In all, 1601 children were quizzed about their use of e-cigarettes. Use of e-cigarettes at least once was more common than having smoked a conventional cigarette among all age groups, except the oldest (15 - 16 year olds). Some 5.8% of 10 - 11 year olds had tried e-cigarettes — far more than had tried tobacco (1.6%) — while a sizeable proportion (12.3%) of 11 - 16 year olds said they had used e - cigarettes, irrespective of gender, ethnic background, or family affluence. This contrasts with the patterning seen in smoking, where all these factors come into play, suggesting that e - cigarettes may have wider appeal among all sectors of the teen population, say the researchers. Similarly, the proportion of teens who had used e - cigarettes, but who had never smoked, rose from 5.3% among 10 - 11 year olds, to 8% among 15 - 16 year olds. But only 1.5% (125) of those aged 11 - 16 said they used e - cigarettes regularly — defined as at least once a month. This included 0.3% of those who claimed they had never smoked conventional cigarettes. These figures suggest that “ e - cigarettes are unlikely to make a major direct contribution to adolescent nicotine addiction at present,” write the researchers, who point out that the World Health Organization has recognised that there is little evidence on whether e - cigarettes may or may not act as a gateway to conventional smoking. The odds of regular e - cigarette use were 100 times higher among current weekly smokers than among non - smokers, and 50 times higher among those who had smoked cannabis The strong link between current smoking and e - cigarette use suggests that teens are not using these products to help them quit smoking, say the researchers. They admit that a lack of consensus about what constitutes ‘use’ of an e - cigarette presents someth ing of a challenge for research in this area, and suggest that further much longer term studies to include the generation of young people who have grown up with e - cigarettes are needed before firmer conclusions can be drawn