Kids Who Use E-Cigarettes More Likely to Use Tobacco Products in the Future: WHO

Children who use e-cigarettes are up to three times more likely to use tobacco products in the future, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Nicotine is highly addictive. Electronic nicotine delivery systems are harmful, and must be better regulated,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said in a statement. “Where they are not banned, governments should adopt appropriate policies to protect their populations from the harms of electronic nicotine delivery systems, and to prevent their uptake by children, adolescents and other vulnerable groups.”

The report states that 84 countries lack safeguards to protect against unregulated proliferation of e-cigarettes. Thirty-two countries have completely banned the sale of e-cigarettes, and an additional 79 have implemented measures to limit their sale in public places, ban advertising or require that they display health warnings.

More than four times as many people are covered under WHO-recommended tobacco control measures today compared with 2007, according to The Hill.