A recent study concludes that people who use electronic cigarettes are twice as likely to report clinical depression as those who have never vaped. The correlation was particularly strong among younger people.

Share on Pinterest A new study identifies a link between vaping and depression.

Known as vaping, battery-powered e-cigarettes use heat to deliver an aerosol cocktail of nicotine and flavors to the user. An e-cigarette produces a small cloud of vapor, whereas a cigarette releases smoke.

Many people believe that the vapor contains water. In fact, it contains varying amounts of toxic chemicals that have links to heart and respiratory diseases, as well as cancer.

The use of e-cigarettes in the United States has snowballed since their introduction a decade ago.

According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, in 2016, an estimated 10.8 million people in the U.S. used e-cigarettes. Of this number, 2.8 million (9.2%) were 18–24 years old.

Today, some experts consider vaping to be an epidemic among teenagers — the number of high school students who turned to vaping doubled in 2018.

Now, a study published in JAMA Network Open finds a significant link between vaping and depression.

Although links between traditional cigarettes and depression primarily prompted the study, the results of an earlier study that indicated that 9.1% of those with depression were e-cigarette users, compared with 4.5% among the general population was also a factor.

First author of the study, Dr. Olufunmilayo Obisesan of John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, told Medical News Today that “Combustible cigarette smoking has been linked with an increased risk of developing major depressive disorder and has also been shown to be highly predictive of future suicidal behavior among individuals with a history of depression.”

“In light of the similarities in some of the constituents of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, we decided to explore the existence of a similar association between e-cigarettes and depression.”