Unsuccessful attempts to quit vaping among US youth may pave the way to additional problems, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Do you use e-cigarettes? If you’re a younger person you may have started out using them occasionally but are now a more regular user, or you may have attempted to quit be haven’t been able to do so. That’s what’s been shown in recent studies, and Michael Blaha, an anti-smoking advocate and cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, says there are harms associated with use.

Blaha: There is some literature that suggests that e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes, but they probably cause just as much addiction. So I think we’re seeing a major crisis still in addiction, and we need to improve our strategies for decreasing the addiction because it can lead to behavioral problems and problems with school, and there is a lot of evidence e-cigarette use keeps company with a lot of other risky behaviors, for example alcohol use, drinking and driving, the company it keeps is what’s the most scary.  :29 

Blaha says better regulation of these devices, especially with regard to marketing to young people, is needed. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.