Want To Prevent Teenagers From Using E-cigarettes? Research Suggests: Make E-cigarettes Uninteresting

On May 22nd, USN news reported: Dennis Thompson, a health reporter. Thursday, May 22nd, 2025 (Health Day News) - A new study shows that making electronic cigarette devices less interesting may help prevent teenagers and young adults from developing the habit of smoking e-cigarettes.
The researchers stated that electronic cigarette devices currently have colorful packaging and various interesting designs, aiming to enhance their appeal.
According to the research results published in the Tobacco Control journal on May 20th, the attractiveness of standardized white disposable electronic cigarettes was lower compared to colorful products.
The research team led by Harry Tattan-Birch from the University College London concluded: "For countries that aim to prevent young people from smoking e-cigarettes, it can be considered to combine the standardization of the color of electronic cigarette devices with packaging standardization as a potential policy option."
The researchers stated in the background information that the rise of electronic cigarettes coincided with the launch of disposable devices, which had many attractive colors and interesting designs.
They pointed out that there was almost no regulation on the design of electronic cigarette devices, which was in sharp contrast to other tobacco products that were subject to more stringent regulation.
To understand whether these devices' designs had an impact, the researchers surveyed nearly 15,300 young people aged 16 to 29 living in the UK, Canada, or the US.
The researchers randomly showed participants images of four brands of disposable electronic cigarettes or four standardized white electronic cigarette devices, and then asked them which one they were interested in trying.
The research results showed that among consumers who saw the white electronic cigarettes, over 67% said they were not interested in trying any e-cigarettes, while among those who saw blue, gold, or pink electronic cigarettes, less than 63% said they were not interested in trying any e-cigarettes.
However, the study found that the greatest impact raised the most warnings, as this effect was found among young people who were current smokers but did not use e-cigarettes in the past month.
Approximately 48% of current smokers were not interested in trying the white electronic cigarettes, while about 38% of smokers who had seen the colored brand electronic cigarettes expressed interest.

The researchers wrote: "A balance must be struck because although the standardization of e-cigarette devices may prevent young people who have never smoked from trying e-cigarettes, it may also lead to fewer people switching from smoking to e-cigarettes."
Among those who use e-cigarettes but do not smoke, 20% are not interested in trying white e-cigarettes, while less than 17% are interested in colored e-cigarettes.
Among those who neither smoke nor use e-cigarettes, the impact is minimal - 93% are not interested in trying white e-cigarettes, while among those who have seen colored e-cigarettes, this proportion is 91%.
Similar effects were observed in both the group of smokers who also use e-cigarettes (14% vs. 10%) and the group of people who have smoked or used e-cigarettes before (73% vs. 65%).
The researchers concluded: "Our research results indicate that incorporating device design regulation into new policies further reduces the appeal of e-cigarettes to young people. However, compared to those who have never smoked or used e-cigarettes, the interest of smokers has decreased more significantly, and they may benefit from using e-cigarettes to quit smoking."
They added that there are risks.
The study concluded: "The benefits of preventing teenagers from using e-cigarettes on public health may be offset by the decrease in the number of young people transitioning from smoking to only using e-cigarettes, or the increase in the number of those who relapse from only using e-cigarettes to smoking (including e-cigarette and e-cigarette mixture use)."