A study from China reveals that adolescents who use e-cigarettes were about 30% more likely to report respiratory symptoms than those who never used the products.
The new findings are drawn from data collected between 2012 and 2013 from over 45,000 schoolchildren in Hong Kong with an average age of about 15.
Overall, 1.1% of students reported smoking e-cigarettes within the past 30 days, and about 19% of all students reported respiratory symptoms.
Students who smoked e-cigarettes were 30% more likely to report breathing problems, compared to those who didn’t use the devices.
The difference in breathing problems was most pronounced among students who said they never smoked traditional cigarettes. These students were over twice as likely to report breathing problems as those who didn’t use e-cigarettes.
Students who reported using e-cigarettes and also smoking traditional cigarettes at some point in their lives were at a 40% increased risk of breathing problems, compared to those who didn’t use the devices.
