A March 6, 2014, article published on the online version of the Chicago Tribune highlighted the results of a study that suggests youths who use e-cigarettes are six times more likely to try, and then become regular tobacco cigarette smokers, than youths who abstain from using e-cigarette devices (Teen e-cigarette a possible gateway to smoking, researcher says). The study appeared in the March edition of JAMA Pediatrics.

 

Researchers from the University of California arrived at their conclusion from the analysis of data in the 2011 and 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey. The survey was given to approximately 40,000 middle and high school students across the United States and asked students to provide information on their frequency of nicotine- containing product use, including e-cigarette devices, conventional cigarettes, and cigars, among others. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted the survey.

 

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that enable the inhalation of nicotine containing vapor, which unlike other tobacco products, do not contain harmful compounds such as arsenic and tars. E-cigarette supporters point out that the study reveals only a correlation and not causation, and suggest that data of adolescents trying tobacco cigarettes after having used an e-cigarette device indicate the existence of a teenage fad only.

 

Opponents of e-cigarette devices interpret the study’s results as evidence to the contrary: e-cigarette devices are gateways to habitual tobacco cigarette use. “E-cigarettes are likely to be gateway devices for nicotine addiction among youth, opening up a whole new market for tobacco,” said Lauren Dutra, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California and the study’s lead author.

 

Cerilliant offers a wide range of certified solution standards for major tobacco alkaloids, metabolites, and nitrosamines including NNN, NNK, NNAL, NAT, and NAB in addition to native and stable labeled internal standards of nicotine, cotinine, nornicotine, trans-3’-hydroxycotinine, and anabasine. These standards are suitable for clinical toxicology, clinical and diagnostic testing, nicotine screening, and environmental monitoring applications. Cerilliant is accredited to ISO Guide 34 and ISO/IEC 17025, certified to ISO 13485 and ISO 9001, and is compliant with ISO 17511 and ISO 15194. Click on the link below to view our complete listing of nicotine/tobacco certified reference standards: