Exploring the gateway hypothesis of e-cigarettes and tobacco: a prospective replication study among adolescents in the Netherlands and Flanders

Background Studies demonstrated that adolescent e-cigarette use is associated with subsequent tobacco smoking, commonly referred to as the gateway effect. However, most studies only investigated gateways from e-cigarettes to tobacco smoking. This study replicates a cornerstone study revealing a positive association between both adolescent e-cigarette use and subsequent tobacco use; and tobacco and subsequent e-cigarette use in the Netherlands and Flanders. Design The longitudinal design included baseline (n=2839) and 6-month (n=1276) and 12-month (n=1025) follow-up surveys among a school-based... Mehr ...