of the survey. At the same time, 5,616 tried vaping first, among them 18.7% became daily smokers. 38.4% tried cigarettes, and 42.9% never smoked afterwards. Far from the gateway effect, vaping is associated with a reduced risk of becoming a daily smoker.
Puffs turn young people away from smoking
A large proportion of adolescents who had their first experiences with electronic cigarettes therefore never became tobacco experimenters. According to the authors of the study, the risk of daily smoking decreases with the decline in the age of first experimentation with vaping.
In short, far from constituting a gateway effect to tobacco, the vape (and therefore the “puffs”) at least have the merit of diverting young people from smoking. It is therefore important to consider facts and scientific studies in this debate, rather than relying on preconceived ideas. The real danger lies in smoking. And if vaping can help steer young people away from this harmful habit, then it deserves to be considered as a potential alternative, not a stepping stone to smoking.
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