A shocking relationship between social networking sites and smoking electronic cigarettes

A new study shows that children and young people who spend a lot of time browsing Instagram and TikTok are more likely to smoke e-cigarettes.

The study, published in the journal Thorax, included data from 10,808 participants aged between 10 to 25 years in the United Kingdom.

The analysis revealed that 0.8% of those who do not use social networking sites smoke e-cigarettes, and the percentage rises to 2.4% among those who use them for about one to three hours per day. It also rises to 3.8% for those who use social networking sites for 4 to 6 hours a day, and 4% for those who are addicted to social networking sites for more than 7 hours a day.

As for regular smoking, 2% of people who do not use social networking sites reported that they currently smoke cigarettes, compared to 9.2% who use social networking sites for one to four hours a day.

This percentage rose to 12.2% of smokers who used social networking sites for 4 to 6 hours a day, and 15.7% for those who spent 7 hours or more using Internet sites.

Imperial College London School of Public Health researchers said there was "conclusive evidence that e-cigarette companies use social media to market their products."

They added: “Social media may be driving cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use through direct and targeted advertising, and the use of influencers paid by the tobacco industry.”

This study adds to evidence suggesting that online promotions contribute to children's likelihood of trying vaping.