# Teens are starting to smoke e-cigs/vapes who have never smoked cigarettes before - True or false? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-are-starting-to-smoke-e-cigs-vapes-who-have-never-smoked-cigarettes-before-true-or-false/648469 "2013-01-26T20:27:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-are-starting-to-smoke-e-cigs-vapes-who-have-never-smoked-cigarettes-before-true-or-false/648469/1 "2013-01-26T20:27:26Z")
A friend of mine who has recently started smoking an e-cigarette to wean himself from tobacco cigarettes said that he has heard that some kids are now starting to smoke e-cigs who have _never smoked before_. He said the variety of flavors and the nicotine rush make them easier to start with for kids vs regular tobacco cigarettes. I had not heard this. I though e-cigs were pretty just for people who are trying to wean themselves from tobacco. Has anyone else heard about or seen teens starting directly with e-cigs? ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-are-starting-to-smoke-e-cigs-vapes-who-have-never-smoked-cigarettes-before-true-or-false/648469/2 "2013-01-26T21:24:41Z")
No cite, but an e-cigarette dealer and artisanal e-juice maker is set to open a brick and mortar store/cafe near where I live in Michigan. I know him and have done work on the new building…when I asked if he was going to issue a press release he said no, because he didn’t want to attract teens, or people who wanted to take up e-cigs in order to lose weight. (Apparently there’s a company marketing e-cigs and zero-nicotine juice targeting people who want to take it up for weight-loss purposes.) I was a hard-core committed smoker who managed to wean myself from cigarettes to e-cigs and no longer consider myself a smoker, although I am still addicted to nicotine. I’m cutting down on the nic levels in the juice I buy, though. Just FIY and because it may be relevant to the OP - e-juice is widely available online with zero nicotine content. Not that I think it’s a great idea for anyone to start sucking on e-cigs and it would be teh height of irony if e-cigs were to become a “gateway” to smoking. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-are-starting-to-smoke-e-cigs-vapes-who-have-never-smoked-cigarettes-before-true-or-false/648469/3 "2013-01-26T21:32:51Z")
Other than miming smoking and a vapor “taste” what do you get from a nicotine free e cig that would help you lose weight? ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-are-starting-to-smoke-e-cigs-vapes-who-have-never-smoked-cigarettes-before-true-or-false/648469/4 "2013-01-26T21:39:00Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Other than miming smoking and a vapor “taste” what do you get from a nicotine free e cig that would help you lose weight? An alternative to eating or snacking, I guess. E-juice is available in an unimaginably wide range of flavors…two of scores of juice companies; check out the flavours (and yes, many are incredibly “like the real thing.”): [http://www.mstsbakery.com/](http://www.mstsbakery.com/) > **[Virgin Vapor](https://thehookahlab.com/pages/virgin-vapor/)** > > Virgin Vapor People who quit smoking using e-cigarettes typically report zero food cravings or weight gain. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-are-starting-to-smoke-e-cigs-vapes-who-have-never-smoked-cigarettes-before-true-or-false/648469/5 "2013-01-26T22:09:02Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Other than miming smoking and a vapor “taste” what do you get from a nicotine free e cig that would help you lose weight? It’s been a well established fact for a long time that smoking reduces appetite and keeps weight down. Even decades ago it wsa common for models to smoke to stay thin. [Here’s a recent explanation.](http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/06/scientists-we-know-why-smoking-keeps-you-skinny) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-are-starting-to-smoke-e-cigs-vapes-who-have-never-smoked-cigarettes-before-true-or-false/648469/6 "2013-01-26T22:15:45Z")
Although on reflection I guess the answer for nicotine-free smoking would have to be habit and a placebo effect. But that would only work if you had a period of nicotine use to get the “real” effect. So now I’m confused. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-are-starting-to-smoke-e-cigs-vapes-who-have-never-smoked-cigarettes-before-true-or-false/648469/7 "2013-01-26T22:31:24Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Although on reflection I guess the answer for nicotine-free smoking would have to be habit and a placebo effect. But that would only work if you had a period of nicotine use to get the “real” effect. So now I’m confused. As a former smoker and e-cig afficianado, I’m confused too so you’re not alone! I don’t really see how, for a non-smoker, taking up a completely different taste delivery system would be an effective strategy for losing weight. ---
**Author:** ![andrewbub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@andrewbub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewbub)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-are-starting-to-smoke-e-cigs-vapes-who-have-never-smoked-cigarettes-before-true-or-false/648469/8 "2013-01-27T00:46:36Z")
one of my s/o’s friends started smoking e-cigs recently, and she’s never been a cigarette smoker. not a teen though, she’s 28.