Ambrose et al. (2014) found in their study of patterns of cigarette harm perceptions among U.S. youth that one in three student participants perceived ENDS to be a less harmful alternative to conventional cigarettes. A consistent binary association was discovered, detailing that ever e-cigarette users perceive the devices to be less dangerous and that those who perceived less harm from using e-cigarettes as compared to conventional cigarettes were more likely to use e-cigarettes (Amrock, Zakhar, Zhou, & Weitzman, 2015).If youth consider e-cigarettes as a gateway to tobacco use, signifying a disapproving and harmful attitude, then their intention to try is …show more content…
The majority of 15-17 year old African American and Hispanic American male e-cigarette users perceived that their friends had high social approval for e-cigarette use (Peters et al., 2013). Peers are the more important influences during the adolescent years as Peters et al. (2013) further concluded a negative association between smoking status of a friend and non-smoking intentions. So, in a peer group consisting of individuals who smoke electronic cigarettes, a higher perceived social pressure to also use e-cigarettes exists. If a high school male teenager perceives that his friends think e-cigarette use is a good thing or a healthier alternative to conventional cigarettes and if he wishes to be accepted into the social group, there is a likelihood of e-cigarette smoking