Why was this study done?

• Some individuals are more likely to smoke due to their genetics, but little is currently known about the genetic influences on e-cigarette use.
• Given that many people who use e-cigarettes have smoked before, it is likely that there may be an overlap between genetic influences on smoking and e-cigarette use.
• Such an overlap may explain why people who use e-cigarettes but have not smoked before are more likely to go on to start smoking later.

What did the researchers do and find?

• We examined the association between genetic variants associated with smoking initiation and both e-cigarette use and risk-taking behaviour in a cohort of 2,894 young adults.
• Our results indicate that the genetic factors that influence smoking initiation are similarly related to e-cigarette use and risk-taking behaviours.

What do these findings mean?

• Smoking may cause people to use e-cigarettes (i.e., to stop smoking), but there may also be an underlying genetic predisposition to risk-taking which influences the likelihood that someone will both smoke and use e-cigarettes.
• The findings could have important implications for policy—if young people are predisposed to both smoking and using e-cigarettes, bans which aim to prevent e-cigarette use may encourage smoking where only cigarettes are available.

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