Smoking isn’t cool, but vaping? That’s a whole other story. In just a few years, the e-cigarette trend seems to have taken off. It makes sense given that e-cigarettes are supposed to be way more healthy than traditional cigarettes. And to be honest, the design of some of them do look pretty cool – which is a major driver for teens especially.
In 2014, the CDC found that e-cigarette use was on the rise, and another report from the same year showed that nearly 13% of US adults had tried an e-cigarette. However, our data show the once blooming trend may already be on the decline.
Through asking over 4,000 respondents, and filtering out those who have never smoked e-cigarettes (87%), here’s what we’ve found:
As you can see, ¼ of e-cigarette smokers moved to e-smoking to replace smoking traditional cigarettes. Most interestingly, though, are the 46% who responded that they used to smoke e-cigarettes but no longer do.
A recent study shows a similar e-cigarette decline among teens.
Why? Who Are These Ex E-Cig Smokers?
Well, they’re strangely similar to the general population. 56% of them are men, with 21% between the ages of 35 and 54. They’re also less likely to make over $100k each year.
At first I thought that maybe this group is more aware of current trends in medicine, which recently have been harsh on e-cigarettes. However, that doesn’t seem that’s the case.
Although 60% of ex e-cigarette smokers follow current trends in medicine and healthcare at least somewhat closely, they’re no more likely to follow these trends than other past or present e-cigarette smoking groups. As another interesting note, those who replaced regular cigarettes with e-cigarettes are most likely to very closely follow trends in medicine and healthcare.
The difference between this group and others actually seems to be much more simple than I originally thought. Those who used to smoke e-cigarettes but no longer do are more likely to value health and fitness.
Though it’s pretty much agreed upon by everyone that e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, there has been growing concern over their potential harm. In fact, a recent study found that cells in a petri dish, exposed to e-cigarette vapor, experience effects similar to exposure to tobacco smoke.
For those who value their health and fitness, it comes as no surprise that they would take this new research very seriously, and transition away from a habit that may potentially cause them harm.
Other interesting insights include:
- People who smoke both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes are more likely to use Pinterest.
- People who smoke both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes are more likely to be unemployed.
- People who smoke both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes are more likely to be women.
- People who smoke e-cigarettes to replace smoking regular cigarettes are more likely to be most influenced by TV ads.
- People who smoke e-cigarettes to replace smoking regular cigarettes are more likely to be married.
Interested in other insights? Check out our recent posts on Nestle’s new sugar, the ongoing feud between Kellogg’s and Breitbart.com, and the most prominent worries among parents of toddlers!
