High-nicotine vapes make quitting harder for young adults, study finds

The findings were published in Tobacco Control by researchers at the University of California San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science.

The findings were published in Tobacco Control by researchers at the University of California San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science | Representative Image

New Delhi: Young adults who use e-cigarettes with high nicotine levels are more likely to vape everyday and find it harder to quit vaping, found a new study.

The findings were published in Tobacco Control on 20 October by researchers at the University of California San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science. They analysed data from the US between 2017 and 2022 and found that the use of high-nicotine e-cigarettes had risen sharply among those between the age of 18 and 24.

By 2022, 49.2 per cent of young vapers were using products that contained about 4 per cent nicotine. In comparison, 32 per cent of those aged 25-35 and 17 per cent of those aged 35 to 54 used high-nicotine products.

“The Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of these products was based in part on the expectation that the benefits to adults who smoke would outweigh the risks of creating new nicotine dependence among young people. Our findings suggest that this balance needs to be reassessed. Young adults are disproportionately choosing high-nicotine products, including within the same brands used by older adults, and that use is associated with substantially greater nicotine dependence,” senior author John P Pierce, professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, said in a statement.

Researchers also found that high-nicotine e-cigarettes led to a greater nicotine dependence among young adults. Many of these users in 2019 had not stopped vaping by 2022, in comparison to those who use lower-nicotine products.

Why nicotine levels matter

Nicotine is the substance that makes tobacco addictive, leading to withdrawal symptoms when a person tries to quit using the product. Unlike cigarettes, e-cigarettes heat up a liquid to produce an aerosol that is then inhaled by users. This liquid often contains nicotine, flavouring, and other chemicals.

“We need to understand not only who is using these products, but how the nicotine content, product design and marketing environment are influencing long-term patterns of use. Previous research has questioned the effectiveness of e-cigarettes in helping smokers quit. In this study, we have documented that high-nicotine products have created a new generation of people who are dependent on nicotine,” Pierce said.