Flavoured vape bans in the U.S have led to an increase in smoking rates among young adults, a new study has found.
The study, published in the National Library of Medicine, looks at the impact restrictions to vape flavours such as fruit have had on both vaping and smoking rates among young people aged 18 to 29.
More than a quarter of people in the U.S. live in states or regions where flavoured vapes have been made illegal, according to the report.
Researchers found that while these bans have led to a drop in vaping of 3.6 per cent, they have also caused an increase in smoking of 2.2 per cent. This rise in the far more dangerous habit, the report says, could cancel out any health gains achieved from a decrease in vaping.
Smoking increase offsets health gains
The study says its findings “indicate that state restrictions on flavoured ENDS (electronic nicotine delivery systems, or vapes) sales were associated with reduced vaping among young adults but may have unintentionally increased cigarette smoking, potentially offsetting public health gains.”
It adds: “These findings suggest that alleviating the burden of tobacco-related disease will require regulatory strategies that balance reducing vaping with preventing increases in more lethal, combustible tobacco use.”
The report reveals that flavour restrictions led to between 3.1 and 4.4 additional smokers for every five fewer daily vapers.
It says: “While these point estimates may seem small at first glance, they represent a 22 to 30 per cent increase in daily smoking and a 76 to 80 per cent reduction in daily vaping [in 2023] compared with young adults’ rates in 2018, one year before the first state-level restriction on flavored ENDS sales went into effect.”
Researchers used survey data from the annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 2016 to 2023 to compare vaping and smoking rates in areas of the U.S. where flavours are banned against those where they are still legal.
It looked at the vaping and smoking rates both before and after the regulations were put in place.
The study said: “Balanced panel analyses of 242,154 individuals aged 18 to 29 years consistently found that state ENDS flavour restrictions were associated with statistically significant reductions in daily vaping and increases in daily cigarette smoking.”
Two million UK vapers could return to smoking
The study comes after a recent UK poll found more than two million people who vape could go back to smoking because of the country’s upcoming crackdown.
Disposable vapes will be banned from June 1 in an attempt to reduce the appeal of vaping to young people. Under separate proposed legislation, flavours will also be heavily restricted.
However, there are mounting fears the measures could backfire by leading to more ex-smokers relapsing and a boom in black market sales of unregulated vapes.
A survey by Opinium for vape brand Elfbar revealed a worrying 41 per cent of adult vapers (2.3 million people) would switch back to smoking cigarettes if disposable vapes and their preferred flavours were made illegal.
The findings were backed up by the Labour government’s own impact report which warned an “unintended consequence” of banning disposable vapes and certain flavours “is that it could encourage more people to try smoking.”
The Health Department report also pointed to a Bristol University study that found banning vape flavours drove more people to smoking, as well as evidence from the U.S.
“The study found that as a result of the flavour ban more adults may go back to smoking tobacco cigarettes,” the document said. “This is in line with recent evidence on the flavour bans that have been imposed in the US.”
