Vaping increases dependency more than nicotine gum, study reveals

The research paper title ‘Abuse liability of electronic cigarettes in never-smoking electronic cigarette users’ was published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

Since entering the market in 2003, electronic cigarettes have gained significant popularity, particularly among young people. A significant proportion of people who use electronic cigarette devices have never used other tobacco products regularly. According to The Lancet, as of April 2024, around 1m adults in England who had no history of smoking reported vaping regularly. This was particularly prevalent in people aged between 18 and 24.

According to the researchers, this pattern was likely due to the emergence of pod-style devices, either in reusable or disposable form. These devices contain nicotine in high concentrations and salt form, and are more efficient at delivering nicotine to users than earlier vaping devices. Both never smokers and younger adults are more likely to report vaping with higher nicotine concentrations like those found in pod-style devices.