London: Children who spend more time on social media are more likely to become addicted to vape and cigarette smoking, a study has revealed.
According to research conducted at Imperial College London, children and young people who use social media for more than seven hours a day are eight times more likely to smoke cigarettes and four times more likely to vape than those who do not use social media. There are.
Companies that have social media platforms have the power to change the perception of smoking and vaping among young people, the researchers said.
The Household Longitudinal Study, conducted in the UK between 2015 and 2021, examined data on 10,808 people between the ages of 10 and 25, the results of which were published in the journal Thorax.
Overall, slightly more than 8.5 percent were found to be smoking while 2.5 percent were found to be vaping. More than one percent of people were found to have both habits.
The study found that 2 percent of people who said they did not use social media were smokers, compared to 9.2 percent of those who used social media for one to three hours a day.
This rate rose to 12.2 percent among those who used social media for four to six hours, while 15.7 percent of those who used it seven or more hours were found to be addicted.
On the other hand, those who did not use social media had a vaping rate of 0.8 percent, compared to 2.4 percent of those who used social media for one to three hours a day.
This rate rose to 3.8 percent among those who used social media for four to six hours, while four percent of those who used social media for seven or more hours were found to be addicted.
