Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32156694›Full record

ReviewTobacco control2020

Is e-cigarette use in non-smoking young adults associated with later smoking? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jasmine N Khouja, Steph F Suddell, Sarah E Peters, Amy E Taylor, Marcus R Munafò

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Tobacco control, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 143 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
143citing papers in PubMed, 14 pooled it
18.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

143 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 239 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. A Systematic Review of Predictors of Vaping Cessation Among Young People.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025
    Pooled it
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  9. E-cigarettes and nicotine abstinence: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2022
    Pooled it
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  15. Trial
  16. Effects of Nicotine Content and Preferred Flavor on Subjective Responses to E-cigarettes: A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Laboratory Study.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2024
    Trial
  17. Trial
  18. Message Source Credibility and E-Cigarette Harm Perceptions among Young Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Trial
  19. Trial
  20. Trial

83 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jasmine N KhoujaMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK jasmine.khouja@bristol.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7944-2981
Steph F SuddellMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Sarah E PetersAdapt (Study Rocket Ltd), London, UK.
Amy E TaylorDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Marcus R MunafòMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust · GBUniversity of Bristol · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_UU_00011/7
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe aim of this review was to investigate whether e-cigarette use compared with non-use in young non-smokers is associated with subsequent cigarette smoking. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Wiley Cochrane Library databases, and the 2018 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco and Society for Behavioural Medicine conference abstracts. STUDY SELECTION: All studies of young people (up to age 30 years) with a measure of e-cigarette use prior to smoking and an outcome measure of smoking where an OR could be calculated were included (excluding reviews and animal studies). DATA EXTRACTION: Independent extraction was completed by multiple authors using a preprepared extraction form. DATA SYNTHESIS: Of 9199 results, 17 studies were included in the meta-analysis. There was strong evidence for an association between e-cigarette use among non-smokers and later smoking (OR: 4.59, 95% CI: 3.60 to 5.85) when the results were meta-analysed in a random-effects model. However, there was high heterogeneity (

conclusionsAlthough the association between e-cigarette use among non-smokers and subsequent smoking appears strong, the available evidence is limited by the reliance on self-report measures of smoking history without biochemical verification. None of the studies included negative controls which would provide stronger evidence for whether the association may be causal. Much of the evidence also failed to consider the nicotine content of e-liquids used by non-smokers meaning it is difficult to make conclusions about whether nicotine is the mechanism driving this association.

Indexed as

addictionco-substance useelectronic nicotine delivery devices

Identifiers

PMID32156694
PMCPMC7803902
OpenAlexW3011420129

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.