Shillong, June 14: A recent study has found that almost 61 percent of individuals aged between 15 and 30 in India, who have never tried electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) before, are susceptible to taking up vaping in the future.
The study, which surveyed 4,007 people globally, including 456 participants from India, identified exposure to e-cigarette advertising as the second most influential factor in susceptibility, following current or past tobacco use. Meanwhile, the perception of harmfulness was found to reduce the likelihood of susceptibility.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the concern regarding young people’s susceptibility to e-cigarette use, given the adverse health effects of nicotine on the developing brain and the potential negative outcomes associated with other chemicals present in these devices.
Sudhir Raj Thout, Research Fellow at the Institute in India, emphasized the growing worry about young Indians’ increasing susceptibility to e-cigarette use. Thout stressed the urgent need for interventions and comprehensive campaigns to address the risks and impact of e-cigarette use.
The survey further revealed that 51 percent of respondents in India, who had never used e-cigarettes, expressed curiosity about them. Additionally, 49 percent stated they would use e-cigarettes if offered by a friend, and 44 percent expressed intentions to use them within the next year.
The study also found that nearly half (47 percent) of Indian participants had encountered e-cigarette advertising. These results were comparable to other countries where the study was conducted, including the UK (63 percent), China (51 percent), and Australia (30 percent). The findings of the study have been published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
It is worth noting that the majority of Indian respondents in the study had a higher education and could be classified as belonging to the high-income group.