Strong tobacco laws may also discourage vaping

Along with reducing conventional smoking, anti-tobacco laws in the United States may tamp down use of electronic cigarettes, a new study suggests.

New York University researchers found that states with anti-tobacco regulations -- such as smoke-free air laws and cigarette taxes -- had fewer vapers as well as fewer cigarette smokers.

"Our research adds to the understanding of the geographic and sociodemographic factors underlying e-cigarette use within the existing tobacco control environment," said lead author Dr. Omar El-Shahawy. He's a postdoctoral fellow in the NYU School of Medicine.

"Several decades of research on traditional cigarettes guided the existing tobacco control environment. E-cigarettes are relatively new and constantly evolving, which makes the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration's] task in regulating them very challenging," El-Shahawy said in a university news release.

The researchers analyzed 2012-14 national data. About 5 percent of adults said they were e-cigarette users, and 17 percent said they were cigarette smokers.

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