By Jilian Mincer
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Significantly more Americans are using electronic-cigarettes and other vaporizing devices than a year ago, but most of those consumers are also smoking conventional cigarettes, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The findings support evidence that smokers are using both traditional tobacco products and e-cigarettes to deliver nicotine, rather than giving up traditional cigarettes altogether. Researchers are studying many questions about the potential benefits and dangers of e-cigarettes and U.S. health regulators are still working on their first set of rules governing the products.
In the meantime, proponents of vaping, as the practice is called, have argued that e-cigarettes and vaporizer represent a safer alternative to tobacco products, which have been proven to contribute to lung cancer and other diseases.
About 10 percent of U.S. adults now vape, according to the online Reuters/Ipsos poll of 5,679 Americans conducted between May 19 and June 4. That’s almost four times higher than a U.S. government estimate that 2.6 percent of adults used e-cigarettes in 2013.
