Study Challenges “Gateway” Theory, Highlights Need for Further Research

A large-scale review of 123 studies, encompassing data from approximately 4 million participants under the age of 29 in the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe, has found no conclusive evidence that vaping leads to cigarette smoking among youth. The findings, published in the journal Addiction, challenge the widely debated “gateway” theory and underscore the need for further research to establish any causal links between e-cigarette use and smoking initiation.